2020 is here. And with every New Year it’s certain there will be more social media changes, new tools, a variety of new service offerings, and policy changes that will impact your business. In 2019, we saw a rise in transparency from all channels which led to updates including Facebook’s Ad Library. Instagram released Creator Accounts, Instagram Shopping, and improved IGTV. And Social Media Ad Spend surpassed Print Ad Spend for the first time — a growth trend that is only expected to continue in 2020.
So what’s next? Here are the biggest social media trends and predictions to watch for 2020.
Authenticity & Creativity Will Lead the Way for Brands and Influencers
Facebook & Instagram have already started testing the removal of likes, meaning genuine comments, reposts, saves, and DM’s are more important than ever. To win the newsfeed, brands and influencers need to invest in quality content, get comfortable being vulnerable, and execute new strategies that get consumers to engage more actively than through a passive “like”. A high level of quality, creative, and authentic content will help brands and influencers develop stronger connections with their audiences.
My tip: Ask questions that incite responses, encourage saves for product tips & helpful info, and invest more time & resources to manage DMs.
Words Will Be More Powerful than Images
Yes, you heard that right! While high-resolution visuals that are on-brand are still very important, we’re seeing captions take center stage in 2020. The average caption length has more than doubled the last few years and have received higher engagements. Thus, longer captions will positively impact engagement rates. It is also predicted that this year our feeds will be filled with an average caption length of 405 characters on Instagram— which averages out to be approximately 65-70 words! While you don’t have to make every single caption a lengthy post, writing full sentences instead of a few emojis may help increase overall engagement, saves, DMs, and social conversations.
My tip: Be intentional with your posts. Show up + share something that will not only benefit but provide value to your fans and followers.
Influencer Marketing Will Be A Significant Investment
Influencer marketing is evolving quickly. Instagram’s Creator Accounts have helped influencers view reporting and keep track of brand communications more efficiently. Thus, influencers are not just people with big followings, they are businesses — and should be treated as a business partner. New features like Branded Content posts provide more transparency for fans as well as enable brands to advertise influencer posts directly from Ads Manager — something we’ll continue to see growing in 2020. But most importantly, in a world where organic engagement is dwindling, influencer engagement rates remain strong. Influencers have an average of 3.2% engagement rate on Instagram compared to 1.5% across all social network which is a huge asset for brands looking to grow. That’s likely one reason why Estée Lauder decided to allocate 75% of their marketing budget to influencer marketing next year.
In 2020, we’ll continue to see a rise in micro-influencer collaborations along with co-branded product releases for bigger, celebrity type influencers. Gal Meets Glam + Nordstroms, Rachel Hollis + Target, and Desi Perkins + Benefit — these collaborations are paving the way for a future or more influencer created products that customers are ready and willing to buy.
My tip: Invest in the influencers you decide to work with. Choose partners who are the best representation of your brand, and invest in your future relationship with them.
Social Ad Costs Will Increase
Did you know that there are more than 6 million advertisers on Facebook? This is a significant increase from 4 million advertisers in 2016. More advertisers = greater demand. And with a limited supply of ad placements, ad costs will go up. That’s why you need to be willing to test! My recommendation is to start with other, less saturated placements like Instagram Stories or Messages. Instagram Story ads have remained a lower cost ad placement for now, and if done right, they have potential to be really effective for your business. Videos will also continue to be a growing ad creative type, specifically on Instagram. Since most people watch videos without sound, adding subtitles will be vital to keeping viewers interested in your video. Remember, the longer the watch time, the higher the relevance score and the lower the ad costs.
My tip: It pays to test a variety of placements, creatives, and copy. Let Facebook’s algorithm do some of that optimization work for you and be willing to go where other advertisers won’t.
The Future of Instagram Is Augmented Reality
In August 2019, Spark AR Studio was released. It enables anyone to create AR filters and effects for Instagram Stories. We’ve already seen brands and influencers hop on board to create their own — from Disney’s “Which Disney Character Are You” to Nars Cosmetics virtual lipstick try on. These filters are not only fun, but they can also influence shopping behavior as customers can virtually try on products, then directly purchase from Instagram. Don’t have a physical product to sell with AR? Influencers are creating and selling unique AR filters for their fans to purchase. It’s safe to say AR is here to stay and with it comes new ways to monetize.
My tip: Create filters that would benefit your fans and that they want to share on their stories + feeds.
Shopping On Social Media Will Be Easier Than Ever
From shoppable AR filters, to one-click in-app purchases, shopping on social media, and specifically Instagram, will be easier than ever. Every month, 130 million people tap on an Instagram shopping post with product tags to learn more about items that interest them. With easy checkout features now available on Instagram, users can buy products directly from the app without having to visit another website. For consumers, this is amazing because you can now shop directly from your favorite brands and bloggers. For businesses, it’s a great way to drive sales on social media, but it also could potentially mean a drop in site traffic, less clarity on customers if Instagram doesn’t hand over that data, and more.
My tip: There is unlimited potential in social shopping. Connect you catalog, always tag products, test these new features, and adjust your strategy to drive more sales through social.
More User-Generated Content In Feeds & Stories
The concept of UGC isn’t new — but it will continue to grow in 2020. It’s a tried & true, affordable tactic for garnering increased engagement, awareness and sales for your business. It’s the social media equivalent of a word-of-mouth recommendation. In fact, 55% of consumers trust user-generated content over any other form of marketing, making it a surefire way to boost your sales and improve brand loyalty. Incorporating UGC into your 2020 strategy doesn’t have to be complicated — it can be as simple as an influencer tagging a product in an Instagram Stories post, or an IGTV beauty tutorial featuring a new collection.
My tip: Implement strategies that encourage customers to take and share photos of your business online. For example, you could develop a rewards program that gives unique discounts on future orders when a customer purchases a product and shares a photo of it on social media.
Your Turn
As we kick off a new decade, social media is sure to change quickly and therefore it’s important to evolve your strategies over time. Armed with these top trends & predictions, how will you adjust your social media strategy in 2020?
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