Digital Marketing Trends
8 Top Digital Marketing Trends of 2019
The one constant in social media marketing is that things are always changing, and this is especially true on the world’s largest social network, Facebook.Facebook isn’t slowing down, there’s now more than 2.27 billion monthly active users, which includes a 17% spike in two years. For your business, brand or enterprise company, this channel is unavoidable if you’re truly trying to create a worthwhile play in social media marketing. Even more interesting these days is that when Facebook makes a change, there’s a trickle-down effect to Instagram, which is especially true in regard to advertising.
What does this mean for advertisers?
Your Facebook and Instagram marketing strategy has to be unique. There’s an ocean of potential customers you can reach on both platforms. But with a larger pool, it’s harder to dissect and find your spot.
At Filed we’re expecting this year to be an eventful and exciting one for Facebook marketers. Read on to uncover our predictions for 2019 and what you should gear up for if you rely on acquiring and growing customers or your brand across the Facebook ecosystem.
What would you do differently tomorrow if you knew what conversations were on the rise today?
Here at Filed we’ve compiled our annual trend and predictions report to help marketers plan for the year ahead. In this report, we share some of the trends that have been on the rise in 2018 and that we anticipate will take hold in 2019.Our findings are grounded in real data and real insights from the two billion people across Facebook.The trends that we feature are starting to take hold and enter the mainstream. This is not necessarily their point of conception, but rather as they are going from niche to norm.These are the trends that people are talking about, that the market is ready for and that you should consider as you think about creative planning and product development.
1. IGTV will be a big player
We already talked about how Instagram stories are a great way to boost your conversions on Instagram. Now, we’re going to explain to you why IGTV is an absolute must for 2019.We all know that Instagram is one of the most important and most powerful marketing channels of our time. It’s responsible for more than 4 billion likes per day on Instagram, and each image posted on this platform gets an average of 23% more engagement than its Facebook counterpart.IGTV allows you to watch long-form video from 60 second – 60 minutes, created by your favourite Instagram accounts. Users have the ability to upload videos of up to 10 minutes in length while creators with larger audiences will have a one-hour limit.As soon as you enter the app the video starts playing, just like when you switch on the telly.Within the app, you can search for your favourite content, scroll through videos from users you follow or sort through the most popular content.IGTV was announced and launched in June, it’s the new video platform dedicated exclusively to mobile users. Unlike YouTube and other video streaming platforms, IGTV is dedicated to vertical video playback and, therefore, suitable for marketers and content producers that are addressing a mobile only audience.
Now is time to join IGTV as it’s predicted that in three to five years it will overcome YouTube.
IGTV was brought to let people share lengthy content. Instagram knows that teens and young people love watching videos on their phones. So, in direct competition with YouTube, Instagram built a format that lets vloggers create videos for the vertical screen – the same screen that young people love to watch on the bus or in the car.When you consider people hold their mobile vertically 94% of the time, it doesn’t seem so crazy that IGTV would want to be vertical only. Vertical is the most logical and convenient way to consume video in the mobile age. If it weren’t for the century-old tradition of horizontal cinema, we probably would have started taking advantage of its years ago.Vertical video provides a better experience for users as they don’t have to turn their phone to the side to watch. Watching video content, therefore, becomes way less disruptive.Upon its launch, many high-profile brands immediately started creating content. These early adaptors have been crafting video ranging from weird on offs to interviews and full-length TV shows. Here is an example of IGTV brand content.
Netflix
Netflix uploaded an hour-long video promoting of the new series of Riverdale. The video, which was a full hour long, showed Riverdale star Cole Sprouse eating a cheeseburger. Yep, that’s it, a full 60 minutes just eating a cheeseburger.The video is actually weirdly hypnotising. A close up on Cole’s face while he’s making eyes at the camera makes it impossible to look away. A staggering 700,000 people have viewed the video, and it’s already got over 5,000 comments.This is a trend all marketers should be alert as Instagram will find a way to incentivise business to use IGTV. So, if you’re looking to improve organic reach and engagement, we suggest you listen to what Instagram is trying to prioritise.
