10 Social Media Trends You Need To Know in 2019
By Anthony Indraus April 7, 2019
Social Media Trends in 2019; Before I get all paranoid looking at the date and asking myself profound questions such as how is it already April, let’s get into the topic of this blog post. By now you are very eager to get your business in front of as many eyes as possible, and you have been reading and gathering as much information as possible about social media and other digital marketing channels you can use.
So, we thought we should share with you the latest social media trends you need to know in 2019, to win the social media game!
The social media landscape is ever-changing, every day there is a new trend, a new platform or a new feature, trying to keep up with it all can be a very daunting task, not only can it be confusing and time consuming, it can do more harm than good implementing the wrong strategy in place, so here are the 10 trends you need to keep in mind and make sure are part of your new social media strategy.
Stories Are Dominating (Facebook and Instagrams Stories)
By now you have probably seen that every social media platform is introducing their own version of stories, pioneered by Snapchat, then ‘copied‘ by Instagram and Facebook, even YouTube now has their own stories.
Instagram stories are now used by 500 million users every single day, and one third are from businesses! So you can see the potential, Instagram stories are discoverable which makes them a great tool to attract potential customers and prospect and increase your brand awareness.
Especially, with the changes to Instagram algorithm and feed, stories will notify your follower that you are still active, with the prominent purple circle, working as a prompt to encourage them to open it and check what is going on. We have a new post about Instagram stories and how to craft engaging stories coming out soon, so keep an eye out for it.
Embrace Ads, Organic Reach is Dwindling
It is no secret nowadays that organic reach is on its way out, you have probably noticed engagement is not what it used to be, and when checking the insights of your posts, even if you have a decent number of followers, your posts aren’t reaching all of them. It is all by design, Social Media Networks are marketing tools, and they are businesses at the end of the day, so they need to make money, we live in a world where the business with the most money wins the largest amount of attention.
Don’t get me wrong, you can still see some traction with organic reach if your content is super relevant, Facebook and Instagram algorithms have one job; it is to keep users on the platform for as long as possible. So, if your posts get lots of engagement and shares, the algorithm will favor it, and show it to as many people as possible, again the goal is to get the user to keep on scrolling, but let’s be realistic, you can craft a viral post every single time, that’s were social media ads will give you the boost needed.
And they are very underpriced, Gary Vee keeps on preaching it, and he is correct, for the amount you pay for social media ads, compared to traditional forms of advertising it is very underpriced, so make sure to make the most use out of it.
High-quality content, too many brands are competing for attention
Every single social media newsfeed is a bottomless pit, you can spend hours upon hours scrolling through it. High-Quality and attention-grabbing content is the only way to stop a potential customer from scrolling past your content, you need to craft every single piece of content with one goal in mind, disrupt their scrolling pattern.
Create eye-catching content, that encourages your users to engage, and encourages a conversation.
Human Connection
It is easy to get lost in the social media world, and speak from a perspective of a brand when presenting your business, and don’t feel bad if you do, so many other businesses do too!
But, social media networks were created to connect people, not just to amplify a brand’s message. Make sure you show your personality through your social media posts, engage with your followers in conversation, reply to comments and send private messages, build a relationship with your followers with every single post.
It is also important that you show humans in your posts, showcase your people and tribe, we are attracted to faces and other humans, show that your brand and business are relevant by showing people in your posts.
Influencers Growth
A lot of people and brands look at influencers are a fad that will be gone in no time, but let’s face reality, influencer marketing is booming and social media influencers is a thing that is here to stay.
Influencer marketing is on the rise, and it can help your business and brand increase its awareness and appeal to a larger audience.
Influencer Marketing leverages a few psychological tendencies, helping your business build immediate rapport with your potential customers, while also providing an element of social proof.
Video Content & Live Video
Video content has been on the rise for quite a while not, and it is not slowing down, according to some experts 80% of all content consumed online will be in the form of videos. And it holds especially true for live videos.
With the introduction of Live Video on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, streaming to your audience is now a click away. Live videos attract followers and audience due to its authentic nature, and how unscripted it is. Helping build rapport with your audience, and building trust.
Messenger and Chatbots
Chatbots have been around for a while, but with Facebook’s messenger chatbot introduction, it has brought them under the spotlight. Chatbots will negate the need for business-specific apps, and the high cost associated with them, you can service your customers right inside the messenger app.
Chatbots also help automate and decrease the amount of support or inquiry emails your business receives, if utilized right, chatbots can help your business grow and scale.
Educate, Don’t Sell
Gone are the days where you can just post a sales offer, or a sales letter on your social media channel. Not that you can’t do it now, you definitely can, but they will be ignored.
One of the big mistakes that the majority of business and brands are guilty off on social media, is constant selling! You should use your social media channels as an educational portal, educate your customers and clients on the benefits and potential of your products and services, show them how life could be with just pictures. No one wants to be sold to.
While some small business will get nervous when it comes to educating their clients on how to do things they charge money for, the truth is, it can be the most beneficial move you will ever take. Educating your customers will help you filter out difficult clients, the DIY crowd, and it will position you as a subject matter expert.
User-Generated Content
Brands have started embracing content created by their customers, with the advent of the mobile phone with cameras better than professional DSLRs, everyone is capable of taking a great picture and crafting a good caption.
User-Generated content helps build rapport with your audience, while also saving a lot of time and money creating original content every single day. It also helps you build a tribe of true fans, sharing your content wanting to get featured by you, and showing potential customers the benefits of your products and services, doing all the work for you.
Platform Specific Content
Another mistake done by a lot of business and brands is sharing the same content on all their social media channels. To attract the right audience and build a following you need to make sure every piece of content you share is native to the platform it is posted on.
While it does sound like a daunting task creating 100 different pieces of content, for different social media channels, but truth is you can recycle your content, don’t post them in the same format, just use the same message in a different format, which we will create another post and discuss it in depth on how to create different native types of content for your social media channels.
Conclusion
The social media landscape is always changing, and you will need to keep on updating yout social media strategy as you go to ensure your business is being presented under the best light possible, and your efforts are relevant.
Now you are all prepared and have the knowledge required to dominate your social media strategy in 2019. If you would like assistance with your social media strategy we are offering a free strategy call with no obligations at all.
Let us know your thoughts, and tell us in the comments about what trends will you be focusing on this year.
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