Social media marketing is entering a critical phase during its timeline. It is now recognized as a major means of conducting digital marketing, but its centrality will be tested over the next few years. Certain possibilities arise for use in the upcoming years. There is a possibility of monopolization with one player running away with all the spoils. At the moment the top contender for such domination is obvious- Facebook. Streamlining is one way in which Facebook is already getting an edge over competitors by integrating various facets such as instant articles and digital assistants. Some niche players though may continue to focus on certain segments only as Snapchat is currently doing and may further increase the same. Organic traffic and visibility may be spurned in the coming years in favour of pay-only models. Personalization of content has already made headway but it could prove to be much more concrete with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter concentrating on the same. Virtual and Augmented Reality are already very popular in gaming but may make their presence felt in social media by 2018.

Source: http://marketingland.com/6-possibilities-future-social-media-marketing-188391