"Social media is not just an activity; it is an investment of valuable time and resources. Surround yourself with people who not just support you and stay with you, but inform your thinking about ways to WOW your online presence"- Sean Gardner (@2morrowknight)
As Social Media has become a dominant part of our lives, it has become very important for brands to stay tuned with the latest trends in Social Media Marketing.
It's the perfect time for you to review your current Social Media Marketing Strategy to find out what works for you and what needs improvement.
Here is a sneak peek into some of the top digital marketing trends that are going to rule in 2019:
Messenger Bots: Marketer's Virtual Assistant
Bots are starting to get more attention because of the way people are hanging out online. The first is the rise of bots that are getting funding to develop the AI to make things like Alexa work. The second is that Facebook Messenger has 1 Billion users who can be tapped virtually by your Bot. There is an increasing need for Businesses to reach their customers at the right time in the right context.
Facebook Messenger bots are of two types -
- AI-based bots similar to Alexa who understands voice and text commands to produce a given set of responses.
- Automated Help bots that help your customers with product or service related queries.
People want information to be delivered to them in the fastest means possible. This is radically going to transform the way marketers communicate with their customers in real-time.
Quick Tip: Mobile Monkey is an excellent tool that helps you create messenger bots easily.
Visual Storytelling
One of the most impressive ways to leave an impact on people's mind about your brand or a product is visual storytelling. With the right use of GIFs, explanatory videos, or experiential video, your brand can generate immense engagement on Social Media Platforms.
With more than 300 hours of video being uploaded on YouTube every minute, this trend cannot be ignored by marketers while planning out their Social Media Marketing strategies for 2019.
Instagram's IGTV is set to dominate the vertical video marketing segment. IGTV provides users with a better experience to shoot vertical videos right from their mobile phones and put an end to the hassle of hiring a professional videographer.
Vertical Video should be a part of your overall Social Media Strategy for 2019.
Quick Tip: People prefer to watch small clips, creative GIFs over long written curated content on Facebook and Instagram
Go Live, Get Real
Did you notice that notification from Facebook about your favorite speaker going live?
People are going gaga over live streaming. It's opening up an entirely new world of interactivity, and that's something you should be taking advantage of.
With four-cameras on one mobile phone, the technology is advancing at an unbelievable pace. It has become easy for almost anyone to shoot a professional video anytime and anywhere.
Facebook is coming up with some amazing updates for users and creators alike which will enable companies to map their buyer's journey within the Facebook platform itself.
Brands can use Live Streaming to provide consumers with authentic and real-time updates about the company, its resources, and products. This will enhance customer loyalty for your company.
Micro Influencers: A great investment strategy for 2019
In the last couple of months, the term micro-influencers has become a buzzword and it's going to stick around in 2019 for good reason. Millennials in today's date make most of their buying decisions based on the suggestions and reviews of breeding Social Media Influencers.
These Micro-Influencers are someone with a small but highly engaged following, such as fewer than 20,000 followers on Instagram, or a few thousand on Facebook and Twitter. Brands are now focusing on partnering with multiple influencers with a small well-targeted audience instead of top-grossing influencers. This helps them target their product to niche audiences and provide them with better ROI.
There are thousands of such influencers on different Social Media Platforms and some of them even affiliate for less than $10. Wonderful, isn't it?
Quick Tip: You can use Buzzsumo to find and manage Micro-Influencers.
Social Responsibility and Transparency
"The internet is bringing our collective conscious together by showing the good and bad in humanity"- David Chiles
Cambridge Analytica Scandal has broken the trusts of people over Social Media and forced all the Social Media Behemoths to re-focus on their policies towards user privacy and data security. With the advent of GDPR in Europe, the mechanics of Social Media Marketing is ought to shift towards respecting the privacy of individuals online.
This is the reason why many top CEO's do not hesitate to put across an apology (for their company's wrong-doings) on their social media handle. In order to gain the trust of customers, companies are becoming more transparent about the ways they utilize user-information. Marketers are focusing on finding the right balance between personalization and privacy by giving customers complete control over their online shopping experience.
This, in turn, will help companies positively because customers want to associate themselves with more reliable and honest brands.
Conclusion
All of the above trends focus upon enhancing customer value and creating a better online experience for them. 2019 is going to be both challenging and rewarding for marketers with new tools, options, and updates coming your way. Let's make a resolution to contribute to protecting user privacy and data.
"Social media will help you build up loyalty of your current customers to the point that they will willingly, and for free, tell others about you."- bonnnie sainsbury (@bsainsbury)
