Social Media Trends To Watch In 2020 - Part 1

Social media has grown in popularity from its early existence in 2005 when only around 5 percent of Americans used social media. Now, 72 percent of people in the U.S. are active on at least one social media platform.

In South Africa, there are 23 million active social media users and this number is growing all the time.

Social media trends change in response to tech improvements such as smarter chatbots and more accessible augmented reality technology. Other trends are affected by the need to make social media safer for users.

Here are three social media trends to watch in 2020.

Changes to make ‘Likes’ less prominent on Instagram

The importance of the “Like” or heart button on Instagram is in decline and this will continue in 2020. The social media giant is now hiding likes on posts in an effort, says the Facebook-owned company to make Instagram “safer” and to counter cyberbullying. This move makes it difficult for brands to gauge the value of influencer marketers who often use likes as a major metric.

Video content is king

Video as content has been growing in importance for a number of years and this is expected to continue as one of the key social media trends in 2020. Videos will make up 82 percent of all internet traffic in 2020, according to SocialMediaWeek. As users have short attention spans and limited time, the focus will be on creative, engaging storytelling that captures user attention in seconds.

A return to direct communication

A growing trend that is likely to continue in 2020 involves users turning to private messaging apps to connect with others and brands. Messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram Messaging allow people to create more intimate groups where we can share personal info with others. Facebook users are increasingly messaging brand and company pages directly to ask questions and get feedback directly from the businesses in question.

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