10 Ways to Dominate on Social Media in 2019

One of the toughest things about social media is the pressure to “keep up with the trends.” Social media, for better or for worse, is always changing, and it can be difficult to stay on top of things.

If you want to remain relevant in the coming year, there’s a handful of things you should focus on. From live video to ads to storytelling, here’s how you can dominate on social media in 2019:

Go live

The video streaming market is projected to be worth $70 billion by 2021. Yup, $70 billion. If you haven’t already taken advantage of live video, now is the time to start. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, figure out how you can use live video in a way that’s going to grab the attention of your audience.

Struggling to come up with ideas? Here’s a stat to keep in mind: According to TalkPoint, 87 percent of audiences want behind-the-scenes access and prefer to watch online live-stream video when it offers more behind-the-scenes content than traditional television. Not to mention that 53 percent of viewers are watching entertaining and funny videos. So, think about giving your viewers an inside look into what a typical day looks like for you, with a few bloopers in-between. Live video is the perfect way for you to showcase your personality and connect with your target audience.

Show up on Instagram stories

With over 400 million active users, Instagram stories are the perfect way for you to boost engagement, generate leads and drive traffic. If I were you, I’d aim to show up on Instagram stories every single day. I’m talking photos, videos and going live.

Considering the fact that 80 percent of users follow a business on Instagram, now’s the time to take advantage of all that this platform has to offer. You can include polls, music, gifs, stickers, locations and more. Not sure what to post on your story? Here’s a list of more than 30 different ideas.

Update your hashtags

If you’re packing your posts with hashtags, not changing them up and calling it good, you’re doing it wrong. Make 2019 the year you actually start using targeted hashtags. Rule of thumb: aim to use hashtags that have been used anywhere from 10,000 times to 500,000 times. This way, they’re actively used, but aren’t so saturated that your content will soon disappear.

Sure, it’s okay to use hashtags that have been used more or less, but most of your hashtags should come from this range. And, when it comes to Instagram, you might want to rethink your strategy of using all 30 allowed hashtags. According to Social Media Today, after analyzing over 9 million Instagram posts, Quintly found that the fewer hashtags, the better. Try experimenting with your use of hashtags and see if this rings true for your audience.

Take advantage of user-generated content

You’ve heard of it, but have you actually been using it? User-generated content is a win-win for both parties involved. For you, it’s free content. It’s less time finding stock photos, creating graphics or editing your own photos. For the user, it’s putting their content in front of an entirely new audience. And who wouldn’t want that?

User-generated content encourages others to continue sharing and tagging you in their posts. It opens up your engagement and allows for you to connect with new users. User-generated content helps increase your brand awareness, something that all businesses could benefit from.

Actively engage

Want your engagement to increase? Though better captions and hashtags can certainly help, it’s about much more than that. If you want to dominate on social media, you need to actually be engaging yourself.

Sitting around, posting photos and waiting for engagement to come just isn’t going to work. You need to remain active on each platform every single day. This means liking and commenting on others’ photos, retweeting important tweets from your industry and pinning at least 10 times a day on Pinterest. It means showing up and putting in the effort. Don’t have time for that? That’s what I’m here for.

Tell a story

These days, people don’t just buy products, they buy stories. They buy something that’s going to help them become a better version of themselves. So when you’re on social media, you need to focus on telling a story.

Why do you do what you do? What makes you stand out from the rest? Get to know your target market and figure out what’s going to resonate with them. Dominate on social media by going against the grain. Share something new, be vulnerable and open up. People are much more likely to buy from those they trust, and there’s no better way to build trust than by sharing your own story.

Experiment with ads

According to Statista, social media advertising revenue is expected to grow over 26 percent in the next year. If you haven’t started using ads on social media, 2019 is the perfect time to start. No matter your budget, there are ways for you to take advantage of ads and work on expanding your reach.

Not convinced? According to Adobe, 57 percent of millennials and 45 percent of Gen Z, the demographics dominating social media, agree that the ads they see are becoming more relevant. There are more targeting options now than ever, so do a little research and figure out how you can use ads to boost your business this next year.

Repurpose content

Whoever said you can’t post the same thing on social media twice simply didn’t know how to approach it. If a piece of content resonated with your audience, why let it have its moment and then slip away? This year, try repurposing old content that did well.

Did your audience like a behind-the-scenes video? Try making a new one that shows a different side of your business. Did they like a link you shared to a helpful blog post? Spend some time finding similar information they’d engage with. It’s all about getting into the minds of your social media audiences and using your content to its maximum potential.

Start taking your analytics seriously

If you’re on social media, you should be aware of things like…

• The ages of your audience members
• What days and times they’re most active on social media
• What kinds of content performed well
• How many times your links were clicked
• Your engagement rates

And the list goes on. All of these analytics, most of them conveniently on the social media platforms themselves, are incredibly insightful when it comes to creating future content. If you want to dominate on social media, you need to pay attention to your analytics. You need to know who you’re talking to and what they enjoy.

I like to make a monthly analytics report for each of the platforms I’m on. Which content had the highest engagement? Which blogs/articles were most popular? Analyzing your data will help you in widening your reach and creating content that matters.

Showcase your personality

Want to dominate on social media? Have some fun. Live a little and showcase your personality. I can’t stress this enough. Too many times, I come across accounts that only post graphics, statistics and stock photos. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good flat lay, but if you want to make an impact, you need to show who’s behind the camera.

Let 2019 be the year you leave fear behind. Let it be the year that you share your story and show your audience that it’s okay to open up and connect with others. Prove that you’re not perfect, that you’re working hard and that you’re here to help. It can be scary, but it’s going to make a huge difference in terms of finding success on social media.

Have you started creating content for 2019? If you have advice to share, don’t hesitate to post it below!