2.Micro-brands will dominate Instagram in 2019
If you look at how Instagram has evolved over time and continues to, you will notice something quite unique to this platform. Being a true social channel, Instagram favours micro-brand marketing and, in fact, we saw quite an explosion of small companies and brands on the platform in 2018.Instagram has always favoured interaction and storytelling, and it is quite different from other news-oriented social media platforms. This is why it has become one of the best content distribution channels for smaller companies.Using hyper-targeted marketing, just-in-time manufacturing and social media, these brands find and engage their audience wherever they may be.
One of the most successful micro-brands that was able to grow almost overnight thanks to Instagram is MVMT, a crowdfunded fashion watch designer. Instagram was a great choice, considering that it delivered a two times higher engagement rate and 75 percent stronger brand awareness and brand recall than other platforms.“Instagram was not only able to integrate seamlessly into our day-to-day ad management by combining placements, but it also improved cost per action by 20 percent” said Steven Dinelli, ad manager at MVMT.There are also a lot of companies and brands that act just like media companies. They have created and maintained large communities of followers and fans with whom they share their successes and news.
3. Shoppable posts – click and buy
While Instagram is not yet a platform that offers native ecommerce features, you can say that it’s at least ecommerce friendly. There are a lot of shopping features already in place, and we expect more developments in this area in the future.The easiest and most effective way to sell items on Instagram is via shoppable posts, which are available for single static images and StoriesThese posts are differentiated by a little shopping bag icon that appears on one corner of the screen. When a user sees this icon, he or she is able to tap in and access details on the product. Instagram opens up a new page within the application where they can see even more details. By tapping on the “Shop Now” button, the users are taken straight to the product page on the seller’s website, where they can actually make the purchase without needing to leave Instagram.Since Instagram is a social media channel based on visuals, its shoppable posts allow you to increase sales and market your products effectively.Brands will also start using an informal tone of voice. Being more like a person than a brand is what gets people commenting, interacting and engaging.In 2019 things that happen online need to have a correspondent in the physical world. Followers need to see a validation of your online coolness in the real world, and just good delivery of quality products to their door is not going to cut it in 2019. Putting some soul into the brand, though, will go the extra mile.You can use the above mentioned shoppable posts and, at the same time, you can tag products in Stories. Since every audience is different, we recommend testing several features and settling for the one that fits your strategy and overall goals.
4. Internet will catch up to television
Research shows that internet will catch up to television in 2019 in terms of hours watched. According to the study, people will spend 2.6 hours a day online and 2.7 hours a day watching YouTube in 2019. 45 minutes of an average person’s internet time will be spent watching mobile video.Advertisers, for once, are ahead of the curve. Globally, they’re expected to spend $60 billion more on internet than TV advertising in 2019.Lower-priced smartphones have accelerated internet adoption by quickly bringing the developing world online. Mobile will be responsible for all growth in internet consumption and more than a quarter of all media consumption, that includes time spent watching movies in theatres, listening to the radio and reading physical newspapers and magazines — next year.Because of this, we predict companies will spend less money on television ads and more money on web video, social media, and web ads in the New Year. Will your company do the same?
5. Social media will be more deeply integrated into other services
Treating social media as an island is arguably one of the costliest mistakes that modern ecommerce brands make regarding their marketing strategy and bottom line. Your social strategy should complement your on-site sales and online/offline user experience rather than stand alone. In short, you need effective on-site integration of various social media platforms to seal the deal with social customers.Thankfully, with the wealth of resources and plug-ins out there such integration may be easier than you think, regardless of your niche or industry.We expect this trend to continue and for social platforms to become even more integrated with other services. Social media apps may start to share more user data with their audiences and create a more seamless experience across third-party apps. This helps social media companies retain their dominance, gain more info about users, and provide better services for smaller websites and apps.Social media integrations have allowed marketers to gather more and more information and most importantly to cross reference all this data. Because social media will be further integrated with sales and customer service, making the correct decisions based on data will be a huge advantage to your business.
