2018 is shaping up to be the year that brands take social media to the next level.

No longer the realm of the millennial, social media is looking likely to be the biggest channel for brand awareness, giving companies the ability to push the boundaries of media like never before. Here are my 5 predictions for media campaigns in 2018.

Though Facebook introduced live video a few years ago, it built a considerable amount of traction around allowing individuals the ability to broadcast what they were doing in real time. Though novel at first, it soon caught on as being a great way for those in the media to reach their audiences and connect on a far more intimate level than before.

For brands, live video on the small scale represents a means to connect on the smallest screen. In doing so, we will start to see brands aiming live videos for a very small and intimate audience, to engage with smaller audiences on a deeper level. This brings me to…

Ephemeral content, otherwise known as “content that disappears” is one of the biggest shifts I’ve seen in the media in recent years. With Snapchat stories being the realm of advertising, as well as Instagram stories, Facebook Live video and others chiming in, ephemeral content is set to change the way brands try to connect with their audience. Watch out for new, small scale content in this space.

Through the power of analytics, audiences can now be segmented to such granularity that you can pretty much guarantee your audience’s interest if you target a small enough segment. The scary example of this are the various conspiracy channels online, but brands can use this to their advantage. Hyper targeting means taking audience targeting to the smallest and most powerful core. Rather than paying influencers to promote a brand, hyper targeting simply targets the loudest voices in the room.

Though A.I. is still a buzz word, there are now very clear ways that A.I. can work itself into brands and media. The best example of this are chatbots.

Chatbots are starting to generate their own content, and brands will look to take advantage of this in 2018. Currently, I know of several brands that use bots for their social media, and some are even starting to use it for press releases. Watch this space.

Though this may seem controversial, I believe the market for influencers will shrink, though we may get more of them. The reason I believe this to be true is that simply, people are smart enough to work out if an influencer has been paid to plug a product. Though we may start seeing more and more influencers pop up, the overall investment dollars made into influencers will shrink because simply, unless you’re naïve it’s pretty clear that the influencer doesn’t believe in the product they’re “unboxing”.