It's the end of March and that means Q1 of 2019 will come to an end. The first quarter of 2019 is already over. A lot has happened in marketing land and especially on the big platforms Instagram and Facebook. Time to refresh your knowledge and get up to date with the most important trend on Instagram and Facebook and the two platforms.
Trends on Instagram and Facebook
#1: The importance of a content strategy is increasing
We secretly revealed something about it in our outlook for 2019
and so far we can't deny it: a strategy for your content is becoming increasingly important. Spontaneous and impulsive posting something on social media no longer works. And even if you do spend hours on the design, without a strategy you can't get there. Who are you, what do you stand for and what makes you unique? What do you want to radiate? All that should come back in your images on Instagram and your lyrics on Facebook.
#2: Influencer marketing becomes more authentic
Earlier this year, many social influencers (and other Instagram users) saw quite a drop in their followers. Why? Instagram took the broom through the accounts and deleted all inactive and fake accounts. When influencers had bought followers, this became immediately visible because they suddenly had far fewer followers. This is the first step towards authentic influencer marketing. Authenticity is becoming increasingly important for influencer marketing and it wins from large following numbers and slick pictures. This also explains the rise of micro-influencers, i.e. influencers with fewer followers but with more commitment and honesty. Also read our blog post about influencer marketing bets.
#3: Personalization becomes more important with ads
Marketing is about: offering the right product to the right person, at the right time. Product, person, moment. Treat your customer exactly in the right way and meet the other 3 requirements, then your customer will make a purchase. Write content for each position you're going to place an ad on. Create a real ad campaign, writing multiple texts. Keep the channel in mind (Facebook or Instagram?), but also the location (the column at Facebook or a story ad on Instagram?).
Trends on Instagram
#4: More and more accounts are closing in on their account
I'm sure you know memes. Super funny when a meme of a dancing cat is forwarded in the group chat. But now imagine that such a meme is forwarded via a personal message on Instagram and you can't see it. Everyone laughs completely limply and you don't have access to the meme because you don't follow the account. What do you do? Follow the account. And so those accounts get more and more followers. Actually very, very smart! Whether this works for your company or account depends on the type of posts you post. It has to be shareable content, so something that triggers emotions and what people want to send through. Otherwise, it won't work.
#5: Instagram is the new Facebook
Instagram has been growing like cabbage for years, from 1 million in 2010 to 1 billion (yes, 1 million times 1,000) in 2018. A thousandfold increase in eight years. Experts call Instagram the new Facebook. This, of course, requires a different approach. Where Facebook is based on text, Instagram is a much more visual platform. Pictures full of text don't work. You also can't post links like on Facebook (except for the well-known "link in bio" or Instagram Shopping). But on Instagram you have a beautiful feed that you can make something beautiful out of. Plenty of differences, possibilities and space to experiment.
#6: Rise of Instagram Shopping
We mentioned it in the previous trend: shopping on Instagram. Instagram Shopping is an accessible, accessible and customer-friendly way to shop online. You can easily load your products and then tag them in your images. Your customers can then click this on and then they immediately see the name and price of the product. They can click straight to your webshop from there. Very convenient and fast. If you sell products, Instagram Shopping is a must.
#7: Instagram Checkout
March 19 announced: Checkout for Instagram. When you find a product you like, you can buy it now without leaving the app. "How then?" When you tap to view a product from a brand store post, you'll see a "Checkout on Instagram" button on the product page. Tap to choose from a variety of options, such as size or color, after which you continue to pay without leaving Instagram. All you have to do is provide your name, email address, billing information and shipping address. Once your first order is complete, your information will be stored securely for the next time you shop. You'll also receive shipping and delivery notifications to the right on Instagram so you can track your purchase. Checkout on Instagram is currently in a closed beta for businesses and is only available to people in the US.
Trends on Facebook
#8: Focus shifts to mobile
There has been a trend for years from desktop (your laptop or computer) to mobile (your smartphone). I'm sure we don't have to tell you that your website should be mobile-friendly. Let's focus on advertising, where you'll find a clear difference in the effectiveness of ads for desktop or mobile. Especially giveaways do well with mobile ads, so ads with free products or services such as a free consultation or white paper. Keep in mind that people on their phones often do something "equally fast". They sit on the couch or check their Facebook for a while in the five minutes on the bus. So you shouldn't expect them to have the time (or sense) to fill out a complicated form or to go through a long ordering process. Fill in a name and email to receive a free white paper. Save that form or that webshop purchase for a desktop ad.
#9: Rise of video marketing
The importance of video has been growing for years. The popularity makes sense: watching videos is possible anywhere (provided you have earpieces with you or the video has subtitles), it takes little effort, you're ready for a few minutes and it's a delicious combination of image, sound and text. No wonder video marketing is entering the ad market now. Instead of text, pictures or a combination, you can now also go for a video. You don't need expensive tools for this. Your smartphone and a broad smile are enough, as long as you can hear it and have a clear message.
#10: Messenger bots are taking over
Artificial intelligence sounds very technical, but chatbots are important to keep an eye on as a marketer. And you don't necessarily need a technical background for this. We've written a blog post about chatbots, which you read here. A chatbot can relieve your customer service by answering your customers' questions (or she, just what you want to call your bot). But Messenger bots can do much more. Take an example to airline KLM. He asks if you want to reserve a seat, indicates where your luggage has arrived and sends you updates on your flight. All automatically via the Messenger bot.Now you are up to date with trends in Instagram and Facebook! Do you find the trends in advertising interesting? Then we have good news, because you can now download our handy e-books for free! Check it out Instagram advertising e-book here and the Facebook advertising e-book here.
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