Results of the annual State of Social report from Buffer have been published, revealing what marketers are focusing on in 2019.
I took a dive into the data to pick out some of the greatest opportunities for marketers, based on what’s working and what’s being underutilized.
An example of something you won’t find in this article is the recommendation to publish video on Facebook.
Why?
Video on Facebook is proven to be an effective tactic which many brands are already utilizing.
According to the State of Social study, only 14.5% of brands don’t publish any video content.
So, what are some other successful tactics that marketers are not doing enough of?
Let’s take a look at what the study tells us.
Facebook & Instagram Story Ads
Data suggests that more than one billion accounts now use stories globally on Facebook-owned properties.
Of those using stories, 57% of brands believe that stories have been “Somewhat effective” or “Very effective.”
However, 62% of respondents say they have yet to invest in stories ads.
This could be one of the greatest areas of opportunity for marketers, as 61% say they plan to invest in stories ads in 2019.
Marketing via Messaging Apps
The State of Social study reveals that messaging apps are still overlooked by almost three-quarters of brands
72% of respondents say they do not use messaging apps for their marketing.
Further, 50% of marketers are not even planning on using messaging apps in 2019.
That means this is an untapped opportunity that will continue to go overlooked this year.
Those who are utilizing messenger apps report seeing open rates of over 98%, and click-through rates of 25%.
For more information on how to get started with messenger app marketing, see the following resource:
Video on LinkedIn
Video is the most effective type of content to share on social media, but where it’s least being shared is on LinkedIn.
Facebook is the most popular channel for businesses to share video content (81%), followed by:
- YouTube (62%)
- Instagram (57%)
- LinkedIn (32%)
According to the State of Social study, LinkedIn is a channel to watch in 2019.
LinkedIn itself is investing more into video content recently, and offering more ways for business pages to share it.
LinkedIn company pages can now upload video content directly and share it as a post.
Early data shows that videos on LinkedIn are getting shared 20+ times more than any other content.
For more information, view the full study here.
