In social media, we all know that what’s hot today may not be tomorrow. It’s just the nature of the beast. And in the Covid-19 era, things seem to be changing on a daily basis.

One thing that will never change is that it all comes back to your audience. What matters to them? And are you giving them what they want or need, at the right time?

8 Social Media Marketing Trends for the Rest of 2020

1. Shorten your content creation process. Content you created six months ago and planned to use today may now be outdated. Compress your content creation down from months to weeks or even days. You can still sketch out your plans for the future but don’t invest a lot of time in detailed creation — leave room for changes so you don’t have to scrap everything and start over.
2. Be quiet and listen. In the past, social media was all about telling your audience what great products and services you had. Now, it’s time to listen. Are your products and services well positioned? You’ll never know if you don’t listen to your market. The more you listen, the more clues you’ll get to improve your social media content decisions. There are a number of great tools out there that can help you tune in to what your customers are saying. Take a look at Sprout Social, TweetReach and Mention, to name a few.
3. Stand up for a cause. People expect more from their trusted brands than ever before. Take a stand on social issues that mean something to you. Yes, you might lose a few customers, but you’ll gain more in the long run. Purpose-driven companies grow three times faster on average than their competitors. They also have higher workforce and customer satisfaction. Now’s the time to help, not overly self-promote. The more you give, the more you get, even if it’s just goodwill.
4. Balance public and private engagement. There’s no denying that there’s been a growing interest in private channels like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. But since more than half of online brand discovery still happens in public social feeds, it’s still a critical space for your content strategies. The key is to create a seamless experience across both worlds. Balance automation with human connection to build deeper customer relationships.
5. Include more video in your social marketing. Whether you’re thinking about Instagram stories or longer formats for Facebook Live or YouTube, video content wins in terms of captivating an audience and retaining them. If you’re on the fence, it’s time to jump on the brandwagon and make video a strong play in your marketing strategy. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, repurpose your popular content into video format. Not sure how to do it? Ask me, it’s one of my key initiatives this year.
6. Learn from TikTok’s meteoric rise. Don’t ignore TikTok’s popularity and explosive growth, even if you think it’s a bunch of fluff. Instead, learn from it. Look at it as a source of audience and competitor intelligence. Monitor trends that bubble up and find ways of bringing the fun and innovative energy of TikTok into content on your more established platforms.
7. Make your website mobile friendly. I review websites on a regular basis and so many companies fail here. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results, so if your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you won’t rank as high. It’s as simple as that. Plus, people are glued to their phones for absolutely everything — even if they shouldn’t be. Case in point, family dinners at a restaurant. Seriously!
8. Remember to put people first. Focus on the human element. People have always cared about and trusted people more than businesses, so shape your marketing strategies around heartwarming customer and employee stories rather than bland and b-o-r-i-n-g product descriptions. The relationship you build with your customers should be more important than the products and services you sell them. Not the case? Rethink how you’ll change that for the rest of 2020.

Bottom line: The half-way point in the year is a natural time to evaluate where things are in your life and business. For entrepreneurs, small business owners and experts — it’s also a time to review your marketing plan and make adjustments. 

As always, social media is changing — and especially, in this topsy-turvy time. Are you keeping up? What has worked and what has fallen flat?

Now’s the time to reallocate resources, emphasize what’s worked, tweak what’s just OK, and back-burner what hasn’t popped. The good news is that none of this requires you to start your social presence from scratch — just adjust and keep moving forward.