2018 was a very fundamental year for the big wide world of social media, with constant changes and evolutions, 2019 is only bound to be bigger and better! Have a read of a few of our social media predictions for 2019.
Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram set to merge
The New York Times has reported that Facebook is intending to integrate the three messenger platforms, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp & Instagram – but what does this mean?
Maybe, like me, you instantly thought instead of 3 platforms they would become 1 (similarly to Spice Girls but…3). However, I was wrong – what it REALLY means is you will be able to message someone on Whatsapp and when you go to send, it will give you the option to also send that message via Instagram and/or Facebook Messenger.
In a statement, Facebook told The Guardian “We’re working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks. As you would expect, there is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work.”
I personally think that it makes perfect sense to merge the 3 platforms together – it would create an omni-channel experience that no other messaging platform can provide, giving it that extra cut above the rest. The main area of concern would be due to Facebook’s reputation around the Cambridge Analytica scandal, would merging the platforms now heighten the awareness of this and in turn lead to less trust and usage? Only time will tell.
We’ve got a while to wait, the merging isn’t reported to happen until early 2020.
Will Snapchat survive 2019
The Snapchat rage seems to have peaked and now is slowly descending. According to a report by Fox News, “Daily users have been falling consistently throughout 2018, and one recent report suggested as many as 40% of staffers planned to leave the ailing firm”
With Instagram stories on the rise at a reportedly 200 million users each day, it is overtaking Snapchat by miles.
Live video becoming more popular
Live video really heightened throughout 2018 in the social world and with video becoming one of the most important types of content, it is vital to ensure you’re taking into account all of the different types within your social marketing plan.
According to as report by Livestream, 80% of people would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog….and here I am, writing this blog (practice what you preach springs to mind?)
The silent underdog; LinkedIn
LinkedIn is definitely the silent underdog of the social media world, it often gets forgotten about but did you know that it publishes over 100,000 articles per week? That’s A LOT of reading!
LinkedIn is much more than just a career searching site, it’s a great place to network and meet like-minded people within your industry. With over 500 million users, it’s definitely the one to watch.
