It’s no secret that in 2020 social media growth is an important tool to have in your marketing basket.
Whether you’re looking to build up brand recognition, create relationships with customers and supporters, have a place for organic and paid engagement or just want to keep up with the trends, social media is key.
However, not all social media platforms are alike, and there are many different strategies you can use to make the most of your time and investment.
If you want your business to exceed in marketing in 2020, you need to make sure you’re using the right platforms and taking advantage of the biggest trends happening now.
Social Media Platforms
There are plenty of social platforms your business can be on, and there are plenty of pros and cons to each.
The first step is to identify which platforms your target audience is already using. This way you can know where to focus your efforts first to connect with your ideal customers.
Then, spend some time behind the scenes building up your collateral and plans so you can have a presence on the other platforms.
Let’s take a look at the six biggest platforms where you should be.
The number one social media platform you can be on (according to Kicksta) is Instagram. It has over a billion active monthly users, and 90% of those accounts follow a business.
We’ll talk about some awesome features Instagram offers its business profiles a little later.
LinkedIn is probably the platform most people think of when they think of business. But it’s important to note that it’s much more than a job posting platform.
In fact, LinkedIn has 15x more impressions on content than on job postings.
So, if you have long-form content to share, LinkedIn is a great place for it!
The beauty of Facebook often lies in Facebook groups and advertising.
Organic reach has dropped slowly over time, however older adults and high-income earners are increasing their presence on the platform.
If that’s your demographic, you definitely want to have a presence on Facebook.
YouTube
YouTube is the internet’s second-largest search engine behind Google.
So, while video can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task to add to your plate, it’s likely worth it so you can give searchers a chance to find your content
Twitter considers itself the #1 platform for discovery, as 53% of its users are more likely to be among the first to adopt new products and services.
Twitter is also a great place to join in the conversation with your audience and see what they’re saying about you.
Tik Tok
The newest social platform, Tik Tok is often seen as a platform for teenagers. However, it currently has the highest engagement rate across social platforms.
If you create an account now and learn the platform as it’s growing, you can set yourself up well for success down the line.
Social Media Trends to See Growth
So now that we know the six primary social platforms, let’s look at some of the biggest trends you can incorporate into your market strategy so you can grow your following online.
Take Advantage of Stories
Stories are incredibly popular on both Facebook and Instagram right now, and they’re one of the best ways to ensure your audience is seeing your content.
As of now, the algorithm doesn’t have much control over stories, so they’re easy for your followers to access.
Stories also provide an engaging and genuine way to interact with your audience and connect with your followers.
Instagram Stories
There are so many features in Instagram stories that you can use to make your clips engaging and interactive.
- You can make shoppable stories so your audience can make purchases directly from the image or video.
- You can add engagement stickers to encourage them to respond to questions with just one click.
- If you have 10,000 followers or a verified account, you have access to the swipe-up feature to provide easy access to web pages off of the app.
- Polls, too, are a great way to use one of those engagement stickers to learn what your audience wants to hear from you. This type of feedback is highly valuable when creating your social media marketing strategy.
Facebook Stories
Since Facebook owns Instagram, they also have a stories feature available on their platform.
There are a number of unique things you can do with Facebook stories, too:
- Host campaigns and giveaways that not only encourage your audience to view your stories but also take some form of action, like tagging a friend or leaving a comment on a post.
- You can also use their live features to go live within stories to make your content more engaging. Make sure that these live stories and lives are relevant and fit with your brand.
- Consider contributing a collaborative Facebook story where your posts that are specifically tagged can be re-published to a larger story about a certain event or topic. This is popular for events like music festivals or topics like supporting small businesses.
Live and Pre-Recorded Video
We mentioned it earlier, but we’ll say it again. Video is important and it’s here to stay.
YouTube and Tik Tok are both video-based platforms, and features like IGTV and Lives are becoming popular, as well.
By using these platforms, you can generate brand awareness and increase sales simply by using videos.
Here are five different types of videos you can create to make use of these platforms.
Product Tutorials
Show your followers how to use your product.
If you think it’s fairly basic or straightforward, see if you can find some interesting or unique ways that it could be used and highlight those.
You might just inspire someone to place an order!
You can also do a “service tutorial” and teach a how-to your audience would like to know more about!
Behind the Scenes
Everyone loves a look behind the curtain!
Share a glimpse into your day, how your product is made or an interview with someone on your team.
This helps them feel more connected to your brand.
Sneak Peeks
The only thing people like more than behind the scenes is knowing something before everyone else.
Give your audience a sneak peek of your next release, product or launch.
The more you can share with them the better.
Not only will they feel in-the-know, but they’ll be excited for when you release your product.
Testimonials
Testimonials are some of the strongest videos you can share.
People put their trust in other people, even if they’re strangers.
So, by sharing testimonials you’re creating social proof from other people that show your audience that your offerings are excellent.
Interviews with Happy Clients and Influencers
Conversations are another great type of video to release.
Chatting with your happy customers works similarly to testimonials, and your audience will love it.
Interviewing an influencer can also get your brand name in front of more people, which is always good for brand awareness.
Speaking of Influencers…
Influencer marketing is an incredibly popular marketing tactic on social media.
However, if you’ve never tried it before, we recommend starting with micro-influencers. Micro- influencers, by definition, have between 2,000 and 50,000 followers.
While their audience might be a little smaller than bigger influencers, they are often more loyal and trusting of the influencer they follow.
They’re more likely to check out a brand and even make a purchase if the person they follow raves about a company.
Reaching out to micro-influencers can be a great way to increase brand awareness and target a new audience.
Social Media Advertising
While there are, clearly, plenty of organic options for engaging with and reaching followers on these social media platforms, there are also paid strategies, too.
Each platform has their own advertising setup, so you should try them out and see what works best for you and your company.
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Facebook
Facebook advertising comes in many forms, from in-feed ads to sidebar ads, and they can be photos or videos or a mix of both.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule as to what is best, as it will depend on your business and the audience you’re targeting.
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Instagram
Instagram advertising also has many options, and you can manage these ads from within your Facebook Ad Manager.
You can create feed ads, which can be videos, photos or collections. And, you can take advantage of stories in a new way, too, by creating ads to play between stories.
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YouTube
YouTube offers pre-roll ads that play before a video, mid-roll ads in the middle of a video, and banner ads that appear on the screen during a video.
You’ll want to make sure you’re targeting videos whose viewers are likely to be in your audience.
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LinkedIn
LinkedIn ads are great for B2B companies, but they can work for B2C, as well.
You can target people by industry, job title, and function to ensure that your ad budget is being used effectively.
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TikTok
Ads on Tik Tok work well, especially if you’re targeting a younger audience, as they are currently the primary users of the app.
The video ads blend in well with the rest of the content on the platform.
Conclusion
With each new year comes new trends and marketing techniques.
These are the most important platforms to be on to make sure your company is ahead of the curve.
Following these trends will allow you to be on the cutting edge.
Want more marketing strategies, advice and tactics? Check out one of our most popular social media marketing guides:
- Instagram Reach: How to Reach More People on Insta
- Facebook Page Likes: Get 1000s of New Page Followers!
- Social Media Image Sizes 2020
- How to Use Instagram Hashtags (and How Not to)
- The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Ad Campaign Objectives
