These ecommerce trends are set to reshape the industry, offering insights into the future of online shopping and business strategies.
Key Takeaways
Social shopping, voice tech and AI are shaping ecommerce’s future.
Sustainability and hyperlocal marketing drive consumer loyalty and engagement.
Immersive experiences and personalization enhance online shopping convenience and conversion.
he ecommerce landscape never ceases to amaze, with new trends changing the way businesses build their strategies. With over 2.77 billion people shopping online worldwide and ecommerce sales projected to surpass $6.8 trillion in 2025, the online retail market is more competitive than ever.
Moreover, this year, online purchases are expected to account for 21% of the market, reaching 22.6% by 2027. In this article, I will break down 5 key ecommerce trends that will rock 2025.
1. Social media shopping
Social media keeps changing daily, adapting to the needs of users who are actively engaged in buying while scrolling their feeds. By creating opportunities for smooth shopping online, brands change the whole purchase journey, thus making it much easier to discover and buy without leaving the comfort of their favourite social media channels or trusted bloggers’ accounts.
While platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have long been leaders in social shopping, Gen Z favourites YouTube and TikTok are now taking over. However, the recent buzz across TikTok only marks the importance of diversifying marketing efforts across multiple platforms, mitigating risks and reaching new audiences.
One more trend that goes hand in hand with social media shopping is personalization. Data shows that 31% of ecommerce sales come as a result of recommendations. Here comes influence marketing, engaging techniques, tailored ads and unique content based on a deep understanding of your audience.
2. The voice of commerce rise
One of the significant shifts in ecommerce trends is all about the growth of voice-driven technologies. Voice search, driving over $2 billion in sales annually, dictates new strategy rules for brands that want to increase their sales, highlighting the emphasis on voice search optimization.
Starbucks has expanded its existing app to include voice ordering capabilities, allowing customers to place orders via voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Samsung Bixby. This move makes the whole ordering process easier, enabling customers to conveniently place and pay for their drinks while on the go, reducing wait times and ensuring accurate order fulfilment.
Successful implementation requires a deep understanding of your target audience. As for Starbucks, they did research, introduced app-based ordering first, then, regarding the pattern of grabbing coffee while driving, introduced voice ordering.
3. Sustainability
Sustainability has become a must. A significant 78% of consumers now rank sustainability among their top five purchasing criteria. Furthermore, 58% of consumers actively demonstrate loyalty to brands that prioritize sustainable practices.
Businesses meet these expectations with “green tech,” such as leveraging AI-powered demand forecasting to optimize inventory management and minimize waste. For example, Coderio developed a predictive system utilizing time series models and machine learning to forecast demand for Coca-Cola Andina accurately. This solution boasts an impressive accuracy rate exceeding 85%, enabling precise forecasting of daily retail sales, streamlined production planning and optimized workforce allocation.
4. Immersive shopping experiences
The global metaverse in the ecommerce market is expected to reach a valuation of USD 11.11 billion by 2023 and expand at a CAGR of 40% through 2030. AR, VR and the Metaverse keep influencing the way people shop and the way businesses interact with their users, offering personalized, engaging shopping experiences.
By allowing consumers to virtually try on products or visualize items in their own spaces, these technologies reduce return rates and make it much easier for people to make a purchase decision.
5. The hyperlocal advantage
In today’s hyper-connected world, consumers are increasingly seeking localized experiences. Location-based searches on Google account for 46% of all Google searches, with “near me” or “close by” experiencing a remarkable 900% growth in just two years.
Location data, cultural context and consumer patterns offer great opportunities for brands that want to deliver highly personalized content to resonate with their diverse audiences. Think a clothing brand targeting customers in colder regions with a campaign specifically focused on outerwear, while offering a wide range of swimwear options in a coastal region.
Hyperlocal marketing allows businesses to achieve this level of precision, delivering targeted promotions to the most receptive audience. In the ecommerce realm, hyper localization allows brands to showcase products and services that align perfectly with the unique preferences and needs of each local market.
McDonald’s offers different menu options depending on the region. You can find vegetarian options: Paneer Wrap in India, Pistachio McFlurry in Italy, Kaprao Crispy Chicken in sweet and spicy sauce so typical for Thailand, Teriyaki McBurger in Japan and many other options tailored to the taste buds of certain countries — furthermore, McDonald’s leverages app-based promotions to deliver localized deals.
The success of ecommerce businesses in 2025 hinges upon their willingness to listen and adapt to customer needs, emerging trends and innovations. By incorporating voice search optimization, leveraging immersive technologies, harnessing the power of social media, prioritizing sustainability and implementing hyperlocal marketing strategies, businesses can win by attracting new customers and strengthening the existing customer base.
СEO & co-founder of Flowwow, tech-entrepreneur with a 10-year leadership experience in e-commerce business. Building a glocal (global + local) marketplace that brings ultimate joy to your loved ones around the world.
Contact centre leaders who want to improve the way their teams engage with customers this year should keep one critical objective front and centre.
According to RingCentral’s latest State of Customer Experience Technology report, contact centre leaders who want to improve the way their teams engage with customers in the coming year should keep one critical business objective front and centre.
“Customer satisfaction is still the most important objective leaders should focus on,” said Erik Smith, Digital Principal, RingCentral. “If you want to retain customers and attract new ones, you must get this right. It’s easy to get caught up in cost savings and the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, but always look to evolve your contact centre through the lens of providing great customer service.”
