Small businesses are spending more on social media. And Instagram is the platform where businesses are increasing their spending the most in terms of social media services.

Advertisement

2017 Fiverr Social Media Trends

According to recent research from gig economy marketplace Fiverr, gig spending related to Instagram has more than quadrupled since the start of 2017. That’s by far the largest jump of any of the major platforms. Fiverr found that spending on Twitter related gigs tripled over the past year, while Facebook spending more than doubled.

For small businesses considering how to distribute their marketing budgets, this data points to Instagram being a platform worthy of investment. There are a number of reasons why small businesses — especially those that rely heavily on powerful visuals — should focus more of their social media budget on the popular photo sharing app.

Fiverr’s Social Media Category Manager Whit Walker explained in a company blog post, “In addition to being a content-rich platform, Instagram is also permanent and “concrete” in terms of the lifespan of content posted there and the analytics generated, while also being more discoverable. Given Instagram’s elegant user interface, heavy use of hashtags on the platform, and its Stories feature, it’s easier for brands to grow a following, find their niche, discover influencers, and so on.”

But it’s important to note that Instagram isn’t the only platform seeing significant investment growth. Entrepreneurs increased their social media related gig purchases on Fiverr by 91 percent over the course of 2017. So it’s clear that a lot of small businesses are seeing the value of working with freelancers and contractors who can focus solely on social media and even specific platforms.

If you’re looking to grow your social media presence and impact over the next year, you might consider spending some money on a professional or freelancer to help you come up with an official strategy. Whether you choose to focus on Instagram or another platform, making even a small investment in your social media plan can help you keep up or possibly even stand out from all the other companies out there that are trying to do the same.

Fiverr also created an infographic with even more of its findings about businesses and their social media gig purchases. Check out the entire graphic below.

It has advanced entire societies, improved our standard of living and given us 50 different ways to watch Seinfeld. It has also changed the way we do business. But in a world where customers expect new products and services to change as quickly as the seasons, how can we, as entrepreneurs, anticipate current trends?

Here are a few ways to stay ahead of the pack:

 

Allow time for creativity.

First and foremost: think. One of the forefathers of business philosophy, Napoleon Hill, wrote, “It is in the quiet that our best ideas occur to us. Don’t make the mistake of believing that by a frantic kind of dashing around you are being your most effective and efficient self. Don’t assume that you are wasting time when you take time out for thought. Thought is the foundation upon which all else is built by man.”

Become a dedicated trend watcher.

You have to know your market before you change it. Keeping tabs on industry best practices and your competitors’ activities can help you strategize and improvise. Read industry newspapers, magazines and blog posts. Watch webinars and attend conferences. Track trends with Google Trends, Feedly or Mashable. Talk with your clients, friends, customers, competitors and co-workers.
Trend spotters understand that trends have a mood, a unique behavior and a lifespan. Being able to recognize those traits can help you forecast, anticipate changes in trends and maximizes your profit potential.

Think like a customer.

We are all consumers. We all know what we need, like and think is cool. One way to be a trendsetter is to think like a consumer. What products or services would you love to see?
“Creating a customer-focused culture of this nature is a business opportunity that should not be overlooked,” wrote digital marketing executive, “Most businesses are failing when it comes to the customer experience, which is your opportunity to swoop in and enchant those same customers into falling for your company.”        
Some of the best innovation originates from responding proactively to customers’ needs. Never underestimate the relationship you share with your loyal customer base. Their feedback is a reliable (and highly affordable) platform for exploring innovative ideas.
It was Walt Disney who said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”
In this fast-paced world, being the first to introduce a new product, service or technology can be a “make or break” scenario, especially for a startup company. But if you rely on creativity, invest resources and time in identifying trends, and invite a fresh perspective on what your company provides its customers, you won’t be chasing the current trends; you will be defining them.

 

Well, it would be easy to adapt the change if you can have an idea about them in advance. Knowing in advance that what the upcoming year is bringing for you will not only help you get ready for the changes but will also let you grow your business.
There come a few notable trends that dominate the business industry every year and no matter how successful these trends remain, the new year brings new trends. These new trends can be totally new or can be a modification of the existing ones. In order to keep your business surviving, you need to follow these trends by adapting the change, regardless you like them or not.
As 2018 has already begun, you need to know the trends that will dominate the business industry in the upcoming months and should make strategies to follow those trends. For your convenience, here we are going to through light on the emerging business trends that will dominate in 2018.

