It's hard to believe that 2018 is coming to an end, and before you know it will be 2019. Though it's challenging to imagine what 2019 holds for social media, as a small business it is imperative that you think about it. Social media can boost your business traffic, and in turn, increase your business’s sales. Whether or not you have considered social media for your business, those that have are predicting the following trends for the new year.

• According to Business 2 Community “augmented reality’, or AR, will be one of the next big things in social media. Augmented reality is similar to virtual reality and includes what you see on your computer or phone screen being augmented by other elements. The smartphone game Pokémon Go is an example of AR. ABC News enhanced its coverage of the 2018 mid-term elections with AR. Though AR may be mostly inaccessible to small business at present, it is a good time to learn about it and plan for its eventually use. Learn more here: https://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm

• Generation Z will be a growing consumer of social media content in 2019. Generation Z isthe generation after Millennials, Generation Z is defined as people born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Learn more about what make Generation Z unique here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-beall/8-key-differences-between_b_12814200.html

• Video will grow as a dominant communication medium in the new year. That presents great opportunities for small business. Facebook Live, Instagram TV (IGTV), YouTube and other video platforms are easy to use, often free, and provide all the tools you need to communicate your business's message in video format. Want to know more about IGTV? https://instagram-press.com/blog/2018/06/20/welcome-to-igtv/

• Chatbots will grow in popularity. Chatbots can be a very useful resource for your business website. Chatbots open an automated line of communication between your business persona and your website visitors. With the growing power of AI (Artificial Intelligence) automated communication is quickly increasing in its ability to converse in "people speak".

• Influencer Marketing is projected to continue to grow in 2019. Examples of Influencer Marketing include well known social media stars Tweeting and Instagramming product endorsements. A subset of Influence Marketers is called “Micro-influencers’’ and they maybe more accessible for assisting your small business. Micro-Influencers are locally well-known people, in or near your local area, that your customers can recognize and relate to. When planning to work with a micro-influencer it is important that their persona is attractive to the demographics of your target audience.

In 2018 social media as an opportunity to market your small business grew in some predictable ways and in some ways that surprised even the experts. To best leverage the potential of Social Media Marketing in 2019 it is important to research trends now and carefully plan what elements best fit your business goals.