December 6th, 2019 | Updated on July 3rd, 2023
The past decade has seen the rise of social media platforms – Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), Instagram (2010), Snapchat (2011).
From then on, businesses are trying to connect with more and more people on social media, propagating their brand and increasing their leads.
Every year, social media marketing has seen some new changes. From simply posting images on Facebook Walls to Creating Facebooks Pages for business promotions and Instagram business accounts, social media has evolved completely for businesses.
So, what’s next in social media marketing? Will it be different in 2020? Let us see the top 16 social media marketing trends to watch in 2020!
1. Instagram Stories Will Be A Hit
We all love watching stories on instagram. In 2020, businesses will continue to leverage this feature for different purposes – taking people behind the scenes in their workshops, tutorials, polls, and questionnaires from customers, revealing offers and special deals, time-based deals and so on.
The stories can be kept as highlights on your page which further enhances their aspect.
2. Videos And Storytelling Will Continue
The most preferred content today is videos. Businesses are already promoting their stories, testimonials, and products via video-based content. 2020, will witness more of these scenarios.
According to Panopto, Live Streaming is getting more popular as it facilitates real-time communication, enhances the user experience and engages the users in the best way.
3. Quora Marketing – An Asset For Businesses In 2020
Quora is a platform that demands expertise and if you are an expert in your field, then Quora is for you.
It is a great way to put up your first impressions and build a solid reputation. As users are in search of authenticity, they will turn up to Quora to find answers to their queries.
4. Personalization In Social Media
Forbes has declared 2020 as the year of personalized marketing. People like it when they find content on their social media platforms that relates to their choices.
Personalized ads have already been taken into action, followed by personalized emails. 2020 will see more of it.
Our inboxes will be loaded with products and services that we are interested in. We will see the ads that relate to what we search for.
5. Influencer Marketing /User-Generated Content
We all are much aware of the concept of influencer marketing. However, with Instagram testing on Removing the Likes, the concept of ‘Influencing’ people might change.
Even if that happens, user-generated content will still make it a great deal for both the influencers and the brands.
Businesses will continue using user-generated posts, videos, and blogs, giving them a chance to be a part of the brand in 2020.
6. Augmented Reality For Social Media
The technical terms must not trouble you. Augmented Reality includes taking a real image and projecting virtual augmentations to it.
For instance, Snapchat and Instagram filters are the best examples of Augmented Reality. This technology can help the users to step into the stores and try on clothes on them without moving out of their houses.
Augmented reality can help make videos more interactive and engaging for the users.
7. Chatbots And Messaging Apps
The Global Chatbot Market is expected to rise exponentially between 2016 – 2023. Chatbots can not only automate your conversations but provide the aspect of personalized content to your users.
With days, more human-like features are being developed on chatbots which means 2020 would see something better.
8. Social CEO’s
2020 is the right time for CEOs and other leaders to come to the front and be with their audience. It is expected that in 2020, the gap between the employees and the employers will shrink.
The leaders would come up and connect with customers, contributing to building a genuine brand.
9. Social Media Stores
Social media is taking over eCommerce stores by introducing buying options for people. Whether it be Facebook MarketPlace or Instagram shop, social media buying will gain momentum in the next year.
Imagine your customers buying products directly from your social media account? Easy and exciting, isn’t it?
10. Podcasts As A Part Of Social Media Marketing
Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular these days. People are going crazy listening to these great personalities sharing their life lessons with others.
Apps like Spotify, Castbox and Podcast Addict have already been popular among people. We can imagine it being a part of the social media marketing troop soon in 2020!
11. Credibility With Social Media In 2020
People rely more on social media today than on their televisions. Another interesting revelation from Forbes, suggests that 64.5% of all internet users today receive the breaking news from social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
This means Social Media will become more credible as days would pass. This can be a great opportunity for marketers to promote their products.
12. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can bring in some positive changes in the social media marketing system. It can help in content creation, content promotion, finding the right audience and being present for them for round the clock.
It is the technology that can help you establish a strong bond between your brand and the customers.
13. Omnichannel Marketing
By omnichannel, we mean creating a unified experience for your consumers on every social media platform. This means your brand will preach the same message on all your social media sites.
You cannot promote two different ideologies on two different platforms. 2020 will be all about omnichannel social media marketing. This is something new and can flourish your business in the next year,
14. Social Media As Search Engines
Social media is no less than a search engine today where you can find likeminded people and relevant services.
Optimization of your posts is a must when you are planning to rank well on a social media platform. Use correct hashtags, add links to your profile, and add optimized page titles.
15. Small Talk On Social Media Will Bring Big Results
Social media has the capability to speak a thousand words in just one-minute time. This is possible through the catchy captions of posts, stories, live feed, or video-based content.
You can spread the news about your latest offer in a simple story worth 10 seconds or you can launch a new collection via a series of posts. People want crisp messages and easy to engulf information.
16. Emoji Marketing
According to HubSpot: 25.4% of tweets with emojis get better engagement 57% of Facebook posts get more likes while 33% get shares and comments if they have emojis in them Emojis can be used as powerful tools to connect with consumers in a fun, informal and creative way.
According to a study, messages sent with emojis scored higher on memory than those without emojis. And that’s why we have seen more and more brands are using emoji marketing to garner increasing engagement for their marketing campaigns.
If emojis can increase the likelihood of engagement, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using them in your marketing campaign. But with all that said, what techniques you should use to incentivize people to click your links. You can go through this emoji guide to excel at Emoji Marketing.
Summing It Up!
So, these were the best 15 Social Media Marketing Trends to Watch Out for in 2020! Do you know that around 30% of the consumers say that they want the brands to be active on social media platforms? This means that no matter what trends come or go, the content will be the highlight of the social media marketing strategy.
Whether you produce a video or post a short story, your content must be top-notch if you want to attract more and more customers.
So, wait no more and prepare your strategies well ahead so that you can take over 2020 social media marketing with grace!
Elliott Smith is an Australia immigration expert at Visa2immigration. He deals with working professionals, students looking for visa services. He also composes articles, on study abroad, methods to apply for visa in the most proficient methods.
