● According to Andrew Ng, the chief scientist at Baidu, 50% of searches by 2020 will be done through voice recognition systems or graphics.
The rise of visual content is becoming familiar for
social media users. People are getting used to
talking to Google Home and Amazon devices
every morning, while website layouts have been
optimized in ways that allow image searching in
just seconds.
● With the rise of social media platforms such as
Instagram and Snapchat, visual-based content
has massively increased in usage since
smartphones now have access to cameras,
photos, and videos.
2. More social videos ● 56% of users use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
or Snapchat to watch and engage with brands’ videos each month. (GlobalWebIndex) ● 1 out of 3 social media users watch or interact
with videos made by brands every month.
● Do you watch YouTube in your free time? Or
follow lifestyle channels every once in a while?
Needless to say, it is almost certain that we will be seeing
an evolution of social media videos in 2020, including
the newbie, live video, which has been trending the past
year.
3. VR and AR adoption (Gen Z, this is all yours)
Welcome to the world of technology, folks. By 2020,
more and more practical applications of Virtual Reality
(VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) will be changing the
game of social media networks.
Snapchat Geofilters is one good example where you can
see and view location-specific videos. Gen Z will
probably be the main advocate for these technologies since according to GlobalWebIndex 22% of Gen Z is using Geofilters each month.
If you happen to stumble across shopping sites that help
customers try on virtual clothing versions before buying,
then welcome to the AR world. Amazon, Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Bitmoji, and WeChat
are exploring ways to implement AR in marketing
strategies. The final goal is always to push sales and good
advertising.
4. Mobile vs desktop experience
Think mobile before desktop. Comparing the time you
spend on your smartphone/pad to the time you actually
open your laptop and get some work done, you will
understand what we are trying to say here.
Again, always think mobile-first.
5. Social media CEOs
When there are so many things that are using social
media, people are required to be able to understand the
formulas behind social platforms. If you tell me you have never searched for things like how to get more brand
engagement or how to run an ad for Facebook , I won’t believe you.
(Part of the reason why we are here is that we want to
learn more about social media, right?
6. Here are some memes for your next personal content
You know it, people barely read personal updates
nowadays. Even though we care about our friends and
wish them the best, cute animal videos are still one of
the most engaging types of content on social media.
Social media, in general, are sharing less personal
information and are more interested in engaging videos
or funny memes to tag friends.
7. Chatbots
If you happen to have your own business online, then
one of the most beneficial tools you can use is chatbots.
Chatbots were created during a time when, ironically,
nobody wants to talk with anybody. From displaying a
product gallery on Instagram to a product tag on
Facebook, younger demographics are using social
platforms, especially chatbots, to engage and discover
products. Make reservations, get a location, answer
some simple FAQs, etc. The world is endless, my friend.
8. Personal conversation
Teens are now eager to send video and image snippets
rather than typing or replying back a message on their
phone. By understanding this behavior, businesses can
move forward with different forms of social videos that
grow a customer community while showcasing a
balanced amount of broadcast content and product
integration.
9. Influencer marketing
While our privacy is being compromised, influencer
marketing is indeed on the rise. Unlike social media ads,
where people can be creeped out wondering why their
previous searches pop up every now and then, when an
influencer shares a product on social media, it doesn’t
feel like advertising. These are personal connections
coming from a real human being.
Fun fact: About 22% of young adults from 18–34 years old have made purchases after seeing recommendations from influencers online (well, compulsive buying is
always fascinating, isn’t it?).
10. Local content, the secret weapon
Imagine you’re a big brand with over 1,000 stores
around the country. Do you think national marketing
strategies are strong enough to retain customer
turnovers? Local brand social media pages give
customers the chance to communicate with brands on a
personal level. Instagram now has started implementing
location pages to make it easier to search and explore
products.
11. The co-existence of fake news and regulations
We have a certain tolerance toward fake news, but in
2020 marketers might be looking at a stricter regulated
industry. Social platforms are not a wild wonderland
anymore. Facebook will soon be asking businesses for consent before posting to any niche audience. Still, there will be a lot of fake news as we turn towards the
reelection. Get yourself ready for emerging fake news
about data privacy.
12. People trust search engines
Although the love of being present on social media is strong, according to Malwarebytes Labs, 95% of people don’t trust social media. Only 34% don’t trust search engines. If you are thinking about the future, you might
want to start looking into social media strategies for
search engines.