9 Social Media Predictions for 2020
2020 is almost here. It’s a new year, a new decade and a great time to evaluate evolving consumer tastes, demographic shifts, and emerging technologies. As Belgium’s leading content and social media marketing agency, we’ve got some thoughts on the social media landscape that lies ahead. Join us as we share our 9 social media predictions for 2020.
Photo by Rodney, "The architect." on Unsplash
#1 Voice Powered Search
Over 40% of adults are using voice search at least once per day. This widespread use of voice search is set to disrupt social media in 2020.
Already, voice-powered search is being integrated into social media through voice-controlled personal assistants. For example, Amazon Alexa can now read out Twitter feeds.
Use of the WhatsApp voice notes feature is also increasing as people enjoy the speed of speaking over typing. The future of content marketing and social media will certainly include voice technology.
How To Prepare
• Create quality video content
Video uses natural dialogue which is more compatible with voice search tools. It also makes user intent more obvious and this makes it easier to deliver relevant content. When people search, they want quick and concise answers so your videos should be too.
· Incorporate FAQs into your videos. Most voice search queries are questions that require a specific short answer.
· Tag relevant areas of your video with long-tail keywords and include them in your video description. This will all factor into the search results helping you to gain the much coveted “position zero” or Google snippet spot.
Remember that voice search mainly happens on mobile so your videos should be optimised.
#2 Advertising on Smart Speakers
The growth of voice search is impacting consumer adoption of smart speakers. The smart speaker market has grown 12 x in three years and 72% of people who own smart speakers use them as part of their daily routines.
Smart Speakers And Advertising
Smart speakers are beginning to be used for advertising. Amazon is allowing ads using Alexa inside podcasts, a Flash Briefing skill, and music.
Google Home is also embracing smart speaker advertising. It integrated an ad into daily schedules when the remake of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” was first shown in theatres. Interestingly, Google Home ads are not being listed as an advertising option online and there haven't been any other Google Home ads since Beauty and The Beast. We’re not sure how smart speaker owners will feel about ads being blasted into their homes, but they will probably find their way there!
What This Means For Social Media
Smart speaker advertising has already made its way into social media. Google Home users now have access to an ad-supported version of YouTube Music.
With the growth in voice technology, we can expect smart speaker ads to quickly become an integral part of digital marketing in 2020.
How To Prepare For Smart Speaker Advertising Going In 2020
Whilst Moondust Agency is predominantly an organic focused agency, we do know you can get ad space on Alexa. News sources, music streaming services, and podcasts that can be integrated with Flash Briefing will get you in front of the growing number of smart speaker owners. These ad deals must be negotiated directly with the content publishers. Smart speaker manufacturers like Amazon and Google don’t have their own smart speaker ad programs yet, although it’s probably only a matter of time before they launch them.
Tip: Be less technical with your smart speaker ads. The average content in voice search results is written at a level that ninth graders can understand.
#3 Shoppable Social Media
We talked recently about the exciting new shoppable updates within Pinterest. And sticking with this theme our 3rd prediction is more shoppable social media. The advent of social media, an increase in FOMO and the prevalence of the “on-demand culture,” is fuelling social commerce. For 75% of modern shoppers, the purchasing journey involves social media and we will all need to leverage this in 2020.
Instagram is another great platform for shoppable social media. Since being launched in select countries, its shoppable posts feature is enhancing consumer shopping experiences. Instead of navigating to links in Instagram stories and bios, followers can now shop directly from posts.
In-App Purchases
Consumer interest in shopping via social media increased 38% in 12 months. When Instagram launched the beta rollout of its in-app checkout feature, Adidas online sales increased by 40% year on year. The brand attributed this success to releasing exclusive products it knew would sell well on Instagram.
Recently, Adidas partnered with Snapchat to launch a shoppable game. The game can be played within Snapchat and users can buy Adidas’ new 8-bit-themed baseball cleats directly in the app.
We are likely to see the in-app purchase feature shape up in 2020.
Top tip: 67% of voice searches relate to shopping and 44% of consumers conduct additional research before buying. So, it’s a good idea to prepare content that answers common questions that people may ask. Most voice searches are question-related.