RingCentral is a provider of cloud-based communication solutions based in Belmont, California and a sponsor of Simpler Media Group’s virtual Digital Experience Summit (DXS). During the conference, Smith presented the session, “Top Digital CX Technology Trends Heading Into 2023.” Here, he shares with us some of the most important ideas uncovered in the report and how contact centre leaders can use these findings to enhance the support experiences they provide to their customers.
Tech Spend and Channel Preferences in the Contact Centre
CMSWire: During your presentation, you discussed findings from your State of Customer Experience Technology report. Where are contact centre leaders investing their technology spend in the coming year?
Erik Smith: We’re seeing an increasing trend towards conversational AI and other self-service functionality in order to meet changing customer communication preferences, and in some cases, find more economic ways to handle inbound contact centre volume. We’re facing lots of uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, and that can be worrisome. Choosing your new technology tools wisely and through the lens of enhancing customer service can help alleviate some of that worry.
CMSWire: Which digital channels are people engaging in most for their support needs?
Smith: It largely depends on the industry, but the original three — chat, email and SMS — remain prevalent, followed by direct messaging channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We’ve been encouraging companies to look into Apple Business Chat (now Apple Messaging for Business) and WhatsApp, even for domestic use cases, and finding that many don’t yet understand how easy these channels make communication for their own customer base, which should be the goal.
Why Omnichannel Support Is Key
CMSWire: As customers continue to raise their expectations, offering support across channels has become table stakes. How many organizations are still failing to meet these expectations for omnichannel support?
Smith: There’s still a wide spectrum of omnichannel maturity in most industries, with tech leading the way in digital communication options for their customers. Companies that are feeling pressure to improve should seek to understand the benefits of the various digital channels and how to properly deploy them — not just jump into the deep end with no plan. That can backfire quickly.
CMSWire: What are the biggest challenges organizations face when providing support through email, chat, voice and other channels, and how can they overcome them?
Smith: There are a few tricks to perfecting a strong omnichannel approach. The first is ensuring that your agents have the right skills for adding new digital channels. Communicating on Twitter is quite a bit different than answering the phone, with different consequences for making an error.
The second is providing smart self-service options for easy-to-answer questions so your agents are free to handle the higher priority, and often more challenging, issues. The sooner you can connect a frustrated customer to an agent with the correct answer, the better chance for resolution, and for retaining them as a customer. And finally, provide your agents with the tools necessary to serve your customers competently while providing coaching for continuous improvement.
CMSWire: During your presentation, you discussed how more organizations are investing in AI, yet it hasn’t been consistently implemented in the contact center. How can AI be used most effectively, and what can organizations do to ensure they successfully incorporate these capabilities into their systems and processes?
Smith: As individual customers, we’ve all had frustrating experiences with bots, whether on a website or in an interactive voice response (IVR) system. There are many pitfalls to nailing this strategy. Once you’ve had a bad experience, either as a customer or as someone trying to implement AI, you’re less likely to try again. It’s just human nature.
Fortunately, the tech is improving and there isn’t much you can’t automate these days. We often recommend starting small with the easiest automation options—such as FAQs, password reset, and even appointment scheduling — and really nailing that. Once you have it completely dialed in and you’re comfortable with the technology, then seek to expand to more complex options.
Start and End with Your Customer
CMSWire: What does workforce engagement management (WEM) mean to you, and what are the benefits of implementing this approach?
Smith: To us, WEM is all about continuous improvement, both in the tools we give our agents and teams to self-improve, as well as the management tools to analyse, diagnose, and coach those agents and teams. You should be asking questions like: How do we optimize? How do we improve at the individual level so our entire organization gets better? What can we learn from our customer feedback that we can scale to improve our company? There’s so much valuable data that comes through the contact center, and we want to capitalize on those insights.
CMSWire: What are the top recommendations contact center leaders should take away from this report to help them more effectively engage with customers across channels?
Smith: I’m going to end where I started — with the customer. Isn’t that why we’re all here? How do we get customers, keep them happy, and retain them for life? Same thing we’ve been doing forever, just now through different mediums. The more you spend time learning the nuances of each channel or technology, the more comfortable you’ll be applying the same timeless best practices of customer service.
The CMSWire STUDIO team transforms clients’ data, concepts and thought leadership into accessible and engaging articles that appeal to the broader CMSWire audience and are optimized for findability. These works are created independently of CMSWire’s editorial operations.
Digital marketing has become an efficient practice for growing and established businesses to promote their products and services. More and more organizations depend on digital channels to connect with customers and generate a vast customer base.
Because of its growing popularity, different digital marketing trends will reign in 2023. If businesses can pay attention to these trends and curate marketing practices to align with them, they will have better opportunities to boost their growth and generate promising leads. Hence, growing businesses must familiarize themselves with the concept of ‘what is digital marketing,’ various forms of digital communication, and stay updated on the current marketing trends to stay competitive. Here’s a look at a few trends that one must watch out for.
8 Digital Marketing Trends for 2023
1. Zero Party Data
With the rise of extensive data practices, businesses will use zero-party methods, such as form building, to gather consumer data. It will be an excellent way for enterprises to understand their customers deeper and use the information collected to tailor marketing practices and improve their work.
2. Email Marketing for Product Launches
Email marketing is an efficient practice that will see a boost this year. It is an encouraging method that generates leads and builds customer loyalty toward a brand. Most businesses can use this channel to connect with consumers about new product launches, giving customers an exclusive feeling.
