The world of social media is an ever-changing landscape, and to stay in front of the right audience, your social strategy needs to adapt to the trends. Because of this, a good business practice is to reassess where you’re at with your social media strategy every quarter.
With more than two billion users on Facebook, one billion users on Instagram, 300 million users on Twitter, and 260 million active users on Linkedin, social media is by far your richest lead source and a space to keep investing your marketing dollars.
In 2020, there will be more changes rolling out across social platforms that will affect how you reach your clients and prospects on a daily basis. To help you cut through the clutter, we’ve put together the latest trends you should incorporate into your 2020 digital marketing strategy.
1. Voice search is on the rise
Search is going to be more integrated with social media and according to this prediction, by 2020, 50 percent of search will be through images or voice. Since Google+ shut down in April 2019, Google has decided instead of creating its own social platform, it will incorporate social content into search, making search engine result pages even stronger. This means don’t use marketing jargon in your SEO efforts. Create content around how your target market actually speaks on a daily basis and you’ll expand your reach.
2. Stories provide a gold mine of reach
More than one billion people use Facebook and Instagram stories everyday. This limited (also called ephemeral) content is a huge opportunity to get your business in front of an active audience. Stories will continue to be a large part of how people interact with brands daily, so it’s important to post them on a regular basis. Here are some tips from Facebook on how to optimize your business’ stories.
3. Influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere
Influencers aren’t just famous TV stars; they are thought leaders in key spaces your target market is following, trusts and reads about. Influencers can be a great way to market your business, but there is a right way and wrong way to go about it.
One thing to consider when using influencers is that social media metrics will be tied to their account, not yours. When you create direct Instagram ads, however, all your metrics are attributed to you. Influencers can get your product or service in front of a loyal audience and expand your reach. Just choose your influencers well. Select influencers who have a loyal following and have built a genuine trust with their audience.
We also suggest not putting all your eggs in one basket. Split your ad budget spend on influencers and Instagram ads and see which performs better. For some tips on how to do this, take a look at this article.
4. Video content will reign
If you’re wondering if it’s worth it to invest in video marketing, the answer is a resounding yes. Here are some quick stats to give you an idea of the power of video marketing.
- Last year, at least 85 percent of all internet users in the U.S. watched online video content monthly on any of their devices.
- In 2019, 87 percent of professional marketers said they are using video as a tool in their marketing arsenal. That is up from 81 percent in 2018 and 63 percent in 2017. This is because video marketers get 66 percent more qualified leads per year through video and the majority of users (72 percent) prefer to learn about a product or service through video than text or any other medium.
Need help knowing where to start with your video investment? Here’s a quick guide to get you going in the right direction. Keep in mind video content can include vlogs, video interviews, presentations, tutorials, product reviews, testimonials, ads, live stream recordings and product demos. There is no limit to your creativity. It’s about getting personal and helping people get to know you and your company’s personality before they work with you.
5. LinkedIn is now a more viable content platform
If you haven’t noticed, LinkedIn has become a digital content powerhouse and is giving a lot of love (and by love we mean visibility) to people who share a lot of content. With its new content platform, you can post your own blog, give a live update and upload videos to promote your business. If you upload a video directly to LinkedIn’s platform versus linking to YouTube, you will also be more highly rated and therefore get more “hits” or visits. Also, for your posts, we recommend using non-stock photography to make a greater impact. In a way, you become an influencer by sharing more of your ideas, opinions and products on LinkedIn. The more you share, the more your own platform will get a boost. Watch this space.
6. Facebook’s data privacy creates ad challenges
In light of Facebook’s recent privacy scandal and the uncovering of ads used to shift people’s view of reality in the last election cycle, new privacy laws can make advertising on the platform more difficult. Companies can have more walls (figurative and digital) to permeate to reach their target audiences, so ad spend strategies will have to pivot. One new thing you can do is place ads on your existing business pages to reach more of your target audience. More on that here.
Make sure to check back for more Out & About marketing tips and tactics to help you stay relevant and grow your business. Wondering why some companies are successful with content marketing and others aren’t? Check out our latest post on that here.
