8 Social Media Trends to Watch in 2019

1. ACH 8 Social MediaTrends to Watch in 2019 Arik C. Hanson ACH Communications Jan. 25, 2019

2. ACHACH ABOUT ARIK • 20+ years experience; solo since 2009; @arikhanson • Blogger, podcaster, e-newsletter maker, board member, event organizer

3. ACHACH Everyone’s talking trends!

4. ACHACH Most will talk about: • You guys, VIDEO!!!!!! • The “rise” of AI • Hello micro-influencers! • Chatbots

5. ACHACH And, of course, now everyone’s asking “what’s your egg strategy?”

6. ACHACH Instead, today we will: • Discuss 8 pragmatic social media trends for 2019. • Talk about how those trends might impact YOU! • Ideas on action steps to take as a result

7. ACHACH Trend #1: Instagram will take over Facebook as the new social home base for brands

8. ACHACH The New York Times is even predicting it!

9. ACHACH Numbers tell the story. • Instagram just surpassed 1 billion users. The only other platform not named Facebook to do it. • 71% of U.S. business now use Instagram • Instagram is THE platform for influencers–80% prefer the platform for brand collaborations • 59% of 18-29 year-olds use Instagram

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11. ACHACH Meanwhile, over on Facebook… • Facebook saw a 5.6 percent decline in users between 12 and 17 years old. • They also saw a 5.8 percent decline in users between 18 and 24 years old. This is the first time Facebook has seen a decrease in users since its inception. • Facebook usage dropped–for the first time ever– from 67% to 62% among Americans 12+ years of age.

12. ACHACH Numbers don’t tell the whole story: • Facebook is an increasingly toxic place for many users. #DeleteFacebook is real. • Facebook took a beating in the media in 2018. • Facebook has completely lost it’s “cool” factor (and guess who’s gained it!).

13. ACHACH Facebook: 87 engagements per post Instagram: 11,974 engagements per post

14. ACHACH Facebook: 215 engagement per post Instagram: 1,408 engagements per post

15. ACHACH Facebook: 980 engagements per post Instagram: 9,148 engagements per post

16. ACHACH That’s 10 TIMES the engagement on Instagram from Facebook!

17. ACHACH For now: • Review your Facebook and Instagram numbers— where are you seeing the most “bang for your buck?” • Consider experimenting with Instagram ads (including Stories), if you haven’t already. • Consider shifting more time/energy to Instagram— but remember who’s spending time there.

18. ACHACH Trend #1a: Instagram will increasingly become all about Stories

19. ACHACH It’s already happening—with success

20. ACHACH Consider the numbers: • By last count, Instagram Stories now has 400 million daily active users. That’s more users than Reddit, Twitter, and Pinterest. • Stories have also reportedly increased the time users spend on Instagram, with an average of 32 minutes per day for those users under 25 years old, and 24 minutes for users 25 and older.

21. ACHACH And, Insta continues to invest: • “Story Highlights” – create branded graphics for your page and save your stories permanently by category. • “Swipe up” – for verified business accounts with 10,000 or more followers. Gives brands the ability to drive traffic to owned web properties and sites. • Enhanced metrics – Host of in-app metrics for Stories including impressions, engagements, taps forward, taps back and exits.

22. ACHACH Opportunity for 2019…

23. ACHACH The challenges for brands: • Staffing and resource challenges. • Brand governance processes don’t allow for fast posting. • “Engagement” looks different on Stories.

