Top Social Media Marketing Trends for 2020
By As-Sayyidul Arafat
AREWA AGENDA – As the saying goes, “Begin with the end in mind.” As a Marketer, you should know what your end goal is at the end of the Year, that is why it is important step up and know what are trends for this year and how well you are prepared for it.
In this article Is the 5 social media trends of 2020 based on recent research and happenings.
1. Micro influencer
In the years we’ve witnessed that influencers with a high number of followers command a high price that is usually out of the reach of many businesses. This is why we are seeing the rise of micro-influencers (those who have smaller followers) instead.
In choosing a micro-influencer someone with fewer followers but a more engaged community will not only increase your chances of achieving stronger engagement but will also save you some money. Your budget could stretch to multiple influencers, in different vertices, with different niche audiences, making the connections so much more relevant.
The concept is simple: smaller audiences are more meaningful and engaged versus an “influencer” chasing “Likes” and brand deals for the sake of it.
2. Video Content is Here to Stay
Both long and short videos have been the most entertaining and the most shared content over the years.
YouTube with 2 Billion Monthly Active User is second only to Facebook in terms of active users.
Meanwhile, with Instagram introducing its new features IGTV. With IGTV introducing landscape videos, let wait and see how brands take up the opportunity, which could make it easier to repurpose video content from other platforms.
Short videos platforms include Tik Tok, Whatsapp status, Instagram stories etc.
If a picture says a thousand words, a video tells a million.
Video marketing can help you tell your story in a more entertaining, educational and inspiring way so if it’s not already part of your strategy, get on board with video this coming year.
3. Voice Technology is the future of Marketing
Current statistics show that 41% of adults use voice search at least once per day. According to Comscore in 2020, more than half of all smartphone users will engage with voice technology on their device.
Increasingly, people are using voice search on their smartphones, tablets or voice assistants (like the Amazon Echo or Google Home devices) to search for information on the internet.
Just as marketers have optimized content for web 2.0 and mobile, they will have to start optimizing content for voice search as well.
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Optimizing for voice search is not an easy one, this is ways to get started.
• Think about your competition: How is your brand uniquely positioned to assist consumers via voice technology?
• Understand your consumers’ behaviour on voice: Optimize content for how people use voice. Smart speakers give one answer at a time, so if you’re not first, you’re last.
• Respond to consumers with answers related to your business: This includes prompts that are both informational (“What is the best brand of paper towel?”) and action-based (“Order more paper towels.”).
• Ensure digital assistants have accurate, real-time information about consumers: Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, these machines should be fed with multiple data sources so they can gain a complete view of the consumer.
• Build a strategy for the entire customer journey, from discovery to action: How can your voice app be assistive throughout the entire customer journey and across both explicit and implicit prompts?
• Test and learn: Keep testing and iterating to ensure your voice strategy is driving real business results. Encourage a culture of experimentation, because that’s what will put you ahead of competitors.
I believe that voice is the future of marketing. Brands that want to see long-term gains tomorrow must start investing in voice technology today.
4. Your website should be Mobile responsive
We are in 2020 Website should be Mobile responsive. Most of the website is viewed on mobile phones, viewers would love to have a great experience visiting your Website.
Google says 61 per cent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing with 40 per cent visiting a competitor’s site instead.
Without a mobile responsive site, not only are you losing out significantly in the organic search rankings, but Google has made it very clear that it will penalize sites that are not mobile responsive.
Responsive Websites responds to the user’s behaviour and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation.
5. Instant messaging Apps will continue to evolve
There are now more people using the top four social messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, and Viber) than the top four social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn).
Whatsapp with 2 Billion monthly active users as a total of 65 billion messages sent per day, or 29 million per minute.
As the use of social media messaging platforms grows, the potential for improving customer experience will also expand exponentially.
The combination of messaging platforms with chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI)will make it possible for companies to engage in more relevant, personalized and helpful customer conversations at scale.
As you plan your social media marketing, consider how you can implement some or all of these trends in your online strategy. But remember without your strategy in place, you are planning to fail.
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of young writers from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive.