3. Rise of Marketing Applications
These applications focus on advertising different products and services. Brands can register on these apps with an ad for the product they want their customers to know about and use them to reach out to new audience segments and invite them to become paying customers. It is a simple yet efficient digital marketing trend that will see a rise in 2023.
4. Use of Real-time Messaging
Real-time messaging applications are becoming an excellent way for businesses to connect with customers consistently. These applications can send out promo codes, order updates, product news, and more. It is a cost-effective way for businesses to build their audience and a trend that will become more popular this year.
5. Influencer Marketing is Here to Stay
Influencer promotion will increase this year as more and more businesses collaborate with influencers to market their work. It is an efficient practice for organizations to grow their audience base. Hence, it will grow more into widespread practice starting this year.
6. Higher Brand Gratification
Because of online marketing and delivery channels, there has been a decline in consumer patience. People want to get their hands on products instantly when shopping. A trend in 2023 will see more gratification methods that will allow businesses to keep customers engaged while setting up a reasonable product delivery timeline.
7. Use of Machine Translators
Some businesses provide international services, and such companies will need to be able to communicate with customers in multiple languages. One of the rising trends for 2023 will be the use of machine translators on brand websites that will allow customers to access information from any location in the world, as there will be no language barrier to stand in the way.
8. Chatbots
Another rising trend in 2023 will be using chatbots on business websites. It is an excellent marketing tactic that allows customers to quickly address queries without waiting for a response. Chatbots help boost customer engagement and invoke a feeling of reliability for new consumers engaging with the business.
Endnote
Digital marketing is taking over the marketing world due to its efficiency and ability to provide quick results. Each practice has the potential to boost business opportunities and contribute to building audience trust. However, businesses must pay attention to different trends in the market to tailor their methods for maximum results. Following digital marketing trends will allow brands to work efficiently toward building customer loyalty and boosting their growth in the industry.
Are you wondering what the top graphic design trends will be in 2023? We tell you!
The graphic design industry is ever-changing and keeping up with the latest trends can be tough. But, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to know what’s popular in the design world. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the top 20 graphic design trends that we think will be big in 2023. From neon colours to vintage graphics, there’s something for everyone on this list!
So, without further ado, here are the top 20 graphic design trends for 2023:
1. Neon Colours
Retro-futuristic poster templates with neon colours by Adobe Stock contributor Diana Hlevnjak, aka Polar Vectors.
Neon colours are making a comeback in a big way and they’re perfect for graphic design. They’re bright and eye-catching, and add a touch of fun to any design. Neon colors are perfect for logos, flyers, posters, and other marketing materials. That’s right – those garish, eye-catching shades that were once reserved for birthday parties and bowling alleys are now being used in everything from corporate designs to magazine covers. So what sparked this neon revival? Some say it’s a reaction to the muted tones of the digital age, while others believe that designers are simply looking for new ways to stand out in a saturated market. Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that neon is one of the hottest trends in graphic design right now.
So if you’re looking to add a little pizzazz to your next project, don’t be afraid to reach for the neon crayons. Just don’t be surprised if your clients ask you to tone it down a bit.
Minimalist design is all about simplicity and clean lines. This trend has been popular for a few years now and it shows no signs of slowing down. It’s simple, clean, and modern, making it a great choice for branding, marketing materials, packaging, and web designs. If you want to create a modern and stylish graphic, opt for a minimalist design.
3. Bold Typography
Brixton SVG typeface, a hand-printed bold font family by Ellen Luff.
Bold typography is another great way to make your graphic design stand out. Use large, eye-catching fonts to grab attention and add impact to your design. Just be sure not to use too many different font styles in one graphic, as this can look cluttered and confusing. From street signs to movie posters, this style of lettering is everywhere you look.
4. Vintage Graphics
1950s retro-style vintage ad templates for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop created by DISTRICT 62 STUDIO.
Vintage graphics are making a big comeback in the design world. If you’re looking for a graphic that has a retro feel, consider using vintage graphics. By pairing vintage illustrations with modern fonts and layouts, designers are able to create stunning visual effects that are both nostalgic and contemporary. This trend is also evident in the resurgence of vintage-inspired logos and brand identity designs. As more businesses seek to create a unique and memorable brand identity, vintage graphics are becoming an increasingly popular design element. With their ability to evoke a sense of history and nostalgia, vintage graphics are sure to remain a popular trend in the world of graphic design. You can find some great vintage graphics online or hire a graphic designer to create something custom for you.
5. Geometric Shapes
Abstract geometric poster templates with flat pattern design elements by blackcatstudio.
Geometric shapes are simple, yet effective, and they can add interest to any graphic design. Use basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles to create patterns, or use more complex shapes to add depth and dimension. In recent years, we have seen a resurgence of geometric shapes in both web and print design, and it shows no signs of slowing down. While some geometric shapes are more playful, others can be used to create a more serious or sophisticated look. No matter what your style, there is a geometric shape that will suit your needs. So go ahead and embrace the trend!
Natural hand-drawn elements add a personal touch to any graphic design. Whether you use simple sketches or more complex illustrations, hand-drawn elements can add a unique touch that sets your graphic apart from the rest. If you’re looking for a way to add hand-drawn elements to your graphic, there are many resources online that you can use. You can find free clip art and illustrations, or hire a graphic designer to create something custom for you. Just be sure to keep the overall look of your graphic consistent with the overall style of your design.
