Social media trends pretty much never stay the same from year-to-year. But this is normal considering that there are so many new businesses, services and products being created so it’s becoming increasingly harder for them to compete with each other. But coming up with a brand new revolutionary product or creating the latest trend can accelerate their business growth so it’s no wonder why we’re seeing more and more social media trends.
Today’s youth is likely a large portion of your audience and were born using social media. They understand what trends in the social space and what will become popular almost intuitively, that’s why it’s more important than ever before to understand and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to social media in order to reach your audience.
We’ve taken a look at some of the trends that’s going on in 2020 that we think businesses need to be aware of.
What Is Ephemeral Content?
Have you noticed that you or people around you can spend hours scrolling through one Story after another on Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook? This is what ephemeral content is called. The content is filled with images and videos, that are only accessible for a brief period of time and disappears afterwards. However, you can easily add it to your highlights if your story had a lot of engagement or if people would like to find that information, e.g tips.
The reason why many businesses choose to use stories is that it can show off a different side of a brand personality and it’s a great way to create brand storytelling. Usually stories are made in a spontaneous and behind the scenes style which followers engage with as it feels more personal, honest and insightful.
Whereas it is beneficial to plan and schedule your social media newsfeed content, an instant story can be spontaneous and generally unplanned. Your audience will often want to see what goes on behind the scenes even if this is just simply taking a delivery, designing a new product, or responding to online feedback.
Should You Use Instagram Reels?
This is a brand new feature that allows you to create fun and creative videos to share with your followers on Instagram. As TikTok has been banned in China and the US is considering doing it too, Instagram took a big step forward and created something similar to it. Even though it has differences to the global app in design and main function it is tipped to be a big deal particularly for business interaction with audience. If you have a brand account on Instagram, then you’ll have followers and people interested in your product or services already. This means, that Reels is a good tool to engage with your audience and like the story, it will offer insight into your business behind the scenes, but the posts will stick around and could even go viral.
Why You Need To Use Video Content Marketing?
Video content is one of the most engaging forms of content, it is why content sites such as Youtube, Vine, TikTok and Instagram have been so popular and dominated the globe. If as a business you are not utilising video content in your marketing then we definitely recommend it. Many marketing experts suggest that videos are the future of social media content and it doesn’t actually matter what form these videos are in - short or long form.
This is a top trend for businesses to start using and include it in content strategy. There are many ways you can use videos – stories, advertisements, social media posts, YouTube channels etc. The beauty of modern video content? You need very little to start, basically all mobile phones have cameras with high enough quality to record, and there are so many free video editing softwares out there, both on desktop and on mobile devices.
What Is Local Targeting?
Have you ever looked for products or services near you or googled specific locations to find what you need? Location-based targeting is a great way to reach out to and attract people from a specific geographic location. By utilising Google Ads, you can target location based keywords within your physical location to help drive store traffic, calls to your business, or bookings for your local service.
Social platforms like Instagram provide the option to search for posts from specific locations and places. When businesses add locations to their content, it shows up in search results, helping people find your brand and services or products.
How Useful Are Facebook Messenger Rooms?
As most people continue to work from home, you’ll probably be using apps such as Zoom, Skype, or Microsoft Teams for your remote meetings with colleagues, clients or partners.
As with Zoom you have some limitations to your calls, with the application limiting you to short meetings if there are more than 2 participants, Facebook created a new group video chat feature Messenger Rooms. A video chat room can be created via Facebook or the Messenger app and invite up to 50 people to join a video call, even if they don't have a Facebook account! And… There are no time limits on calls.
Should You Use LinkedIn Conversation Ads?
LinkedIn created a new way to empower advertisers to engage with users that could be their targeted audience in more personal and engaging ways. What is unique about those ads is that they feature a ‘choose your own path’ experience, allowing businesses to create full-funnel campaigns with multiple customised CTAs.
If you’re wondering on how to improve your marketing on LinkedIn, your business should definitely consider Conversation Ads.
How To Stay On Top Of Trends?
We definitely recommend staying on top of marketing and digital trends to stay ahead of your competitors. We recommend the following publications:
If you’re interested in utilising any of the trends we’ve mentioned, get in touch with us.
