5 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS for 2019 with RECOMMENDATIONS for EACH of THEM

In the social media world, the pace of change has always been brisk. But 2018 marked a true inflection point. 

Long-running issues with privacy and integrity came to a head in Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica crisis. Users began to question the value networks provide and seek more meaningful ways to engage. Against this backdrop, intimate new formats have risen for connecting and sharing content, from Instagram Stories to the explosion of one-to-one messaging. A radically new social paradigm is emerging, and leading brands are already adapting to it. Consumers want to be treated like individuals, not demographics. They’re demanding more value in exchange for their time and information. The pendulum has swung back to social’s roots: real, personal, and authentic. Where does this leave brands that rely on social media to reach their customers, prospects, employees, partners, and other audiences? How can they create authenticity and intimacy—at scale—while working within time and budgetary constraints? How can they support customers throughout the entire journey, building loyalty and boosting the return on their investment in social media?

TREND 1 Rebuilding trust - BRANDS GET HUMAN AS THE CIRCLE OF TRUST ON SOCIAL MEDIA TIGHTENS

2018 represented a crisis year for trust on social media. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a Congressional hearing, Facebook faced unprecedented pressure from users and regulators to improve security, transparency, and accuracy. Twitter, meanwhile, wrestled with controversies over the unfettered proliferation of bots on its platform, purging millions of fake accounts.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TREND

• Create a branded hashtag for Instagram aligned with community values.
• Participate in (or run) Twitter chats. 
• Build a Facebook Group around a core audience interest.
• Include micro-influencers in your marketing strategy.
• Start a secret group on Facebook.
• Run monthly Facebook Live Q&As sessions around commonly asked questions. 
• Activate employee advocates.

TREND 2 Storifying social - CONTENT TEAMS ADAPT AS STORIES OFFER NEW FORMATS FOR SHARING 

Will the news feed one day be an endangered species? According to consulting firm Block Party, Stories—the vertical, ephemeral slideshows pioneered by Snapchat—are now growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TREND

• Start experimenting with Stories. 
• Create Story-specific content. 
• Use the Stories Highlight feature.
• Tap your team’s full creative resources.
• Get creative with your Story structures.
• Add UTMs to your links to track success. 
• Get in early with Facebook Stories.
• Experiment with AR and custom GIFs in your Stories

TREND 3 Closing the ads gap - MORE COMPETITION ON PAID SOCIAL FORCES MARKETERS TO UP THEIR GAME

By now, everyone knows we’re in the pay-to-play era on social. Accordingly, marketers are increasing social ad budgets (up 32 percent in 2018 alone) and producing more ads than ever before One of every four Facebook Pages now use paid media, and Facebook already accounts for 23 percent of total U.S. digital ad spending.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TREND

• Understand and target the right audience.
• Define your goals and metrics.
• Invest in high-quality content.
• Repurpose concepts from top-performing organic content.
• Use what you’ve learned from previous campaigns to improve performance.
• Embrace new ad formats. 
• Split-test for success. 

TREND 4 Cracking the commerce code - IMPROVED SOCIAL SHOPPING TECHNOLOGIES (FINALLY) FUEL SALES 

In Asia, social commerce adoption has been swift, with 70 percent of China’s Gen Zers now opting to buy direct from social in North America, however, social commerce hasn’t kept pace. Despite the longhyped promise of buy buttons, people aren’t yet buying on social in huge numbers.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TREND

• Set up shoppable Instagram posts.
• Share your products in action. 
• Promote your products with contests. 
• Leverage high-quality user-generated content.
• Create a series based on your top-performing content. 
• Livestream your product demos.
• Experiment with AR to showcase your product in real-life scenarios. 

TREND 5 Messaging eats the world - CUSTOMERS DEMAND BETTER 1:1 SOCIAL EXPERIENCES

Top messaging apps—WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, QQ, and Skype—now collectively count nearly five billion monthly active users, according to We Are Social and Hootsuite’s 2018 Q3 Global Digital Statshot.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS TREND

• Enable Facebook Messenger for your Facebook Business Page.
• Add plugins to your website that drive customers to messaging apps.
• Use DMs and/or messaging apps to streamline customer service queries on social.
• Set up bots and/or in-app assistants for frequently asked questions.
• Run campaigns that incorporate messaging apps. 
• Experiment with Facebook Messenger ads.

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