Unlike traditional color schemes, which use three or more colors, duotone schemes rely on just two tones. This minimal approach can create a sleek and sophisticated look, perfect for brands that want to convey a sense of sophistication and style. This trend adds a bit of interest to any design without using too many colors.
8. Metallic Colors
Meiji, a multi-print effects Photoshop mockup by Studio Yorktown.
Metallic colors are shiny and eye-catching, making them perfect for graphic design. Use metallic colors to add a touch of luxury to your graphic or to make it pop against a plain background. From shimmering gold to rich bronze, these colors add a sophisticated style to any design.
So what is negative space in graphic design? It is the empty space around and between the subjects in a graphic. This trend is all about using negative space creatively to add interest and impact to your design. It’s a minimalistic approach that has been gaining popularity in recent years, as more and more designers strive to create clean and sophisticated designs.
Using animated graphics is a great way to add movement and interest to your graphic design. Everywhere you look, from advertisements to websites to social media posts, businesses are using animation to capture attention and stand out from the competition. And it’s not just small businesses; even major brands are using animated graphics to communicate their messages. While some may dismiss animated graphics as a passing fad, there’s no denying that they are an effective way to engage audiences and deliver information in a memorable way. You can hire a graphic designer to create a custom animation for you or use free resources online to create simple animations.
Infographics are a great way to present information in a visually appealing way. As a society, we are constantly inundated with information. In the age of the internet, we have access to more data than ever before, and it can be overwhelming to sift through everything and find what we’re looking for. This is where infographics come in. An infographic is a visual representation of data or information, and they have become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to quickly and easily communicate complex ideas. For graphic designers, infographics offer a unique challenge, as they must distill a lot of information into a single, visually-appealing image. As infographics continue to grow in popularity, we can expect to see more designers experimenting with this trend.
Nothing new but icons are simple, yet effective, graphic elements that can be used to represent different concepts or ideas. You’re probably thinking, “Icons are so overdone. Everyone is using them.” But that’s exactly why they’re such a popular graphic design trend right now. Icons are eye-catching and easy to understand, making them perfect for grabbing attention in a crowded marketplace. And because they’re so versatile, they can be used in a variety of ways to communicate your brand’s unique identity. So if you’re looking for a way to make your mark, consider using icons in your next design project.
13. Photo Manipulation
Photo manipulation effects for Adobe Photoshop by Pixelbuddha.
The creative task of photo manipulation is the process of manipulating images to create a desired effect. This graphic design trend is perfect for those who want to add a bit of creativity to their work. There are many different techniques that can be used in photo manipulation, so it’s a great way to experiment with your graphic design.
Vector graphics are computer graphics that are created using mathematical objects called vectors. They can be transformed to any size without loss of quality. Sure, vector graphics are nothing new in the design world but the clean and modern style is currently very popular and can be found across any type of media ranging from print to the web.
90s design was all about big bold statements. From chunky die-cut shapes to DayGlo colors, 90s designers had a knack for making an impact. And while some 90s trends have since fallen by the wayside, others are currently making a comeback. So what makes 90s design so special? Part of it has to do with the fact that 90s designers weren’t afraid to experiment. They pushed boundaries and challenged convention, creating a style that was both eye-catching and forward-thinking. But 90s design also has a certain sense of nostalgia about it. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that 90s design is here to stay.
One of the latest trends in graphic design is the use of grain and noise textures. These textures can add a sense of depth and realism to your design, and they can also be used to create a vintage or distressed look. Grain and noise textures are often used in conjunction with other effects, such as halftone dots or overlays. When used correctly, they can help to create a cohesive and visually arresting design. However, like all trends, grain and noise textures should be used sparingly, as too much of either can quickly become overwhelming. So if you’re looking to add a little grain or noise to your next project, be sure to use it judiciously.
In the world of graphic design, experimental typography is having a moment. This trend involves pushing the boundaries of typefaces to create unique, eye-catching designs. While experimental typography has been around for decades, it has recently gained popularity thanks to the rise of digital design tools and social media. As a result, experimental typography is now being used by everyone from major brands to small businesses. And while not everyone is a fan of this trend, there’s no denying that experimental typography can be incredibly effective when used correctly. So if you’re looking to add a touch of personality to your next project, don’t be afraid to experiment with your typography.
It’s no secret that computer-generated graphics are becoming increasingly popular. Once relegated to the world of science fiction movies and video games, computer-generated graphics are now being used in everything from advertisements to product packaging. And it’s easy to see why. With their ability to create realistic images and text effects, computer-generated graphics offer designers a lot of flexibility. Plus, thanks to advances in technology, computer-generated graphics are becoming more and more realistic all the time. As a result, we’re likely to see even more computer-generated designs in the coming years.
3D elements are nothing new. In fact, they’ve been around for centuries in the form of sculptures and other art forms. However, 3D design is now starting to make its way into the world of graphic design, and it’s definitely making a splash. Thanks to advances in technology, rendered 3D elements can now be created with ease, and they offer a unique way to add depth and interest to any project. From logos to illustrations, 3D elements are becoming increasingly popular, and it’s easy to see why. If you’re looking to add a touch of dimension to your next project, don’t be afraid to experiment with 3D design.
These days, serif fonts are all the rage in the world of graphic design. And it’s no wonder why! These traditional fonts convey a sense of sophistication and elegance, making them perfect for luxury brands or high-end businesses. But you can also use serif fonts to add a touch of stylishness to more down-to-earth designs. So whatever your project may be, don’t be afraid to add a little serif flair. After all, that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.
