While we don’t have a magic deck of cards, we believe the following three items will have a major impact on social media marketing in 2016:

War for organic visibility.

As the return on investment in social media marketing becomes more reputable and social marketing itself becomes more available for a wider range of businesses, there will be a bigger level of competition for organic distinguishability. Already, Facebook is forcing businesses to buy advertising by making organic reach harder and harder, and as more businesses emerge in the market, that throttle will only grow, and among other social media channels.

The cost of social media advertising is set to rise over the course of the next year.

Buy buttons will take over social media.

Facebook and Pinterest are only two of the platforms that garnished attention this year by introducing new “buy” features for their businesses and users. Mobile handlers who see a product they like in a sponsored post can now purchase it, without ever having to leave the app. Instagram won’t be far behind on the trend either.

Consumer privacy concerns will hit an all-time high.

After a year of high-profile security breaches like Ashley Madison, user anxieties over privacy are going to skyrocket. Snapchat’s fiery popularity is, in part, because users demand for a more private, secure way of communication and engagement.

Facebook is announcing more privacy awareness tools for its users in the coming months, and it’s wise to do so, because as pressure continues to rise, only the social platforms that offer a degree of privacy and security will remain in the game.

Learn more about the basics of social media by taking a look at our infograph below: