13 Potentially Massive Social Media Trends (And How Marketers Can Use Them)

Social media trends change rapidly, and what’s hot today might be gone tomorrow. Keeping up with the rapid change of trends is necessary for marketers, since it allows them to figure out how to best direct their marketing efforts.

The only thing better than catching a trend as soon as it starts is predicting that it’ll take off. Trends don’t follow a specific pattern, but knowing what is and has been popular helps inform decisions going forward. Thirteen experts from Forbes Communications Council offer their predictions for social media trends this year and suggest how marketers can leverage these to gain traction and visibility.

Members share some of the social media trends they predict will become huge in the near future. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

1. The Continued Rise Of Ephemeral Content

Ephemeral content is on the rise more than ever now. Whether you’re familiar with the term or not, we consume it daily. Ephemeral content is rich media, mainly images or videos, that are only accessible for a brief period. Two of the largest social media formats (Snapchat and Instagram) offer marketers an opportunity to create interactive content for their audiences using customized filters. – Mo Ghoneim, OUTFRONT Media Canada

2. Exponentially More Focus On CX

While “social listening” has been popular for years, companies will do more than listen in 2020. They’ll focus on improving customer experiences (CX) by deliberately taking action from people’s feedback and closing the loop. Business decisions will come from the voice of the customer (VoC) leveraging social channels in combination with surveys, online chat, review sites, etc. CX won’t be an afterthought. – Stacy Sherman, Schindler Elevator Corporation

3. Influencer Marketing Reigning Supreme

Influencer marketing is going to reign supreme in 2020. Consumers trust people they know and like, and when it comes down to making a purchase, influencer recommendations are crucial. To take advantage of this, find out where your customers are coming from, and start researching a social influencer in that market. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get your product in front of the right people. – Amanda Dalrymple,Amanda Dalrymple Designs

4. Growing Importance Of Micro-influencers

As social platforms experiment with removing the “like” feature on photos, micro-influencers have an advantage in the crowded influencer space. It will become harder to measure engagement on a specific post, so results will be (and should be) what matters. This means influencers that have a smaller tribe but can show more actual results with brand sponsorships have an advantage in this new reality. – Holly Tate, Vanderbloemen Search Group

5. Rise Of Live Video

Live video hit the scene in 2019 but there were many bugs and connection issues. Those problems will be ironed out in 2020, leading to a rise of live video, along with a consumer demand for more authentic content by brands. Marketers will need to be conscious about how they use it — preferably to augment their event experiences and content marketing with live interviews and product demonstrations. – Patrick Ward, Rootstrap

6. Storytelling For Brands

The art of storytelling, whether through brands’ increased use of Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, will be of even greater use. Creative and thoughtful uses of captivating an audience through telling a story to understand what a brand represents will be a big differentiator in 2020. – Deborah Farone, Farone Advisors

7. Emoji Lists Enhancing Storytelling…

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