In 2019, social media platforms unveiled numerous new tools. Steady growth was seen across all major platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
There was a distinct rise in TikTok, a video-based social media platform with active users at 500 million and counting. Brands leveraged TikTok, which primarily reaches pre-teen, teen and young adult demographics, to grow and strengthen young audiences. For example, Chipotle’s #GuacDance challenge reached millions. Another example is the Washington Post. The national news outlet regularly posts fun content and behind-the-scenes newsroom videos. So far, it has built a steady following of more than 300,000.
By 2020, Facebook predicts that 3 billion people will have mobile phones. Optimizing content for mobile users is more important now than ever before. More than half of all video content is viewed on mobile, with 90% of all Twitter video views happening on a mobile device. In 2020, Lukas Partners expects video content and video-based social media platforms to continue to show steady growth.
We also could see the use of video for one-on-one communication increase, especially for B2C organizations. Whether it’s a virtual walk-through of a home with a real estate agent or having questions answered by a customer service associate through video calling, the widely available technology and convenience of video has increased the likelihood of more organizations utilizing the tool for direct communication.
With consumer engagement in mind, some brands have begun to utilize Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), trends we expect to increase in 2020. For example, if you are picking out a new chair online on Target.com, you can use its AR tool to help visualize the chair in your living room. Amazon also uses AR to help consumers explore products.
Additionally, Snapchat’s geofilter and lens tools have been broadly adopted in marketing campaigns including creating location-specific videos to influence nearby customers like event attendees or pedestrians near a store location.
An entirely new way to shop without leaving the social network you are scrolling is likely to gain steam in 2020. Instagram unveiled its shopping feature in 2019. Once signed up, businesses can tag products in posts and users can click and purchase without leaving Instagram.
Stories on Instagram and Facebook will continue to rise, as people seek more visual content with less time to scroll. Many organizations have embraced stories in 2019 and growth will continue into 2020. Spotify recently unveiled its 2019 Wrapped, an annual collection of personalized data and information on its users’ listening patterns over the past year. This year it included data for the entire decade, and, in the app, Spotify included several content options to share results to users’ Instagram stories.
Finally, thought leadership will continue to expand on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter in 2020. According to Nielsen, 84% of people trust recommendations from friends, family and colleagues over other forms of marketing. Lukas Partners works with clients to engage thought leaders who share insights about the organization. This is an effective marketing and recruitment tactic.