The new year just got started. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a summary of the top predictions by the top social media experts and blogs? Well, this is exactly that.
#1 Video Marketing
Going by the trends on the entire portfolio of Facebook and Instagram combined or according to social experts such as Mari Smith and blogs, such as Social Media Today and Smart Insights, Video Marketing will continue to be one of the highest focus on Facebook and on social media in general in the new year.
Be it Social TV – think IGTV, or more variety in video formats – think Vertical Video or Facebook Live; the video – media will continue to rise in 2019.
#2 Real Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing took a step forward last year and according to Forbes, Entrepreneur and Social Media Today and many others, Influencer Marketing will continue to rise in 2019.
It wouldn’t be just the mega influencers that will rise but the smaller, micro or even nano influencers will be something to take into consideration in your marketing plans for the new year.
Marketers would also focus on more niche targeting of influencers as well as focus on authenticity and real honesty more than anything. Today’s consumer is smart and they can easily smell fake influencers, miles away.
One of the best practices that continue to be asked of influencers who are new (and even old) is to use clear disclaimers or disclosures. In addition, Employee Advocacy would be another form of internal influencer marketing that more companies would be gunning for in 2019.
#3 Marketing Funnels & Really High ROI
Experts say, marketers would focus on really high ROI this year and for this, you need to replace your Website with a proper Marketing Funnel.
Gone are the days where you created a website to make your mark on the interwebs. Say hello, to sophisticated Marketing Funnels that churn out sales when you throw in traffic. This is the only way you can get really high ROI in your business.
Social will definitely take on all aspects of the buying cycle and according to Hacker Noon marketers should focus on a full stack approach to funnels for best gains.
#4 Audience Targeting & High Spending Digital Ads
You can’t really speak of Marketing Funnels and ROI – more like ROAS (return on ad spend), without discussing Audience Targeting. These are the Digital Ads that will bring you leads and sales. Not just traffic.
As a business, you must do razor sharp audience targeting where you tweak the Ads until you get really high ROI. And then only, scale the ads where you spend high and gain high profits in return.
2019 would see a rise in marketers adopting these methods that only a handful had been successful in doing so in the past. However, a word of caution here. Don’t just crowd your social with ads. The folks at Agora Pulse reminds us that GDPR would seep into social, and would result in a tightening of rules for digital ads.
So, make sure you have a healthy balance between your organic (think content) and paid marketing this year.
#5 Marketing Automation
Marketing Automation is no doubt one process that makes the lives of marketers easy. While some argue that automation kills marketing, in reality, there are many processes that can and should be automated.
It is up to the marketer to figure out which processes are more repetitive and does not need human interference and which should actually require personal input. More and more sophisticated tools help today’s marketers decide on this and put each aspect into practice so that the customer doesn’t feel like they are just a number on a list.
#6 Better Content Marketing with Real Value
Providing great value through your content marketing is something all marketers strive for. Blogging and Vlogging – mostly YouTube marketing (even podcasting – which isn’t seen much in the local market). And the content you provide should not just be good for consumption but that it’s SO good that people are compelled to engage and to share them too.
Apart from providing great value, your content marketing should also focus on storytelling. Whether it’s video or image or text, storytelling is the best way to make an impact on your audience and make them remember you.
Content Marketing game is getting even better with ebooks, video courses, and live webinars etc. We are sure to see an increase in the competition when it comes to Content Marketing in 2019. Oh, and don’t forget UGC (user-generated content). It’s still powerful stuff.
#7 Messenger Marketing, Chatbots and A.I.
Messenger marketing will take over email marketing. That’s for sure. Email marketing has been hands down, one of the most effective and economical forms of marketing. Messenger or chat will, however, takeover Email in the years to come.
In 2018, we saw the trend appearing and in 2019 this will become a highly practiced form of marketing. The growth of A.I will boost and support business growth, together with the emergence of Chatbots.
Not only business growth but also A.I. driven customer service will also continue to rise. Newer, more sophisticated tools would aid Messenger Marketing and customer service in the new year.
#8 Social Communication & Groups
People seem to like to gather around common ideas, causes or topics more actively than participate in brand chatter connected to business pages. During last year, on Facebook alone, Group membership went up 40%, with 1.4 billion people now using Groups every month.
Part of the reason could be due to the fact that Facebook had recalibrated its algorithms to prioritize engagement with friends, family, and Groups, while down-ranking public content shared by businesses, brands, and media.
Considering these facts and trends, we can safely say that Communities and Groups, be it Facebook Groups or other niche communities will be an essential strategy for businesses to take on in 2019. Here’s an excellent post from Amy Porterfield on how businesses can maximize the usage of the 3 types of Facebook Groups. Amy’s post is a little old but definitely gold.
#9 Voice for Search
With the rise of A.I. assisted voice search, voice, seems to be an upcoming trend that would mature in 2019, or even 2020. According to Search Engine Land, voice-based commerce sales in the United States is projected to reach $40 billion by 2022. And so, 2019 is the year to get ahead of the game.
With Siri’s popularity at 41.4 million monthly active users in the U.S alone, if you want your business to prosper and thrive, make sure to leverage voice search. And marketers must think about voice search when planning campaigns. Test and play with new social voice features as they become available and get creative with how they mesh with your social strategy.
#10 Blockchain going Mainstream
Undoubtedly Blockchain was a big conversation topic in 2018 and this year, it will definitely make more headlines as people are realizing the benefits of the technology in multitudes of areas as it gains a better reputation among marketers.
Blockchain integration with social media would see the light of day especially with security and privacy levels on social networks have been expensive affair last year. Social networks may even issue their own coins, using blockchain. A number of gaming sites and virtual worlds have been using their own currency but this can take a step forward with actual cryptocurrency with real value for users.
Apart from this, think BaaS like SaaS, which a few companies already provide, going mainstream with increasing demand. From security tokens to stable coins (which is different from cryptocurrencies) There are a number of trends to look out for, with the Blockchain technology.
For more Blockchain trends, you can get this 47-page “Blockchain Trends In 2019” report from cbinsights.com for free.
Speaking of coins, does anyone smell an F-coin or even a G-coin on the way? IYKWIM lol Okay, maybe I’m not joking. Facebook already had Facebook Credits, from 2009 – 2011 but they never went beyond the Beta stage. Who thinks we would see a comeback? 😉
One more thing – LinkedIn
Many social networks had had a rough time in 2018, mainly Facebook that had a number of blows form of legal and privacy. But LinkedIn had slowly but surely passed the 500 million mark last year and continues to grow. Unless they somehow manage a controversy, they seem to be gaining people’s faith and will rise further this year.
That’s it. Did you guess any of these on the list? Let me know what your personal predictions are if you’d like to share them in comments!
If you would like to read more on trends and predictions for the new year,, Social Bakers have done a study on the “Most Important Social Media Trends to Remember in 2019”. It’s pretty comprehensive and it’s Free. Click Here to download.
Is your business ready for 2019? If you are looking for Digital Marketing consultation for your business to work out your annual strategy or Social Media training for your team, talk to me today.
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