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Social media and marketing trends for 2018

social media and marketing trends for 2018For my last Haynet podcast of 2017, Sam asked me about social media and marketing trends for 2018 for equestrian and rural business. This was a fun one to do as it gave me a very good excuse to dig around the internet, to see if other bloggers and experts agreed with my thoughts. And it was very nice to read that they did. Of course, it’s hardly surprising. My personal thoughts and predictions are based on what I’ve seen over the last 12 months. And really that’s all we can do. We don’t know what amazing update Facebook might have planned. Or what Instagram might be plotting. Of course, we can look at the path the platforms have taken and the trends that we’ve seen and make educated guesses based on this. And is that enough? Well yes, I think it is. You see, we can’t predict the future, all we can do is plan the best we can using the information we have. And I hope the social media and marketing trends podcast will do that. For those who have listened and were keen to have my thoughts in written form, here they are. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts too – what do you think we’re going to see more of in the next 12 months? What marketing, social media and PR developments do you think we’ll see? I’d love to know…

Social media and marketing trends for 2018 for equestrian and rural business

The Haynet podcast is aimed at equestrian and rural businesses, and while all of the points below most definitely apply to equestrian and country businesses, I think they’re more generic in nature. Even though our businesses in this sector are niche, the big platforms aren’t. And that’s fine. Actually, it’s more than fine, it’s exciting. When looking at social media, these global platforms allow us to hook up with our niches in different countries and continents. But anyway, my thoughts on social media and marketing trends for 2018 for equestrian and rural business…

  • Digital is going to continue to grow. This is not really a crazy prediction based on everything we’ve seen over the years!
  • There will always be a place for quality magazines, but due to the online competition, only the best will rise. I think we’ll also see more of the great magazines increasing their digital and online reach.
  • Instagram will continue to grow – especially with innovations like Instagram stories, insights for business accounts, ads linked to Facebook, etc.
  • Facebook will continue to evolve, change, improve, annoy people and dominate.
  • Influencer marketing will continue to grow, but I also believe that influencers will become more professional and take their roles more seriously. And I think that those who don’t will have a much more challenging time working with brands.
  • Live Streaming is going to continue to grow. The platforms that support it love it. It’s great for engagement and connection and brings people from all corners of the globe together in one place.
  • Virtual reality and augmented reality. I think we’re going to see this become bigger too, but I don’t think it’ll be mainstream this year…
  • Video. Yep – video is big and exciting now, and I think it’s going to continue to grow. There are so amazing predictions relating to how much video content we are due to consume in the next few years.
  • Silent videos. With the increase in video, we also need to be aware that a lot of videos are enjoyed in silence, so it needs to wow in this way. And this will be more important than ever as video becomes more present on our social media feeds.
  • Shoppable social media. To make it easier for people to buy what they’re seeing.
  • Messenger platforms are going to become more commercial. 
  • Quality content will continue to win. ‘Engagement bait’ is being clamped down on, so real, quality content is the way forward.

However, let’s be honest, would you have predicted that Twitter would have doubled its character limitto 280? I wouldn’t because, to me, Twitter’s concise nature was in its DNA. So what I’m trying to say is that we’re in for an exciting year one way or another. Are you ready?!

Don’t forget to check out the Haynet Podcast where you can listen to the social media and marketing trends for 2018 podcast and a lot more besides.

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Haynet Saddlecloth and Mug – Advent Calendar Competition

HaynetToday’s gorgeous advent calendar competition giveaway comes courtesy of Haynet. Sam Hobden, the lady behind Haynet, has very, very kindly donated a stunning green saddlecloth with Haynet embroidery and a branded mug too.

Why am I giving away a Haynet Mug and Saddlecloth

I’ve had the absolute pleasure of knowing Sam for a number of years and, this year, have had the joy of working with her on the Haynet podcast. Now, if that sounds a bit OTT, you’ve no idea just how incredible Sam is. She’s a really lovely lady with a heart of gold, and does a huge amount for the equestrian community, particularly bloggers. She created the Haynet platform to support the blogging efforts of equestrian bloggers, by giving them a voice and a place to be. The platform has evolved over time, and Sam also runs two blogging awards (for country and equestrian bloggers) and is the person behind the #horsebloggers hashtag on Twitter. Again, this was created to help further the reach of equestrian blogs. And there’s the podcast too. I am really privileged to work with Sam on this. We do alternate episodes and have covered quite a few topics (you’ll hear from me again very soon too!). From what the #horsebloggers hashtag means to which social media platform people should be on, from Christmas promotion through to the best blogging platforms, it’s a great podcast. I might be a teeny bit biased as I work with Sam on it, but I really do think it’s a great listen (Sam’s are particularly great). The Haynet Podcast can be found here.

Why do I like the Haynet Saddlecloth and Mug?

Not all that long ago, Haynet got a rebrand to show the website’s links to the country community as well as the equestrian one. A new logo was designed and Sam commissioned the creation of some lovely promotional pieces to promote this. Actually, I got one of the mugs too. Anyway, you can probably guess that I’m a big fan of Haynet, so when Sam said she was happy to donate a couple of the lovely items she’d had made, I was thrilled. And I do love a bit of green!

Would you like to win the Haynet Saddlecloth and Mug?

You should – they’re both lovely! The competition will run until midnight the day that this blog is published. If you’re in time, all you need to do it pop on over to my Rhea Freeman PR Facebook page, watch the video that will be pinned to the top today and enter. That’s it! Of course, I’d love it if you’d tell your friends by sharing the post.

I hope you enjoy my advent calendar competition – best of luck!

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Have you heard the new Haynet Podcast?

Haynet PodcastHave you heard the new Haynet Podcast? I’m delighted to say that I’m working with Sam, the lady behind Haynet, on this, and we have a cracking series in store…

What’s Haynet?

Haynet is a lovely website that, when it started, really helped to bring blogging to the equestrian and country sector. Following a slight tweak in focus this month, Haynet is now helping to promote bloggers through the #horsebloggers hashtag, utilising strong social media networks, and is also working on new ideas as well as its existing Equestrian Blogger of The Year and Country Style Blogger of the Year awards. And you can find out more about Sam here – she was kind enough to take part in my ‘a few minutes with’ feature too.

What’s the Haynet Podcast?

The Haynet Podcast is a way to help support the country and equestrian industry through providing informative podcasts that people can listen to when they’re at the stables, walking the dog, driving – well, just any time they’d put on a podcast and escape to another world!

The first podcast is hosted by yours truly and addresses this question: ‘Is the equestrian industry in better shape than five years age?’. This was a question set by Sam and it did get my mind whirling. I mean, I know what I think based on what I’ve seen and how my business has gone, but I did also do a bit of research into the facts and figures surrounding this. If you’re interested in what I had to say, please have a listen here. And I’d love to know what you think too. Do you think the equestrian industry is in better haynet podcastshape than it was five years ago? How do you think it’s changed?

Coming up next on the Haynet Podcast

The idea of the Haynet Podcast is that each episode will end with a question, and one that myself or Sam will answer in the next episode. She’s already set mine (yes, I need to get on and record that pronto!), but I am more excited to hear how Sam tackles the one I asked last time: ‘what is the best platform to start blogging?’. I’m really looking forward to Sam’s response on this, and also the feedback it gets from the equestrian and country bloggers that follow her and the podcast. I wonder what she’ll say…

To listen to the Haynet Podcast, follow this link, and don’t forget to follow Haynet’s social media channels to keep up to date with the #horsebloggers hashtag and future episodes of the podcast. Enjoy 🙂

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