Social Media Marketing Strategies Are Going To Change Based on These 2020 Trends
There’s no question social media has changed tremendously over the last 10-15 years, as have the platforms in that social media realm. More users are creating social media accounts every day. The news is spread on Facebook feeds The digital world is at the tip of everyone’s fingertips all day long.
As Instagram turns 10 this year, Facebook and Twitter are in their teenage years, and we continue seeing new social platforms like TikTok and Lasso popping into the market, there’s a lot to expect from the social media marketing world this year.
As the story goes with any social media platform, users will come and go, and brands will discover what channels work best for them as they find their audience. Additionally, users will experiment with what’s new and determine what platform best suits their interests.
As those brands and users shuffle around, there’s also the inevitable change in trends that goes along with it. Platforms will change their layouts and functions, new features will be added while others are taken away, and the rules will change the game of social media marketing strategies.
But with over 3 billion social media users across the globe, whether you like the changes or not, it’s essential to pay attention to what is happening on social media. Or there’s no other way to continue reaching those 3 billion people through your business accounts.
With this in mind, we must discuss these 2020 trends and how they will, no question, affect the way we market and interact with our audience over social media.
Social Media For Business
First comes first, we have to understand the use of social media as a business. It’s not all about promoting products and getting people to buy. Instead, it’s about creating a conversation around your brand, its values, and what you’re all about–outside of the products and services you offer.
Imagine, as a consumer, you have a favorite toothbrush. That thing cleans your teeth better than any hygienist at the dentist’s office, it’s quiet and electric, and fits well with your bathroom decor. It’s perfect–you’ll never choose another brand. But would you follow along with that brand on social media?
If it was just about the toothbrush, probably not–how interesting could an Instagram page about a single toothbrush be? BUT if that same brand developed an interesting conversation, you’d likely be more inclined to follow. That interesting conversation could be talk about their community involvement and donations they make to children and families in need–they focus on showing their outreach through their social media channels). Or that conversation could be created around the humor of hygiene. Either way, it’s the conversation you’re there for, not the photos and talk of a toothbrush that you already own.
Fashion model Gigi Hadid makes a really great point when it comes to this concept. She says, “We get to live in a time that we get to use social media as a tool. It’s not just a face on a piece of paper, and that’s what makes you someone’s favorite model. We can have a very similar sense of humor as someone, and that’s why we’re their favorite model, or our personal style, off the runway, is why we’re their favorite.”
No matter what your business sells, it’s not about your products or services on social media. What it is about is creating a connection with your audience and a greater conversation. If you always remember that, you’ll be successful–even with the following trends and changes coming to the social media marketing world.
4 Trends That Will, In Fact, Affect Your Social Media Marketing in 2020
Short Duration Content Will Keep Gaining Popularity
Snapchat started the short-duration content game back in 2011, but since then many other platforms have hopped on the same train.
Instagram and Facebook stories are popular among users, with over 500 million people posting a story to one of these platforms at least once a day.
Why’s this short-duration content so popular? It’s generally less annoying to the people who follow your account, it doesn’t cloud your grid, and it’s optional to watch. And people love it. Social media users say they’re more likely to shuffle through stories than they are to scroll through their news feed. This means if you’re not using stories and are only posting on your feed, your strategy’s got to change.
What This Means For Business
While 64% of small businesses have already incorporated short-duration content into their marketing strategies, if you’re not one of them, it’s time to get on board. But what to post on Instagram and Facebook stories?
Stories are a great way to show the behind the scenes of your business operations. That includes the employees, processes, office or warehouse, and the fun and human part of your brand.
You can also create graphics for stories to promote products or services or provide brand information. This is really simple too, you don’t have to be an experienced graphic designer to do it. Use Canva.
There’s also the swipe up feature currently offered for stories. This feature allows brands to quickly and easily supply their audience with relevant links just by swiping up. This is a huge advantage because it takes away the multiple steps that would usually occur for conversion and increases the likelihood of a purchase. But the catch? You have to have at least 10,000 followers on Instagram in order for the swipe up feature to be available to your brand.