Video content will become the king.
Video has already become hot in the content marketing and it will become hotter in 2017. Videos are just perfect to gain the attention of the audience, to address their issues, interact with them and provide them a way of entertainment at the same time. It is the perfect way by which you can provide valuable information to your clients while offering them entertainment at the same time. The high-quality videos that have a right theme and story will help you increase the likelihood that the audience will enjoy your videos, would like and share them leading to the enhanced exposure of your business.

High-value content demand will increase
Though there is a lot of content on the web but it will still be growing in 2017 as the number of businesses will grow. But, rather than focusing on the quantity of the content, the businesses are required to focus on the quality.

So, just creating content will not be enough, try to create the one that will help your business stand out in the crowd. However, you don't need to acquire special skills for that; what you need to do is focusing on the requirements of your audience i.e. the topics of their interest, the writing way they find engaging and more. Once you have a good understanding of that, you will definitely be able to produce high-quality content.

Focus on customer-experience gain  
Businesses have well understood the importance of customer satisfaction and this is the reason that their strategies would be customer-centric along with being business-centric. However, customer experience is not only dependent on the quality of the services or products you offer to them; the way you deal with them, interact with them, ensure support in the hour of need and more.
Good communication and personalized sales approach are the things that will let you develop good relations with your audience. Ensure to make them feel like you are addressing their problems, not like you are selling to them.
These trends are the ones that you need to welcome with the open arms. Do analysis that how these trends can be incorporated into your current business strategies and start implementing them. These are definitely going to help your business grow.

Freelancing will become more popular
The evolving technology of the internet has made the world a global village. No matter in which part of the world you are living, you can offer your services to every corner of the world provided that you have the ability to that. And this ability has resulted in the increase of the number of the freelancers. A survey shows that 35% of the USA workers are freelancers and this percentage will grow to 50% in 2020.
So, you are more likely to seek the services from freelancers, if you haven't yet. Well, this is going to be a good thing as the freelancers not only provide you the dedicated business-centered solutions but also cost less as compared to the permanent hires.

Video rules! Americans alone collectively viewed over 38 billion videos in the second quarter of 2014 (Adobe Digital Index, Q2 2014). Lead by Google (YouTube), Facebook and a wide range of alternative video platforms, visual content consumption has become an important part of life in the United States and the rest of the world.

Trouble is, it is extremely difficult to hold the attention of the average viewer for very long, let alone convince them to act on your suggestions (i.e. call to action) in a video.Before committing a large chunk of your budget to video marketing, it would be wise to look at important trends and related strategies to improve your engagement and conversion rates.

Warning: Don't Upload a Video to YouTube Without Doing This!

1. Integrating Automated Marketing Techniques with Video

Companies large and small look to automate their business processes, video marketing being no exception. Already, various agencies are able to offer integrated video marketing services such as:

• Customer information retrieval and analysis.
• Lead generation and sorting techniques to better isolate desirable prospects.
• Detailed and instantaneous viewer metrics that help determine habits and tendencies.

This will no doubt continue in the future.
See also: How to Protect and Monetize Your Videos

2. Learning to Exploit Mobile Marketing

Given that one in five video views, today occur on mobile devices, early adapters to this technology will be well-positioned to built strong business relationships with all types of people regardless of niche.

The growth of tablets as a mainstream device is well-established and practically guarantees the future of video for years to come. So internet marketers must continue to adjust their thinking to become more mobile-friendly. This necessarily will involve better collection and analysis of user data, innovative web-based branding of your business and of course laser-targeted mobile advertising that makes consumers take notice.See also: How to Optimize Your Email Marketing for Mobile Devices

3. Interactive Video to Raise Conversion Rates

As part of the move away from “one to many” marketing, interactive video is seen as the most powerful way for marketers to communicate with past customers and new prospects in the future. It can appreciably increase a company's return on investment (ROI) and make consumers feel better appreciated for their loyalty and commitment to its product/service lines.

4. Video Marketing as a Better Targeting Option

The refinement of advertising techniques on visual media over the years (television, movies, Internet) has proven its worth for mass marketing purposes. However, the increasingly fractured viewer space has caused a shift in how businesses approach their audiences. Led by Facebook and Google, today's video platforms are more conducive to shorter, targeted marketing campaigns.
Internet marketers, in particular, can use video to build more personal – even one-to-one – relationships that encourage not only one-time sales but valuable relationships that lead to more profitable conversions (e.g. monthly continuity programs).

