Creating social media with enough value to share might seem complicated, but it’s not that hard to do if you have some excellent ideas. After taking a look around some of the most shared posts of 2017, several things became apparent. Here’s a rundown to get you going.

Instagram is becoming more and more popular not only for users, but for businesses as well. It offers a different way to connect with potential customers that sets it apart from other social media outlets. The user-friendly app allows your audience to engage with your business, products, and to get to know the human side of your brand. But how do you get beyond the pretty colors to form a strategy that speaks to your persona and shows off your style? 

Social media, like everything, is in a constant state of flux, and so are the people who use it. As platforms evolve to expand their reach and serve the needs of users, the public across generations is choosing favorites, further shaping how we should be using social media for marketing.

Moving through your website, whether it’s on a tablet or desktop, should be as smooth as floatin' on a cloud. Ensuring that the user experience (UX) on your site is pleasant and seamless is just as important as the content you put on it. Responsive and adaptive are two concepts that are crucial in web design. It can be difficult to differentiate between the two, as they are often conflated and confused together to mean make my site look good on all the devices. While it's true that responsive and adaptive design techniques have that goal in common, the two concepts go about it in different ways. 

From Hemingway to every other self help book ever written, there's a recurring theme of the value of listening. As marketers, we can get too focused on the messages that we are trying to put out into the market, but the reality is that messaging isn't a one-way street anymore: brands grow and thrive because of advocates and evangelists (not static outbound messaging), consumers demand transparency and expect change to follow feedback. We need to get back to the basics of communication and listen to the feedback, the criticism, the jokes, and the trends. What we call social media listening is the process of hearing what is being said and responding to it, from replying to a tweet to rolling out a new app. 

During the past year, we have seen in an unprecedented way, how much influence social media can have. From the White House to #metoo to #TakeAKnee, the breadth and depth of the reach of social media is expanding … and expanding … and expanding. There is now no denying the importance of social media and no excuse for not putting it to work for your business and your brand.

Okay, it didn’t exactly break the internet, but it made little splash in the world of SEO and content wonks: in December 2017, Google raised the allowed character limit for meta descriptions from 160 to 320. That’s right, baby, double the size. In a statement released at the time, Google said, “The fact that our snippets have gotten longer doesn’t change the fundamentals of writing a description tag. They should generally inform and interest users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. We now display slightly longer snippets.”

Hand drawn illustration, prominent typography and variable fonts, bright, bold colors are all trending in graphic design this year. If you missed out, read our previous blog “What’s Trending in Graphic Design Now.” But there are also a few other continuing and emerging trends —including original photography and image treatments, minimalism, retro and vintage looks, and minimalism.

Let’s explore those now.