Ready for 2020? 5 changes in social media you need to know for this year

Brands use social media to connect with more customers and boost their bottom line. But as we lean into the Roaring Twenties, a lot of changes are coming to social media. 

Thanks to algorithm changes, new features, and disappearing features that we’ve come to love (like Instagram likes), businesses could see their organic reach on the decline. 

But that isn’t to say that social media is a lost cause. If anything, once you crack the code on social media, you stand to win big time: 76% of consumers have bought a product they saw on social media. 

5 social media changes for 2020

Get more results in less time, connect on a deeper level with customers, and boost ROI when you dedicate yourself to modern social media marketing. These 5 changes are going to affect business social media the most in 2020. 

Facebook prioritizes human-to-human content

Facebook is still a great avenue to connect with customers over age 25, but recent algorithm changes mean branded content may not reach your customers. Since 2020 is an election year, Facebook is cracking down on misinformation. Their solution is, in part, to show more posts from friends and family. 

As a business, that means your organic reach is now going to be more limited than it was in the past. That’s not a death knell for your Facebook page, though; it just means you need to get creative to see engagement. 

You can stand out on Facebook in 2020 by:

• Sharing user-generated content and tagging your customers, if possible. 
• Starting conversations with customers and replying to comments quickly. 
• Investing in strategic Facebook Ads.
• Creating polls. 
• Share video-focused content through live videos, which get 10X more comments. 

There are so many ways to make your content more engaging. Instead of blasting salesy content, start interesting, engaging conversations. This will get your potential customers to pay attention to your content. 

Twitter is removing fake accounts

No one knows for sure how many fake accounts are on Twitter, but pros estimate it to be in the millions. Since engagement and real conversations are the name of the game in 2020, Twitter is cracking down on fake users. 

What does this mean for you? Well, for starters, your follower count will likely go down. But if you’re focusing on engagement, this shouldn’t affect you at all. 

If anything, you should experiment with the timing and frequency of your posts. Since Twitter moved away from a chronological feed, it means it’s not enough to tweet when your customers are on Twitter. Now it’s about churning out better content that engages. 

Twitter created Topics

Not sure how to get noticed in a non-chronological feed? Twitter’s new Topics feature came out in November 2019 and it’s the perfect way to boost engagement. Topics connect users with curated tweets on a selected topic. If you post relevant, interesting content on a certain topic, you can show up to highly interested users in your niche. 

Translation: your tweets get seen more often by real humans that want to engage. That means Topics views are more valuable; shoot to have your tweets show up here for more traction on Twitter.

Choose Instagram influencers with care

I love Instagram influencers, but with so many businesses taking the Instagram route, something’s got to give. In this case, I predict that transparency will be a big deal for Instagram influencers in 2020. 

For one, the FTC has strict rules about influencer marketing. You have to disclose paid content. With more influencers in the space, I’m sure the FTC is going to roll out more guidelines to protect the public. Check out the FTC’s latest guidelines for influencers (and brands like you that work with them). 

Instagram removes “like” counts in some countries

Since 2020 is the year of genuine engagement, it’s no surprise that Instagram has removed “like” counts on posts. Instagram tested this in Canada, Japan, Brazil, and Australia in 2019. In 2020, the feature is expected to hit the US. 

But don’t worry. This just removes the public “like” count. As a content creator, you can still see how many likes your post earned; it just won’t be displayed to your followers. If you have a smaller brand or following, this could help even the playing field, prioritizing views on good content, not on popular content. 

The bottom line

If we’ve learned anything from these 5 changes to social media for 2020, it’s that engagement is key. You want people to like, comment, and share your posts. This is your year to get people to take action, and that means crafting better content that appeals to user preferences. 

Does that sound like a lot of work? I don’t blame you. If you’re overwhelmed at the thought of updating your social media for 2020, give me a ring. I’m offering a free, 15-minute brainstorming session to business owners in need of quick advice. Let’s schedule a quick chat this week.