Instagram Will Remove Likes
We’ve been hearing this for quite some time now–IG will remove the number of likes from posts. The platform’s goal here (so they say), is to remove the thought of social value or validation based on how many likes an account receives on a post. Seems sensible, but if likes are removed does Instagram influencer marketing still work? Brands using Instagram influencer marketing and influencers themselves are the ones who have a problem with this platform update coming in 2020.
In recent years, brands have really moved away from traditional paid advertising and are throwing their money towards influencer marketing instead. Through these efforts, they’re seeing greater ROI with the method. It’s likely that Instagram and Facebook have a bit of a problem with this advertising method because they’re receiving zero revenue from it.
No, this is not a fact. But there is speculation that the social media platforms are removing the likes feature to draw brands back into paying the platforms for marketing with their own ads. If that’s the case, will influencer marketing stick around?
What This Means For Business
The removal of Instagram likes could mean that as a brand, influencer marketing is out of the question. If there are no likes to be shown, there are no hard ROI numbers when it comes to marketing your products or services through influencers. You want to see numbers–you want to see that your investment is worth it. So instead, ditching the influencers and going with network ads instead might be the way to go this decade. That way you’re sure to see numbers.
Video Content Will Continue to Rise
Whether it’s short-form video like Instagram stories or TikTok videos, or long-form videos like IGTVs or YouTube videos, video content is where the social media interest is.
Video is effective because it tells an actual story–one that you can see rather than have to visualize. And video’s generally more informative and entertaining, as well. 54% of consumers want to see more video content from the brands they support. By 2022, 82% of content online will be video.
This might intimidate the people who aren’t video professionals, but the thing is, nobody expects social media videos to be award-winning films either. This allows anyone to be perfectly capable of creating video content. iPhone cameras, imperfect lighting, and a little bit of background noise are all OK as long as the content is relevant and interesting.
What This Means For Business
The upward climb in the amount of video content makes now the right time to start crafting videos for your brand. It’ll keep you relevant in the social media domain and can kickstart your brand into this 2020 social media trend.
Here are some simple video content ideas to get your small business started:
- Film testimonials from current customers
- Showcase awesome events that your brand attends or puts on
- Record interactions with your brand’s community that display your ability to give back
- Show the behind the scenes of your brand’s day-to-day in the office or warehouse
- And give your audience FUN! Whatever your brand’s vibe might be, bring it to life by capturing it in video content.
Social Media and Customer Service
Customer service and building good relationships with your brand’s followers have been near the top of the business owner list since the very beginning. As a business owner, your goal is to ensure that every one of your customers has a great experience with your brand. If they do, the idea is that they’ll come back for more and tell their peers about you too.
The customer experience department has become increasingly popular as the online world has continued to grow over the last decade. Why? Because everything is online.
Consumers are more outwardly spoken than ever. This makes it especially easy to find out brand information (both good and bad). And as social media and online users steadily increase year after year, social media is an easy way for people to communicate with brands. In fact, over 28% of consumers reported communicating with a business last year–a trend likely to increase even more in 2020.
What This Means For Business
Because of the incline in interactions between brands and consumers, this trend gives brands the perfect opportunity to serve customers even better. Brands will be able to make themselves more accessible through their social media platforms.
Responding to DMs, replying to comments, and never ignoring a customer question this year. This might sound like a full-time job depending on how large your brand is and the audience following along. But if it means convenience and answers for your customers, it means greater success for you as a brand. The time will be worth it.
Social Media Brand Management
Are you leaning into these 2020 trends? Or are you allowing the frightening change to get the best of you? It’s not an option to stick to your old ways as things continue to evolve at a rapid pace–you must evolve too.
Get on board with the best practices for your brand and push ahead in the marketing game this year. Not sure where to start? Buy Us a Beer to get all your social media brand management questions answered.
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