2020 Social Media Trends
We’ve officially transitioned into the new year! This is a great time to take your branding to the next level. Right now, there are billions of people using some form of social media. Whether or not you are a fan of social media, it’s a key part of marketing your brand and an effective way to connect with potential customers.
What trends are we seeing for social media in 2020? Take a look at our 4 biggest predictions for social media trends this year.
Visual Storytelling with Video Content
Did you know that 90 percent of information transmitted to our brain happens to be visual? In 2019, 67% of consumers considered videos to be the most transparent type of social media content (Sproutsocial).
What is it about video content that people find so interesting? Often times social media can seem impersonal and distant, so seeing people’s faces and hearing them speak helps us to see a more meaningful and authentic version of their brand or personality. Sometimes a short yet powerful message shared through video content can mean much more than a text-heavy caption or a sales ad.
Whether you are promoting your brand, product, service, or just wanting to educate your followers, try incorporating video strategies into your content. Here are a few video content examples you can start with –
- Product unboxing – Give your followers an inside look and review of your products
- Loop videos – Quickly illustrate how to use a product
- Take them behind the scenes – Connect with your followers and make them feel included in your business
- Q&A – Answer frequently asked questions. This will show that you care about the concerns of your audience.
Shaping content towards targeted audiences
We may see brands with a large following then look closely and notice a lack of engagement on individual posts. Brands with large followings and equivalent engagement are most likely building an organic community within that brand. By doing it organically you will build a genuine audience and a better understanding of how to shape your content.
This will not happen overnight! Only time, great content and analysis will show you what type of content your specific audience likes the most. Make sure to utilize the “insights” or “analytics” platforms of each social network to get a better understanding of what they love.
Social Media Commerce
In 2019, social networks were the biggest source of inspiration for consumer purchases with 37% of consumers finding purchase inspiration through the channel (PWC).
Facebook is the leader in social media sales and traffic. It’s a social network every business should use if your product or service is for sale online.
Do your research and track what platforms perform best with your brand. Some platforms may drive more traffic to your website while others may be more beneficial for visual promotion and engagement.
Nearly all social media platforms are optimized for a great shopping experience. They offer tools such as payment methods, listings, ads, and ‘buy now’ buttons that allow you to directly purchase from social platforms.
Creating an effortless social shopping experience will give you the opportunity for your mobile sales to rise. Jumping through 15 extra steps just to get to the product will give consumers a reason to decide they are uninterested.
Quality Content
As of 2019, more than 3 billion people are using social media. It makes sense that our standards have only gone up since the start of social media. Today we only want to see the best quality content.
It takes time to produce quality content. Sometimes you may find yourself scrambling to think of something to post. If you struggle, we recommend working with independent contractors or hiring someone to join your team who specializes in social media content.
Hiring a specialist is going to be the most convenient way to be sure you consistently have quality content. However, we understand it may not be in everyone’s budget. If you plan to create content yourself, set aside one day out of the month to shoot/schedule your social media content.
Like anything else you do, the more consistent you are the more likely you’ll see results but, more importantly, be critical of what you’re posting because quality will always beat quantity.
Social media plays a huge part in our business’ success, and with all the ever-changing trends it becomes essential to your brand to stay aware. We hope that our social media predictions will only help you further grow this year!