2018 saw social media dominated by privacy scandals, advertising growth and a move towards ‘Story’ content. However, no one could’ve predicted the effect that Cambridge Analytica, Fake News, Brexit (and much much more), could have had to the world we live in. Social media platforms have reflected big shifts in culture and attitudes, with policy and platform updates happening almost every week to keep up with the changing landscape.
The trends that we did see over the last 12 months will continue to take centre stage in 2019. The number of social media users grows every day, and people are becoming more savvy to paid advertisements, salesy messages and content that just doesn’t flow with the rest of their feed – meaning that strategy and insight is more important than ever.
So, what’s to come? Here’s one of our resident social media experts, Shona, with her take on what to expect in 2019:
Get ahead of the curve:
Gone are the days of click bait content and promocodes – social media users are all too familiar with that type of sales pitch to fall for it now. To really hit home with your audience and encourage organic engagements, your tone of voice should be unique, genuine and tailored for each platform. That way it’s more likely to resonate with someone and remain memorable for all of the right reasons.
A key for social media management in 2019, is to remember that it’s all about quality rather than quantity. Sure, a huge follow count looks cool and it might make your competitor jealous – but really, if your engagements aren’t increasing along with your followers, then it means almost nothing.
It’s story time:
By all accounts, user interest in ‘Stories’ is growing fast. In fact, Facebook’s Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox, has presented a chart that demonstrates that Story based content is growing 15% faster than feed based content. He said: “the Stories format is on a path to surpass feeds as the primary way people share things with their friends sometime next year.”
In 2019 Stories are likely to become the primary way that people communicate and absorb content on social media. For brands, Stories are a great way of showing behind the scenes of a business, giving small but fun insights into a world that customers would not normally see.
Stories have also been proven as a successful way to encourage sales. In a recent survey by Facebook, 69% of respondents said that brands using Stories is a great way for people to get to know new products or services and 62% said that they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.
Social advertising:
Not a surprise to most marketeers – using sponsored content on social media is a great way to boost your social engagement and reach. However, did you know that almost ¼ of digital ad spend in the US is used on Facebook?
The rule of thumb for Facebook ads is to consider ‘TAB’ – Targeting, Advert creative and Budget.
- Consider who you are trying to target, if you need to focus on a key audience then make your targeting group specific and controlled. You can try A/B testing if you’d like to see how different audiences react to your advert
- The advert creative is key. Videos and carousels tend to attract a higher engagement rate, due to their interactive nature. However, if a picture works better for the message you’re trying to get across, then a striking image can have just as much success
- Budget is perhaps the most important part of your social advertising, but don’t let it scare you. You can stop a campaign whenever you wish and if it’s not performing the way you thought it would, stopping it and trying something else may be the best option. Keep budget in mind, but don’t allow it to hold you back
Social media is an everchanging beast, which can sometimes feel daunting. If you would like to explore the ways you can use social media as a business, check out our bespoke training packages for a day of knowledge, planning and social media strategy!
