I honestly cannot keep up with the amount of social media trends prediction emails I’m getting about 2019. The same thing happened last year, and many of those predictions never materialised. But here is my list of five social media predictions you probably shouldn’t ignore…

Be your brand

Putting a real face to a brand helps to build loyalty. It makes it more relatable and has that human element that helps to grow trust. One way to do this is to promote your personal brand – you! You could do this in a variety of ways such as guest blogging or Lives. By allowing your audience to get to know the person behind the business it can help to strengthen your brand’s reputation. 

Social Listening

Social listening is when you scan the internet and social media channels to find mentions of your brand and relevant keywords. By doing this, you never miss a mention that you can publicise but, also to help with your lead generation and social selling. Often people post their problems or ideas on social media, so now marketers can discover potential customers looking for the exact services they offer on social media, giving them the perfect opportunity to engage with them. 

Video Content

Video content will continue to grow in 2019 and in fact is expected to dominate social media channels. Live videos are taking centre stage, I think it’s the rawness and honesty of live that makes it most appealing to viewers. You can’t hide in a live! If you’ve not had a go at a live video yet on your social media, add it to your list of goals for 2019- It’s not as bad as you think!

Timeliness

Social Media never sleeps and it’s fair to say there is nothing more annoying when you message a brand and it takes an age for them to reply. Make sure you’re replying to your customers in a timely manner, they’ll appreciate it. Remember as well that Facebook displays your average response time to your followers, who’d want to message a brand that take over a day to reply? Of course, you can also set up chatbots, but they can sometimes be a bit impersonal.

Social Media Advertising

In 2018 brands could expect, on average, 6% of their fans to see their Facebook updates. Organic reach is slowing vanishing before our eyes, so sadly most businesses will need to invest in Social Media ads. Fortunately, social media advertising doesn’t have to break the bank, small amounts can go a long way!  Take a look at my blog post on Facebook ads Vs. Boosted Posts to find out what you should be using.

What are your plans for your social media channels in 2019? Have you started planning your content? I’d love to hear from you meg@weareauxilia.com