2020 has affected us all in various ways… We’re not sure any of us pictured ourselves here back in January but the one constant enhancing, and sometimes hindering, our lives massively is social media.
Back in August it was reported that UK adults were spending more than 40 per cent of their waking day on their devices – a whopping 45 hours per week. From perfecting *that Blinding Lights dance* on TikTok to trying to volley a teabag into a mug on Instagram Reels, the social networks have certainly given us a helping hand in reaching this statistic. Instagram even removed its Likes counter this year so that we wouldn’t feel so conscious when posting!
So, what are the biggest social media trends to come out of 2020?
With Facebook use comparatively dwindling, and a lack of envy-inducing content to post on perfectly curated Instagram feeds, even the most reluctant of those among us turned to TikTok…
TikTok
The Chinese app has amassed a usership of 17m UK users, who regularly opened it up and found ways to keep busy during the pandemic. Globally the app has 850 million users, 90% of whom use the app daily.
TikTok’s algorithm has found a way to link people into global communities for any interest or hobby, no matter how niche. Rug Making TikTok, Thrift Tok, Plant TikTok… We didn’t even know azaleas could dance.
Whilst TikTok was originally used to post dance videos, the app has progressed to give Gen Z a voice during an especially turbulent time. They have found a place to discuss and educate each other about racism, the US election, and the bleak job market, post-graduation.
TikTok took off so much a creative fund was set up for those with bigger followings, paying them for their content, which in turn has brought with it TikTok influencers and another way for brands to engage with a different audience.
Instagram Reels
TikTok soon got Mark Zuckerberg’s whiskers twitching so not long after its launch we saw other social platforms try to emulate it. Towards the end of the summer, Instagram introduced Reels; a feature filled with filters that allows users to record and edit 15 second multi-clip videos and make them public via Instagram Explore.
From a brand awareness perspective, Instagram Reels is a fantastic way to gain engagement and expand reach quickly. And with no algorithm yet set up by Instagram, many an influencer has jumped on this train and now include Reels within their fee lists. Video content and Reels in general have proved to be more impactful during 2020 – if you can capture your audience on your post for more than 4 seconds, then Instagram (and Facebook and Pinterest) will consider it a post of interest and share it with others.
Twitter Fleets
In November, Twitter introduced a new feature, Twitter Fleets, which enables its users to upload content that ‘fleetingly’ remains on your page. Similar to Stories, Fleets disappear after 24 hours and so the feature is aimed at users who are perhaps more intimidated about the idea of tweeting publicly on their timeline. Fleets can’t be retweeted (refleeted?) or liked and if you have a private Twitter account, only your approved followers can view them.
Social Commerce
As shops alternated between being open and closed this year, it became increasingly difficult for people to shop in person. This opened an opportunity for many online retailers, with Amazon reporting tripled profits during the pandemic, to outperform their bricks and mortar counterparts. The pandemic also forced social media platforms to take stock of how they could maximise sales within this unique climate that Covid-19 created.
Instagram and Facebook have both improved product tagging tools, with Instagram swapping notifications buttons for a shopping icon (the more cynical among us may believe this to be a clever trick to get users to become more aware of this feature). And it has been reported that 83% of users now discover new products and services via social media, highlighting even more what an invaluable tool social commerce has become this year and will continue to be in 2021.
User Generated Content (UGC)
If achieved in a non-forced way, UGC is a fantastic tool for brands to get its audiences doing the work for them. What better way to promote your product or service than to have thousands of other people posting about it?
The Covid-19 lockdown limited our physical social interaction. People who, prior to the pandemic, may have avoided social media, began to flock to its fields. In fact, there has been a 163% increase in Instagram usage since the start of the pandemic.
Many people found themselves furloughed or out of work this year. And there’s no doubt about it, they would have spent more time online, uploading content or scrolling through their social feeds for inspirational and uplifting posts.
And as many of us are still based largely at home, both influencers and the wider social usership continue to regularly post to a receptive, and perhaps more under-stimulated audience.
So, in conclusion?
From a brand-building and e-commerce perspective, these updates to our social media platforms offer even more ways of engaging with an audience, enticing shoppers to storefronts without paying the fees or having to develop an entire ecommerce platform.
Whatever your views on social media, and we’ll admit we have a love/hate relationship with our own level of screen time, it’s certainly helped to keep us better connected during a period where we’ve often felt everything but.
