When you think about it, the birth of social media was about connecting at a personal level with people you knew or used to know. That’s what Myspace, Orkut (dead & gone now) and Facebook were all about.
Over the years, the social media landscape changed, but in 2020 we feel that it will return to those roots. Your socials will be about making personal and close connections, creating a community that supports everyone.
If social media were a book, then this would be its overarching story. But what about the subplots? What about the trends every creator should be aware of in 2020? Those we bring to you here.
What Are The 2020 Social Media Trends Every Creator Should Follow?
- Brands will look beyond the surface.
- Nano-influencers will hold sway.
- Stories will be critical.
- Video content will rise.
- Socials will be the new retail channel.
Deep Dive
The number of likes a post gets has been the metric for brands for quite some time. With Instagram getting rid of those pesky numbers, brands will have to look beyond the surface to judge the effectiveness of a social media post.
What brands look for in an influencer’s social media post?
(source: sprout social)
Creator Takeaway:
The measuring stick for your content will be the conversation you evoke with a single post and how long-term the engagement is. So, focus on creating content that says something meaningful and inspires action, rather than content that generates a short-time spike in numbers.
Dive Deeper: What Happens When Instagram Likes Are Gone?
Nano Power
For a long, long time, the adage ‘go big or go home’ held sway in advertising. It was the big-names that held power on social media. This year influencer marketing goes nano. Brands are waking up to the untapped potential of micro-influencers and nano-influencers who come with smaller but much better-defined followers.
The reason influencers with a smaller audience will make it big in 2020 is because they don’t chase Likes. They work towards building a close-knit community.
Creator Takeaway:
Bigger is not better. As a creator, your attention should not be on increasing your follower count. It should be on establishing a personal connection with your audience through conversations that provide relevant information through kickass content. Remember the supportive community we were talking about before? That comes into play here!
Dive Deeper: How To Become An Influencer?
Stories Dominate
From 2016 to now, the consumption of Stories on all social media has risen to 842%. 62% of internet users get more intrigued by a brand after they see a story. In short, the authority of Stories is here to stay. In 2020, their relevance will only increase, making them one of the biggest social media trends.
Creator Takeaway:
Pay deliberate attention to your Stories over the main feed. This ephemeral, vertical content is an excellent way to draw your audience not just to the networking site but to a blog or website as they allow links. Use them to interact with your followers to build an intimate community (recognizing the overarching story of social media, yet?)
Dive Deeper: How to Optimize Your Instagram Stories?
Videos Rise
Pundits predict that in 2020, 82% of all internet traffic will be video. Every second 1 million videos will reach the internet. Why such massive consumption of videos on social media? Because they are the most engrossing content.
Creator Takeaway:
If you want to increase your reach, video is the best bet. Compared to all other posts, videos get 135% more organic reach. So, which social media platform a creator should target for, for videos?YouTube and Facebook. HubSpot says that 45% of people watch more than 60 minutes of video per week on these two sites.
Dive Deeper: Beginner’s Guide to Creating Content on YouTube
Social Commerce
Brands have used every single social media to market something. In 2020, there’ll be a shift from merely promoting a product to actually selling it right on the platform.
The reason for it is demand. Millennials and Gen Z spend the majority of their money on products they find on Snapchat or Instagram because that’s where the influencers are. By allowing users to shop from the app itself, they make the process easier.
Creator Takeaway:
Gen Z is spending more time shopping on social media than any other consumer. If your followers fall in that age group, make your posts shoppable, especially when collaborating with brands.
Keep in mind that humans are lazy AF. If they can buy something directly from their socials, they will not take the pains to shop for it on a website.
Dive Deeper: Where is Influencer Marketing Heading in 2020?
The Look Your Social Media Should Don This Year
If you can say one thing about socials, it’s that they change every year. That’s their nature. Any creator who wants to stay relevant in 2020 needs to keep up with social media trends.
In a gist, don’t focus on likes alone, concentrate on a tight-knit community, use stories and videos to increase engagement and, lastly, make it easy for people to buy stuff from your posts!