24. ACHACH You know who’s doing this REALLY well?

25. ACHACH For now: • Experiment, learn, experiment some more. • Track results: Impressions, click forwards, click backs • Consider involving others (i.e., takeovers with influencers, employees)

26. ACHACH Trend #2: Engagement, as a key metric, will begin to fade.

27. ACHACH Why? • #1: Brands increasingly aren’t even interested.

28. ACHACH Case in point:

29. ACHACH This is what brand “engagement” looks like in 2019

30. ACHACH This doesn’t seem to line up…

31. ACHACH Why? • #2: Engagement rates on the biggest social platform are plummeting.

32. ACHACH Facebook engagement has declined 50% in last 18 months

33. ACHACH Case in point: 272 engagements 10,233,733 followers .0000265 engagement rate

34. ACHACH Case in point: 18 engagements 15,561,798 followers .0000011 engagement rate

35. ACHACH Why? • #3: Engagements are starting to become fluffy.

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37. ACHACH For now: • Evaluate your social media KPIs for 2019—do they still make sense? Is engagement a part of that mix? • Define engagement more succinctly—is it all about customer service? Are video view metrics inflating your results? • Consider what you can do to capture more lead- focused metrics—actions on site, e-newsletter signups from social, lead form completions.

38. ACHACH Trend #3: Private social networking will start to impact 2019 plans

39. ACHACH The stats tell the story: Messenger use WAY up

40. ACHACH WhatsApp users have doubled in just two years

41. ACHACH And, messaging growth will continue

42. ACHACH At the same time, again, this:

43. ACHACH Other signals • Instagram investing more in its direct messaging capabilities o Video chat o Poll functionality o 250,000+ active users (as of 2017) • Facebook testing the notion of deleting the SHARE button • Private and secret groups seemed to gain momentum on Facebook in 2018.

44. ACHACH Plenty of opportunity.

45. ACHACH Is one-to-one the future of social?

46. ACHACH For now, ask yourself these questions: • Do I start to adjust expectations with internal stakeholders re: engagements? Should engagements be a key metric in 2019? • Should I explore the possibility of using more automation to respond to more inbound private messages? Should I look at chatbots more closely? • What do I do about organic social media? Do I care? Does this impact my content strategy and generation?

47. ACHACH Trend #4: More focus on overlooked and niche social media sites

48. ACHACH The “Big Four” still dominate, but… • Quora o 190M users o 400,000 topics now exist on Quora • Pinterest o 250M active users o 175B+ pins o 1 in 2 millennials use Pinterest every day • Reddit “Front page of the internet” o 300M users o Average visit: 15 minutes, 47 seconds

49. ACHACH Reddit is a different animal

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51. ACHACH And, of course… • 200,000 active neighborhoods • More than 17M recommendations • 90% of U.S. neighborhoods are active on Nextdoor

52. ACHACH City of Minneapolis actively (sort of) engaging residents

53. ACHACH For now: • Don’t over-rely on the major social networks— constantly explore new networks where your audiences may be spending time. • If you’re not already, start using these niche networks yourself (yes, I’m talking about lip-syncing on Tik Tok!)

54. ACHACH Trend #5: 2019 May (Finally) Be The Year of the Social CEO

55. ACHACH Survey says: • A BRANDFog survey found that 78% of people prefer to work for a company whose leadership is active on social media. • The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer found that business is more trusted than government and 64% of people believe CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for government to impose it.

56. ACHACH Survey also says: • Further, 56% have no respect for CEOs who remain silent on important issues. • According to TheSocialCEO.org, only 20% of CEOs have a social network account today.

57. ACHACH THE case study

58. ACHACH These companies also have CEOs active on social media

59. ACHACH It’s not just CEOs, either.

60. ACHACH What are the benefits for execs & companies?

61. ACHACH Better-than-expected employee communications channel

62. ACHACH Table stakes in the new recruitment marketing world

63. ACHACH Opportunity to humanize stiff corporate marketing messages

64. ACHACH For now: • Start with the basics—make sure executive LinkedIn profiles are updated. • Don’t boil the executive ocean—start with one person and build out from there. • Make sure your plan is airtight and buttoned up before approaching execs—you can’t afford to position this as an “experiment”

65. ACHACH Trend #6: Employees will drive more social engagements than brand channels

66. ACHACH In fact, it’s already happening… 79 engagements 4,497 engagements

67. ACHACH Call it an (educated) hunch • Brand messages are re-shared 24 times more frequently when distributed by employees’ vs the brand (MSLGroup) • Content shared by employees receives 8X more engagement than content shared by brand channels (Social Media Today) • CEOs, board of directors and government officials saw biggest jumps in trust levels (2018 Edelman Trust Barometer) • Engagement levels nosediving—as much as 50% drop in some cases

68. ACHACH 205 engagements 1.2 million engagements

69. ACHACH Averaged: 53 engagements (last 10 tweets)

72. ACHACH Most logical platforms: • Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn

73. ACHACH Consider: • Do your research: Do you have a Cameron Potts in your organization? Work with these people to make sure they have social content opportunities for your brand. • Take it to the next level: What about a more formal employee advocacy program? Start by experimenting with a small group of employees.

74. ACHACH Trend #7: Influencer marketing grows up

75. ACHACH Current state

76. ACHACH The pushback has already started…

77. ACHACH Influencer marketing NEEDS to grow up 77% aren’t happy

78. ACHACH Growing up in three stages

79. ACHACH #1: From Insta/YouTube to a more holistic approach • Existing primary channels: Instagram, YouTube • Future state: Brands will consider using influencers more holistically: o As speakers on webinars and at trade shows o As guest authors on your corporate blog o As featured speakers at employee events o As an author making posts on LinkedIn (think B2B) o As a spokesperson with media and in TV spots

80. ACHACH #2: From celebrity and macro-influencers to more credible influencers • Existing focus: Celebrities, macro-influencers • Future state: Brands will start using more credible influencers across the board: o People who comment regularly on your Facebook or Instagram posts o Employees who see above-average engagement on their Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts o People in specific geographic areas with smaller to mid-level follower counts, but with big engagement numbers (think: Erin Good).

81. ACHACH #3: From episodic use to a long-term approach • Current state: Campaign focus, short duration • Future state: Brands will more broadly engage influencers in long-term contracts and work as key partners (and employ tiered approaches): o Annual contracts will become the norm. o Influencers will become more like brand advocates vs. assets to be used and quickly discarded. o Influencers will start to take on different roles— spokesperson, speaker at employee meetings, interviewee for media placements.

82. ACHACH But, we still have MAJOR issues #fakesponcon

83. ACHACH For now: • Are you doing all you can to leverage your influencer partnerships beyond just social? • Are you looking at all types of influencers? As trust wanes, working with those outside the “celebrity influencer” bucket may make the MOST sense. • Are you thinking about influencers as key partners— or merely tactics—in your 2019 plans?

84. ACHACH Trend #8: Organic reach is dead (or, IS it?)

85. ACHACH OK, yep, it’s dead. • Facebook organic reach rates now right around 1% • Facebook engagement rates down by as much as 50% in 2018

86. ACHACH Wait, maybe it’s not…

87. ACHACH Less is more. WAY more.

88. ACHACH LinkedIn—not Facebook or IGTV— is the place for video LinkedIn videos shared 20X than other content

89. ACHACH Instagram (and Facebook) Stories

90. ACHACH Curate user-generated content across social platforms

91. ACHACH For now: • Are you posting too much? 8-12 times a month is more than enough for most organizations. • Could you identify your employee content producers and curate content for social platforms? • Native video on LinkedIn—have you experimented yet? • Could you supplement coverage of live events more with Instagram Stories?

92. ACHACH 8 (and a half) Social Media Trends • #1: Instagram will take over as brands’ social home base • #1.5: Instagram will become all about stories • #2: Engagement, as a metric, begins to fade • #3: Private social media will start to impact 2019 plans • #4: More focus on overlooked & niche social media sites • #5: 2019 may (finally) be the year of the Social CEO • #6: Employees will drive more engagement than brand channels • #7: Influencer marketing grows up • #8: Organic reach is dead (or IS it?)

93. ACHACH arik@arikhanson.com Blog: arikhanson.com Podcast: TheTalkingPointsPodcast.com E-news: http://www.arikhanson.com/subscribe/