Cleanup in aisle five! Has there ever been a more disruptive time in retail? To get a better handle on what businesses should be doing to fix this messy situation, The Drum called up long-admired retail trends spotter and PSFK founder Piers Fawkes. Here are the three top actions he recommends:
1. Own the experience. Customers are anxious to return to their everyday retail and lifestyle routines, but stores and physical marketplaces are having difficulty offering any creature comforts as they reopen with limited services. Consumers are looking for brands to step in and streamline the purchase path or even reduce the frustrations of today’s in-store visits ‑ all to make the total shopping experience feel just a little bit more manageable. At Best Buy for example, after scheduling an in-store appointment, customers preparing for a visit receive a call from a store employee ahead of their visit to review store procedures and offer more information about their shopping purpose.
2. Reenergize the relationship. Regular store visits were an anchor for customer/brand relationships. As customers are forced to spend more time on apps, websites, and digital spaces, use this moment to re-establish and reenergize relationships with shoppers by focusing social engagements around community building and amplifying the voices of your most loyal customers. For example, Vans has done wonderful job celebrating, supporting and promoting the subculture of LBGTQ+ skaters called The Skate Witches with a series of online photo, video, and writing workshops. Vans have found the right way to say welcome to this culture in a way that is authentic.
3. Redesign the infrastructure. The retail industry as a whole is realizing a new level of nimbleness and flexibility necessary to survive constant consumer trends, marketplace evolutions, and global economic shifts. In doing so, retailers and brands are learning to navigate and thrive in environments that are less certain and consistent. Part of this evolution involves brands allowing customers to shape your brand’s long-term operational strategy and product direction. Enact this change by inviting customers into the design process, while reconfiguring retail infrastructure to respond to their real-time trends and behaviors. For example. makeup and skincare company Arfa promises 5% of its profit to the customers who participate in creating, testing, and marketing the products.
Piers Fawkes is founder of PSFK. Fawkes has inspiring leading brands, retailers and their partners on trends and innovation since 2004.
Feature Image Credit: PSFK founder Fawkes. / Randee St. Nicholas
While buying followers and likes is not new in India, Badshah’s involvement in this social media scam is leading to questioning of all high-profile accounts.
Many found it hard to believe that Indian rapper Badshah’s song ‘Paagal’ last year recorded 75 million views in a day and surpassed the mark set by Korean band BTS for their video ‘Biy with Luv’ that had hit 74.6 million views in 24 hours in April last year.
Even YouTube had rejected the claim of the Indian rapper.
In the Indian music space, there were murmurs of Badshah benefitting from fake followers and fake views.
In July 2020, when Mumbai Police started investigating the issue of fake profiles following the complaint of Bollywood singer Bhoomi Trivedi about a fake Instagram profile posing as her official account, it brought to light the social media scam in India.
In fact, Mumbai Police so far have investigated 20 high-profile celebrities including actors, directors, models, sports personalities, among others. Reportedly, Mumbai Police have found over 200 celebrities involved in buying fake or ghost followers.
A 2019 report by the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) revealed that actresses such as Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra are among the top Bollywood celebrities in India who have bought fake followers.
Now, the first question that comes to mind is why the need to buy followers? Aren’t these celebrities famous enough?
For a song to be declared a hit, it needs at least two million views on YouTube in 24 hours; you are considered an influencer if you have millions of followers, and if you wish to be a mega influencer you need to have over five million followers but the number varies from platform to platform.
A lot of views and many followers mean more popularity and stronger influence on social media. For influencers, then be it a social media star or a film star, these metrics result in more brands showing interest in their profile which in turn results in higher value for their posts.
For example, the ICMP report pointed out that while Deepika Padukone charges over Rs 1 crore for a social media post, Priyanka Chopra charges double of Padukone at Rs 2 crore.
But who are these fake followers?
It’s a mix of man and machine. So, there is botting which is automated fake accounts or bots. On Twitter, there are three types of bots. A scheduled bot keeps posting at regular intervals like every hour in a day. A watcher bot posts messages depending on new posts on Twitter. And amplification bot follows, tweets and retweets.
Along with bots, there are real people but with a fake identity who do all that a bot does for their clients. So, companies selling fake followers get people on board to make fake profiles with fake names and random profile pictures. There are companies across the globe that are offering fake followers.
What is the cost of buying fake followers? And who are selling fake followers?
Buying fake followers doesn’t seem to be an expensive affair. A Delhi-based firm Social King offers 100 followers for Rs 250 and 20,000 followers are available for Rs 17,500. The rates seem affordable when compared to the kind of money influencers make from brands for their social media posts.
Along with fake followers, one can buy likes as well, which come at a cost of Rs 12,000 for 10,000 likes on Facebook and Rs 34,000 for 200,000 likes on Instagram. And if someone is looking to get 10,000 video views then that would cost around Rs 1,361.
There are variations in rates depending on the kind of fake followers a client expects. So, for a steady base of followers which means that these followers won’t unfollow later, the cost could start at Rs 150 for 100 followers.
When it comes to bots, low-quality followers can be bought at Rs 2,500 for 10,000 followers; the same number of mid-quality and high-quality followers come at the price of Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,500 respectively.
Like Social King, there are many companies including followerskart.com that are selling fake followers in India. In fact, Mumbai Police have identified 100 websites in India that are selling ghost followers.
