Podcasts and audio services in early 2018 boomed so much within the UK that artists everywhere ended up scrambling for the mic and started putting together shows in their own shape and format to deliver an extra platform to not only market themselves from but also to connect with fans, audiences and new key sponsors.
‘BBC sounds‘ was launched in late October 2018 of which recently brought more light upon the success of podcasts and lets be honest with a carefully organised budget like the BBC’s it’s simply a very low risk manoeuvre. Various music artists, radio stars and shows all came together to host live streams direct from one of London’s biggest landmarks ‘The London Eye‘ as part of the big launch of the BBC Sounds project.
So with this said it shows we still have room for new or existing platforms to fill the gaps in technology within our lives and maybe, just maybe we will witness the break through of VR headsets to the mass consumer market in 2019. Viewing content regularly on VR headsets especially within the home is yet to breakthrough and surly home consoles would deliver the perfect experience to set a trend. Safe practices are essential for the success of VR headsets and no doubt will be holding back the trend for the time being, along with cost as well of course. Our prediction is that the highly anticipated Playstation 5, rumoured to launch in late 2019 will set the standard and break boundaries with immersive gaming experience. We all remember the success of vibrating controllers and the impact that it had on bringing fans closer to the game in question and we think the gaming giant hold the card for the next mass market phenomenon.
So how does this effect social media marketing? Well a breakthrough of mass marketing technology is key for influencers to understand and actually adapt and use new technology first hand to then share their experience. Leading technology vlogger Casey Neistat is the king when it comes to the most ideal B2C connection with his incredibly personable and straight talking technology unboxings and run throughs.
It’s a very grey Sunday afternoon in November and as the F1 calendar draws to a close with the last race of the year, the 2018 world champ gets creative on his social media platforms. Lewis is pretty hands on when it comes to PR and marketing and seems to love nothing more than interacting with press and TV however this time it’s with fellow A list celebrity and film star Will Smith, on set, in dressing room at the Abu Dhabi grand prix. One well scripted Facebook video post from the duo shows Will staging a standing in for Lewis and the last race with Lewis tied to a chair and Will in the same race outfit and gear that Lewis dons for each and every race. The only prop that scene was missing was a final piece of duck tape over Lewis’ mouth but the scene is both funny and extremely engaging.
In our eyes this really is a quality bit of celebrity social media marketing and it’s great to see celebs teaming up and working together rather than the same old solo ‘I’m the hero – telling my story’ rubbish.
The direction of social marketing is due a drastic change both content side as well as technology side. Therefore hold tight as we believe that 2019 will be bigger for vloggers than ever before. We have dubbed this year as “the year of the podcast…” due to a phenomenal uptake of subscriptions for free streaming services that has become popular due to the rise of Spotify, YouTube and Itunes and the switch with streaming counting towards chart rankings. Podcasts have been around for well over a decade now but little demand and production offerings didn’t see the technology really take off.
We predict in 2019
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- VR headsets will break into the mass market through the home game console market.
- A breakthrough in animation technology for the end user will be delivered via mobile apps.
- Consumer drones will be used for live streaming and utilised by vloggers due to external microphone linking.
- Facebook will reduce in video advertising due to high exit rates on highly engaging content. (There is only so far you can monetise a consumer based ad network).
- Advertising creative will become more personalised through influencers than ever before. I.e. Will Smith describing and backing a new milkshake within an everyday environment.
