SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights® 1

Keeping up with social media updates and trends can be overwhelming.

That’s why we put together this trend report

which includes a summary of major updates to

social networks and how businesses can benefit.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights® 2

Keeping up with social media updates and trends can be overwhelming.

That’s why we put together this trend report which includes

a summary of major updates to social networks and how

businesses can benefit.

See what happened in Q2 2016 on: • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Snapchat • musical.ly

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights® 3

What’s Trending on Social Media?

If there is one feature that has been dominating social

media this year, it is livestreaming. From Chewbacca Mom

to political protests, livestreaming is gaining traction with

users who are captivated by the immersive and

unpredictable experience it provides.

See how brands are using Facebook Live along with best

practices for livestreaming.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

WHAT’SHAPPENING ONSNAPCHAT?

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Snapchat Introduces Memories

Snapchat Memories is one of Snapchat’s biggest updates yet. The update lets users save Snaps to Snapchat’s servers, share old Snaps with friends, and search old Snaps using Snachat’s object recognition.

How Brands Can Benefit With Snapchat gaining access to more user photos, along with very impressive object recognition, Snapchat Memories will likely open up new advertising opportunities.

5

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Snapchat Discover Gets Redesigned

Snapchat Discover got a redesign that teases content contained in the

different channels.

How Brands Can Benefit Brands already invested in a

Snapchat Discover channel will very

likely see an increase in views. The redesign transforms Discover from

tap-able logos into a clear source of trending news.

6

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Resource:Want to Know How Brands are Using Snapchat?

Discover how some of the top brands are using Snapchat to engage and entertain their followers.

7

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Resource:Learn How to Tell an Engaging Snapchat Story

If you want to grow a following on Snapchat, you need to learn how to tell entertaining stories. Get an understanding of story structure along with Snapchat Story content ideas when you read our Snapchat Story guide.

8

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

WHAT’SHAPPENING ONTWITTER?

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Twitter Increases Video Limit

One-upping Instagram’s 60-second limit, Twitter now lets users share videos up to 140 seconds.

How Brands Can Benefit

More time provides the opportunity to tell more detailed stories. With the Twitter Algorithm in effect, it’s possible Twitter will reward videos shared natively, as Facebook does with video.

10

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Target Ads Based On Emojis

Businesses can now target ads based on emojis in tweets.

How Brands Can Benefit

If an emoji relates to your business, it’s worth exploring advertising opportunities. For example, someone who tweets the ☕ emoji likely drinks coffee.

11

Learn More....

🙌

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Get More Characters Per Tweet

Usernames and links no longer count toward the 140-character limit on Twitter.

How Brands Can Benefit

The character change makes it easier to write tweets that include media, whether photos, links, or GIFs.

12

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

WHAT’SHAPPENING ONINSTAGRAM?

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Instagram Hits a Growth Milestone

Instagram announced that it has surpassed more than 500 million monthly users. In only the last nine months, Instagram gained 100 million users.

14

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Instagram and Facebook Get New Ad Tools

15

Learn More....

Facebook debuted the platform Facebook Creative Hub which will make it easier for creative teams to make ads for Facebook and Instagram.

How Brands Can Benefit

Facebook Creative Hub promises to provide brands with ideas and inspiration, as well as tools to create better ads for mobile.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

WHAT’SHAPPENING ONFACEBOOK?

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Users Can Now Upload Video Comments

Facebook now lets users reply with uploaded videos in comments.

How Brands Can Benefit Commenting with a video offers users another way to interact on Facebook.

17

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Facebook Scraps In-Video Links to External Sites

Facebook no longer lets publishers include a link to an external site at the end of their videos.

How Brands Can Benefit This change was likely made to encourage brands to create videos that have value on Facebook, instead of teasing the value that’s on an external site.

18

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

Facebook’s Algorithm Now Favors Friends and Family

Facebook latest algorithm update favors posts shared by friends and family over pages.

How Brands Can Benefit The algorithm update makes user generated content even more important on Facebook. Explore ways to encourage users to share their own photos or videos on Facebook.

19

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

WHAT’SNEW INSOCIAL MEDIA?

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

musical.ly is Gaining Traction With Teens

Just 2 years after launching, musical.ly has more than 60 million users. The app is dominated by teens who use it to create 15 second music videos or comedy sketches.

How Brands Can Benefit If you want to get your brand in front of teens, you need to pay attention to musical.ly. The app has been growing quickly with teens, and offers brands a way to get in front of a younger audience.

21

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights®

musical.ly Launches Livestreaming App Live.ly

musical.ly joins Facebook and Periscope in the livestreaming space with the debut of live.ly.

How Brands Can Benefit While Facebook Live will have more reach for most brands, if your brand’s target demographic is teens, it’s worth paying attention to how live.ly develops.

22

Learn More....

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2016 The Social Lights® 23

Want to stay up-to-date on all things social?

Get a boost of creativity and

social media insight in your

inbox when you subscribe to

The Social Lights’ blog. KEEP ME UPDATED