Here we’re introducing, Rachel Johnson, our new senior consultant who has a specialism in social media. In her first post, Rachel shares her predictions for 2020.
Last year was huge for social media. You could say it peaked in terms of popularity and the news covered social media’s negative side with #wagathachristie, #antibullying messages, and many people preaching the benefits of a #digitaldetox. Despite this rhetoric, the stats still show continued growth. Particularly in the case of Instagram, where the older demographic is beginning to get involved. That being said, the way we use social media is changing every day and those who adapt to these changes will capitalise most in 2020.
Here are my top predictions for Social Media & PR in 2020…
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Engagement key as likes removed in UK on Instagram
The removal of likes has been slowly rolled out and has now hit the UK with a large portion of accounts no longer showing likes. This will hopefully improve the mental health of those using Instagram but how will it affect businesses? Instagram will be looking for accounts who engage on a deeper level and this means those who gain comments and DMs. Finding ways to create a stronger reaction from customers will be key here and another reminder that content needs to be both interesting and entertaining. Using stories is more important than ever with many now choosing to read stories over grid posts. This encourages brands to get a lot more personal with their customers and show the raw and less honed side of the business. There is also the view that this move will make it harder to gauge the effectiveness of campaigns and push more brands towards the use of advertising or influencer marketing.
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Influencer Marketing
Recent stats show that 49% of consumers depend on Influencer recommendations and 40% of those will purchase something after it’s been recommended. In a saturated market of advertising, consumers are affected by a more natural and informative style of marketing which can come from an influencer. Those influencers who appear genuine and promote brands which are associated with their values will be most successful. PR agencies and Social Media Managers will need to find creative ways to partner with influencers to offer a natural campaign which doesn’t appear forced despite the need for it to state that it is an #ad.
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Video & Voice control
Video is a powerful way to create a strong brand message. It also keeps people engaged for longer and 56% of internet users watch videos on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram each month. Broadcast style video is, however, reaching saturation point and consumers are expecting video to be used in a more social way such as live video hence the use of IGTV is on the rise. Voice technology will also begin to change the way people search online during 2020 and marketers will need to adapt to this.
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Iteration & flexible marketing and social media content strategy
With so many big changes happening, new trends are emerging all the time. It will be more necessary to iterate and modify social media campaigns on a regular basis. Marketing strategies which can be flexible to the changing needs of consumers will be most successful.
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Mobile over Desktop
Mobile is beginning to take over and marketing strategies will need to take this into account. Both websites and social media will need to be optimised for mobile as well as desktop. Using google analytics to see how your users are experiencing your content will be key to improving results.
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Local Content beats National
If Content is King then Local Content is now the aspiring Prince. Instagram is starting to implement location pages to make it easier to search locally. Better targeting will offer the user a more personalised experience and in turn increase engagement. National brands will need to find ways to integrate a local strategy into their existing group marketing strategy and ensure this comes through on social media also.
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Search Engine Optimisation
Despite massive growth, people still trust search engines more than they trust social media. Creating a social media strategy for search engines is a full proof way of catching an audience. It is more important than ever to use PR in a holistic way to both deepen content on your website and reach new customers on social media. When these are integrated effectively the impact is much higher and longer-lasting.
