We hear the word “trend,” and instantly it stirs up feelings of fear and uncertainty for our businesses. You want to stay ahead of the game, but you don’t want to waste precious time and/or money on something that is gone by next quarter. Or the latest and greatest isn’t particularly relevant to your business.

Rather than create a comprehensive list of the “Top Trends for Social Media in 2018,” we found through some research the three biggest challenges organizations will face this year.

1. Finding sufficient solutions to declining organic reach

Stop using short-term tactic that once got you the likes and clicks. It’s time to accept that you’re no longer going to make a big splash on social strictly organically.

Start building sustainable strategies. What does this mean? Be more selective when it comes to what networks you’re posting content on. Invest in more social ads and influencers (if applicable) to advocate for your brand.

2. The social video surge is quickly becoming a saturation

Money spent on social video advertising skyrocketed 130 percent in 2017 and has no sign of stopping.

Yes, videos on social media are effective,  but businesses need to make sure the content they’re creating is relevant to the business objectives or goals. If you can’t tie in any real metrics or measurable business value to the social video, it’s time to rethink the strategy.

3. Brands overloaded by new tools and tactics

Hootsuite made a great point when doing research that the common complaint of customers is the endless list of new tactics, tools, and content formats. It’s tiresome. We know.

This year, implementation and effective measurement of already in place strategies is more important than the intro to new tactics.

While social media networks continue to innovate and build new algorithms to reach audiences, marketers are under a lot of pressure to prove the existing social strategy merits continued investment from their clients. Future investments must have a demonstrable business impact beyond futile metrics.

If you’d like to glance over or read more in depth of what the actual social media trends are for 2018, download for free Hootsuite’s third annual social media trends report.

We’d be happy to help set you up for success through social strategy and implementation. To learn more about our social media capabilities, check out our digital page and content marketing bible.