The ever-changing Social Media landscape makes it quite difficult to predict what will happen in the next few months, yet year, to come. The regular apps’ feature and algorithm updates witnessed, as well as the changes in consumption preferences, dictate brands to develop flexible social media and digital strategies. These occurrences challenge marketers to reinvent themselves, cut through the clutter and engage with their brand’s audience in new ways. Here is a brief overview on what marketers should be looking at in 2019.
Video Content
Video content will continue to boom in 2019. While images speak a thousand words, videos transmit an experience. Live coverages, IGTV, stories, detailing how-to’s and tutorials elevate the customer experience and allows brands to engage with their audience on a deeper level.
This is also true for the Live Feature where instant feedback and interaction is possible. According to this Infographic published by Facebook on the 2-year-anniversary of their Live Feature, “the average daily Live Facebook Broadcast has doubled year-over-year since 2016.” We expect the numbers to grow even more in the coming years especially after Facebook’s announcement about testing live video shopping.
User Journey Personalization
The way people interact with brands, social apps and the internet in general says a lot on the person behind the screen. The vast amount of data being uploaded by individuals and collected by brands, allows marketers to gain insights on a person’s behavior which in turn unlocks user-journey personalization opportunities. Positive and personalized experiences nurture a person’s loyalty to a brand. While Netflix suggests content based on your taste, Amazon and HiCart show you products you might be interested in based on past behavior, unlocking unique customer-brand engagement patterns.
Timing
Timing has and always will play a big role in the future of marketing. While it is very important to plan in advance, brands have to be aware of the events surrounding them and be responsive to them. This however has been everly present, and was reinforced by the widely acclaimed “You can Still Dunk in the Dark” Tweet by Oreo during the power outage at the 2013 Super Bowl.
Timing also translates into brand’s responsiveness to its community. The internet is alive 24/7, 365 days a year, good, bad or query, people expect an immediate answers. If a customer likes your brand, say thank you; visited your shop, invite them to visit another time. Meaningful and strategic interactions with your community should be at the heart of your communication strategy in 2019.
User-Generated Content
Some of you might agree that there is no better marketing than the one you don’t pay for. Word of mouth, translated in the digital world by customer’s post, stories or mentions is very important. Showcasing your brand from the customer’s point of view makes all the difference. The customer is not a customer anymore but part of the community that grows the brand, reflect its identity and allow people to identify with it.
Women taking pictures of their ice cream cones. Emma McIntyre/Getty
Mobile vs Desktop
It is no surprise that people are spending more and more time on their smart phones on average consuming over 3 hours of digital media via mobile per day. This trend is not new, however it is has grown exponentially over the years. In 2019, we expect to see more brands moving towards a mobile-first strategy, developing their content and their experience to be responsive to every platform.
Influencer Marketing
2018 saw the rise of influencer marketing. It is expected that this form of marketing will be a $2.38 billion market by 2019. The growing industry is attractive to many, hence brands will have to do their due deligence in order to differentiate between real and impostors by studying the engagement and overall online presence of people they plan on working with. Influencer marketing doesn’t necessarily mean working with big names in the market, some brands might prefer working with micro-influencers who have a dedicated following and are more accessible.
