How will the platforms evolve?

If you told me 20 years ago, in the Friendster and Myspace era, that social media would evolve to play a major hand in elections, become a one-stop marketplace where you could shop not just for clothes but for houses, and where Chatbots guide you through a restaurant’s menu so you could order just in time for lunch, I wouldn’t have easily believed you—just like I do not easily believe that the scenarios detailed below constitute the future of social media.

To be fair, Friendster was this wholesome site where people could only talk about wonderful things on the testimonials page while Myspace was an early precursor of Instagram and Stories, where we all tried to cultivate a hip, unique persona by listing our favorite songs. 

Before the pandemic hit in 2019, the number of social media users were at 3.5 billion. With COVID-19 grounding us all at home, the number has grown. We all have turned to social media to connect to people, get updates and news about the outside world, and keep each other informed.

The landscape of social media now is vastly different from 2019. Tiktok, for example, was just a simple short-video platform in 2019, two years later, it’s the fastest rising app, eclipsing even Facebook in growth among the younger market, its influencers becoming the most in-demand brand ambassadors for even the most upscale brands, and one (Addison Rae) becoming some sort of film star.

But social media is ever-evolving. If TV killed the radio star, it is very likely that social media will kill traditional TV. With TV, we are just consumers, with social media, we are all content producers.

Tech insiders have predicted how social media will likely change in the next few years.  Here’s how.

1. It’s going to be VR and AR-heavy.

VR means virtual reality, and so far, we’re still not going around with headsets and helmets. But Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, through his company Meta, owns Oculus, the VR company that produces all these equipment. AR, however, is very much in our lives already. The filter in Snapchat that gives you those dog ears? That’s AR. The Gucci shoes you “tried on” in the app? AR. The Ikea app that allows you to “drag” a furniture from the store into a space into your home so you could imagine how it looks in that area? AR. Augmented Reality isn’t just filters and shopping tools, however, it’s the new way we will consume, with AR boosting click-through rates by more than 30 percent.

• It’s going to make or break brands as a customer service platform.

Who would’ve thought 10 years ago that we would judge a brand according to how it responds to us on social media. Increasingly, customers seek out solutions and assurance through social media, having foregone more arduous ways like calling on the phone. We want answers, and we want it now, and most brands have created chatbots as well as dedicated representatives to cater to customers who use social media as a CS channel. According to Gartner, 60 percent of all customer service issues will be coursed through social media.

• Video and audio will be king.

We’re currently in the era of cute selfies and funny memes, as well as wordy status posts. But in the very near future, short video content will dominate on social media. Tiktok has kickstarted the trend, but hot on its heels are Instagram Reels and an upgraded Facebook Stories. If you’re a brand mapping out your content strategy in the next few years, make sure to fortify your video capabilities right now. Audio, too, gets momentum with the launch of Facebook’s Live Audio Rooms. Clubhouse, and audio live streams on Twitter are gaining ground, and most brands say they will invest in audio-only content as part of their social media strategy soon.

If you’re a brand mapping out your content strategy in the next few years, make sure to fortify your video capabilities right now. Audio, too, gets momentum with the launch of Facebook’s Live Audio Rooms. Clubhouse, and audio live streams on Twitter are gaining ground, and most brands say they will invest in audio-only content as part of their social media strategy soon.

Social media is a dynamic sphere, and trends will come and go. But just like any other platform, it’s best to remember that content is still the ultimate product. Platforms and channels may change, but as long as you know what you want to say, and you know how (and where) to say it, social media is just a tool to tell your story.