According to  Statista, 70% of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile. If you’re not taking advantage of social platforms, your business is more than a step behind. 

3 Digital Marketing Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2020

Forbes reports that if you follow these three social media trends your brand will thrive in 2020.

1) Just Say It, The Rise of Voice Searches and Digital Assistants:  The CEO of a digital marketing agency claims “voice search will comprise half of all queries, regardless of the device used” Voice searches make customers interaction with brands effortless and in 2020, consumers value convenience above all else. 

2) Show, Don’t Tell- Video is The New King Of Content: Forbes references a study done by HubSpot that found “roughly half of users want more video content from businesses they support.” Brands have started working with influencers and vloggers because they use video to communicate brand reviews to their followers. 

3) Social Media, Going Beyond Likes and Shares: Instagram and Facebook now give users the ability to shop without having to use the app. Forbes says, “The goal is to lessen the number of steps for shoppers, providing a faster checkout process.”

How to Use Social Media Stories to Boost Engagement

“There are 5.11 billion unique mobile users around the world & it is projected that over half of all eCommerce sales will happen on mobiles by 2021” said Business 2 Community. 

Instagram stories are key when wanting to boost engagement, their vertical format makes them engaging and interactive.

Creating interactive polls is a great way to get your brand to use instagram stories. Communicating with consumers through polls gives your business direct feedback and also makes your brand more memorable in the eyes of consumers.

According to Business 2 Community, “Visual elements like stickers, gifs, & emojis make it possible to convey emotions and moods with little to no text. Ensure that you add stickers or other elements where it’s relevant to engage with your customers.”

It’s important to make sure the content you put out doesn’t sound scripted. Focus on creating behind-the-scenes content that is unique to your brand.

Business 2 Community stresses the need to incorporate stories into your social media and marketing strategy early on because it will establish your presence on social media platforms, differentiating you from competitors. 

Are You Avoiding These Digital Marketing Pitfalls?

According to Kristin Kim, Director of Digital Marketing at Kiehls, “five years ago the industry was still figuring out what role social media channels played in reaching and communicating with consumers, but now it’s recognized as a gold mine for consumer insights and trends.” 

Forbes claims that “The biggest skill set of social is that you need to understand people and what they’re looking for.”

Natasha Pearce, freelance Director of Social & Content, believes “The social role was once a silo and is now more integrated with the rest of the organization.”

Each department can offer something to the social and digital team to be posted on media platforms.

Forbes states that new roles, technology, and organizational structure are paving paths for new possibilities, but in five years, we can expect even greater shifts. 

“In the near future, I believe that the VP of Social will oversee all areas that touch social media and oversee the direction for all teams that fall underneath” says Pearce. 

The speed required to keep up with today’s social media environment can not be a task carried out alone. Keeping up is necessary and your brand will fall behind if your trend tracking falls behind.

How Social Media Marketers Earned A Seat At The Table

Falling Prey to Influencer Fraud: Influencers accounted for $1.4 billion in marketing campaigns in 2019 and $255 million of that was wasted on influencers with fake followers. 

Business 2 Community says “One way to determine if an influencer’s followers are real is to compare the follower count to the engagement rate.”

Wasting Precious Time with Social Media Marketing: When using social media for marketing, you need to know who your target audience is before using any platform.

Refusing to Budget Enough Money or Time for Success: Business 2 Community states, “Your marketing needs time to gain exposure and reach the right buyers at the right time, if you give up on strategy too soon you can miss out on big chances to convince and convert.”

9 Social Media Goals to Help Boost Your Strategy in 2020 

1) Stop Ignoring Your Audience: Your business can’t only focus on comments and mentions sent directly to your company. In order to get an unfiltered opinion you need to track consumers untagged mentions. 

2) Try Selling On Social: Having a buying option takes a step away from the buying process.

3) Broadcast Yourself: Live streaming is a must in 2020, according to Social Media Today: “You can go live to hype up a product launch, engage with your audience, cover a real-life event, or present a social media competition. 

4) Collaborate With Micro-influencers: Influencers with a smaller following usually have a more niche demographic of followers. When trying to market a product  When trying to market a product, consider that various micro-influencers have specific following demographics to better reach your target audience. 

5) Have Fun With AR: Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are the platforms you want to focus on when incorporating AR. Social Media Today explains how brands create filters to help promote their new product and make the product memorable in the eyes of consumers.

6) Befriend The Algorithms: Creativity is key, you need to come up with engaging content that aligns with each social media platforms different algorithms in order for your content to pop up on the right consumer’s feed.

7) Go Somewhere New: Instead of waiting for a platform to “make it big” jump at up and coming platforms. TikTok is on the rise and getting the hang of it early keeps you ahead of trends.

8) Become Private:  According to Social Media Today,  “Creating a Close Friends lists for top fans on Instagram allows businesses to share exclusive content with their more loyal followers, which can encourage other to interact with your accounts in hope of getting an invite.”

9) Start Messaging: Direct messages with consumers humanizes your brand and is a great form of customer service 

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