5. Emergence of Digital Video for Higher End Niches

The days of questionable, grainy Internet video and low-quality ads are quickly fading away.Original digital video from the likes of AOL and its competitors is quickly raising the bar, and inevitably economies of scale will allow smaller entrepreneurs to gain access to this premium digital technology as well.

Digital video will be a boon to native advertisers in particular since native advertising platforms cater to exclusive clienteles. It can also help internet marketers attract specific demographics like the Millennial generation (i.e. people born between 1980 and the early 2000s).
So there you have it! Video is definitely hear to stay, and although it is impossible to predict the future, incorporating it in some way will broaden your marketing reach in many ways. Various strategies can be used to overcome uncertainties associated with changing viewer habits, growing expectations, and emerging video technologies.

Choose the message and medium most appropriate for your needs.

If you're interested in using video marketing in your business you may also want to learn how to use webinars to promote your business, products, and services online.

The logo design industry is changing at a lightning-fast speed. What was trendy five years ago may not even ring a bell today. As methods of attracting customers become more effective, logo design must keep up the pace. New ideas develop so fast, designers have a hard time following them.
Fortunately, experts are committed to studying short-lived trends and forecasting where the logo design industry is heading. With the help of my team, I’ve put together a list of 10 trends that will dominate 2018.

Form simplification

This trend is all about stripping your design to the basics and making it as clean and minimalist as possible. Advancing internet technologies and cross-platform requirements are among the factors that revived this trend. Your emblem must look good across all mediums, from business cards to websites and mobile apps. This is why some major brands have revamped their logos, giving them a sharper, edgier look. 

 

Logotype with simple shapes

Legible font coupled with simple geometric shapes (lines, points, rectangles, circles) will continue to hold ground. Having emerged in 2017, this powerful trend is gaining momentum fast. What makes it special?
First, logotypes are known for their simplicity and coherence (think Samsung, Nike, and Google). Second, simple graphic elements give your emblem a balanced, consistent look. Finally, if used wisely, clean geometric shapes can create strong visual effects and elevate your logo among those of your competitors.

 

 

Letter stacking

Here’s another hot trend for logotypes. The idea is to place words on top of each other, making long phrases easier to perceive. This trend made big waves in 2016-2017, and it seems like companies can’t get enough of it. Sophisticated and elegant, it will continue holding ground in 2018. Letter stacking works well with contrasting colors. It’s a surefire way to achieve originality and the grab attention of potential customers.

 

 

Coats of arms

The year 2017 brought us multiple logos imitating ancient coats of arms, emblems, stamps, etc. Text is usually placed inside a circle or semicircle, with dates as a common element. Reserved colors and clear graphic shapes create strong retro vibes. Such logos evoke associations with tradition, heritage, and longevity.

 

 

Slices

In logo design, slices are wide parallel lines that seem to make “cuts” in the logo. This trend will become even bigger in 2018, and here’s why. First, slicing adds some air to the emblem, making it easier to absorb. Second, you can use this technique to add smart effects and visual illusion (think negative space). And last but not least, slices give your logo a textured three-dimensional look.

 

 

Negative space

This technique does not need an introduction. Logos with negative space have been around for a few years, and 2018 will be no exception. The trend has evolved over the years, shifting from logomarks to logotypes. Now we see more text logos with shapes and images hidden inside or between the letters.

 

 

Text as a playground

It looks like 2017 has been dominated by logotypes. As a major branding weapon, typography is far from being fully explored. In addition to the techniques mentioned above, designers have experimented with kerning, spacing, font combinations, and much more. Look at the masterpieces one can create with a bit of imagination! Are we going to see more of these graphic delights in 2018? You bet!

 

 

Gradients and color transitions

Graphic designers rediscovered the power of gradients in 2016-2017, but the trend won’t fade away anytime soon. Color transitions can be successfully applied to both icons and text, especially for a massive, bulky font.

 

Overlaps

Overlaying vibrant colors creates a brand-new hue, giving depth to your design. MasterCard’s recent logo overhaul breathed new life into the technique, proving that it fits all kinds of brands, including high-profile companies.

 

 

Lettering

Although it’s being replaced by minimalist trends (like those discussed above), lettering still holds its position. A plethora of industries, including cafes, barber shops, and photo studios, will continue exploring the power of this trend. Prepare to see more logotypes with intricate inscriptions!

 


That’s it! Covering all the popular techniques would take forever, but these are the top 10 trends you need to look out for in 2018.

• Add to Phrasebook
  • No wordlists for English -> Gujarati...
  • Create a new wordlist...
• Copy