Social Media Marketing for Companies: What Are the 10 Most Important Trends in 2019?

Social Media Marketing for Companies: What Are the 10 Most Important Trends in 2019?

For many companies, social media is still a challenge. Because it is one of the fastest changing disciplines in digital marketing. Another reason to deal with the latest developments. Which social media trends in 2019 need your attention, read here.

What does Digital Marketer expect in 2019?

The numbers of social media users are increasing worldwide every day. Forecasts indicate that the number of users will crack the 3 billion in 2021. In addition, social media in companies has long been more than just a marketing measure. Because social media increases sales, promotes customer loyalty and supports relevant corporate goals such as lead generation. In times of progressive digitization and global networking, the importance of social media in customer contact is constantly increasing. Because companies and brands are increasingly faced with the task of being close to the customer along the entire customer journey. 

Be it for your better customer understanding or in customer communication. However, so far only have 41 percent of German companies recognize the importance of social media as a communication channel with customers. There is a lot of catching up to do, especially in small and medium-sized organizations. Businesses should now plan ahead to see what new innovations they can support in their social media strategy to reach their target audience. How fitting that a new year is imminent. Below are the top 10 social media marketing trends for companies that should include digital marketers in their 2019 planning:

1. Why User-Generated Content Is the Key to Brand Awareness

As social media grows, the number of posted content gets more and more unmanageable day by day, and the attention span of the potential target group continues to decline, the word of mouth tactic works again on the social web. What does that mean for companies? Companies whose users post corporate content in the form of photos, videos, personal experiences or blog articles are gaining credibility. The more users that provide unpaid content about a brand, the faster a community builds. User-generated content (UGC) is an effective way for businesses to generate organic reach on social networks and turn their customers into loyal evangelists of their brand. This personal experience of customers with the company is very relevant for companies in the coming year. 

According to the Federal Association for Digital Economy (BVDW) are personal, positive testimonials from friends and family, the most credible source for product recommendations on the social web. Marketers should consider next year how they can motivate their customers to share their purchased products in their own social channels, thereby building a community in the network. In particular, they should take the time to specifically analyze any interaction between users and the company's social media channel. User-generated content lives from the esteem of both parties. In addition to the corporate content, it makes sense to repatriate the UGC and thus to offer the customers a stage of appreciation.

2. Social Listening - Why Listening Is Often Better than Writing

A successful social media strategy consists of addressing your own target group on the right channel, at the right time and with appropriate content. In order to successfully implement this in 2019, marketers should rely on social listening. Because who can listen well, learns the most. Companies use social listening to learn business-related content that is not directly targeted at the business. You can better understand your target audience and their interests. In order to achieve a better understanding of the customer in order to optimize their brand, products or services. In the digital age, marketers no longer need their ears strained. Today, automated social listening tools are listening to online conversations. 

Companies benefit particularly from the social media, where people are constantly talking about products and brands. Of course, the insights gained there must also lead to actions. Social listening tools can ensure that marketers do not miss conversations, mentions or interactions between potential customers and the company on social networks. The tools work by using keywords similar to E.g. Google Alerts. But they are not just tracking the company's online mentions or hashtags, for example. In addition, they can analyze company-relevant segments, influencers and the competition. For example, Brandwatch has the top 15 free social media monitoring and social listening tools here compiled.

3. Influencer Marketing Enhances Brand Awareness and Sales

But not only free, user-generated content can build a community in the social web. Especially the cooperation with influencers can increase the company's success. As a necessary brand awareness push.

4. Optimize Customer Experience (cx) with Messenger Chatbots

Messenger marketing is the next big step in social media marketing. Compared to traditional email and SMS marketing, messenger text messages have a ten-fold opening, reading and click-through rate. This enables efficient, fast communication with the customer via social media networks. Messenger chatbots will become more important in the future. Over two billion messages were exchanged between users and businesses each month in 2018. 

This shows the growing growth of messenger bots in social media. The chatbots may use Facebook personal information to provide the user with the ultimate, personalized experience. The messages arrive in the form of push notifications on the users' devices and directly entice the user to click on the messages. Thanks to the social media apps, the content of the news and the entire conversations between user and company can be optimally displayed on any device without much effort.

