Within this blog post, I will be researching the predicted future of social media marketing in the lenses of consumers, business, and public policy in the short and long term future which I the key aspects to the BCM325 future cultures. I will also predict where I think the future of social media marketing is going as well.

What is social media:

Social media can be thought of in a few different ways. In a practical sense, it is a collection of software-based digital technologies—usually presented as apps and websites—that provide users with digital environments in which they can send and receive digital content or information over some type of online social network. In this sense, we can think of social media as the major platforms and their features, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We can also in practical terms of social media as another type of digital marketing channel that marketers can use to communicate with consumers through advertising.

The first academic paper that I read was Appel’s ‘The future of social media in marketing. Which breaks down the future of social media marketing into three different predictions of the consumer, business, and public policy as well as looking at the immediate and long-term futures in these areas.

The Immediate future:

There are many interesting future research avenues to consider when thinking about the role of influencers on social media. First, determining what traits and qualities (e.g., authenticity, trust, credibility, and likability) make sponsored posts by a traditional celebrity influencer, versus a micro-influencer, or even compared to a CGI influencer, more or less successful is important to determine for marketers. Understanding whether success has to do with the actual influencer’s characteristics, the type of content being posted, whether the content is sponsored or not, and so on, are all relevant concerns for companies and social media platforms when determining partnerships and where to invest effort in influencers. In addition, research can focus on understanding the appeal of live influencer content, and how to successfully blend influencer content with more traditional marketing mix approaches.

The Far Future:

There are early indications that social media might feel different in the future. As mobile phones are held in one’s hands and wearable technology is strapped onto one’s skin, companies and brands are exploring opportunities to communicate to users through touch. Indeed, haptic feedback (technology that recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user; Brave et al. 2001) is increasingly being integrated into interfaces and applications, with purposes that go beyond the mere call or message notifications

My own prediction’s

The Immediate future:

I believe that social media influencer marketing will continue to slowly grow as well as the continuous paradigm shift of traditional marketing slowly burning out with major companies increasing their spending on social media marketing.

The Far Future:

I believe in the far future that we will have the technology that Elon musk is currently developing ‘The Neural Link’ which will allow us to connect to the internet without a device, which would be social media very interesting as It could mean that we could stream live videos without a device making a more immersive experience.

References:

Appel, G, Grewal, L, Hadi, R & Stephen, AT 2020, ‘The future of social media in marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 79–95, viewed 6 May 2021, <https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=141133003&site=ehost-live&gt;.