How does the issue of ghost followers affect brands?
Brands associate with followers for engagement. But what engagement with consumers can brands expect when most of the followers an influencer has on the profile are fake? This has led many brands to wonder if spending on influencer marketing is beneficial at all.
When brands consider metrics like trending and views for the success of a campaign, it becomes difficult to gauge how effective the campaign was as we know how these metrics can be easily bought.
Hence, such metrics do not give the right impact to the brand as brands are engaging with a limited number of people. And this also means that while brands are paying huge sums to influencers for large engagements thanks to their huge follower base, brands may not be getting the right returns.
Why fake followers or fake views is a big issue for influencer marketing?
In times of COVID-19, influencer marketing has picked up pace as spends on other mediums like print and outdoor have gone down drastically. Even on TV, advertisers are cautious due to the tough times. Plus, people are online now more than ever which is giving brands to advertise a stronger reason to take the help of influencers to market their products. But the issue of fake views or followers can be a big blow to influencer marketing space which saw a 20-30 percent increase in spends during the lockdown. While connecting with an influencer, most brands look for quantity and the social media scam of buying followers tells us that a huge number of followers not necessarily mean more engagement for brands.
How to recognise fake accounts?
According to Sandeep Goyal, Chief Mentor of the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB), the fake element in the follower data for politicians, television stars and TikTokers would be as high as 90 percent and 80 percent for Bollywood and cricketers.
But there are ways one can spot a fake account or a fake follower.
So watch out for—-
Sudden spike in followers: A large follower base is achieved not overnight but over a period. A TikTok influencer had said in an interview to Moneycontrol that she managed to get 40,000 followers after working hard for over a year.
Check profile of followers: Recent accounts engaging with only influencers could be fake followers. Plus, their bio would also be basic.
Look out for likes and follower ratio. So, if an account has more followers and less likes, they have bought followers. Similarly, if an account has more likes and less followers, the likes were bought.
Can those buying fake likes and followers be punished?
While there is no specific law, Goyal points out that the option is to take recourse to Section 468 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with committing forgery of a document or electronic record for the purposes of cheating.
We may not be living on Mars or traveling to work using jet packs, but there’s no doubt the coming decade will bring many exciting technological advances. In this article, I want to outline the 25 key technology trends that I believe will shape the 2020s.
1. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. The increasing ability of machines to learn and act intelligently will absolutely transform our world. It is also the driving force behind many of the other trends on this list.
2. The Internet of Things (IoT). This refers to the ever-growing number of “smart” devices and objects that are connected to the internet. Such devices are constantly gathering and transmitting data, further fueling the growth in Big Data and AI.
3. Wearables and augmented humans. What started with fitness trackers has now exploded into a whole industry of wearable technology designed to improve human performance and help us live healthier, safer, more efficient lives. In the future, we may even see humans merge with technology to create “augmented humans” or “transhumans.”
4. Big Data and augmented analytics. Big Data refers to the exponential growth in the amount of data being created in our world. Thanks to augmented analytics (highly advanced data analytics, often fueled by AI techniques), we can now make sense of and work with enormously complex and varied streams of data.
5. Intelligent spaces and smart places. Closely linked to the IoT, this trend is seeing physical spaces – like homes, offices, and even whole cities – becoming increasingly connected and smart.
6. Blockchains and distributed ledgers. This super-secure method of storing, authenticating, and protecting data could revolutionize many aspects of business – particularly when it comes to facilitating trusted transactions.
7. Cloud and edge computing. Cloud computing – where data is stored on other computers and accessed via the internet – has helped to open up data and analytics to the masses. Edge computing – where data is processed on smart devices (like phones) – will take this to the next level.
8. Digitally extended realities. Encompassing virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, this trend highlights the move towards creating more immersive digital experiences.
9. Digital twins. A digital twin is a digital copy of an actual physical object, product, process, or ecosystem. This innovative technology allows us to try out alterations and adjustments that would be too expensive or risky to try out on the real physical object.
10. Natural language processing. This technology, which allows machines to understand human language, has dramatically changed how humans interact with machines, in particular giving rise to…
11. Voice interfaces and chatbots. Alexa, Siri, chatbots – many of us are now quite used to communicate with machines by simply speaking or typing our request. In the future, more and more businesses will choose to interact with their customers via voice interfaces and chatbots.
12. Computer vision and facial recognition. Machines can talk, so why shouldn’t they “see” as well? This technology allows machines to visually interpret the world around them, with facial recognition being a prime example. Although we will no doubt see greater regulatory control over the use of facial recognition, this technology isn’t going anywhere.
13. Robots and cobots. Today’s robots are more intelligent than ever, learning to respond to their environment and perform tasks without human intervention. In certain industries, the future of work is likely to involve humans working seamlessly with robot colleagues – hence the term “cobot,” or “collaborative robot.”
14. Autonomous vehicles. The 2020s will be the decade in which autonomous vehicles of all kinds – cars, taxis, trucks, and even ships – become truly autonomous and commercially viable.
15. 5G. The fifth generation of cellular network technology will give us faster, smarter, more stable wireless networking, thereby driving advances in many other trends (e.g., more connected devices and richer streams of data).
16. Genomics and gene editing. Advances in computing and analytics have driven incredible leaps in our understanding of the human genome. Now, we’re progressing to altering the genetic structure of living organisms (for example, “correcting” DNA mutations that can lead to cancer).
