The Social Media Trends That Are Set to Dominate 2019
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to get traction on social media. The landscape is shifting and your audience is spoilt for choice. If you don’t agree, look back a year or two and see what strategies were trending then and ask yourself if they would still work today? I suspect not.
One principle prevails however: Fresh, compelling content. If you are to tailor content to meet the 2019 social media trends then it needs to be visual.
In 2018 Facebook watch took off and we saw the emergence of IGTV. Twitter viewers sought visual content like never before and apparently we watched some 500 million hours of video on YouTube according to www.wordstream.com.
So that’s the opening trend of 2019. To be a successful online business use video in ways that you never have before. Introduce your business, talk about your culture and share testimonials. Commence the conversation and keep it going. Let the personality of your business shine through. Be sincere because social media went through a rough patch last year and some trust was eroded. Engagement with your audience is key. Remember they will be sold on you because they share your values, not because you delivered a kitsch sales pitch.
And while you have your phone out – and that’s the point, you don’t need to hire expensive videographers to engage your audience – consider going live with a walk through of your premise or some insights into the machinations of your business. Interview a staff member, let us see how you make what you make or how it is that you do what you do. Show your audience why you’re special and why you warrant our attention. Obviously going live is slightly fraught but unless there is the potential for something really distasteful occurring, the benefits could well outweigh a short bout of stage fright.
If you’ve never tried influence marketing then this is the year to do it. That doesn’t mean that you need some industry hot shot to come along and anoint your business, it’s not that at all. Keep an eye on the people who are consistent on social media and attracting a dedicated audience. They don’t need to have millions of followers just your type of followers. Reach out to these influencers and see if there is some scope for shared content. Your audience expect you to be an expert in your business, that is after all, how you spend your time. But trust and engagement comes from having influence within your industry and a reciprocal arrangement with an influencer may be the answer.
Of all the social media platforms Instagram is the growth platform for compelling visual content. Stories told on video, attention grabbing photography and updated posts on your products and progress is great material for the instagram audience.
Make sure your linking all of your social media through your website. No matter what emerges in social media a great website with an impressive website design with new and consistent content and blog posts will still be a game changer.