2019 Russian Online Marketing Trends

Last year of 2018, 81% Russians used Internet, with 65% of them going online daily. What is more, according to MediaScope, as of November 2018, the percentage of Russians aged 18 to 34 who use Internet totalled 95%.

In our blog, we are going to tell you what trends will let us not only increase media outreach, but also reach out to Russian users in 2019.

Strategic Planning and Comprehensive Approach

While as far back as a couple of years three contacts were needed to get a potential customer, now there should already be five. In other words, in order to earn a user’s trust, he or she should get information about you from five sources. That is why one of the 2019 trends will be a comprehensive presence with a coordinated strategy. This means that, apart from the active presence in social media, one also needs to use other channels to spread information about a brand: website, email, messengers, context ads, video ads, digital mass media etc.

However, we should not forget that every business needs its own mix of communication channels. For instance, it is better to sell real property via bogs and analytic content on Facebook, while Teddy bears fit right in on Instagram.

Highlights Stories

Not only does Instagram develop dynamically, but it is also trying to do it not in spite of, but in light of users’ interests. For examples, the stories’ format was reworked and upgraded. In particular, now stories can be pooled by themes. Firstly, it eases life of a user who can choose what he or she is interested in, not wasting time on the trivial many. Secondly, it lets a company differentiate its messages, saving a client’s time and making his or her life easier. For instance, a bank can tell about advantages of using one or another bank card.

Live Stream

There is a growth in popularity of streaming—live broadcasts on-the-spot without editing.

According to Social Media Today, 85% Facebook users notably prefer watching streams, but not TV broadcasts. Besides, streams are much more often liked, shared, and commented. Such popularity indicates that people wish to make conclusions on their own and not to trust narratives of journalists and commentators.

In Russia, companies also mostly choose Facebook and Instagram for live broadcasts. So, if you have a great deal to say live, in 2019 we recommend you to keep up with the fashion and surely broadcast live.

IGTV Video Placement

Here is Instagram over and over again. In summer 2018, a long-discussed thing finally happened: IGTV was launched—a platform that lets uploading video up to 60 minutes on Instagram. Even though usual, non-verified accounts will be able to upload video up to minutes, this is still significantly more than a standard minute. For now, the service is being tested on a large scale, including Russia, so if you make an IGTV channel today, odds are that you will manage to get shortlisted for the recommended video that will you greatly expand your reach.

According to forecasts, in 2019 video content will cover up to 80% of the whole Internet traffic. In this regard, companies need to think of how to create really interesting and useful clip in both traditional and IGTV format.

Chat Bots

Chat bots are spreading everywhere. A chat bot is a program functioning as an interlocutor in a messenger. It can simply maintain a dialogue, answer most popular questions, and offer products and services. According to LivePerson polls (a company that studies communications with clients), only 19% out of 5,000 respondents were dismissive of chat bots, while 48% were indifferent to them until chat bots helped them solve their problems, and 33% respondents evaluated chat bot work positively. These numbers show that in 2019-2010 these programs can fully replace living operators, at least ones in messengers.

VKontakte Public Messaging

This is a special VK app that operates under a mailout principle—mails only come not into your mail box, but in a private message. One would think it must irritate users, but marketers counted that the opening rate for such messages exceeds 90%, while for email marketing it is 60%, which means it is even more than goods. What is more interesting, nearly 20% users getting these messages write a reply where they share their opinions or ask questions—and this is already a direct dialogue with a customer.

Shopping Tags in Instagram

This is one more innovation from Instagram that turned on shopping tags. In Russia, only several accounts have got these functions so far. But in 2019, we will hope, this functionality will become available to all pages that do business in Russia via Instagram.

What are Shopping Tags? This is a special tag, clicking on which, a user switches to the page of a product, where there are pictures, description, price, and a link to the company’s website. Seemingly, service comprehensiveness, when a person can learn about a product or a service without leaving his or her favorite social network, is becoming a long-term tendency.

From Mega- to Microbloggers

Over the last years, influencers in social media have become a real force: now we have celebrities on Instagram, millionaires on YouTube, famous bloggers on Twitter. Millions of people watch them and their messages, opinions, and other content much more than they have ever watched on TV.

The influence of such people has become obvious for everyone. Along with that, the number of popular influencers in the Internet has grown up, which caused an increase of their services’ prices. This resulted in a situation where more and more brands cater to so-called microbloggers—people who exist in every marketing niche, who have a quite low number of subscribers (fewer than 10,000), but, at the same time, a very attentive and loyal audience.

Firstly, their audience is more vivid and responsive; secondly, their services are much cheaper, while the involvement is several-fold higher. Thirdly, the audience is already not so eager to follow celebrities’ advice, knowing that a recommendation for yoghurt or a restaurant is paid.

From Storytelling to Storymaking

The power of user generated content will beat one of the branded content because brands start giving up total control over their own marketing for customers. Brands need a strong positive impact on customer minds and emotions. In this regard, bets will be placed on new models to create customer-oriented content, while joint creation of content by brands and consumers will become a popular tendency.

Back in 2015, the Nielsen global company decided to learn from an advertising poll which type of content is most trusted by customers. The poll showed that the highest number of world respondents—84%—is more likely to trust acquaintances’ recommendations rather than TV ads, social media publications, or YouTube clips. Believe us, since 2015 this tendency has only been gaining traction and has become one of the major online marketing trends of 2019.

So, in 2019…

• Videotape more.
• Broadcast live.
• Tell about yourself and your brand as much as possible.
• Ask users to tell about their experience of cooperation with you.
• Use all possible Internet channels.
• Communicate with your clients.

And follow our blog to follow the fashion at all times!

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