Last week, I shared two social media trends to watch in 2019. They include the growing importance of personal branding to business branding and the acceleration of personal marketing. No business can ignore the significance of its social media presence because it influences how people perceive its brand.
And, while branding and personalized marketing will be prominent, they aren’t the only trends! As we edge closer to 2019, there are three more marketing trends to keep an eye on – all in the form of content development and distribution.
#1. Long-form content for making an SEO impact
While word count is not the only thing that can impact how prominently an article will appear on the search engine results page, SEO experts say long-form content can give you an edge. Although Google doesn’t penalize blog posts if they fail to reach a certain word count threshold, it stands to reason that a high-quality article with 1,600 words will likely outrank a high-quality article with 500 words. A professional search engine optimization specialist helps your website be found on Google. It’s for that reason that I believe we’re seeing more publishers requiring guest authors to submit articles with a minimum of 1,000 or more words.
I believe we’ll see more company blogs embracing long-form content and incorporating it into their content strategies. Therefore, businesses that have found they aren’t getting SEO traction with short posts may want to add longer articles rich with information and insight that will attract readers and give Google a reason to rank them more favorably.
#2. Video’s prominence as the preferred form of content
In a survey by Wyzowl, “The State of Video Marketing 2018,” 97 percent of marketers said video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service, and 76 percent said it has helped increase web traffic and sales. That doesn’t seem farfetched given that 95 percent of people have watched explainer videos to learn more about a product or service and 81 percent have bought a product or service as a result of watching a brand’s video.
Live streaming video will continue its emergence as a powerful way to engage people on social media. According to statistics compiled by Go-Globe, two-thirds of all internet traffic in 2017 was streaming video. By 2020, 82 percent of internet traffic is expected to be live video.
I see video's prominence tied closely to the first trend I mentioned—personal branding's influence on the business brand. Video allows for a company to put a face to the business. It enables prospects and customers to get to know who leads and works in a business. Video gives businesses an opportunity to show not only what they do but also "who" they are.
Also, keep in mind that social media algorithms might give video posts better organic reach than other types of posts.
#3. “Pay to play”—the path to more exposure
In 2012, brands could expect, on average, that 16 percent of their fans would see their Facebook updates. Fast forward to 2018, and that reach has plummeted to about six percent (often less).
With the diminishing organic reach of business content, most companies will need to invest in sponsored posts, boosted posts, and social media ads if they want to stay top of mind. If you're a business owner as well, you can actually get your Facebook ads managed by a professional who offers affordable services.
Fortunately, social media advertising doesn’t have to break the bank; a small amount of money can go a long way.
Whether you’re planning to get started on or continue content marketing in 2019, keep these three tips in mind to make the most of your efforts.
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