Where Social Media Marketing Is Headed in 2019

Where Social Is Headed-Header Image

The social media industry is extremely fluid, with platforms, algorithms, and features changing at the drop of the hat. As marketers, it can be challenging to keep a finger on the pulse when that pulse is constantly changing pace. That’s where we come in. As a social-first agency, we are constantly analyzing this space and this space only, making sure we are on top of the latest trends. As your marketing team prepares to tackle the rest of this quarter, be on the lookout for social media 2019 trends that will continue to shape the social media marketing landscape this year.

Video Investment Will Be Critical

More and more, we are seeing consumers engage with video content on social media. A recent study from Buffer and Buzzsumo found that video content performs better than all other post types on Facebook. On average, videos receive at least 59% more engagement than other forms of content, and videos accounted for 81% of the top 500 Facebook posts of 2018.

FB_Top post types

Moreover, 28% of users among the four major networks (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter) engage with live video streams each month. Of these platforms, Facebook sees the highest engagement rates with live video. Facebook has also continued to invest in this content type by adding interactive features like polling to live streams, and they have even developed new forms of live technology in the form of Premieres.

These numbers demonstrate the necessity for marketers to invest in producing social-first video content this year.

Stories Will Continue to Grow

Across multiple social media platforms, more users are migrating to Stories to share and consume content. Just last month, Instagram reported 500 million daily active users on Stories, a 25% jump from the 400 million reported just seven months prior.

While Instagram Stories is the frontrunner across multiple generations, Facebook Stories have seen some pickup among millennials, and Snapchat continues to be the Stories platform of choice for Gen Z.

eMarketer-Stories

So, what does this mean for marketers? As users move to Stories, it provides an opportunity to reach them via a new avenue while diversifying media mix. Consider testing ad placements in Facebook or Instagram Stories as it makes sense for your brand. Other ways to reach users via Stories include influencer takeovers, behind the scenes content, or real-time event coverage. When producing Stories for your brand, we recommend between 2-4 frames in order to keep users engaged.

Incorporating Emotion Is Still Imperative

Social media marketing boils down to this: developing connection and encouraging action. You can have an unlimited budget and infinite resources, but all efforts are rendered futile if your audience doesn’t feel anything when consuming content from your brand. Whether you’re providing information that’s useful in your target audience’s daily life or sharing content that inspires them in some way, it is critical for this content to appeal to some emotion, and there is data that backs this up.

In the same study mentioned above from Buffer and Buzzsumo, they found that ‘Love’ and ‘Haha’ were the most common reactions to Facebook posts last year, excluding ‘Like’ which is a more neutral sentiment. Clearly, users are engaging with content that they find inspirational, humorous, or a mix of the two.

When analyzing your marketing efforts on social, sometimes it’s as simple as asking yourself the question, “What does my audience care about, and what can I do better to reach them?”

We’ll continue to share updates on the latest social media marketing trends. In the meantime, let’s chat about how we can help improve your brand’s social media presence.



Ignite Social Media