Alexis Kestler
If you follow social media trends, you must have noticed the constant change that is happening in that area. As users are changing, so are also their needs and requirements. Social media networks are developing to satisfy that.
It may seem sometimes that balancing between staying focused on your brand and the type of content you create and adapting to new social media trends is very difficult. So you have to estimate what is necessary for you. We will give you a review of what is happening in the social media world at the moment, to help you determine which trends to follow.
Deciding What to Let Go
Analyzing your data and deciding what is working and what is not is a very important part of your marketing strategy. And not just this year, you should do this more often.
There is a firm opinion among business owners that they need to be present at all of the important social media platforms. But not every brand is suitable for every platform. We wrote a post about it here, so you can read about it if you are interested. So, it is time for you to evaluate what is giving you results, and what you must let go.
Analytics are available for every network you use, so you can easily access that information. This will give you an insight into what is not giving you enough real results, and that means driving traffic and – in the end – sales.
Measuring the performance of a certain network by looking into likes, follows and comments may not be the best idea. Even you may have great results there, it doesn’t mean it is from the audience that is or is willing to become your customers. You want them to take action (which is mostly sales). So, the new social media trend is to look deeper into your analytics and discover an actual engagement of your followers.
Creating Stronger Communities
This is connected with the first trend we mentioned, in a way that a lot of likes, follows and comments doesn’t mean that your audience is great. You will want to build a smaller but more targeted community.
Sure, you want to have as many followers as possible, and that’s ok. It helps with large numbers attraction. But be focused on talking to individuals, responding to their comments and engaging them in your posts. Users are happier to be engaged with brands than ever before.
Maybe not all of your audience, but we will assume most of it is attracted to your brand because you share common interests and experiences. That is something to start from. But, the hardest thing for you will be earning credibility. This is what you should focus on and work the hardest.
Designing New Kind of Ads
Ads are still a very popular way to market your business, despite the all new social media trends that have come. But ads had changed as well. They progressed to capture the attention of a user interestingly.
At the end of the last year, Facebook released a new ads experience: more personally relevant and meaningful. You can read a post about it here.
It seems that since then, all the other social media networks followed the example. For example, Instagram has introduced a direct shopping option.
Even we may be scared of “smart” ads, the truth is that products (or services) are being suggested to users depending on who is the user. For some of us, as users, it may be a creepy feeling that we just think about something and it seems it appears in the ads a minute later. But as marketers or business owners, we may benefit from this.
It is time to use ads now more than ever (before). With plenty of options that are offered to a brand, it is possible to design a great ad, which will be more targeted and engaging.
Creating Interactive Stories and Using Filters
A short time ago, we published a post Top Methods to Grow Your Instagram Account, and there is a section about Instagram stories, which also developed rapidly. With tons of new features, they’ve become a great tool for promotion.
Instagram stories are definitely the most popular, but Facebook is not far behind with 500 million views daily. It is a trend that has been here for years, and it is just continuously developing and sticking around. Interactive stories, such as polls, countdowns, challenges, quizzes etc. are taking over the social media trends in 2020.
Also, the use of various filters and posting selfies has become more popular lately. Presenting your business by yourself means letting your audience get close to you. That can have a good impact on your brand.
Videos are Overtaking the Photos
A post with a photo can capture your attention for a few seconds. A video post, on the other hand, if it’s good it can capture your attention as long as it takes.
A proof is the fact that YouTube is the second most popular platform. And besides that, the launching of Instagram’s TV and rapid growth in TikTok’s popularity shows us that videos are not so new, but definitely meriting trend.
Videos are becoming more engaging and high-quality at this point. Brands are taking this opportunity seriously and we can find more and more interesting content on social media.
Putting more effort in creating videos is not just a tip, it is a must for every serious business. If you have a YouTube channel, you can easily connect and share your content through all the other platforms, and filling your feed with interesting stuff.
Sharing User-Generated Content
According to surveys, this is one of the top social media trends in 2020. Establishing deeper connections with your audience and allowing them to participate in your content is a big win. And there is a bonus: you already have engaging content to fill your feed somebody else made it for you.
We said a couple of times that building a strong relationship with your audience is very important. Look at this as another way to do it. Using branded hashtags, encouraging people to post their photos with your products, or even launching contests is how you should do it. To read more about contests and giveaways you can click here.
Users are willing and happy to post what you ask them to. You have nothing to lose, but you can gain a lot from this.
It may seem that it is hard to keep up with all the new trends coming on our way. Choosing what is applicable and what is not can save your day. The good thing is that nothing requires to start from the ground, all of these things you can apply to your networks immediately. Good luck!
