Top Social Media Marketing Trends in 2020
Digital Marketing

Top Social Media Marketing Trends in 2020

By January 3, 2020 February 6th, 2020 No Comments

Should businesses be on TikTok? How will Instagram’s hidden likes update impact brands? What’s next for Augmented Reality in social media?

As social media marketers, these are valid questions to ask in 2020.

I know you’re not here for a Shakespearian novel, so let’s dive right in.

Here are the top social media marketing trends in 2020:

Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content is temporary content that disappears within a given amount of time. Pioneered by Snapchat, it now plays a role in both Instagram and Facebook Stories.

Ephemeral content is popular for the following reasons:

  • Brand authenticity
  • A growing desire for vertical video
  • It limits ad fatigue

Let’s dissect this a wee bit more. ????️‍

Brand Authenticity: Brand authenticity is an increasing theme for social media marketing. 90% of consumers consider brands that appear more authentic when making purchase decisions.

Desire for Vertical Video: 96% of today’s online videos are watched from phones. This creates the need for more vertical video content.

Limiting Ad Fatigue: Consumers are tired of ads dominating their social feeds. Ephemeral content is one way to counteract this ad fatigue.

Niche Social Media Platforms

At the top of everyone’s mind is the new video-based social media platform – TikTok.

As of 2019, TikTok hit 500 million active daily users. That means it’s grown at twice the rate of Instagram. ????

Which begs the question: How can businesses use TikTok in 2020?

We know that TikTok supports the following types of advertisements:

  • Infeed native content
  • Brand takeovers
  • Hashtag challenges
  • Branded lenses

This platform is new to social media marketing but currently presents a more affordable ad space. It’s also likely to grow as a dominant platform for influencer marketing.

While evaluating TikTok, be sure to give attention to other rising social media platforms.

Ok, I know. It’s technically not a trend. But who isn’t wondering what no likes on Instagram will mean for brands?

Instagram certainly threw us all through a loop with the announcement in November. It was the announcement heard ‘round the agency!

As it turns out, Instagram’s gradual transition into hidden likes is no reason for a spit take (so save your coffee). ☕ What it really means is that social media marketers may need to adjust the metrics by which we are measuring our success on Instagram.

If anything, it creates a stronger focus on the more detailed and steadfast analytics.

Video Content

Video content continues to increase in popularity. In fact, video currently drives 20-30% more conversions than static imagery.

You’re probably already creating video content. The trick for 2020 will be to optimize, optimize, optimize.

Using video marketing trends for 2020, create more engaging videos by:

  • Personalization
  • Long-form videos
  • 360-degree videos

While you’re at it, make sure you’re taking steps to increase your rank on YouTube.

Augmented Reality

It was the flame that fueled the Pokemon Go frenzy in 2016. It’s the technology that allows us to turn our faces into dogs on Snapchat.

In social media marketing, AR creates more immersive social media experiences. But we’re not app developers here, so how do we leverage AR in our social media marketing strategies?

The answer is that we’ll need to stay in the loop on any AR updates to social media platforms. By leveraging the latest AR tech for social media marketing, you’ll create interactive, unique content that influences faster purchase decisions.

More Targeted Content

Today’s consumers expect content that aligns with them. Social feeds loaded with irrelevant ads create a negative brand experience. Ultimately, they dissuade purchase decisions.

[Tweet “Combat ad fatigue with content your audience actually enjoys. ???? #socialmediamarketing”]

Optimize your audience’s social media experience:

  • Create content that targets their needs & interests
  • Keep messaging brief
  • Position the most important information first
  • Create easy-to-find CTA’s

And above all, pay attention to your analytics. As our CEO Natalie says, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” ???? In other words, is it working?

Use analytics (indicating metrics like search rankings, click-through rates, general web traffic, domain authority, subscriber growth, etc.) to measure and adjust your social media strategies as needed.

Facebook Groups

Why is Facebook a trend for 2020 when they’ve had a significant decline in younger users?

While the platforms you integrate into your social media marketing strategies are always dependent on your target audience, Facebook is still a viable candidate for business marketing.

As you know, modifications to Facebook’s algorithm in 2018 decreased the organic reach of business pages. In the same update, Facebook actually gave group posts more priority in the feed.

This has sparked a social-on-social trend. Based on their interests, people are grouping together into smaller communities. In these instances, their interest can include a brand that they resonate with.

The Tasty Recipes group on Facebook gained more than 10,000 followers in a month.

Top Social Media Marketing Trends

The Tasty Recipes group on Facebook gained more than 10,000 followers in a month.

Using Facebook Groups in your social media marketing strategy will give you the opportunity to reach more audiences.

So there you have it: The social media marketing trends of 2020 in a nutshell. If you didn’t enjoy constant learning, you wouldn’t be in digital marketing — right?

What are your thoughts on current or future social media marketing trends?

 

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