Social Media Predictions 2019 - 1 | 2019 Social Media Predictions - Sysomos
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2019
Social Media Predictions
1 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
Nobody could ever accuse the social media business of being dull
and 2018 certainly saw lots of changes that kept social marketing
professionals on their toes. As the world continues to grapple with the
question of how exactly platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
fit into our lives in a positive way, it seems likely that 2019 will be just as
eventful for those of us who work in social media.
In this eBook we’ve summarised some of the big changes that took
place during 2018, and made some informed predictions about what
you can expect in the coming year. We’ve also tried to offer some clear
guidance on how brands can prepare for these trends, to help you plan
your social media strategy.
2 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
The Big Changes to Social
Platforms in 2018
3 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
Facebook
Timeline Algorithm
The big story for marketers on Facebook in 2018 was the continuing untapped opportunity with brands still exploring its potential. This
decline of organic reach. This has been happening for a while, but year Facebook added some interactivity features to both live and on-
this year saw a change to Facebook’s algorithm designed to prioritise demand videos, enabling brands to run different types of polls and
content from friends and family in users’ timelines. What that means quizzes for viewers.
for brands is that it’s even harder to get your content seen, and
paying to boost your posts is really the only way to address that.
Of course, focusing on producing great quality content that people Breaking News Tag
want to share and engage with will help a lot, but you’ll still need to
It’s no secret that fake news has been a serious problem for social
put some budget behind your posts to get the ball rolling.
channels over the past few years, and Facebook took a step to
combat it this year by introducing the ability for trusted publishers to
tag their stories as breaking news. This may sound like a small thing,
Video Features but in theory it should help users to differentiate between genuine
Many of the social channels are making a play in online video, news from reliable journalists and fake stories dressed up to look like
particularly with respect to live-streaming, which is still a largely legitimate news sources.
4 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsInstagram
Timeline Algorithm
Much like its parent-company, Facebook, Instagram has been form videos. This, obviously, puts Instagram in direct competition
tweaking its timeline to provide a better experience for users. Again, with YouTube as a channel for distributing video content, and has
the idea is to give priority to content from people that users have the potential to completely transform how the service is used by
authentic connects with rather than branded content, and in some consumers and brands.
ways this is walking back a little from a 2016 update which ditched
the chronological timeline. While the 2018 update doesn’t completely
restore the timeline to chronological order, it is certainly a lot closer Commerce Features
to the original version that users loved. For this reason, brands need
Instagram has been experimenting with various commerce features
to pay more attention to the timing of their pots on Instagram, since
for a while now, exploring different ways to help brands sell through
recency is once again a key factor.
the platform and for users to more easily buy cool stuff that they see
in their feeds. This year the company introduced an in-app feature
that enabled brands to provide users with more information about
Video Features products, and to direct them to the shopping page where they can
Instagram has also received updates to its video capabilities this year purchase the item. Pinterest has led the way for commercialisation
with the introduction of IGTV which enables users to host long- of image-focused social media, but Instagram is clearly catching up
and innovating.
5 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsTwitter Timeline Algorithm Unsurprisingly, Twitter has also enhanced its video capabilities this year, with a focus on live-streaming improvements. Live video streams are now given priority in users’ timelines, and this is very much in line with Twitter’s ethos of being the social media channel that people turn to when they want to know what’s happening right now. Chronological Timeline As with other social channels, Twitter has experimented with moving away from a strictly chronological timeline and tried instead to use an algorithm to decide what content to show users. Unsurprisingly, this caused a backlash from users who liked things just the way they were. Responding to this, Twitter now offers users the ability to opt out of the algorithm and switch back to the chronological timeline. 6 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
Our Trend Predictions
Our Trend Predictions for 2019
for 2019
7 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsFake News Backlash Fake news remains a problem that is under intense scrutiny from governments around the world, and the social platforms are looking at ways to address the issue, knowing that if they can’t find a solution it’s likely that they’ll face stricter legislation. They also know that if the quality of content found in social media continues to nosedive, it won’t be long before users turn away from their platforms. So you can expect to see a lot stronger action on disinformation, propaganda, and untrustworthy information sources in social media as the major players seek to maintain the integrity and usefulness of their networks. To make sure you’re ready for this, assess your content and advertising approach, make sure you’re not doing anything in social that could be mistaken for ‘fake news’. Also, pay close attention to algorithm changes and how they impact your social media strategy. We know that organic reach is in terminal decline, but be on the lookout for other changes to the way content is published in social timelines and make sure you understand what that will mean for your owned social channels. 8 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
The Evolution of Social Video
Experimentation with video features has been a common thread If you’re not already using video as part of your social and content
running through all of the major social media players over the past marketing strategy, now is a good time to take a look at how it
couple of years. The huge success of YouTube and popularity of Snap- might work for you. Look at what features are available on the dif-
Chat, as well as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Video has ferent social channels you’re already active in, and think about which
not gone unnoticed by the established social media players, so it’s no might be the most useful for you - for example, if you think you could
surprise that they’re making a play for the online video space. do something really compelling with live video streaming, then it’s
worth exploring what Twitter can do for you.
It still feels like the social media world is trying to work out exactly
how to use online video, introducing features just to see if their user
base can find a compelling use case. We expect to see more inno-
vation in this area over the coming year, as the platforms introduce
even more video focused features, and users find interesting new Find out how Meltwater Social can help you build a
ways of using them. It’s also likely that the big social channels will world-beating social strategy in 2019.
start experimenting with ways to monetize video, as users spend
more time viewing on their platforms.
meltwater.com/social
9 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsInfluencer Marketing Shakeup
There’s been something of a backlash against influencer marketing There are some steps brands can take to future-proof their influencer
in 2018, with many questioning the real value of working with online marketing. First, set some clear policies and guidelines about the
influencers. This issue has been compounded by increasing awareness kind of influencers you want to work with and rules of engagement,
of “influencer fraud” which involves dishonest influencers artificially to ensure that you’re really getting value from the relationship. If and
inflating their audience sizes, and charging naïve marketers high fees potential influencer deal falls short of those policies, think carefully
for sharing their messages with nothing more than a network of bots about why you’re doing it.
and fake-followers.
