Tips and tip-offs: What’s trending in social media marketing for 2019?

Top tips for effective content marketing
February 5, 2019
B2B marketing trends; what’s hot?
April 11, 2019
Show all

Trends 2019 / Cup of coffee with trends inscription on wooden background.

What’s trending in social media marketing for 2019? From fake news to LinkedIn love, here are our 2019 social media trends, with tips to help you make the most of your social media strategy…

When you’re planning your brand’s exposure for the year ahead, it pays to keep one eye on what’s hot, especially within the creative playground that is social media…

 

Tips and tip-offs: What’s trending in social media marketing for 2019?

 

Variety is the spice of life

According to Constant Content, ‘An increasing number of studies are showing that long-form content generally performs better in search engine results pages.’

Less can be more; if someone is trying to explain something complex to me, I sometimes ask them to draw me a diagram because I’m a visual learner. But it depends on the context of the information you’re sharing. So, don’t punish individuals (or your SEO) who enjoy long-form story telling. Think about the people you know – they all engage with information of varying formats too!

Clever marketers will provide information in a variety of formats to keep SEO up, and followers happy.

 

Be prepared to monitor feedback and messages coming back your way.

Responsiveness

If your brand has a social media channel, your audiences expect immediate responses to requests for information. Too many organisations set-up accounts and push content out, without being prepared to monitor feedback and messages coming back the other way. We believe it’s a trend set to change this year… engagement on social media is a goldmine, and even complaints can improve your brand’s image if they’re dealt with quickly.

Top tip: Don’t have the resources to monitor your social media 24/7? Add a note to your profile to let people know how to get in touch. This is even more important if your company offers services at all hours of the night and day. At the very least, state ‘this account is only monitored 8am-6pm (Insert timezone), Mon-Fri’.

 

LinkedIn Love

LinkedIn remains unloved in comparison to other social channels, but companies are waking to its potential for content marketing. It’s a hub of networking and advice that professionals use daily to improve their knowledge and improve their businesses and careers. You can’t beat it for sharing useful tips and thought-leadership and joining conversations or groups on mutual areas of concern or experience. As the channel grows in 2019, make sure you’re sharing the LinkedIn love!

 

Death of disinformation

The spread of fake news has led to a growing mistrust among social media users in recent years. It is creating more savvy audiences, which is a good thing for brands: it gives them an opportunity to stand out by building integrity and being authentic.

Top tip: See more on authenticity in our blog on top content marketing tips

Note: We enjoyed this read from the BBC on ‘The (almost) complete history of fake news’.

 

Let’s get quizzical

Creating interactive content should be at the top of every social marketer’s list. This partly relates back to our point about being responsive and avoiding a constant ‘push’ of content. Many followers will relish reading about your expertise and tips. But if they’re potential customers, you need to get them involved too.

Top tip: Quizzes are a fantastic way to do this, but don’t forget to just ask your followers questions. Sharing some tips? Invite your audience to share their own advice and experiences with you and your followers.

 

Social Stories

The traditional downward scrolling we’re used to has been challenged by the left-to-right use of ‘Stories’. These vertical slideshows and video make sense in an era when we all use our mobile devices for social sharing. And they’re here to stay – TechCruch states that stories are growing 15 times quicker than newsfeeds.

Snapchat started it all in 2013, with Instagram making the move in 2016, and WhatsApp then Facebook following suit in 2017.  Relatively few people are using Facebook Stories, but the platform’s new visuals tools to Women’s History Month will give it a boost in March 2019.

Embracing stories is a must for brands.

Top tip: They work particularly well for our next trend, the backstage pass…

Note: Here are some great starter tips from Fast Company on how to succeed with stories.

 

The back stage pass

You’ve only got to look at the rise of reality TV in the last 20 years to realise that humans are inherently nosey. People want to see what goes on behind the scenes! In 2019 more than ever, successful social media managers will use that curiosity to their advantage, showing followers what employees and businesses do day-to-day.

Whether it’s a time-lapse video of an exhibition build, or a video snippet of your event speaker making a great point, or in stitches during rehearsals (laughing, not injured :-o), it’s real. People will connect with it, and they will share it! Even better – invite one of your customers to video a behind the scenes Q&A session.

Top tip: Keep it relevant. Don’t share your wedding video bloopers on your company social media unless you’re showcasing an event venue!

 

Videos without volume?

85% of videos are viewed without the volume on…

It’s been fairly well-recognised that video content is a huge hit on social. But did you know that 85% of videos are viewed without the volume on? (source: Digiday). Don’t underestimate the value of subtitles for pre-recorded content. It’s more inclusive, and it allows people to watch at any time of day or night without headphones. According to Twitter Marketing, videos with text are 11% more likely to be viewed and generate 28% higher completion rate!

Twitter also claims that ‘when someone watches the whole video, sound turns up all the key metrics – and dialogue has more of an impact than music’.  Not surprisingly, Twitter encourages videos of 15 seconds or less. Perhaps more telling is that the presence of ‘people’ in the first three seconds of a Twitter video has 133% higher impact on the emotional intensity viewers have with the content.

Our conclusion? Video for social is fascinating (if you’re social media geeks like us.) So, we’ll write you a blog on video content, and what each main social channel recommends.

 

One to watch: voice search

According to a PwC consumer intelligence report, 71% of respondents would rather use their voice assistant to search than type a query. And when you think about it, the way we ask Siri or Alexa a question slightly differs from the way we type into Google…

If I want a ‘restaurant near me’, that’s what I’d key into my mobile. If I asked Siri it’d be more likely “Hey Siri, find me a restaurant close to xyz city centre.

Top tip: Start learning about SEO for voice search now, and keep an eye on the activity of big brands, and the advice from leading tech, and social companies.

Note: We liked SEO Works’ ‘Voice search: Hey Siri, what is the future of marketing?’

If you want help to audit, plan or execute an effective social media strategy for your business, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help.