#4 Data Personalisation
72% of consumers will only engage with personalised messages and this applies to social media too. In 2020, advances in AI will allow us to improve data personalisation. We need to capitalise on this to create personal experiences across channels and buying stages.
Preparing For Social Media And Personalisation
• Personalised videos. Video remains one of the most popular content types on social media. Use it for personalisation.
Breast Cancer Now is one brand already doing this well. Targeting people who used #wearitpink or mentioned the brand on Twitter, Breast Cancer Now delivered personalised videos that included a person’s name, Twitter profile picture, and photos from their fundraising event. This campaign achieved a reach of 77,000 users on social media.
• Personalised messages. Adopting a relatable voice when talking to social media users gives your brand a personal touch. Customer experience is expected to overtake product and price as the key brand differentiator by 2020 and personalised support will help your brand stand out.
SocialPilot personalises customer support using GIFs when replying to customers on social media. This fits in perfectly with the brands’ fun and informal voice and makes the support more human.
Moondust Founder Marie-Helen Dibenedetto says “When it comes to data personalisation, we are not necessarily talking about expensive advertising campaigns. Creating targeted user messaging and segmenting content for different audience personas is an excellent start.”
#5 Brands Will Strive For Transparency
Consumers want personalised experiences but 86% of them are worried about data privacy.
They don’t feel confident about social media companies using their data responsibly especially after recent giant data breaches and social media scandals.
So, is this compatible with the increased data personalisation we mentioned previously? Fortunately, there’s a clear correlation between transparent business communications on social media and consumer spending. 2020 will be a year for reassuring consumers with authenticity and transparency.
Achieving Transparency In 2020
Don’t mistake brand transparency with revealing all your brand secrets. Consumers are interested in knowing who they are doing business with. For instance, consumers trust Amazon because the brand uses authenticity-driven transparency to provide great customer experiences.
How Does Amazon Achieve Transparency And Authenticity?
• Through a clear view of the supply chain. Consumers are concerned about how their buying habits impact the world. Amazon is open about how it maintains high supply chain standards. In fact, through the adoption of blockchain protocols, Amazon, Starbucks and a host of other big brands will showcase their transparency in the year ahead.
• Championing social issues. Consumers expect brands to exhibit corporate social responsibility. Amazon has managed to build credibility by committing to various social efforts.
Getting Started With Transparency
• Open up about your product development. Share behind the scenes footage, interviews, sneak peeks and even the mistakes you’ve made along the way.
• Talk about your values. But keep it real. Create brand values that truly represent your brand and customers will feel the bond.
• Create valuable content. Transparent content includes FAQs, behind the scenes videos, AMAs (ask me anything) and even Instagram account takeovers.
#6 Facebook Loses Grip Further On Younger Gen
Facebook has been losing users among the younger demographic. Over 11 million millennials and Gen Zers have left the platform in two years. The #DeleteFacebook movement was particularly prevalent with these generations who do not feel inclined to share their data with big tech brands like Facebook and Google. There have also been several big studies into the detrimental psychological effects of the network.
How To Prepare For Decreases In Young Facebook Users In 2020
• Follow your audience
Younger users are leaving Facebook but they re still using social media. Instead they are migrating to newer social media platforms that are gaining popularity.
· Jump on Twitch And Tiktok
We recently discussed the rise of Twitch and TikTok and for good reason. In two years, TikTok has amassed 1.5 billion users and brands are starting to use it more. NBA is using the platform and it already has 3.8 million fans. Unlike the brand’s Instagram which focuses solely on games and highlights, NBA’s TikTok posts are lighter, mixing in highlights, inspirational quotes, and music montages. Perhaps this fun element is why the platform is becoming more popular.
Marie-Helene Dibenedetto says “TikTok Challenges revolving around engaging video content, make it easy for the younger generation to create and share video online while challenging their peers. This extra level of engagement is really playing on FOMO and driving more users to the platform.”
Quick fact: 41% of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24 and so this platform is great if Gen Zers are your target audience.
