Social Media Predictions for Springing Ahead in 2020

By: Julia Angelen Joy

March 2, 2020

Winter is nearly at an end, which means a good spring cleaning is in order for your social strategy. And what better way to jumpstart planning for the months ahead than looking at the trends shaping the world of social this year?

In 2020 and beyond, posting frequent content in and of itself will no longer drive engagement. While engagement numbers (likes, views, reach, impressions) were until recently perceived as vanity metrics, engagement in and of itself will once again take center stage as social media algorithms adjust to advertising fatigue. Social media managers will need to prioritize one-on-one conversations with followers—asking questions, responding to likes and mentions and sharing audience-sourced content.

Here are my predictions for the rest of 2020.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) communications projects will stall for the majority of brands, especially in the B2C space. Adoption will be much slower than the hype that has persisted around AI and VR’s role in digital communications over the last few years. The CMO role will oversee automation; the AI function will roll into marketing and advertising departments. Automation will be increasingly important in improving B2B customer experience, but will also be tricky to implement.

Paid Social

Marketers will continue to compete for ad space on social; those advertising dollars will  keep driving revenue for the major platforms. However, this will begin to drive social media users away as advertising fatigue sets in and privacy issues grow. Most users who remain active posters on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter will have skin in the game as they seek to build their personal, professional or corporate brands.

Org Charts

Organizationally, social media will continue to fall under the marketing and communications function as paid social options become more complex. Customer data and analytics will increasingly drive communications decisions. Influencer programs may see a slight dip as corporations mitigate potential risks and encounter roadblocks in attributing ROI.

Social Selling

Using social media to sell products and services requires deploying engaging content that supports lead generation and the sales funnel. However, with a glut of promotional content being forced upon social media users, lead generation will need to take a backseat to customer engagement.

Social Media Status

While brands will continue to use social media as a core component of their marketing strategy, platform updates like Instagram’s hiding likes will require brands to seek new strategies for relevance and name recognition.

Follow Julia @JuliaAngelenPR or visit her website here.