The start of the new year is a great time to review your current social media strategic plan and to look ahead. This year, the social media trends are focusing more on generating transparent, quality engagement and less on reach. Here are some new social media trends to watch out for in 2019.
1. Rebuilding trust in social media
There were several moments in 2018 that caused distrust in social media; Cambridge Analytica scandal and Congressional hearing. Social media platforms felt increased pressure to improve security, transparency, and accuracy. 2019 is a chance for organizations to rebuild trust with their audience. That means focusing more on ways to authentically connect and to highlight their humanity. Putting a real, human face to a brand is key to building trust.
2. Social media is about storytelling
In 2018, the Stories feature on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook grew in popularity. According to a recent Hootsuite webinar, stories are growing 15X faster than feed-based sharing. Stories allow organizations to share more human stories which feel more real, immediate, and personal. Use the highlight feature to save stories clips to your Instagram profile. Some examples of highlight themes are tutorials, Q&A’s, Behind the scenes clips.
*Stories Tip: Film your stories vertically on your phone.
Additional Reading on Stories:
Facebook Stories: Everything You Need to Know About Facebook’s Latest Feature (Buffer.com)
How to Use Instagram Stories – The Advanced, Step-by-Step Tutorial (Alextooby.com)
How to Use Social Media for Storytelling (Digitalmarketinginstitute.com)
3. Build a brand narrative
The start of the new year is a good time to think about your organization’s strategic narrative. Narratives should be compelling and lead audiences to a call to action. Your story is how your organization will be remembered by your audience. Is your story inspiring? Involve your audience in your brand narrative by inviting your community to generate content by sharing their experience with your organization with a hashtag.
Additional Reading on Brand Narrative:
What is Strategic Brand Narrative? (Forbes)
The Power of Brand Narrative: 5 Ways to Create It (ChiefMarketer.com)
How to Build a Brand Narrative (Canva)
4. Quality and creativity over quantity
There is no magic formula to answer the question: how often should I post on social media? In order to increase audience consideration, focus on creating engaging content instead of the number of posts. Try to be consistent with your postings. Create a schedule for when you will post.
Additional Reading:
How Often Should You Post on Social Media in 2019? (Sendible.com)
