Social media, an ever-evolving, ever-changing entity. You think you’ve cracked it…then bam, Facebook changes its algorithm, Instagram brings in new features and a brand new platform starts climbing the ranks.
At least it keeps those working in social media firmly on their toes.
But never fear, there are those who can help keep your brand current, and at the forefront of social trends.
Our experts here at Relevance always keep updated with the latest movements within the social media world. To help you kick-start your 2020 social media efforts with a bang, we’ve discovered the six anticipated trends to watch out this year.
IGTV
It was big in 2019, and it’ll continue to grow in 2020. IGTV took a while to kick off, but by mid-2019 it was the hottest content being shared across Instagram. As soon as Instagram announced that IGTV previews would now appear in the regular Instagram feed, along with videos being shared on Instagram profiles, views on IGTV videos skyrocketed across the board, increasing by 300-1000%. 1
As all marketers know, Video is taking the reigns when it comes to content, and IGTV allows content creators, brands and influencers to share longer-form, YouTube-like videos with their following.
You’ll continue to see branded videos, behind the scenes and educational content being shared on IGTV. The type of content that either inspires, showcases authenticity or teaches users will continue to shine brightly.
Introducing IGTV into your social media strategy is recommended; Instagram shows a preference towards video content and including IGTVs may increase your chances of appearing on the Instagram Explore page.
IGTV also allows brands, and general users to include links in their captions. A great advantage and feature if getting users onto your site is one of your social media objectives.
TIKTOK
Technically speaking, TikTok is already a massive platform with Gen Z & Y, with roughly 50% of TikTok’s global audience being under the age of 34 and 26% between 18 and 24. 2 Launched by Chinese developer ByteDance, the site launched in 2016. More than 500 million users actively use the app worldwide and over one million videos are viewed every day.
Not only this but ‘TikTok influencers’ are rapidly becoming a thing. Many influencers have 7 to 6 figure followings, with Loren Gray, a 17-year old singer and influencer, taking the lead with 38.4M. We can see Tik Tok influencers becoming a key component of brands marketing strategies in 2020.
Too Faced, the cosmetic brand, has already jumped on this trend. To spread awareness for Too Faced’s new Damn Girl Mascara, the cosmetics brand sponsored a video from top TikTok user Kristen Hancher. In the video, Hancher, a vlogger with more than 23 million TikTok followers, sings into the camera with no eye makeup on. The video then cuts to her singing with Too Faced mascara on as she flashes the mascara bottle in front of the camera.
The key when it comes to TikTok is to frequently update your profile with authentic, short-form video content. Making sure to jump on relevant hashtags and trends as soon as possible.
In 2020 and beyond, it’s safe to say global brands will likely establish TikTok presences of their own. These accounts will be used to establish a brand voice, engage with audiences, and attract younger consumers.
INFLUENCER PARTNERSHIPS
In November 2019, Instagram began testing removing “likes” from their platform. The shift may benefit mental health and relieve the pressure of judgement for site users, allowing users to be creatively open and free, rather than constricting their content to ensure they gain popularity on social media through likes. But for social media influencers, it means re-strategising their influencer marketing efforts.
It’s predicted that businesses and brands will look to seek new and creative ways to partner with influencers to prove ROI. Either way, this does not mean that influencer marketing is going anywhere, but there will be even more of a shift towards micro-influencers as 61% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over celebrity endorsements.3
AR
Augmented Reality is already playing a big part within the social media landscape in the form of filters and lenses on Instagram stories and Snapchat.
AR in 2020, will bring about an entirely new experience for social media users, as AR has become easier to do and achieve…
In August 2019, Instagram Stories took augmented reality to a new level. The Facebook-owned platform Spark AR Studio lets users create their own interactive AR filters. That platform was opened to the public.
Now, anyone can create custom AR filters for Instagram Stories – even you! Using AR filters on these channels is an excellent way to increase brand awareness, and show off your brand’s personality.
We predict a big increase of AR across Instagram, with even small brands jumping on the trend.
SOCIAL COMMERCE
2020 could be the year that social commerce really takes off as an increasing number of customers shop on social platforms. Instagram already launched Instagram Shopping for selected brands, giving businesses an immersive storefront for people to discover and explore products as well as a link for purchases. Whilst eCommerce profiles can of course still tag products, for check-out on their website, this new feature speeds up the purchasing process on the app as products are displayed visually on the brand’s profile (sitting comfortably between the IGTV tab and tagged photos tab on the profile page). Products are displayed in a similar fashion to an eCommerce site, allowing Instagram users to save products (adding these to their wishlist on the saved section on the app), tap for more details of the product and finally, click through to view on the website for purchase.
If a user has liked or saved images that include product tags, the user will find these products listed in their wishlist under ‘saved posts’ or ‘liked posts’, reminding users of the products which hopefully results in further purchases. Exploring the Instagram Shopping tab on a favoured brand will also group together any previous products that have featured in previous posts of the brand you’ve liked, allowing the user to browse products they’ve been attracted to.
Facebook’s family of applications already offers tools for customer care and community management so that all marketing funnel activity — from product discovery to post-purchase customer care — can happen on social media. And TikTok recently opened the door to social commerce with beta tests that let influencers embed social commerce links in videos on the app.
THE NO EDIT EDIT
Long gone are the days of harsh edits and pumped up saturation — the “no-edit edit” is the trend brands should be aiming for 2020…only of course if it’s ‘on-brand’ for you.
And by no-edit edit, we’re talking tiny tweaks, a hint of colour change and saying goodbye to unrealistic edits. Check out how influencer @chloejade_story has adopted this unedited look in her feed:
If you’d like to adopt this look into your 2020 feed, start by making the smallest of colour adjustments to your photos — small adjustments to the temperature, brightness, or contrast will keep things consistent. This new approach to editing for Instagram links back to users and consumers wanting a sense of authenticity from brands…what we like to call ‘curated realness’
So there you have it, the predictions for social media in 2020. What will keep your brand hot on-trend, but remember, just because one brand is doing it, doesn’t mean you should too.
If you’d like a bespoke strategy, guidance or audit of your social media marketing efforts then send us an email today on [email protected].
1 https://later.com/blog/igtv-views/
2 https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tiktok-stats
3 https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/6-social-media-predictions-for-2020-infographic/568994/