When assessing the true reach of an online influencer, don’t just take
Another development is that an increasing focus on data privacy their word for it – ask for proof of their influence, and positive referrals
means that it is becoming more difficult for brands to identify from previous partners they may have worked with. Don’t forget you
truly influential people online. This creates a situation where the can use tools like Meltwater Social to analyse their audience and get
influencers who excel at self-promotion are most visible to brands, a good idea of whether they have as much clout as they claim.
but they might not be the best people to help you reach the audience
you want to focus on.
10 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsTransparency and Accountability
As social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter play a bigger role in How should social marketers prepare for this? It’s a good idea to get your
society, they attract more attention from governments and the media, house in order ahead of any increased scrutiny. Document all of your social
and the way that brands use these channels also comes under closer media processes and policies, make sure you have a complete picture of
scrutiny. This is compounded by the previously mentioned backlash against how you spend money in social the business case for that spend. Make sure
social influencers, which is contributing to an increasingly apprehensive that your social media policies are aligned with your organisation’s broader
environment for social media marketing activity. CSR and ethics policies, and any codes of practice that apply to your
industry. Pay special attention to how your social media activity fits in with
This isn’t entirely a bad thing, as it should help weed out some of the bad appropriate data protection and privacy rules that your business may be
practices and establish more trust in the social media industry. At the subject to.
same time, we’ve seen social ad spending boom over recent years, so it’s
understandable that people are going to start asking a lot more questions
about how we use social media, our relationships with the platforms, how
social budget is being spent, and what it’s delivering.
11 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsRise of the GIFs OK, GIFs are nothing new, but it seems like only now are brands really sitting up and taking notice of how they can be used as part of marketing campaigns. The big GIF platforms like GIPHY are starting to engage in commercial partnerships, especially with media companies and consumer brands. Popular UK TV show, The Great British Bake Off, uses GIFs to help generate online buzz for each episode, while Italian auto maker Fiat, also creates some great animations to spice up its social channels. It’s not just B2C brands either, some B2B companies are also making great, creative use of animated GIFs, like MailChimp – you can view a video case study of how they use social media, including GIFs, here on our website. There are a lot of examples of all kinds of brands using GIFs, so if you’re not already using them, now’s the time to start thinking about what they could do for you. 12 | 2019 Social Media Predictions
Social Media Growth Forecasts
Global Social Media Users Social Network Users
Worldwide, 2018 – 2022
There’s no sign yet that the growth of
social media has plateaued in terms of
user numbers. Global forecasts show
user numbers continuing to rise, driven 3.29
by increasing penetration in developing 3.17
markets and more widespread adoption of 3.04
smartphones. 2.89
2.73
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Billions % of population
Source: eMarketer, November 2018
13 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsFacebook, Instagram and Twitter Growth
The expected growth in user numbers will largely benefit Facebook and Instagram, with Twitter experience very modest growth in
the same period. Based on current forecasts from eMarketer, other social channels are dwarfed by the big three and, short of a
surprise explosion in popularity, are unlikely to achieve and similar levels of growth.
2.5B
2.0B
1.5B
1.0B
500M
0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Facebook Users Instagram Users Twitter Users
Source: eMarketer, November 2018
14 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsUS Social Media Ad Spending
The already huge social media advertising Social Network Ad Spending
market is predicted to see double digit US, 2016 – 2022
growth over the next couple of years as
advertisers continue to flock to the channel. $37.71
Over the past couple of years we’ve seen
3.17
organic reach completely evaporate, and
3.04 $32.18
brands have turned to paid social in order to
make sure their content gets in front of the
41.0% $26.95
right eyeballs, which has resulted in revenue
boosts for social platforms.
$21.08
$15.63 27.9%
34.9%
19.4%
17.2%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Billions % change
Source: eMarketer, November 2018
15 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsUS Social Media Ad Revenue Share
Where is all that social advertising budget being spent? There are no surprises here, as we see that Facebook completely dominates the social
advertising market with its subsidiary, Instagram, a distant second. All other channels are completely dwarfed by these giants and any predicted
growth is relatively small in comparison.
35B
30B
25B
20B
15B
10B
5B
0
2017 2018 2019 2020
Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Other social venues Pinterest Snapchat Twitter
Source: eMarketer, November 2018
16 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsSummary: 2019 Social Media Predictions
Timeline Algorithms Influencer Marketing
Major platforms are focusing on The true power of online influencers is
improving the quality of users’ timelines. increasingly being questioned. If you work
Brand content needs to be brilliant, and with influencers, make sure you’re getting
will require advertising budget to get value for money.
seen.
Social Video Transparency & Accountability
Platforms are trying to muscle in on Social has been in the news for all the
live and on-demand video, and will wrong reasons recently. Social marketers
often prioritise video content. There’s an need to be ready to answer tough
opportunity here for content marketers. questions about how they work with
platforms.
GIFs are Great
GIFs aren’t new, but they’re exploding Learn more about these 2019 social
in popularity and all kinds of brands are trends by watching this webinar
finding new ways to use them in their
social marketing activity.
Watch Now ››
17 | 2019 Social Media PredictionsYou can also read
