The Ultimate List of Social Media Trends for 2019

Getting tired of all those new social media trends for 2019? That’s hardly surprising. In many cases, it’s not exactly clear why they matter and what difference can they make to your social media marketing efforts. If you’re bothered by it, we have a solution. Here’s the ultimate list of latest social media trends for 2019, along with proper tips to take advantage of them.

Social media trends that matter in 2019

1. Making your social media presence count

With so much going on last year, no wonder that everyone’s approach is bound to change (if it hasn’t already). The Cambridge Analytica scandal, changes in Facebook’s algorithm, as well as the rise of GDPR – they all initiated a shift towards building communities and essentially, regaining trust in some of the social media marketing practices. In fact, many users have already stopped trusting brands and influencers on social media.

What does it mean for your brand? It’s now more important than ever to understand your audience and create relevant, credible content. Only then you can truly engage with your fans and followers, especially since now they are more likely to see what their friends and family have to say, instead of favourite businesses they used to get more updates from. Actually, quality engagement is now built in smaller groups and communities. Think of creating a Facebook or LinkedIn group yourself – share valuable insights and curated content, and eventually, give the group members more space to talk to one another. In the meantime, you can analyze how well your group is doing with Grytics, and even request the group scheduling feature if you’re using Kontentino, in case you’re interested.      

2. Posting video content

Lots of it, actually. There’s nothing quite as engaging as video, especially streamed live. Apart from being an interactive medium (especially if you take into account the ability to share, comment and react in real time), it also helps to convey messages in a more attractive manner.

Have you seen the videos that BuzzFeed Tasty puts out on Instagram and Facebook? They’re short and simple, yet very engaging and shareable – and that’s what video content on social media should be all about. No wonder that social media platforms have been highlighting this type of content for a while now – and it may just be the right time for you to experiment with it.

But why should you? It’s only a matter of time before videos take over, as they becoming more attractive for both brands and social media users. You don’t have to go for live streaming right away – animations, simple tutorials, or even creative Stories can make a difference. Especially since there are many online tools to help you out – try Biteable or Recast.Studio, just to name a few.

3. Teaming up with micro-influencers

For many marketers, influencer marketing is becoming an essential part of their new social media strategy. At the same time, people are losing trust in many self-appointed social media celebrities who tend to work with everyone and don’t seem to stand for anything in particular. It’s high time to look for influencers elsewhere, especially since they are becoming more and more expensive to collaborate with. After all, it’s authentic communication that counts these days – and some companies are already taking advantage of that. A shoe brand Sperry identified its biggest fans on Instagram (who were already sharing high-quality photos) and invited them to create relevant content for all the followers. The effect? Using social proof to increase conversions while sharing stunning photos on Instagram.

What’s in it for you? If you’re thinking of following this trend in social media and applying influencer marketing in practice (or you already have done that), consider approaching micro- (or even nano-) influencers instead. They may not have the biggest outreach in the world, but they may actually have a bigger influence among their own followers. Actually, it can be extremely beneficial if those followers represent your target audience. It may require some more time to find such influencers, but it’s definitely worth it. Try looking up relevant hashtags, and take your research from there. Hopefully, many of the people you approach are still new to influencer marketing and seek valuable partnerships.  

4. Thinking your ads through

Since organic reach on Facebook dropped, social media advertising has been on the rise. It has even become tempting to spend a fair amount of money on every published post. But, as Facebook starts to be more saturated with ads, many marketers decide to increase their ad spend to other channels – such as Instagram. And rightly so. This year, you’ll probably see a further increase to social ad spend, with Instagram being a more popular choice among social media marketers.

What does it mean for your budget? Maybe not much, provided that you try to invest in different channels and constantly optimize the campaigns you pay for. Always make sure the choices you make when spending money are informed. Speaking of – here’s how you can set up an effective Facebook ad campaign. Still, don’t just rely on one social network – there’s only a certain space for ads available in each of them.

5. Taking advantage of social commerce

If you sell online, social media is finally here to help you out. Especially Instagram, which seems to appreciate branded content – so much that it has launched a few interesting features for e-commerce. Take product tagging, as an example. It allows you to tag products and their prices in your feed posts or Stories, and connect them with applicable product pages in your store. Check out how Zalando does it:  

How to make good use of it? Start with a proper catalogue with the same goods on your Facebook page. Then, make sure your Instagram profile appears as a Business Account and seems well-thought out and consistent. It can actually increase the trust of your followers – and the more trustworthy the brand appears, the more willing social media users are to buy from it. Plus, if you think your content through and plan it in advance, it will save you time and effort in the long run. Try proper social media management tools to do so, such as Kontentino to embrace one of these coolest social media trends for 2019!

6. Experimenting with AI & automation

Although advanced technological solutions have been around for a while now, social media marketers are still cautious when it comes to applying them in practice. These concerns can be justified, but it’s important to remember that proper tools can actually make your content more attractive (and your job much easier). Especially when you take into account all the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and automation.

How to take advantage of it? Even though advanced solutions based on Big Data and AI are still available to well-known brands with significant budgets, you can already start collecting data, analyze them properly, and automate your actions. To get started, choose powerful social media management tools (and give Kontentino a try, once you’re at it) and experiment with chatbots (with Botsify, as an example).

Seamless social media team collaboration

Last, but definitely not least: speaking of taking advantage of the available tools, it may be high time to establish seamless team collaboration and go email-less. Let’s face it – being a part of a social media team can be challenging, especially if there are many members involved. The necessity to have everyone on board often means exchanging numerous emails between copywriters, graphic designers and social media managers – not to mention clients. In fact, their approval is often crucial in order to maintain the same brand voice. Based on our research, agencies and brands spend about 30% of the time on redundant operational tasks. But this time should be spent on creativity instead. Can we call this desired switch a social media trend? Well, perhaps not a trend anymore (we could have called this a trend five+ years ago) but a challenge for agencies that have not made the transition yet for sure.

How to manage the collaboration, then? With the right approach and powerful tools, you can simplify approval for your team and even your clients. Start with defining your social media workflow, though – only then you will be able to optimise it properly. Next, choose proper social media tool that will streamline the collaboration for your team. If you’re using Kontentino, you can not only schedule posts across social networks but also send them for approval to your clients or internally. Plus, you’re able to assign all tasks and communicate with other team members within the tool.        

Conclusion

2018 was in many ways revolutionary for social media, making security and privacy more important than ever. Because of that, brands looking to leverage social networks have to start making informed decisions when it comes to their social media management strategies, and the latest trends are likely to influence their choices. It’s important to be kept in the loop (e.g. by following the top social media marketing blogs), in order not to stay behind. But, don’t just give in to the current trends, as you can easily lose your brand identity in the process. Keep your social media strategy well-thought-out, and have all your content organised and consistent. With a little help of Kontentino, most likely.