At 28, I thought I was building the life I’d always dreamed of. I got engaged, shared it with my audience, and then brought them along on the journey. Over 10 million people watched my “Get Married With Me” video across my platforms. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life, magnified by the fact that I had built this level of trust and connection with my community.

Every January, I sit down to write my predictions for the year ahead in social media and consumer behavior. And this year, one trend stood out to me more than anything else: the rise of customers as influencers.

For the past ten years, I’ve lived and breathed marketing. I’ve run social campaigns, worked with influencers, created content, built affiliate programs, and everything in between. One factor unites everything: Every single winning strategy has always tied back to community.

Social media businesses face unique challenges in managing customer relationships across multiple platforms while scaling their operations. With over 5.24 billion social media users worldwide, social media companies must integrate their CRM systems with social platforms to capture every interaction and convert engagement into revenue.