One thing is for sure with social media—it will never stop evolving. Every year, there will always be a new trend. Habits change, new platforms appear, and platforms evolve. All these affect how consumers react and how brands can reach their audience. Given that, it’s more important than ever to stay up to date with these trends to understand them and to stay ahead. Doing so ensures that you have the right tools and right strategies in place to survive the competitive market. With that, let’s take a look at 2020 social media trends you need to be aware of to help your brand move forward.
Before, likes contributed to a huge part of the success of a brand’s engagement on social media. But, with the tested removal of likes on Instagram and Facebook, there would be a shift in that measure of success. And that’s where social listening comes in.Even if you don’t totally count out likes, the threat of their disappearance forces brands to look beyond surface data. In fact, according to Sprout’s data, two-thirds of marketers felt that social listening would be crucial in 2020. From understanding your consumer’s standpoint to understanding the impact of a social media campaign, you can earn a goldmine of information through social listening. More than that, there are plenty of tools out there that make it easier for anyone to access these insights. Given that ease and those benefits, social media listening is crucial to refining your social strategy.
In connection with that last trend, brands are now more focused on building more meaningful connections with their customers. Rather than trying to get everybody on their side, they’re focusing on individuals. This fosters more trust and the concept of privacy and intimacy. That is the reason social media communities or tribes have been booming lately.Social media communities function much like clubs. Like-minded people join it and discuss common interests, problems, and experiences. An excellent example of this is Facebook groups.Brands and influencers usually use these groups to bring together their customers and supporters and interact with them in a meaningful way. This allows them to access a smaller but more dedicated group of people. And then, they can also use it to launch new products and get direct customer insights.
Speaking of customers and your audience, another important remaining factor in your content strategy is user-generated content. This again highlights your brand’s need for meaningful connections with your audience and customers. Not only does this build your brand relationships but, it also does wonders for your image. It feels more authentic and adds brownie points to your trustworthiness.Plenty of brands encourage their users to post content featuring their products. And once you highlight them, they feel more included. It’s a brilliant move for engagement and social proof. Plus, it gives you a plethora of free and overflowing content to choose from.
As for influencers, they’re not going away any time soon. They’ve been around for a few years now and they’re still part of the 2020 social media trends you should look out for. But, given the "hidden likes" situation on Instagram, brands are putting a lot of them under the scrutiny of a microscope. Now, influencers really have to back up their price tags with results.This also relates to the importance of communities. Given their tight-knit groups, more and more brands are working with micro-influencers. These influencers get much higher and more meaningful engagement from their dedicated following. And they get more results rather than simply just likes. That said, simply understand what the influencer can do for you and if your brand is meaningful to their following.
Aside from influencers, social ads also continue to remain as a strong social marketing channel for brands. Customers are becoming more and more comfortable with social shopping. Couple that with the evolution and advancement of ads, brands can now further encourage customers to do direct business with them. Soon, this can become a mainstream retail channel. That’s why you shouldn’t hesitate to still invest in social ads. They’re growing on all social media platforms and marketers wouldn’t hesitate to leverage them in their marketing strategies.
When it comes to your content format, stories is one that doesn’t seem to be slowing down for 2020 social media trends. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, stories are only growing more and more popular every day. People’s attention spans are becoming shorter. And stories are the perfect way to catch their attention. It’s short, addictive, and gives off a feeling of “must-see.” It also gives you a great way to engage with your audience. That’s why more and more brands have incorporated this into their strategies.
Much like stories, people love videos. It remains to be one of the most engaging forms of content. And with the way it’s remaining on top, it’s obvious it’s here to stay and maybe even more. According to a study Cisco, 82% of all online content will be video by 2022. So, if you’re not making videos, better start planning and doing. Youtube and Facebook are clearly leading when it comes to this. But, Instagram is also close behind with IGTV. There’s also TikTok. Although a lot of brands are snubbing it now, with its number of users, crossing it out now would be premature.
Social media platforms rise and fall every year. And though Facebook and Instagram have stayed on top for a while now, more and more niche social platforms are climbing higher to the top. For example, take TikTok. It gained immediate popularity with the younger audiences and is continuing to grow right now. Despite the emergence of a rival, Snapchat has also gained more users in 2019 according to Sprout. LinkedIn is also seeing amazing growth from B2B companies.The takeaway here? It's crucial to know which platforms deserve your attention more. Understand how much effort you’re giving out and how much you are getting in return. This is where truly understanding the deeper side of your metrics is important. Don’t just chase after the surface results. And look to where your brand performs best.And with that, we end our list of 2020 social media trends. Thankfully, with every trend emergence, you don’t have to start from scratch. Simply use it to reflect on what you’re currently doing and adjust. These will tell you what’s working and not working anymore and help you improve and grow. So, keep up!