Just In Time: Top 5 Key Social Media Trends for 2019

Key social media trends for 2019 that we see emerging or continuing into the new year are around:

• Discoverability.
• Democratization of commerce.
• 1:1 relationships with customers.
• Content! It’s still King and Queen.
• Social media marketing platforms. They’re going to become more central to an effective and modern marketing strategy and plan.

If you are looking for more up-to-date social media trends for 2022, we have updated our recommendations.

The Top Social Media Trends for 2019

Discoverability

It used to be that succeeding in online business and commerce was about SEO optimization. This, of course, was of tremendous impact when search was the main way people interacted with the Web.

Now, with social media and the growing number of people all around world getting online and having social media account, discoverability is largely defined by the virality thanks to the online crowd. When you go to another city you haven’t been to, you will be more likely to discover a restaurant or find a dentist recommendation through the voice of these establishments in social media.

Discoverability is reinforced by your network, which endorses or recommends the establishment (or doesn’t).

Democratization

It used to be that the brands that had a great website and SEO were able to reach, convert, and engage an online audience. With the growing influence of social media, small and/or unknown brands can now have as much of impact as the big brands.

The world feels much smaller with the internet and social media influence that creates the shortest distance between users and brands. It means that the smaller brands also have a much greater TAM (total addressable market).

So, the artisan popcorn shop in Berea, Kentucky now can reach, convert, and engage with popcorn aficionados in Lisbon, Portugal. The greater its social media presence, the greater its discoverability and opportunity to expand through the network effect of social.

1:1 Customer Relationship

Before the internet and social media, once brands earned your loyalty, there was a stickiness that brands could lean on.  However, a study by Inc.com shows over 70% would retract their loyalty more readily than they would three years ago. Scott Cook, Founder of Intuit, says it best:

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.”

The same study showed that brands need to work harder to retain loyalty from 78% of  millennials. And 38% of Millennials would switch their loyalty if influenced by friends or family.

Customers (consumer and business) just have too easy of access to alternatives based on what their whim dictates — from price, to reviews, to preference based on peer choices. We live in an era where loyalty has to be constantly earned. We do this through direct engagement with customers/users and through brand advocacy in social media networks.

Content Still King and Queen

With the continued growth of use across many different social media channels, the fight for mindshare and attention is ever fiercer. The most effective weapon in this fight is still content. A greater piece of the content pie is veering to visual content: pictures and videos.

No surprise that YouTube beats out Facebook. It excels if we narrow the measurement of social media popularity to users who have visited or used the service in the last month.

It’s the only major social service to have more people visiting than those who are a member. Meanwhile, 56% of internet users outside China have watched a video on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram in the past month. Instagram, which heavily uses photos and images, hit one billion users in 2018, from 800,000,000 the year before, making it the fastest growing social network.

A Social Media Marketing Platform is your BFF

As the Millennial generation becomes the dominant segment of the workforce starting in 2019 (1.72B in size), their spending power will continue to increase.  They soon will be joined by the Generation Z (2.52B in size) as we get into the 2020s.

All of this means that these trends will continue to expand. They’ll make it critical that businesses not only establish a digital presence but also a voice and community through social media networks. The reach of social media continues to increase. There are constant changes in the networks. Taking advantage of social media marketing platforms is a no-brainer.

They help you manage all your social media posts, interactions, analytics, and content all in one place. They also stay on top of the constant tweaks the networks are making so you don’t have to. We know how much work it is just to run your business. Using these tools will help you rest easy and be productive with your valuable time.

We’re excited for 2019. The team here at eClincher will be working hard to continue delivering the best social media management platform possible.  Try us out for free and tell us what you think! We’ll help you navigate the changes ahead by the networks, and engage you as powerfully as possible with your users.

We’ve got tools like auto-queueing your posts and managing your social inbox. Plus, you’ll have access to on-point content for your messaging and engagement analytics. Our commitment is to provide easy-to-use tools that maximize your social impact and optimize the process. You’ll get more time back to each day of the 360+ days ahead!