2020 has just arrived at our doorstep, and with it comes a stream of social media trends to keep an eye out for. Here’s a small list of big changes you can expect in the social media space going forward.
1. The End Of Vanity Metrics
When Instagram announced it would remove the ability for “likes” to be viewed by the public, it rocked the social media world. Suddenly, one of the core metrics to gauge post performance was going away.
With the dust settled, we can now see how the removal of “likes” is going to shake up the social media game.
Instead of having “likes” be the yardstick of which performance is measured against, other metrics will take its place. Right now, the number of comments a post gathers is looking to be the new measure of performance and the reasoning behind this is pretty sound.
Unlike the traditional “likes”, comments can be used to more accurately measure the level of engagement a post gets. Not only that, but brands who are looking to hire an influencer can also analyze the quality of the comments on any given post. Are the comments genuine or are they random bits of spam churned out by a bot?
Removing the dependence of vanity metrics refocuses attention on the metrics that do matter. If engagement is the name of the game, then there’s no better way to show it than getting comments on a post.
2. Social Media As Customer Service
While social media has traditionally been a place for people to connect with their network, today it has evolved into much more than just sharing embarrassing videos of your kids or pictures of your cat.
Many brands are finding out social media is becoming a strong platform for delivering customer services. This is likely due to social media being the most convenient means to reaching a brand – for praise or for complaints.
In the early days of social media, if a customer had a bad experience with a particular brand, they could vent their thoughts and complaints out onto the platform and have their network see it.
Those same brands, not wanting to leave complaints or feedback unaddressed, decided to take to social media and operated as a direct line of communication to their customers.
Since then, the usage of social media has grown to become one of the primary ways a customer can reach a brand – and this trend is only going to get stronger.
3. The Rise Of Social Shopping
In the last decade, social media platforms have played a crucial role in expanding the digital economy that we know today. Billions and billions of transactions over the internet have taken place thanks to the presence and application of social media. Looking forward, it’s only going to pick up more steam.
Specifically, users will begin to expect direct access to brands and their products straight from the social platform – a seamless shopping experience.
Shoppability of a platform will become a key factor when it comes to marketing strategy for brands. That means we can expect to see more shoppable posts, videos, and links in future social media trends too!
4. Authenticity Is Still King For Engagement
While users would love to see genuine and authentic posts made by brands, there is a shift in who makes the content now.
Moving forward, user generated content will appear to be the best way of communicating brand authenticity. After all, who better to tell the world how great a brand’s services or products are than the very people that use them?
In 2020 and beyond, we can see brands leveraging more on user generated content. Not only to bolster their position but to also make the brands seem more ‘human’ and trustworthy. Much like how a friend would share a funny post you made.
5. Video Content Will Become The Norm
Video content is becoming the ‘staple’ post any social media user will expect to find on any platform.
As we move towards the future, we can expect video content to dominate our searches. Whether we’re looking for educational content or entertainment, video content is becoming the best way to engage an audience.
This means that brands who aren’t comfortable or savvy with creating these engaging videos had better get started! It’s only going to get harder the longer they wait.
There you have it – 5 trends you can expect to see on social media in 2020. Hope this post has been helpful to you, and thanks for reading!
