What are the 2018 social media trends and what does the future look like for social media? That’s a question we regularly discuss here at Mobile Cuisine. The popularity of social media has been growing exponentially and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Food trucks have been using it to great effect and have come up with several innovative strategies that they’ve used to make their mark with their audience. So, what are the trends that people should look to in the this year? Today we’ll let you know what we think.

5 Top 2018 Social Media Trends

Many food truck owners understand they need to be on social media to succeed. Social media has revolutionized the industry and the business to consumer relationship by drastically altering communication between the two. This will not change with these 2018 social media trends.

Live Streaming Will Grow

Live streaming isn’t just about live streaming. It’s about getting your followers tuning in when you go live. You’re going to see a lot more of it in 2018, and the people who do it well will grow with it. Its prevalence will increase because it works so well for engagement. This is such a huge change in social media that it’s unclear that anyone fully understands how big it will get.

Twitter Continues To Change

The unfortunate part of Twitter’s decline is that it’s developers don’t even know how it will change in 2018. Twitter has been slowly circling the drain, in some respects, for a long time now. 2017 pulled no punches with the social network, either. Twitter needs to make some big changes to stay relevant, as its growth is the slowest of all the major social media platforms.

Less Organic Reach

As more businesses increase their presence on social media, the platforms themselves have made big moves to combat spam. In most instances, this means you’ve probably seen a huge decline in organic reach. With less organic reach, food truck vendors are likely to take a  more selective approach to which social media platforms they use. Vendors will have to be very particular about where and what they post and invest more in paid ads.

Generation Z Will Sway Social Media

Gen Z is two to three times more likely to be influenced by social media than by sales or discounts. They are the only generation to value social media over price when it comes to making purchase decisions. Furthermore, 81% report watching at least one hour of online video per day, or more, according to a study covered by AdWeek. Combine these facts and realize that Generation Z will be graduating college and/or starting their careers next year, and you start to see their true influence on social media.

Social Media Platforms Police Content

After the 2016 presidential election, social media platforms have embraced a more hands-on approach to governing conduct on their platforms. Given the wide criticism that Facebook and Twitter received during 2017, it is likely that they will enforce codes of conduct and policies that could land your food truck banned for saying the wrong thing.

RELATED: Social Media Engagement Ideas For Food Truck Vendors

The Bottom Line

As you envision your food truck social media strategies for 2018, think about each platform and your followers. Why are they following you? Are you differentiating your accounts to fit what your followers are interested in?

The one constant that you can depend on is that social media itself isn’t going anywhere. These are some of the most important 2018 social media trends we are forecasting. It’s going to remain a strong marketing avenue for vendors, and is a must-have for any food truck business attempting to market themselves on a frugal budget.

What do you think of our 2018 social media trends? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter