Social media and content marketing trends for 2019
We asked some of the most influential digital marketing experts to gaze into their crystal balls and tell us what they see for the future of social media and content marketing this year. Here’s what they told us:
Polish-born Lukasz is the Head of Organic Acquisition with ZPG PLC, the group responsible for Zoopla, uSwitch, SmartNewHomes and Prime Location.
“I think people are getting a bit tired of social media and its lack of reality. The pretty people effect vs. the reality. Fake news, too. Generally, people are crying out for something real and to be certain they’re being told the truth. So, I think there’s a push for greater transparency across social media.
With content marketing, there’s a clear move towards higher-quality content that’s written more for real people—and less for search engines.”
University pals Andrew Pickering and Pete Garland have built their guru status through the use of YouTube and blogging.
“We think 'quality content' is just going to become more and more important. We know marketers have been saying this for years, but we think it matters more now than ever. Timelines are busy and crowded, and only the best stuff is getting seen.”
Known as ‘The Tools Guy’, Ian has combined his musical training with social media skills to create a successful business in coaching and teaching courses.
“I think we'll see more VR, AR, AI, bots etc. But I also think we'll be seeing more of a need for authenticity in our content—and in particular with live video. I predict (and hope!) that LinkedIn will launch live video, and we'll see further developments with YouTube and Facebook Live. But I do think we're going to see more of the conversations we have in a private forum—whether that is through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or another platform.”
“The uptake of blockchain is one of my biggest trends to watch in 2019. If you’re wondering how the heck blockchain has any involvement in social media and content marketing—stay with me. It absolutely deserves your attention next year.”
He thinks the key ways will be through:
- Audience incentivisation
- Audience targeting
- Data collection
China based Josh is known for his TEDx talks and articles written for many publications including Forbes, Time and Mashable.
“I think the next trend in social media is that people are going to leave it. We already see the wave starting. People are waking up to the negative effects, are missing in-person interaction, and they're logging off and deleting their accounts. In the future people will log on to take care of something specific, and then they'll log off, but they won't hang around much. That means if you're going to catch their attention and have influence, you've got to create outstanding content that people want to share.
This is the same as it has always been. Great content always wins.”