Social media platforms are constantly changing and evolving, so is how we use those platforms. As a business, it's so important you stay ahead of the trends to ensure you're getting the most out of your social media marketing. But what are the most important social media trends in 2019 that brand and businesses need to know about?
Here are four of the top trends that you need to know about in 2019.
SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS To Look Out for IN 2019
1. Rebuilding Trust
2. Getting Personal with Messenger
3. Social Storytelling
4. Rise of the Social Shop
Trend 1: Rebuilding Trust
2018 represented a nightmare year for trust on social media, what with the Cambridge Analytica scandal which put Facebook under pressure to improve security measures and the surge of fake accounts or ‘bot’s on Twitter.
This has meant that the accuracy, privacy and ethics of nearly every social media platform have been questioned. This shift means businesses are now facing new challenges in order to retain engagement and grow their following.
Many social media users have lost trust in many of the media and celebrity influencers and are once again, putting their trust in friends and family, as well as traditional journalism outlets.
It’s time to stop focusing on maximising reach and start focusing on creating quality engagement. Have meaningful and personal conversations with a smaller more valuable audience and you will create a community who regularly interact with your content and are more likely to trust your brand.
Here are a few tips on how you can build trust over social media:
Create a Facebook Group - Facebook groups can complement your existing Facebook page by focusing on more niche topics and targeting your fans. Groups are a space where your customers can talk to each other and you can interact with them on a more personal level.
Create a Branded Hashtag for Instagram - Use an easy to remember hashtag that is specifically branded around your own business or a brand value. It’s a great way of building conversations around your brand, bringing your community together around a common interest.
Use Micro Influencers - Although micro influencers tend to reach a smaller audience compared to celebrity or well-known influencers, they are more likely to bring in quality engagement and leads due to their audience being highly engaged. Users are also more trusting of micro influencers.
Facebook Live Question and Answers - In order to keep your audience engaged, it’s important to regularly communicate with them. A great way of doing this is through Facebook Question and Answers (or Q&As). It makes your brand more personable by allowing customers to talk to you in real time.
Trend 2: Getting Personal With Messaging
Consumers are now wanting to communicate with businesses via direct messaging. Messaging has now become the preferred customer service channel. Direct messaging customers makes them feel more comfortable and confident in your brand. It also allows you to have more in-depth, high-value conversations directly with the customer.
Here are a few tips on how you can up your messaging game:
Set Up Facebook Messenger For Your Facebook Business Page - By enabling Facebook Messenger on your Facebook business page, it will allow you to set up an instant reply for when users send you a direct message. This can be anything from a greeting, information about your response processes and response time or links that send users to your website or support pages.
Add Messenger Plugins On Your Website - Adding a messenger plugin onto your website enables customers to easily reach you when looking for information on your website. It ‘s a more informal way of talking to a customer too which often creates a greater level of trust.
Use Messaging to Streamline Customer Service Queries - When customers reach out to you on social media, it’s important to move them from a public space to a private space. This allows you to ask for and receive personal information such as their email address or phone number and deal with complaints discreetly.
Trend 3: Social Storytelling
Social media stories – vertical disappearing videos/images - are growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing. Users are now sharing in-the-moment experiences with their friends through stories and there is an increasing demand for brands to do the same. The less polished stories tend to perform better than the heavily edited stories that contain obvious call to actions.
Here are a few tips on creating engaging social media stories:
Get Creative and Experiment - Don't be scared to get creative and experimental with your story content. Post a variety of content at different times in the week to see what works best for your audience.
Don't Over Think Story Content - Stories are meant to be a little rough and ready so don’t overthink your story format. Your stories should be fun, unedited and live action as this tends to drive a higher engagement rate. If you're uploading a video, don't worry to much about scripts either. The more informal and natural you come across the better!
Shoot Your Videos Vertically - When creating a video for your social media stories, make sure to shoot your video vertically as that’s how people watch them.
Trend 4: Rise of The Social Shop
Social commerce has grown and grown with many younger users buying direct from social. Platforms like Instagram introduced shoppable posts allowing users to go from discovery to checkout without leaving the app. Social media has made shopping live, interactive and seamless.
Here are few tips how to make the most of social commerce:
Create Shoppable Instagram Posts - Before selling products on Instagram you need to have a business page. You can then add your products to Facebook and Instagram will automatically approve your submission. This will enable you to tag products in your posts so your followers can buy directly from Instagram.
Creating Product Videos. Product videos allow your customers to browse your products and get a better idea of what you’re selling without going instore.
Tagging Multiple Items - Tag multiple items within a single post so your customers can see how your products look together. This will also encourage customers to make multi purchases.
Thanks for reading my Avem blog! If you think your business could benefit from social media marketing, get in touch! You can call on 01423 714984 or email: hello@avemmarketing.com.
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