Social media has come a long way since Facebook's inception in 2005, and will continue to evolve, and become completely unrecognisable by 2025.
This is according to Peter Kim, chief digital officer at South Korean advertising agency, Cheil Worldwide. He was speaking about 'The next decade of social media' at the Cannes Lions international advertising conference this week.
According to articles in The Drum and the Marketing Magazine, on Twitter and the Young & Rubicam blog, these are the predictions Kim made at the event:
1. Gone
The social media environment we know today will be completely different in the future. Marketers will have to constantly innovate. "As an agency, the way you make money from social media is going to disappear; I guarantee it," he said.
2. Shopable
Social media will become another channel of e-commerce, said Kim. Following this trend, Pinterest introduced buyable pins this month. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have also been testing similar features. "When thinking about the economics of social media, brands need to keep one idea in mind: if it's social, it's shopable."
3. Snackable
Social media will be delivered in 'bite-size' pieces. Consumers will want information, and then move on.
4. Automated
Artificial intelligence will be used to remove clutter, interruption and irrelevance from advertising, and organic reach will become problematic, as is seen on Facebook at the moment. "It's like Facebook offered brands a five-year free trial and now companies will have to pay in order to retain that same level of functionality."
5. Connective
Social media will bring societies back together. Kim cited the example of an app developed for North and South Korea to unite languages.
6. Filtered
Social media will be filtered so that only exactly what users want to see and hear will populate newsfeeds.
7. Integrated
Social networks will work in combination with each other.
8. Chinese
China will emerge as a global digital force, Kim noted. "When you look at huge Chinese digital companies like Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, and Baidu, it's clear that when they jump over the great firewall, they will change the global landscape profoundly." Kim said users will not necessarily have to learn the language.
9. Subcutaneous
"We're going beyond wearables to implantables. In future, technology will not only be all around us, it will reside within us." Kim said societies' hunger for constant connectivity will soon no longer be filled by wearables like Apple Watches. Kim referenced the subcutaneous chips, implanted under the skin of pets, as a start in that direction.
10. Empowering
"We'll finally move beyond self-aggrandising and start focusing on our values. That will drive business results." He said brands like Dove and Nike are already doing campaigns on social media with an empowering focus.
Share