Social media trends for 2019

Social media came under some hard scrutiny in 2018, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to fade away any time soon. As we proceed further in 2019 we’re going to see social media adapting to changing attitudes and becoming more pervasive, offering new features and new ways of communicating in order to win back our love and our trust.

Fake news and concerns over data privacy rocked social media sites like Facebook and Twitter in 2018, and they’ve responded robustly. Businesses and brands that make use of social media have done likewise. In the coming months, we’ll see brands going for greater transparency, more engagement and higher quality content on their social media channels as they rebuild trust and look for new ways to make authentic connections with their public.

A human face

One way this will manifest will be through greater use of employee advocacy rather than relying on celebrity influencers. Business owners and management will also step forward, posting in person and writing blogs, as well as appearing in webinars and podcasts. It’s all about discovering the power of personality rather than hiding behind a faceless corporate logo.

On target

We’ve also seen organic reach slowing down as businesses have to pay in order to reach the people they formerly reached for free. This is an inevitable result of the growing use of social media and is not going to lead to widespread disillusionment as some have predicted. In fact, targeted advertising is set to become ever more sophisticated in terms of narrowing the demographic parameters available, and will become increasingly widespread and effective as a result.

Moving times

By 2020 video content is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic. Video as a tool for marketing or educational purposes is increasingly going to become the medium of choice for business, while individuals will be making use of easy-access production software to create everything from animated FB covers to spontaneous video blogs as a way of connecting with friends.

More stories

The “stories” format will continue to grow in popularity across all social media platforms. The immediate, ephemeral nature of using customised photos and videos to tell your story, as well as the option for direct sharing, is reassuring for those concerned about how our content and information is harvested and stored by big business’. It’s also fun, authentic and personal, and is perfect for mobile use, which will continue to be the preferred way most of us access the internet.

Some pundits are even saying that traditional news feeds will die out as social media plays to its strengths as a visual medium. At the same time, more long-form written content will thrive on blogs and business platforms like LinkedIn, as brands recognise that increased word count gives better SEO.

Driven by technology and social expectations, social media must adapt to meet our needs and not the other way around. As we move towards a new decade, we’ll be using these channels more and more, and our expectations will also be higher.