6. Live video will keep growing
It’s no secret that YouTube, Facebook and Instagram’s live video services made waves in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In fact, in 2016 more than 80% of internet users watched more live video than the year prior—likely due to the rise of more modern streaming services. Don’t let your brand be late to the live video bandwagon. 67% of live viewers say they are more likely to purchase a concert ticket to see a band or attend an event if they’ve seen a live stream of a similar event online.would pay to see a favourite athlete, team, or performer on an online stream. Check out Facebook’s recent Facebook Live infographic for more information on live video’s growth.If anyone understands the modern struggle to find time for healthy home cooking and Facebook Live, it’s meal-kit delivery service frontrunner HelloFresh. And while the company’s entire business model is streamlining and curating home cooking, HelloFresh understands that its clientele still wants to have fun while making their food. And, they want to make that food well, so that the homemade version matches up with the mouth-watering images online.With that in mind, the brand created a “live interactive cooking show” where HelloFresh customers cook at the same time as the host — getting pro chef tips on the fly, and getting questions answered immediately. While live-streamed news and entertainment interviews are fun because of the interaction, this content offering legitimately helps viewers improve their culinary skills and the food that they’ll be eating a few minutes later.
7. Video (And Video Ads) Will Keep Growing, Too
Like live video, traditional video will keep growing too. Studies expect video to account for a whopping 85% of total internet traffic by 2019. Further, 54% of internet users already watch video on a social media platform monthly, and that number will only grow over the coming years.Video ads are on the rise too. 65% of ad impressions on Instagram were the result of video content, and we’re expecting that number to grow even further.Marketers should consider adding video for their 2019 social media strategy. Some ways of doing this are by running video ads on YouTube and Instagram, creating video content in-house, or partnering with an influencer for paid product placement or endorsement in their videos.
Who is video marketing for?
We said it once, we’ll say it again. Video marketing is a tool for the masses, not the few. Don’t believe us? Just ask Baked NYC, a New York bakery that created their Facebook video campaign using a $20 tripod, a $15 clamp lamp, a phone and a few apps to create stop-motion videos with animated text overlays.Now, when Oprah endorses your taste bud-thrilling treats, it’s a good sign you’re getting things right in the kitchen. Yet Baked NYC wanted to broaden its customer base and encourage people to pre-order their pies for Thanksgiving.Baked NYC’s videos, highlighting their Thanksgiving pies, tickled the salivary glands of all who saw them in the run up to Thanksgiving. Yet by using their video content as a Facebook Ad, Baked NYC were able to focus on consumers who were most likely to convert by targeting Facebook users within one mile of their bakeries in Brooklyn and Manhattan.The results were as tasty as the treats they bake up:
- 40 per cent increase in pie sales;
- 68 per cent increase in leads;
- 30 per cent decrease in cost per lead compared to their previous campaign
8. AI Chatbots Will Become A Normal Thing
We expect chatbots to continue growing in 2019—and they’ll likely become more “normal” in the eyes of consumers. In other words: the novelty will fade but we will see them become more widespread and usable.By the end of 2019 we expect chatbots to be the first place someone goes to order a pizza, choose a mobile plan, or even book a hotel room. Chatbots enable your users to do all of this without the hassle of downloading a native app.
Data says chatbots will dominate too. According to a study out of Stay ahead of the curve and develop a chatbot for your brand. They’re relatively easy to develop and may make the difference between closing a quick sale or losing a customer to a service with an easy-to-use chatbot—especially for food delivery.Artificial intelligence is the hot topic in marketing. Even though many still don’t understand its capabilities and limitations, the technology is taking shape.The most widely implemented form of AI are chatbots, which help brands improve customer service while keeping a lid on budgets. Chatbots are quicker than humans in giving any data-related answers and taking requests. They have humour and personalities and offer personalized service to any customer in need, any time. Chatbots can be integrated with a website, an application, and even with a social media platform. They also gather user information that can later be used to better tailor marketing strategies.The chatbots trend is not going to leave the digital marketing industry without making its mark in the coming years as AI research improves.We’ve seen how AI is also rising in the Programmatic advertising space for the last couple of years, as it can help marketers to more efficiently buy ads and to target audiences more specifically. This is all done to increase the chances of success of the marketing campaign and reduce the customer acquisition costs.
In 2019 the AI technology will keep on giving marketers a chance to finally be able to deliver on the promise of “right user, right message, right time, right place.” Not only by anticipating who might engage with an ad, but also by being able to quickly pass on a bid opportunity in their media-buying system.
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