Stay Trendy with These Social Media Predictions for 2019

2018 was full of surprises, ups and downs. On a positive note, we had the rise of micro influencers, IGTV, Facebook Attribution and Twitter Media. At the same time, we saw bumpy turns of data breaches, hacks and odd social media mishaps. With 2018 now wrapped up, marketers are looking at 2019 to prep for upcoming campaigns and promotional opportunities.

Why trends are good for strategic thinking

Staying attuned to emerging trends and tactics is important. Why? People’s habits of consuming information shape and reshape how we engage online. Understanding the needs of your audience should feed into any business strategy. Combining this with your business goals is key for your social media success.

Watching social media predictions is wise. For any business, you need to decide how to leverage resources, reevaluate your approach and tap into marketing trends. This will strengthen your online presence, and ultimately your bottom line.

To jumpstart your activities in 2019, check out these three social media trends to get your thinking cap on.

Personalised Marketing

2018 has been a very interesting year for personalised content. On the one hand, we had the new EU GDPR regulations, the U.S's Internet Bill of Rights, and major data breaches. On the other, the growth of voice-activated smart speakers and face recognition features highlighted the continued rise of personal data-based functionality.

We now use more personalised ad targeting options and private messaging apps than ever before. What's more, Amazon and Google are looking for patents that could allow them to use gathered audio data from smart speakers for ad targeting and recommendations. These patterns show that audiences are looking for more and more individualised content from brands. What follows is interest-based funnels, more complex segmentation and retargeting.

Marketers will have to find the best way to accommodate users' expectations while following guidelines for secure data usage. With constantly changing algorithms and 'pay-to-play' becoming more and more relevant for exposure, personalised marketing is on the rise.

Social Media E-commerce

It is now easier than ever to make purchases through social media. Platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest or Snapchat help retailers turn their channels into e-commerce revenue streams. Marketers now use shoppable tags on Instagram and buyable pins on Pinterest to name but a few. Users in the US can take photos of an item with their Snapchat camera to find it on Amazon. Though this search feature is currently limited to a small group, it is possible it will roll out globally. With all of these options available, it’s not surprising that 1 in 4 also purchased a product or service via social media.

The revenue potential of social media is something for marketers to explore further in 2019. It is likely that features which make shopping easier are likely to appear across platforms in the future. By harnessing e-commerce opportunities where people are already engaging, there is potential to grow new steady revenue streams.

Augmented Reality and 3D

Wondering if you should bother with AR for your brand? More and more companies have introduced AR to their marketing portfolio because of its interactivity and immersiveness.

Enabling users to preview your products from their own home is a huge advantage of AR. In the U.S. alone, 80 million people user AR every month. Incorporating augmented reality into your organic and paid content seems like a natural progression. Campaigns such as Saban's 25th anniversary of "Power Rangers" campaign or Ikea's AR app 'IKEA Place' make strong use of AR. They prove that your everyday marketing activities can be elevated to the next level. And you don't need to look far. Facebook's Spark AR Studio or Snapchat Lenses are available for anyone to try out. Results: AR is full of potential for tailored, original content and to help your brand stand out from the crowd.

Those trends are just some of many to look forward to in 2019. They’re a good starting place to kick off a new year of creative thinking. Paying attention to the social media landscape is essential to marketing success. After all, staying ahead of the curve is about being flexible, adaptable and willing to challenge yourself. No doubt we are all looking forward to the new year, packed with new energy and possibilities to enrich our social media experiences.

Anna Pospieszysnka is Social Media Manager at Dept.