17. Machine co-creativity and augmented design. Thanks to AI, machines can do many things – including creating artwork and designs. As a result, we can expect creative and design processes to shift towards greater collaboration with machines.
18. Digital platforms. Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb are all household-name examples of digital platforms – networks that facilitate connections and exchanges between people. This trend is turning established business models on their head, leading many traditional businesses to transition to or incorporate a platform-based model.
19. Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. These aircraft, which are piloted either remotely or autonomously, have changed the face of military operations. But the impact doesn’t stop there – search and rescue missions, firefighting, law enforcement, and transportation will all be transformed by drone technology. Get ready for passenger drones (drone taxis), too!
20. Cybersecurity and resilience. As businesses face unprecedented new threats, the ability to avoid and mitigate cybersecurity threats will be critical to success over the next decade.
21. Quantum computing. Quantum computers – unimaginably fast computers capable of solving seemingly unsolvable problems – will make our current state-of-the-art technology look like something out of the Stone Age. As yet, work in quantum computing is largely restricted to labs, but we could see the first commercially available quantum computer this decade.
22. Robotic process automation. This technology is used to automate structured and repetitive business processes, freeing up human workers to concentrate on more complex, value-adding work. This is part of a wider shift towards automation that will impact every industry.
23. Mass personalization and micro-moments. Mass-personalization is, as you might expect, the ability to offer highly personalized products or services on a mass scale. Meanwhile, the term “micro-moments” essentially means responding to customer needs at the exact right moment. Both are made possible by technologies like AI, Big Data, and analytics.
24. 3D and 4D printing and additive manufacturing. Although this may seem low-tech compared to some of the other trends, 3D and 4D printing will have very wide applications – and will be particularly transformative when combined with trends like mass-personalization.
25. Nanotechnology and materials science. Our increasing ability to understand materials and control matter on a tiny scale is giving rise to exciting new materials and products, such as bendable displays.
Trends come and go. The graphic design world is always evolving. Some design trends fade away for months, others stay for years. Today we’ll spill the beans on which graphic design trends will generate buzz this year.
Whether you will follow the crowd or set up a new trend yourself – the choice is yours. Either way, it is vital to be up-to-date. We have taken the time to browse the web and find out which design trends will take the leading positions in 2018. We will also reveal some of the graphic design trends which should better stay in 2017.
Year 2018 is pretty much all about imagination off limits. The majority of our examples depict a combination between two or more trends, even though we have focused on each one separately. Hope it sounds promising, so let the show begin!
1. The ‘Little Big Idea’
Moonpig’s rebrand was about sweating the small stuff
“The design theme of 2017 was big impact, but paradoxically the best work achieved it by really sweating the small stuff,” says Chris Moody, creative director at Wolff Olins. “The things I have found the most striking are the consommés – those jobs that focus on something singular and use it to create something with clarity, distinctiveness and beauty: the ‘Little Big Idea’.
“2017 was about simple ideas, executed with intelligence and insight to create real, radical impact. W+K’s work on the Dutch women’s football team was a tiny logo tweak that managed to question heritage, patriarchy and even what a logo stands for. The Moonpig rebrand did more with the kerning of an ‘o’ than a thousand animated cartoon characters ever could.
“If 2018 is going to be as chaotic, channel-hopping and crazy as 2017 was, elegant logic will be the only way to cut through.”
2. Braver colours
The Dropbox rebrand made strong use vibrant colour
“2017 has been a riot of colour, with graphic designers making big, bold choices,” says Shaun Bowen, creative partner at B&B studio. “Perhaps in an effort to inspire positivity after a difficult year in 2016, we’ve seen an influx of bright colours, often with flat graphics and only one or two colours used at any one time,” he adds.
“More and more brands are also using their core packaging hue as the backing colour in posters and supporting graphics.
Max Ottignon, co-founder at London branding agency Ragged Edge, tells a similar story. “We’ve noticed our clients getting braver,” he says. “Fluoro colours and clashing tones have moved away from edgy startups into the mainstream. eBay’s new identity has colour right at its heart, using it as a way to communicate both its breadth and inclusive personality.”
Mireia Lopez, creative director at DARE, concurs. “We’re seeing the use of vibrant colours in juxtaposition with bold imagery,” she says. “This can be seen as a response to minimalism and material design, from using white spaces and clean layouts to unexpected colour combinations and distinct varied typographical styles – and is across all areas of branding as well as digital.
“The new Dropbox brand direction, for example, is doing this with its creative use of images, and corporate identities such as NatWest are shifting to a fresh and modern feel, using the potential of brighter colours to increase higher conversion rates. In my field, digital, this development is probably due the fact that sites can load faster and screens on phones are bigger, so it’s easier to play with images.”
“Using bright colours helps content stand out from meme-filled social media,” notes Nathan Sandhu, founder and creative director of Jazzbones Creative.
One thing’s for sure, 2018 has delivered designs that are anything but boring. It’s been a year dominated by imagery that’s funky, wild, fanciful and even absurd—perhaps reflecting the increasingly nutty world we live in. So sit up, take notice and see how you can incorporate some of these electrifying graphic design trends into your images.
Glitch effect
Mistakes, imperfections, blemishes. Rather than rushing to erase or correct what’s gone wrong, we’re embracing the accidental and finding the beauty in the flawed. In a world where technology touches every aspect of our lives, it makes sense that we’d incorporate the inevitable glitch into our imagery. Weird color surges happen, as do file corruptions and crooked lines, disorienting compositions and blurry photos. While our initial tendency is to make things neat and tidy for the viewer, it’s time to consider the joys of awkward discomfort.
