3 Stories Shaping Social Marketing in 2019
Social Media’s Ever-Changing Role in Marketing
Social media is crucial to any brand’s marketing strategy in 2019. But leveraging the strengths of social media is like steering a ship in ever-changing seas. It’s not enough to set the rudder and forget it. You’ve got to take account of trends and events affecting the social media landscape and adjust your tactics accordingly.
With this in mind, let’s look at three big stories shaping social media marketing at the outset of 2019:
A Crisis of Trust
2018 was marked by sharply declining trust in social media, with mounting concerns over data security, hate speech, fake news and phony accounts all taking a toll. This crisis of trust has affected all social platforms to some extent, but some were better positioned to weather the storm than others.
Facebook, despite a punishing year of scandal, enjoys such a huge user base and dominant market position that, so far, big brands are sticking with it – and smaller brands would be wise to do so as well.
Google Plus, on the other hand, was already struggling. So, the disclosure that a security flaw had exposed user data to third-party developers was a crushing blow to the platform’s viability. Last fall, Google announced that the service would shut down early in 2019.
Evolve or Go Extinct
With changes in technology come changes in consumers’ behavior and their expectations of social platforms. Those that can keep pace enjoy continued success – those that do not risk fading into irrelevance.
Facebook and Instagram are taking steps to guard their lofty market position, embracing innovations such as live video and new e-commerce features.
Twitter, meanwhile, has stagnated as a channel for brand marketing, with platform updates slow to arrive. It still offers brands reach and portability, but its position today is much more precarious than that of other big platforms.
Genuine Engagement is Key
Cynicism about traditional marketing is rising, particularly among younger audiences. This means that brands best positioned for success are those that use their social media presence to encourage real user engagement.
Instagram and Snapchat are surging as platforms for genuine interaction, while niche networks such as Pinterest and LinkedIn are valuable tools allowing brands to gain credibility with a specific audience.
Reddit, while it’s not strictly a social media platform but rather an online discussion site, is increasingly factoring into marketers’ plans; aside from directly engaging on Reddit, brands often use it as a source of user-generated content.
Whether your brand has a long-established social footprint, or you’re just taking your first steps – if you’re looking for better results from your social media marketing in 2019, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Rosie’s Creative. We’ll work with you to put together a lean, results-oriented strategy built for your brand and tailored to your audience. Ready to Get Started? Contact us at Rosie’s Creative.