New year, new social media trends.

As is the case for many marketing tactics each year, it’s “out with the old, in with the new” when it comes to social media.

As companies revamp their strategies, set new goals, and target fresh customers to kick off the year, it is crucial that you don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for the next set of trends.

Below, we explore some of the biggest social media trends we predict for 2019, and how you can integrate these into your campaign strategy to amplify engagement with your customers.

1. Don’t Be Afraid of Live Streaming

Video content continues to gain ground as customers spend less time reading and more time watching videos. As mentioned in one of our previous blogs about video marketing, U.S. adults spend an average of six hours watching videos every day. Clearly, it’s time to rethink your strategy to place branded video content in the front seat of your marketing efforts.

The popularity of video marketing is not going away; in fact, we predict it will only intensify this year. However, it isn’t traditional videos that are going to draw consumers’ interests. Short clips, live streaming, Stories, and behind-the-scenes content will be the most popular.

Live streaming features contain so many great social media marketing opportunities. For example, you can broadcast a live Q&A with an influencer or announce real-time events for clients or customers. Additionally, live features allow for specific market targeting across multiple platforms.

Your customers don’t want to see typical commercials or sales video content anymore. They desire candid, honest videos from their favorite brands.

How to Incorporate More Video Content

Strategize, collaborate, and brainstorm on multiple ideas for live streaming videos to add to your content calendar this year. For pre-recorded content, plan a half-day where members of your team can create and edit the videos. It’s critical to set aside specific time for planning this content, as it can easily get pushed down the priority list. For live streaming video, set calendar reminders for your team to ensure your creative ideas are brought to life.

Consider fun, natural, and casual content. Are you celebrating the anniversary of your company this year? Live stream members of your team recalling their favorite office memories to commemorate your company’s milestone.

2. Get Creative With Your Stories

The Stories feature has been very popular in 2018 across a wide variety of industries, and that isn’t going to change in 2019. Currently, Stories are available on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. From gifs and stickers, to polls and “ask me a question” forms, these platforms are continually adding capabilities — and it’s up to your business to keep up.

How to Incorporate More Stories Into Your Strategy

Take advantage of Stories to showcase behind-the-scenes content, share a quick update with your followers, reveal a promo code, promote a new blog, or share helpful tips. Get creative and mix it up by adding music to the background of your Stories, use fun fonts, and add a relevant hashtag or two to broaden your audience. You can also save your Instagram Stories to your Highlights and add cover images that match the theme and aesthetic of your feed.

3. Promote Your Brand Through Influencer Marketing

From reviews to thought leadership, social media offers a unique outlet to turn fans into influencers. As brand trust erodes, potential consumers will continue to turn to current customers for reviews, advice, and feedback on the products or services they are interested in.

Influencers are often viewed as a more trustworthy resource than advertisers, thus better capturing your audience. By connecting with these influencers, you can market your product or service simply by becoming visible through their followers.

How to Incorporate Influencer Marketing

Connecting with industry professionals is the first step to becoming more aware of how influencers can help your marketing. Engage with relevant people in your industry online in social media groups, direct messages, and comments. Connect in-person at trade shows, conferences, and other networking events. It’s important to develop a network first so that you can call on these connections as new marketing ideas arise.

For example, invite an influencer to guest blog on your site or have them take over one of your social media channels for a day to motivate and engage your followers. Pair influencer marketing with live streaming to host a live Q&A session starring an influencer or important client. Let your followers tune in and ask questions about your business, products, or services.

No matter how you tap into the influencer market, showing your prospective buyers how your product or service works in a real, candid way can help build brand trust and increase customer loyalty.

Remove the Friction From Your Business in 2019

With 2019 now underway, it’s time to stop planning and start taking action. From social media and strategic content marketing, to targeted campaigns and downloadable offers, Criterion.B takes an analytical approach to help you attract the right visitors to your website at the right time.

Book a free consultation with our growth expert or CEO to discuss your marketing needs. Learn how our marketing and branding agency can help you attract the right leads, at the right time, and in the right way.