Trends In Social Media
Social media refers to the means of
interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange
information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. The Office of
Communications and Marketing manages the main Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Snapchat, YouTube and Vimeo accounts. Social media is about conversations,
community, connecting with the audience and building relationships. It is not
just a broadcast channel or a sales and marketing tool.
The year 2019 is expected to see a continuity of some of the
trends from 2018 and the entry of some new trends. At the same time, it is
recommended to keep room for unexpected updates and introduction of new
features. It is important for you to follow a flexible approach. It is
suggested to always be prepared to alter your social strategy according to
unexpected trends and updates.
1. The Year of Stories
At
the end of 2018, 400
million users were actively using Instagram stories every day. And that number
is only growing. Users are responding to the ephemeral and unpolished nature of
the platform. According to Instagram, they’ve learned that younger audiences,
in particular, are “spending more time with amateur content creators and less
time with professionals (Instagram).” This shift in content consumption has led to the
social platform investing heavily in Stories and IGTV.
So,
what’s next for Stories in 2019? While Instagram Stories have been widely
adopted by brands, only around nine percent of major brands post to Facebook Stories.
As with most features on Facebook, there is typically an advantage to being an
early adopter. Facebook is encouraging brands to post to Stories in order to
consistently engage with their audience, making it very easy – you can
automatically post to Facebook Stories from Instagram – and offering Stories a
premium placement in the app.
The number of daily users of stories across
platforms like Instagram has grown significantly in the past two years.
2. Brands will need to invest in social ads
In
2018, marketers produced more social ads than ever before and increased their
budgets by 32%. One out of every four Facebook Pages now use paid
advertising as part of their social media strategy and Facebook accounts for
23% of total U.S.
digital ad spending. All of these numbers suggest
that not only is social advertising around to stay, but competition will only
get more intense.
In
2019 the success with social advertising will mean that making investments
beyond advertising budgets. In an interview with Adweek,
Hootsuite CMO Penny Wilson stated, “Progressive brands are recognizing the
importance of pairing ad money with an equivalent investment of time,
creativity and targeting savvy.”
3. The Rise of Social TV
According
to a recent report from
Statista, more than 50% of digital videos are now
viewed on mobile in vertical format. This is a trend that has been moving in a
consistently upward direction since 2013.
It’s
this trend that influenced the launch of Facebook Watch in 2017 and IGTV in 2018.
And it’s this same trend that will make 2019 the year of social TV. By 2021,
Instagram reports that mobile video will account for 78% of total mobile data
traffic.
IGTV
offers marketers a place to share mobile first, long-form video within the
Instagram platform. While it’s still early days for this feature, brands should
consider adding it to their 2019 strategy to feel the benefits of being an
early adopter.
4. Trust and Transparency
In the wake of GDPR, trust, transparency and authenticity have
become central to social media activity. In 2019, one trend that will influence
all social media activity is building the trust of your audience. The Cambridge
Analytica scandal brought attention to the lack of transparency regarding the
collection of consumer data. GDPR brought in new rules with more transparency
to consumers.
This has left an impact on paid reach across social media
platforms. Social listening for consumer data collection underwent changes.
Breach of consumer privacy, that is, use or collection of consumer data without
consent could spell trouble. Brands will continue to be expected to take
explicit consent for collection of consumer data. As such, building
relationships with consumers based on trust and transparency will direct social
media trends 2019.
5.
Growing influence of Social Media on Commerce
It’s
no secret that social media is the primary way that individuals consume media,
interact with brands, seek recommendations and ask for help. Increasingly, it’s
also where consumers are making buying decisions. While the buyer’s journey is
complex, bigger pieces of it are playing out on social media. A recent study by
Corelate found that 76%
of US consumers have bought an item they saw in a brand’s social post and 40%
are actively deciding what to buy based on what they have seen on social media
platforms, including reviews and recommendations.
With
the launch of Instagram
Checkout this past March on Instagram, shopping will become more seamless
and integrated into the social experience. The beta feature will allow users to
find a product they love, purchase it and receive order notifications all
within the Instagram app. There is still progress to be made on the social
commerce front (currently only 4% of those surveyed make a purchase immediately
after seeing it), but 2019 is set up to be a good year for brands hoping to
sell items within the social environment.
6. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality refers to an interactive experience created
with artificially generated, perceptual information. The Pokémon game that took
the world by storm was an example of the use of AR in mobile games. Augmented
Reality is already a part of social media in the form of filters and lenses on
Instagram stories and Snapchat. In the coming year, Augmented Reality will be
used to take the consumer experience to the next level.
AR in 2019, will bring offer an entirely new experiences to
customers. Augmented Reality will provide customers with a try and buy
experience through its virtual showroom. It is also being speculated that AR
will be provide experiences akin to watching live events right from one’s home.
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