5. More Live Videos for More Authenticity

Marketers are increasingly turning to video content to meet changing customer expectations. By 2019 at the latest, brands need a suitable video strategy. The following formats should play a role: live videos, which will be even more in focus in the coming year. As early as 2018, 78 percent of online viewers are actively watching livestreams of companies and individuals. 

80 percent prefer watching live videos over reading blog articles and 82 percent prefer live videos over other social media posts. Live videos give social media users a deeper look behind the scenes of a business. In addition to the importance of live video, marketers should also become familiar with video ads on social media and include them in their marketing planning. For example, video ads on Instagram account for more than 65 percent of all ad clicks.

6. 24h Content - Attract More Users with The Snap & Story Hype

Over the past year, the goal of a marketer has been to create content that is available indefinitely. But in 2019, social media is all about time-limited content. This content is optimally prepared for the Instagram and Snapchat stories and is available to the consumer only 24 hours. Just Snapchat and Instagram Stories address nearly 450 million unique users each day, giving them a way to get to know your business, products, and services in an authentic way and respond directly to content. The time limit creates an urgency to watch (and not miss) a particular story. Marketers should take advantage of the "Fear of missing out" effect (FOMO).

7. Use Augmented Reality Features for Virtual Product Experiences

Augmented reality has been used in recent years, especially in the form of facial filters in social media. It is estimated that the market for augmented and virtual reality in 2023 will exceed just under $ 300 billion. Currently, only a few of the filters are branded on Snapchat and Instagram. Social media managers should take advantage of this potential. After all, the AR features will be extended to other platforms next year. Especially in the beauty and cosmetics sector, companies are interested in offering their target group a virtual product experience. Marketers should therefore consider using technology to create a playful experience for their potential customers.

8. Generate More Leads with A Social Selling Strategy

Social selling has become a ubiquitous buzzword thanks to the Instagram Shop Now feature. Behind the principle of social selling, however, is much more and wins in 2019 more and more important. Social selling describes the art of marketers to optimally use all available social network tools to build relationships between the company and potential customers. And thus in the end to generate sales. Companies that adapt their social selling processes to the individual needs of their customers currently have a strong competitive advantage.

9. Visual Searches - After Text and Voice Search Comes the Image Search

The social network Pinterest provided its users with a Pinterest Lens this year. With an object can be scanned by photo and the user receives appropriate suggestions (pins). Pinterest is thus considered a pioneer of Visual Searches. Now, Google, Snapchat, and Amazon are testing their newly-developed visual image search tools. Visual Search means a technology based on Artificial Intelligence. It provides the user with an optimal answer to a query by image. While in recent years, in addition to the classic text, ie keyword query the voice-based search query (Voice Search) thanks to Siri, Google Assistant and Co. has prevailed, Visual search technology will again massively influence the marketing industry.

10. Consider the Generation Change to Gen Z

Generation Z, i.e. the vintages between 1996 and 2010, will enter the labor market in the coming years. As a result, the purchasing power of this generation is growing every year and is currently estimated at $ 44 billion. In the year 2020, the Gen Z will occupy 40 percent of consumers in the US, so marketers in 2019 should keep an eye on this target group. It is a digitally competent generation whose values, lifestyles and behaviors differ from previous generations. In order to adapt to the generation change as a company, marketers should target the Gen Z more purposefully and address it with suitable contents. Especially since they grew up in the digital age, acquire their own technological skills and take social media as a matter of course, social media marketing is the ideal channel for this target group. But also a big challenge for companies.

Conclusion

Social media marketing offers a variety of ways in which companies reach their target group. Marketers should always be up-to-date with social networks and new technologies. And in particular on the generation change add Gen Z. In particular, it is important for digital marketing in 2019: to strengthen the focus on customer understanding, loyalty and communication. Create a personalized brand experience using artificial intelligence. And to use video content in such a way that it not only contributes to brand awareness, but also significantly strengthens brand positioning. In a market where competition keeps on increasing. Social media can set a number of course as a tool. A suitable strategy is in your hands.