Here’s the thing about social media: it’s here to stay. I’ve been on the social media train for a while, but I’m far from one of those savants who has millions of followers and interaction with everything they post. Despite my far-from-influencer status, social media trends are something I find incredibly interesting.
Towards the end of each year, I do some digging to see what trends are in store for the next 365 days, and the following is a list of the common trends social media experts have predicted for 2019:
1. Stories: Stories first became a thing with a little guy known as Snapchat. They then evolved to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and are apparently something to keep an eye on in 2019. Being that stories only last for 24 hours, they give the viewer a sense of real-time connectivity with a person or a brand, leaving them feeling like they’re “in the know”. Use stories to tell your story to your audience and to let them get to know you better.
2. Go live: Same as above, but amplified. This is the definition of real-time, as audiences can connect with you as you stream live. This helps build a bond in the relationship between a consumer and a brand, and allows the brand to instantly connect with their audience. Think Q&A or big announcements. Pro-tip: go horizontal on Facebook, but vertical on Instagram!
3. Authenticity: The social world now sees right through brands that have a large number of followers but no engagement. Build organically by finding your niche audience and play to what they want to see. Social media allows you to give a microphone to the voice of your brand. Make that voice authentic.
4. Consistency: Consistency is key with social media. If people are following you, that means that they want to hear from you. Develop a social media plan where you know what you’re going to post each day. Feel free to try different media: text, graphics, video, etc. But, once you determine which works best for your brand and your audience engagement, try and stick to that media and keep it consistent.
5. Ads: Ads will continue to be important for brands as competition for exposure is always increasing. Build your ads by repurposing your organic content that has performed well. Then, tailor them to fit each social media platform.
Staff Writer, Taylor Leddin is a publicist and freelance writer for a number of national outlets. She was featured on Thrive Global as a successful woman in journalism, and is the editor-in-chief of The Tidbit. Taylor resides in Chicago and has a Bachelor in Communication Studies from Illinois State University.
DEZCOOL
January 2, 2019 at 11:34 pm
Good article on Social Media, but as far as digital marketing trends for 2019, it is important to look at migrating onto an omni-channel approach, implement HTTPS, optimize pages for conversion, only insist on content marketing if you’re creating fresh and amazing content and finally start considering video content.
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