With that being said, we are joining in the party and putting our crystal ball to work. Of course, some of our predictions will come true and some may not but based on what we have seen in the past year, we are very confident that these will be some of the most crucial developments that you can expect in 2020. However, before we begin revealing to you what’s in store in 2020 – let’s take a flashback journey to what has happened in the past year.
Google+
Introduced in 2011, Google+ is social project that has been introduced by tech giants Google. This project promoted consumer-facing social network and was aimed to rival Facebook at its beginning. However, its lifespan came to an abrupt end when Google decided to shut down the project this year due to low volume of users, engagement and other development issues. If you are curious to know more about how this once very anticipated project came to a halt, you can check it out here.
Pretty sure you have heard of LinkedIn and must have noticed how much its user interface and in-app functions have changed drastically this year. Launched in 2003 and currently at about 610 million users globally, LinkedIn has always been running on its own pace. This year however, the team from LinkedIn decided to shake things up a little! Albeit a little late to the game (well, three years after Facebook rolled out something similar to be exact), LinkedIn has up its game by introducing the reaction buttons on its comment sections allowing users to express how they feel or express their thoughts in a single click of a button. Of course, seeing that LinkedIn is aimed towards professionals and mainly use for “industry” related social updates, they have a whole different set of reactions compared to Facebook.
The name Twitter does not need any introductions but we are happy to do a quick refresher on what this platform is all about. Launched in 2006 Twitter is an American platform that combines both microblogging and social network into one platform which users post and interacts with other users through “tweets”. Ever since its launch, Twitter has taken the market by storm and the number of users has been growing ever since. Team Twitter has had an exciting year as the platform has introduced an array of new features and an updated look.
- Explore and Top Trends available in any view
- Easier Access to Bookmarks, Lists, and your Profile
- Updated Messaging – so you can read and send in the same window
- Switching between accounts made easier
- More colour personalisation options
TikTok
Launched in 2017 and mirroring the same ideology as Vine, this new social media app has taken the scene to new heights ever since its launch with an astounding 500 million users globally! This year the app has decided to playing alongside with other social media giants by pushing out its advertising arm. Rolling out with this new development, TikTok now comes with interest-based targeting, custom audience and pixel tracking, as well as age, gender, location, network and operating system targeting feature.
Last but not least, this year has been pretty exciting for Facebook. It has rolled out tons of awesome new features and updates but there are two that caught our eyes. Let’s quickly dive into it!
Appointments Management: With the increasing number of users starting to incorporate their business process on social media, Facebook has rolled out its appointments management feature that helps simplify the process of allowing customers book a business’s service on Instagram and Facebook. You can also send appointment reminders, customise your business menu of services, and manage appointments from your business page while having it all synced up with your calendar or any other management tool. Talk about simplifying your daily work schedule!
Video Algorithm Updated: Video contents has definitely not slipped off Facebook’s radar and since May, these are some really significant changes that was being introduced. Original videos with engaging contents which encourage loyalty and intents by providing insight and added value are favoured. Length of videos such as 1 minute will be prioritized but don’t worry, if you need a longer duration to talk about your content – a 3 minute video is also available!
Now that we have did a quick throwback of 2019, we have arrived to what can we expect in year 2020. Let’s find out ????
Videos are Going to Rule the Social Media Scene.
Recently, video contents are one of the most engaging form of content and it is seen to dominate the social media landscape for a long time coming. According to a Cisco study, by 2021, 82% of all online content will be video content and with this study, it evidently shows that how will video content become an integral part of one’s social media strategy. From short-form videos on TikTok or stories on Facebook and Instagram to even traditional long-form contents on YouTube – video will be the future.
Influencer Marketing is Going to Soar.
When it comes to the term influencer marketing, it really does not take much need of introduction and it is a trend that we believe will stay for the foreseeable future. While the old practice of engaging with big names as the face of the brand, we foresee that the “go big or go home” method will slowly fade out. However, if you switch up your gears by exploring the idea of working with micro- or even nano-influencers, we predict that you will have a bigger bang on social media. Influencers at this level offer a significantly higher level of personalization and that allows them to build a stronger audience engagement. After all, users are more likely to follow an influencer they feel connected to than a faceless brand.
The Rise of Social Shopping
For the past 10 years, social platforms have been a key player in expanding eCommerce into a multibillion-dollar industry and today it has successfully placed itself a big part of social media. This trend is ever-growing and we predict that it will be here to stay for a very long time.
Local Targeting will Become More Prevalent
Knowing where your customers are at and how you can put your brand in front of them is always the key to a good marketing strategy. With the help of location-based targeting feature provided by almost all social media platforms, all you have to do is to tag your location whenever you publish a post. Now, you can easily reach out and attract people from your desired location.
The Rise of Augmented Reality Technology
Yes, you have read it right. Augmented reality technology or better known as AR will be heavily utilized by marketers on social media but what does this fancy word actually mean? First of all, people tend to confuse AR with Virtual Reality and treat them as the same concept. Whilst both have similarities, they are not the same thing as virtual reality implies creating a whole new world from scratch – a simulation of the real and the imagined world. A good example of what AR would be the very well-loved fancy Snapchat camera filters like dog filters, 3D Bitmoji and pretty much all of its camera features are powered by AR technology.
So how is AR such a potential tool for marketers? Well, AR has been predicted to provide a better engagement and increasing brand awareness while providing a better buying experience with their predicted abilities such as AR live events and AR videos.
Engagement – The Bond That Keeps It All Together
Engagement. This is a term that every marketer has been throwing around for the past year and maybe even way before. So why is it suddenly so important now? Well, engagement shows if your audience is really interested in your contents. Engagement became such an integral part of your brand’s social media because social media algorithms are believed to be promoting content depending on engagement, comments, shares and live features.
So, it is very important that your contents are engaging and start focusing on video contents. Last but not least, always be available to reply to comments and messages.
Facebook Groups
People are now more cautious as to what they post on social media publicly and try to minimize public interactions, and we believe that your marketing strategy should soon do that too. With that in mind, privacy will become a priority in the future of social media. With this, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook groups will become Facebook’s new future. Brands must now find new ways to create more private and authentic connections with audiences without being intrusive. A good way to create such initiative would be to build brand communities or groups where your brand aligned messages is relevant while strengthening your relationship with your audiences.
The Co-Existence of Fake News and Stricter Regulations
This has been a nuisance on social media for quite a while and we have learnt to build a certain level of tolerance towards fake news but in 2020, you might want to look into the stricter regulations that will be imposed. For example – Facebook will soon be rolling out a feature that will be asking businesses for consent before posting to any niche audience.
Switch Up Your Humor and Share a Meme Today
Nowadays, social media in general are no longer platforms that users share personal information or reading about the news but have become entertainment platforms. With that in mind, pushing out contents such as engaging videos or funny memes to tag friends will get your audience to be more engaging.
And finally, messaging applications will be even huger than they are now and one of the key platforms to communicate with customers! Facebook predicts that by 2020, more people will have mobile devices than running water. It is estimated that 3 billion people will gain access to mobile phones by 2020.
So – there you have it! All the exciting things to expect in 2020. ????