And Also Twitch
Twitch is another platform to look out for in 2020. The platform attracts 15 million daily active users and it’s great for executing targeted campaigns. Worth noting that 81.5% of its users are males and 55% of them are aged 18-34 years.
The best part is that even non-gaming brands can take advantage of Twitch. KFC successfully teamed up with full-time Twitch streamer DrLupo to advertise its chicken wings and increase brand awareness.
Tip: Secure your future in social media by creating an account and gaining followers on these newer platforms while competition is still low.
#7 Engage In Smart Storytelling
Instagram is slowly removing likes. That means that going forward, there will be no more influencing with likes and shares. In 2020, followers will be captured with good storytelling and incredible imagery. Luckily, there are brands to learn from.
When Nike’s Jordan brand pre-released the Air Jordan III “Tinker” exclusively on Snapchat during the NBA All-Star Weekend, the sneakers sold out in 23 minutes.
Why the campaign worked.
This campaign was unique. It featured a life-sized AR lens and a QR snapcode that took customers to a store within Snapchat.
Airbnb is also disrupting the travel and hospitality space with smart storytelling. The brand’s content doesn’t just depict scenic views, but it’s mostly user-generated.
Key takeaway: Create a distinctive advantage by giving your content a human element. UGC (user generated content) is a transparent, smart and let’s face it, cost effective way of surging ahead.
#8 More AI In Social Media
When we discussed our social media predictions for 2020 in the Moondust office, we promised we wouldn’t say chatbots. It’s a prediction that pops up every year along with flying cars and pizza that doesn’t contain calories (ok we made that last one up.) So, here’s a realistic look at AI for 2020.
AI And Chatbots
Social media AI chatbots have dominated digital marketing in 2019, but as both voice and visual search continue to grow, we will likely see growth in visual and talking chatbots in 2020. We’re talking about onboarding, KYC and customer support that are now adopted by the world’s biggest banks, retailers and government agencies.
Who’s Using These Chatbots Already?
A huge amount of businesses are already using chatbots on some level. Mondly, a language learning platform, uses a conversational chatbot that uses speech recognition. The chatbot encourages users to practice languages through role-playing scenarios.
Visual Dialog is a visual chatbot that’s built around computer vision and neural network technologies to interpret images. Users upload images and the chatbot describes the pictures.
How To Prepare For AI Advances
Start exploring tools to improve your AI strategy and its efficiency. For example, Conversable offers solutions that help brands create automated experiences on voice channels. Think about how you can streamline your operations, cut down customer wait time and improve your conversions. This will play into the “Real Time Content” theme (RTC) which we expect to see more of in 2020. This means chatbots will provide relevant, on point information to help consumers purchase and navigate online.
AI In The Fight Against Fake News
We will also likely see AI tackle sensitive data issues and fake news in 2020. AI will become better at segmenting data to provide the best content possible. AI may also help with stricter regulation of social media content and we may see Facebook asking businesses for consent before posting to custom audiences.
#9 SERP Position Zero
Position zero, also known as the featured snippet, is the new top position in search engines. Featured snippets provide succinct answers to user queries directly in Google without the user having to click on any link.
So How Does This Relate To Social Media?
Featured snippets come in various forms including video. This means that quality YouTube videos that offer relevant and concise answers can land you the coveted position zero. For example, MomTrends has landed a featured snippet with its “Fashion Tips: How to style and wear leggings” which comes up when you search for “how to wear leggings.”
23% of all search results are featured snippets. This is set to increase in 2020.
How To Get Started
• Create hyper-focused and relevant content on a single question. Since most queries are questions, you can use your video to answer ‘who, what, why, when, where, and how’ questions.
• Aim to answer the question in the video introduction rather than later on in the video due to audience attention spans.
• Optimise the video for search with a relevant title, description and file name.
Quick insight: For years, Google has not taken a specific position on whether social signals affect SEO. However, SEO experts think that Google may incorporate social media into its algorithm. 2020 may be the year.
So, there you have it, our 9 social media predictions for 2020. Which ones do you agree with? Would you add another? Tweet us @moondust_agency and let us know. For forward thinking content and social media marketing in 2020, speak to the team at Moondust.
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