Social Media Trends

January 8, 2019

Goodbye 2018, hello 2019. The exciting world of social media may have you wondering what is going to happen next.

Content & Storytelling
Gone are the days of simple stock photos, here are the days of full-throttle content marketing campaigns. Storytelling is becoming more and more important. How fast do you scroll through your own social feed(s)? What users see must be impactful and memorable at just one glance. The caption, the image, and overall message must capture attention for long enough to get users to take action by liking, commenting, and/or sharing.

Influencer Marketing Is Getting Smarter
Influencers will need to work harder and be compelling for brands this year. It is important that these people do just that, influence humans by being human. With the rise of brands using influencers to market, more of “human” types of posts are showing up on feeds. Influencers will need to become more passionate about the brands they are promoting and embrace a more “brand ambassador” look for their posts; their messaging, photos, and content will need to become even more believable.

Stories Are on the Rise
You’ve heard the phrase “content is king,” that includes authentic, short-lived, impactful content: Stories. According to an article by Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, Stories are “growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing, with more than a billion users of Stories across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.” Creating stories and content that works for stories can be fun and offer brands a little more wiggle room to translate the brand message on this channel.

Gen Z Is Getting Into the Game
Generation Z has grown up with social media their entire lives. This demographic is graduating college, coming into the working world, and making money. If your brand’s target market includes Gen Z, you want to consider a very strong social media plan. This market will continue to use—and purchase—from social media. It is important to keep up with this generation, stay informed of what is going on in pop culture, what they find influential, and how you can infiltrate your brand in through appropriate messaging.