Another year gone, another one dawns. As you sit down and think about your digital marketing strategy for the next year, you will likely ask yourself, "What should I focus on with social media?"
We've got the answers. Here are the top social media trends for 2019 and how furniture and lighting retailers and interior designers can make them their own.
Passive vs. in-the-moment with Stories
This year, Instagram Stories reach 400 million daily users. What was once a uniqueness of Snapchat has been reconfigured by Instagram and Facebook, and now Stories has become an in-the-moment method of communication. It's changing the way that people — and brands — use social media.
Think of it this way: Your Instagram page is your brand identity, but Instagram Stories is your personality. You post your best content — finished home projects, stylized vignettes — to your page for all to see, and you post your day-to-day, lighter moments to Stories where people who want to see them can find them. This can also work for Facebook, if that is your preferred platform.
Stories allow people and brands to take more risks with their posts and check out what works and what doesn't. The content lasts for 24 hours, so if a post seems to fall flat, no worries. It'll be gone the next day.
Live from your phone
Not surprising: Live video will continue to dominate social media. Facebook is pushing for more live content on both of its platforms, and YouTube is giving content creators more tools to make it easier to go live.
But there's a right and a wrong way to do live video. First off, going live for the sake of going live isn't working. You need to have a solid reason or something very interesting to say. For example, going live to show off a new chandelier is not enough, but if you provide useful information or try to teach your audience something relevant to it (the difference between traditional and transitional design, for example), then you're going to demonstrate value to viewers. That's what will keep them around.
So if you plan to start using more live videos in 2019, list out your most frequently asked questions (or the questions you wish more customers would ask) and answer each one in a live video. Pick a time and date to go live and stick to it each week so your audience knows when to expect your videos.
Less is more
When social media first launched, every brand believed it needed to be on every single platform. We know a little better now, but recent research has shown that social media may not be as helpful as it seems to be, especially for designers.
In her research, Unity Marketing's Pamela Danziger found of the 300 interior designers surveyed, 80 percent were on social media, but only 17 percent said it was an effective tool for growing their businesses. Eight out of 10 said word-of-mouth marketing worked best, but in both types of marketing, designers did not know how to invest the right amount of time and money to see results.
Yet, social media serves other purposes and shouldn't be neglected altogether. Having your firm or retail store's name on several platforms helps your SEO. Even if consumers don't always turn to social media first when looking for a designer, they will almost certainly look to Google or other search engines, so it is vital to have a strong web presence.
You can also monetize social media if you have a specific goal in mind (brand awareness, clicks to sign up for your e-newsletter), but you will need to take the time to learn to do it effectively.
All this to say: Every retailer and designer should still be on social media, but likes will not always directly translate to sales unless you're willing to develop a strategy and invest money into the platform.
Share with us: What are your social media goals for 2019?
Photo: Pexels
