Social Media Habits That Will Change in 2017

We all understand the power and influence of social media. Here’s what to look for in 2017 for your personal life and your professional life!

5 Ways That Social Media Will Change Your Life Forever

Summary of the Article

Published in Forbes 30 Under 30 just yesterday, Anna Johansson wrote 5 ways that social media will change for millennials in 2017. Here’s the quick summary:

Ratings will be all over social media

There is nearly nothing millennials will purchase unless it has review and/or ratings. Traditional forms of marketing don’t work on us. Social media will adapt (as it has begun to already).
Social media at work will change

Less frequent are the days of hiding Facebook from your employers. Social media is becoming more acceptable at work and may even become a source of internal communication within offices and gain professional networking power.
Social media echo chambers

Platforms that include news (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) have algorithms that keep the same type of news in your feed, never exposing you to new or contrasting views and bringing you into an echo chamber.
Millennial social media use will decline

Because research has shown social media can decrease happiness, there’s speculation about the overall decline of its usage.
Nonverbal communication will go up

Emojis are only the beginning. We need things faster and more concise. What’s next will be interesting.

My Feedback on Social Media Habits

Changes 1 very much resonated with me. I can vouch for the fact that I’ll buy nothing without reading user reviews. On the one hand, I do find value in hearing about others’ experiences. On the other, I’m so used to seeing reviews that I now am suspicious if a product doesn’t have a review. Does this happen to anyone else? Why do you value reviews and what weight do they hold?

Change 2 resonates with me. Prior to my current job, I worked at a corporate firm. Social media was not appropriate, but then again, this firm also insisted on printing everything and couldn’t manage to read on the screen. Now, my hip non-profit uses social media to communicate all the time. I definitely prefer it. But, I have wondered what it does to professionalism in the office and distraction while working. What do you all think about this?

The other predictions don’t hit as close to home for me. I honestly doubt social media usage will decline but am interested to see. I have no doubt nonverbal communication will raise, but can’t imagine how.

My fellow millennials- what do you think of these social media habits?

How can we prepare?

Clean up our social media

Though this article ponders the possibility of social media habits decreasing, it still states that currently, 90% of millennials use social media. More importantly, social media is increasing its presence in the workplace. It’s not just social time, it’s your digital footprint. Clean up your social media and being using it to network! Don’t hide behind it.
Diversify our news sources

This should go without saying as the common complaint throughout the 2016 US Election was on biased media. This article reiterates that we need to actually do the work to seek out fair, non-partisan news. Social media is an even worse place than we thought for news because its algorithm keep you in a canyon of the same topics you’ve read over and over.
For entrepreneurs- market with strategy

If you’re an entrepreneur, take hint of the importance millennials find in reviews and ratings. Use them in your sales and boost your game! This is a profound habit in millennial spending, use it to your advantage.
For bloggers- diversify traffic

If you’re a blogger or brand ambassador, it’s a good idea to not have all your marketing eggs in one basket and diversify how you reach your audience. If the decline of social media does take place, you’ll be happy to rely on traffic and engagement via strong SEO and a good e-mail list.

What do you think?

Now my fellow millennials, my favorite part! What do YOU think of this all and how do you see any of this playing out in your life? I can’t wait to hear from you!