One of the questions we are asked the most about social media is "what's the next big thing"? What's the next big social network? Where should companies be looking next? How can we get ahead of the curve and find the next Facebook, the next Instagram, TikTok, etc.?The answer may be a bit disappointing. It's a rare and unique accomplishment to build a brand that talks to billions of people on a regular basis, a rare and unique accomplishment to connect 57% of the Internet-enabled human race. What's next isn't likely to be another single major player at all.What's next is more likely to be fragmentation.More and more companies see an opportunity to specialize in an aspect of social networking and excel at it, something that sets them apart from the dominance of Facebook and its many media properties such as Instagram. After all, if a new market entrant offers no significant features better than Facebook and its properties, chances are people will just stay with Facebook, since that's where all our friends are already. Ask Ello.What kinds of features might compel someone to spend less time on Facebook? Here are three classes of social networks you should probably pay attention to.
Chat apps
First are the chat apps. These apps are incredibly popular, especially in parts of the world where SMS text messaging is expensive and Internet access is cheap. Apps such as Tango, WhatsApp, Line, Kik, WeChat, Path and others provide a friends circle without the "pollution" of commercial advertising that fills up Facebook news feeds. Serendipity and meeting new people is more difficult with these apps, but users make that tradeoff in exchange for being able to privately talk with their friends.
Anonymous apps
The second class of social networks are the rise of anonymous apps such as Whisper, YikYak, etc. These apps are popular because they offer a promise of semi-anonymity, which stimulates discussions that aren't found in identified public social networks. It's much easier to state something controversial when you believe that your identity is not at stake. In an era when your career can be ended by one tasteless tweet, anonymous apps have great appeal. Anonymous apps face significant challenges both from governments/law enforcement and investors, so tread carefully and don't invest too much in them.
Media apps
The third class of social networks that we should invest in are media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Minecraft, DeviantArt, etc. that have social aspects but are fundamentally about the creation of media. YouTube isn't just a search engine, it's also a social network. Content creation online is nothing new, but in an era when everyone is struggling to find their voice, versatile content creation sets an app apart.These three classes of applications and social networks pose three very difficult problems for PR and marketing professionals:
They're incredibly difficult to monitor
The era of "full firehose" social media monitoring is over as more and more conversations occur behind closed doors in private chat groups, or on platforms where identity is completely obscured. Social analytics firm Radium One estimates that as much as 70% of all sharing occurs in "dark social", social media for which we have no analytics.There will always be a place for public discussions and communities, but the trusted referrals and conversations will increasingly happen out of sight and out of monitoring tools' reach. How much more powerful is a positive brand mention if no identity (and thus no social status) is tied to it?
They're incredibly difficult to participate in at scale
When consumers have conversations in invitation-only private spaces without brands, there's no way to fight new fires or perform proactive crisis communications. The first signs of a problem will be when larger groups of people begin taking public action together - long after a decision has been made behind closed doors. Brands will largely be excluded from participation at the lowest grassroots levels or intercepting problems before they become crises.
These changes will demand much more of brands
Brands will need to become much more versatile at content creation just as a differentiator - the days of posting text status updates are all but gone. Most importantly, with many of the trend-setting conversations happening behind closed doors, brands will need to focus much more on what their brand actually means and stands for, since the only people who will be able to defend the brand in a million private conversations will be its advocates and evangelists. Closed-door communities are largely immune to astro-turfing and other popular (but dishonest) tricks.As social media continues to change, the top ways to future-proof your brand are to strengthen the brand with quality products, incredible service, valuable and relevant content, and unique experiences that only your brand can deliver. Your brand's future success hinges on your ability to get people talking about your brand without your participation - and the many social media channels that exist today (and don't yet) are likely a key place that will occur.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