80s and 90s Retro
Who came of age in the 80s and 90s? Millennials. Who are businesses trying to woo? Millennials. And who are the creative leaders deciding what’s in and what’s out? Um, yeah, you guessed it: Millennials. So if you want to know why we’re being inundated by color palettes full of turquoises and teals and peaches and pinks, randomly placed geometric shapes and patterns, squiggly lines and retro illustrations, it’s because we’re resurrecting that golden age when hair was big, Pokemon could only be found on cards and videos, and everyone was watching “Friends.” (Oh, wait, they’re still watching “Friends.”)
Groovy Gradients
Another popular trend from the past (this time the early aughts) that’s making a major comeback is the gradient, sometimes known as “color transition.” You can’t look at your iPhone’s app display without seeing a gradient or seven, but this time around, the style is getting an update. Instead of sticking with linear transitions going horizontally or vertically, the new gradients can be radial (starting at a single point and emanating out) or even have different starting points, creating a more swirling, spirally effect.
Trippy typography
Designers are having the time of their lives playing with fonts, text and typography. They’re erasing key parts of letters while still maintaining their readability. They’re flouting conventional lines and placing letters haphazardly across the page or screen. They’re allowing text to interact directly with photographs and illustrations in imaginative ways. There are handmade fonts, layered letters, abstract forms, sliced and diced and dripping text that will make the viewer dizzy with delight. And most incredible? The return of the serif font, which is making a welcome comeback after a too-long absence from our digital screens.
Authentic Photography
Authenticity has been a buzzword not just in design, but in advertising, branding, business, social media, arts, entertainment, politics—pretty much every sector of society. One of the easiest and most effective ways to tap into an authentic vibe is through photography. Photos offer a realness that can’t be matched, especially pics that aren’t staged or arranged but rather have a documentary feel to them. While stock photography has been flooding the internet for a while, those canned images seem to be phasing out and are being replaced by messier imagery with imperfect lighting, lots of action, interesting compositions and deeper emotions.
Make sure to keep an eye out for these five social media marketing trends that are taking over the digital marketing world in the upcoming year.
Did you know that on an average, we scroll through at least 300 feet (90 meters) of content daily? Not every brand’s campaign grabs our attention. It is a difficult and competitive game, as brands are trying harder to grab our attention, while our attention span has been reduced to a mere eight seconds. Brand strategy in the coming years will try more than ever to connect with their audiences across a variety of social platforms. It becomes imperative that your campaign works, more so taking into account the speed of feed. We have curated a list of five trends that we believe will impact your social media strategy in 2018.
Adopt Chatbots
https://giphy.com/gifs/11FyVJOvLleR5S
Gone are the days when chatbots meant unresponsive, hilarious and outright ridiculous software. Today, chatbots can do a lot more than just solve customer issues or order pizza for you. Various studies state that 20% of business content could be machine generated by next year. When we teach machines how to create authentic and engaging stories, the potential for advertising and marketing will become multifold. Chatbots interact with the users and deliver the solutions that they are looking for at the speed of light. Bots are developing to become smarter and empathetic. This engagement feels personal, from the user’s perspective. Chatbots are definitely a must-try social media marketing strategy in 2018 for your business.
Momentary content makes for good engagement:
Snapchat was the early adopter of momentary content. Instagram and Facebook followed suit, owing to the huge popularity of Stories format in a short time. These content are ephemeral and disappear in 24 hours. Brands are creating a whole new digital marketing strategy for their momentary content marketing. Having your stories appear at the very top of your follower’s feed keeps your brand at the top of their mind. Many brands do a live story session with a subject matter expert. This helps the user look out for the brand more so as to not miss an informative session. Ephemeral content marketing strategy is something that you should try in 2018!
Augmented reality boom
Augmented reality blurs the line between reality and computer-generated content by enhancing what we see, and hear. The adoption of augmented reality on mobile phones is a quick and easy way for brands to reach their target audience. Many brands are taking their products right inside the homes of users through exclusive filters. IKEA has released an app called Place which allows users to preview how the furniture would look in their homes before they buy. As more people get warmed up to augmented reality, more people will start to feel like they are missing out on things and want to become a part of it. However, you would also have to check where your strategy fits. Make sure your AR adds value for the user and don’t simply create one for the sake of it.
Influencers are here to stay
Influencer marketing has grown so much over the last two years that the popularity has made it difficult to know whom to trust. Consumers expect genuine reviews from genuine influencers. Brands must seek to work with relevant influencers with industry background or knowledge. Viewers are already bored of seeing brands engage popular influencers who promote teeth whitening and a mobile phone app with the same vigor. In 2018, try and create worthwhile relationships with influencers and maintain them. Influencer marketing is going to become more authentic with brands moving to real experts instead of social influencers.
Make more videos
We are addicted to mobile phones, and we love our videos. In 2017, 90% of the most shared content on social media was in video format. If you are not using videos yet, you will have to quickly start using them and master the art of capturing the user’s attention in the first 3 seconds. Video is the quickest and the closest way you will come face to face with your target audience. As with everything, you need to have a clear strategy before creating a video. Taking advantage of Facebook Live and Instagram Live is also a smart strategy. Ensure that the video is of the highest quality and engaging. You will also have to consider making the best design and make sure to add subtitles to attract users when they are watching with sound off.
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