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For both large and small businesses, social media is a necessity for building a brand and earning sales. In the past, you might have been able to generate some likes with a simple post and a hashtag. Today, this is no longer going to cut it – there’s just too much competition! Your old-fashioned post is going to be buried among videos, influencers, user-generated content, and other marketing strategies from your top competitors. For your business to maintain top of mind awareness among your customers, you’ve got to stay on top of current trends. And our marketing agency knows just how to do it.
So, with 2020 is upon us, it might be time to refresh your social media strategy. Contact our marketing agency to see how we can give you the boost necessary to stand out from the crowd. In the meantime, check out these social media trends to look for in the next year and beyond!
Social Commerce Will Continue To Expand
Your Facebook and Instagram feeds are modern-day storefronts. No longer do your customers need to be directed somewhere else to purchase your products. Instead, a user can stop mid-scroll, check out your sweet product posts, and after a couple of clicks, a purchase is made. This makes ordering simple, secure, and streamlined – potentially cutting your sales funnel in half. Our marketing agency expects some significant growth in this area in 2020.
Video Will Dominate Social Platforms
If you’re not creating and sharing video content, you need to start. Whether it’s something long-form you post on YouTube or a short Instagram Story, videos are going to dominate social media feeds in 2020.
TikTok, a video sharing platform that launched in 2016, already has over 500 million active users. This alone shows just how popular video content is becoming!
It’s easy to see why there has been such growth, just look at this cutie!
Videos are easy to digest, can be shared across platforms, and are engaging for users. Platforms like Instagram also give preference to videos when ranking content. So, make sure video content is a part of your social media strategy!
Augmented & Virtual Reality Will Evolve
We’re not just talking about your average Instagram and Snapchat filters. Companies are exploring creative ways to use augmented and virtual reality to promote their products and services.
Ikea’s new AR app lets users see how items will fit in their homes. Just hold up your camera, choose your prospective sofa, and you can see what your soon-to-be living room will look like on your screen.
Sephora, a well-known makeup company, uses Facebook filters to show how different makeup products will look on users.
These examples show how companies are creating a unique and better shopping experience for their customers.
Facebook is currently in beta testing for its virtual reality world named Horizon. According to Facebook, Horizon is “an ever-expanding VR world where you can explore, play, and create in extraordinary ways. At Horizon, you’re not just discovering a new world, you are part of what makes it great.”
It will be interesting to see what other creative ways that AR and VR becomes a part of our daily lives in the coming years.
Influencer Marketing Will Continue to Rise
While influencer marketing isn’t new, more and more companies are using this marketing strategy to reach key demographics.
We’ll see a rise in the use of micro-influencers, which typically have between 1000-10,000 followers. This strategy of using small-scale influencers creates a more personal and trusted connection to followers versus celeb-style promotions. They’re also an affordable way for small companies to compete with their large corporate counterparts.
FOMO Marketing Will Be In Full Force
Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube stories are only live for a limited time. For companies looking to promote flash sales, they can use FOMO (fear of missing out) to their advantage. Engaged customers will be rewarded with awesome deals. Using stories will also keep them coming back to your channel again and again, just in case. It will also attract more people looking for insider deals to follow your accounts.
The use of polls, questions, sliders, and other stickers create an engaging interface for users and provide useful information to companies.
The use of Instagram Stories has risen every single year since being introduced, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
The Rise Of Smart Chatbots
Chatbot intelligence has improved tremendously in the last few years. They can answer complex questions, direct customers to where they want to go, schedule appointments, and more. Google’s AI. Assistant voice is indistinguishable from a real human. The benefits of these advances in chatbot technology are significant!
Chatbots can carry out multiple conversations at the same time, which might possibly require an army or customer service reps to match. For businesses, this frees up time so you can focus more on essential tasks. Soon, chatbots might be able to close some big deals for you too! Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, chatbots should be a part of your marketing strategy in 2020.
Communities Will be Built With User Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) has a few advantages over traditional content creation.
For one thing, it’s free. Photos, videos, reviews, and other content is created and provided to you by your top fans. If your fans are sharing something cool about your product/service, wouldn’t potential customers be interested in it too?
Caption: Starbucks #redcupcontest is a high IQ UGC campaign.
Starbucks #redcupcontest is UGC done well. Starbucks has prize incentives for their fans that share interesting photos of their seasonal red holiday cups. Fans then provide the company with some incredible photos that they can share on their social feeds. Ad added bonus is that the contest increases seasonal sales as fans are required to purchase a red cup first.
UGC is also authentic, easily shared, and makes your brand more trustworthy. At our marketing agency, we run full campaigns around UGC, giving top fans incentives to share photos and other forms of content with us. When we re-share any UGC, we give credit to the fans from which it was provided. This builds excitement for customers with the hope that their content will be used and credited in a national campaign.
With so many advantages, a proper UGC strategy will be part of a high IQ marketing mix in 2020.
Podcasts Can Give Your Marketing an Edge
Podcasts have really exploded over the last few years. With 22% of the population listen to podcasts every week (up from 17% a year ago), this trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
People love podcasts because they can consume content, while say, doing the dishes or going for a walk. You can’t exactly scroll through social media if you’re busy cleaning the house!
If you have some great content created from the past few years on your blog, bust out a recording device and turn it into a show for your top fans. You’ll be able to connect with people on a more intimate level. If you’re not too camera-shy, you can even share your recording session on IGTV and then post it afterwards on your YouTube channel. This is how a marketing agency takes one form of content and repurposes it to fit across social channels.
New Social Media Platforms Will Emerge
TikTok, a video sharing platform that started 3 years ago, has over 500 million active users worldwide.
Video game users are fond of Twitch, which boasts 15 million daily active users.
Houzz is a community excited about home decor, landscaping, and interior design.
Caption: Houzz is a niche social media platform for home decor inspiration and for connecting with design professionals.
Untappd is a social media platform for beer lovers.
WAYN (Where Are You Now?) is a social travel network with the mission to connect globetrotters.
With more and more social media platforms popping up, there just might be an opportunity to get your brand in front of highly-engaged and passionate people.
Have A Marketing Agency Put It All Together For You
Want to leverage the best social media trends for you in 2020? Give our marketing agency a call! We have experience running social media accounts and campaigns for both B2B and B2C clients. Let us help you get your brand in front of highly-engaged and passionate people.
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