2019 is coming to a close, and as we reflect on what this year has seen for social selling, we must also look to the future and take a peek at the trends that will carry us into 2020.
Trend 1: Social Media is Going Back to Basics
Social media will be returning to its original intentions in 2020 as it moves away from a mass-producing selling machine and back to a design that focuses on one-on-one interactions and communication.
What this means is that social media will continue to become a tool that users engage with intimately, through customer service, expiring Stories, 1-on-1 direct messaging and small-group direct messaging. This trend will lead to less public social media usage and more private interactions, even as social media usage continues to rise.
Trend 2: Influencer Marketing Will Become Authentic & Genuine
While the Influencer Marketing trend is still widely effective, consumers can see right through a paid partnership or when they’re being lied to about a product. In 2020, it’s time for influencer marketing to become authentic. Studies show that over 40% of users are tired of seeing inauthentic content and so we predict there will be a big shift in 2020 to close this gap.
Trend 3: Brands Will Develop a “Human Voice”
With every brand competing for attention, views, and ultimately, sales, the message or voice of a brand can sometimes be lost. Returning back to posting things that sound like a real human speaking will improve consumer engagement and happiness. Plus–it makes your decisions for posting content that much easier–just be yourself!
Trend 4: Social Media Will Become a Key Facet of Everyone’s Jobs
Long gone are the days when Facebook scrolling and Instagram posting were for break and lunch times. Today, business is conducted fluidly on and off of social media. Like all of the other revolutionary technologies before it, social media has moved past novelty, and into a time where proficiency is a job requirement.
Trend 5: User Backlash Will Increase
Given the 2020 political environment that so often bleeds into our Newsfeeds, user backlash is a trend that is certain to increase in the new decade. Political warfare plays out on social media in posts, stories, memes, sports recaps, and family photos.
Government and social media are becoming increasingly entwined. From the US Government launching an investigation into Chinese-business owned Tik Tok and Jack Dorsey eliminating most political ads on Twitter, it will be interesting to see how social media users of all ages will react and respond to the political climate as it continues to play out on social media.
Trend 6: Messaging App Use Will Continue to Rise
While we noted previously that public social media use will continue to decline, the use of private messaging apps will be on the rise. These apps include Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and more. These apps of course come with challenges for marketers, being that they are privately-geared, however, if mastered, the prize is billions of monthly users in the Millennial and Gen Z categories.
What trends were you shocked by? What would you add to our list? Let us know in the comments!