Five Digital Trends You Can Expect to See in 2020

The digital landscape is constantly changing and evolving, and 2019 has been no different, 2019 with a year of rapid change and developments across social media, SEO and PPC (pay-per-click). With a new decade looming over us, it’s exciting to look forward to see what new technologies and updates we can expect in 2020. It’s important for all businesses take advantage of these trends and use them in any upcoming campaigns. Here are the top five digital trends for 2020.

Ephemeral Content

It was one of the top trends in 2019, and we reckon businesses should embrace it even more in 2020. Ephemeral content is content that only lasts for a short duration and disappears afterwards, generally 24 hours later. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a shift in focus from grid or feed posts to short bursts of information like Instagram and Facebook stories. According to Hootsuite, 500 million people use Instagram stories every day, and one third of the most viewed stories are from businesses.

So, why should businesses be embracing one of the top digital trends in 2020? First of all, it allows businesses to show content in real time, which, in turn, humanises their brand. It helps to create a sense of urgency and add an extra layer of excitement. For instance, a business could mention a sale in a Facebook or Instagram story, encouraging audiences to take action quickly. Stories are also useful to increase your engagement levels. Make sure to keep stories as a prominent component of your social media strategy in 2020.

Rise of TikTok

The video creation platform, TikTok, exploded this year and changed the way the world does video marketing. We predict that it is going to be one of the biggest digital trends in 2020. Hubspot recently shared some important stats on the social media platform. TikTok reportedly has over 800 million monthly active users worldwide, and in February 2019, it hit 1 billion downloads. Roughly 50% of the audience is under the age of 34, over 50% of the users are male, and approximately 155 countries use the app.

Video is one of the most engaging forms of content out there, and we highly recommend brands and businesses start including video in their digital strategy. As a video platform that allows users to make short, 15 second videos, TikTok presents amazing opportunities for marketers. This platform has been extremely successful for influencers. Businesses can utilise influencers to share their branded content and reach a broader, but target audience. Retail stores can use TikTok to showcase product demonstrations and try-on videos. It is also a great way to show behind-the-scenes or day-in-the-life footage for businesses.

With its ability to attract a large number of users and make content go viral. If the platform fits the demographics of your business, it is definitely worth a shot!

Micro-Influencers

Another top trend from 2019 has made its way onto our 2020 list. As social media becomes more saturated, it’s important for businesses, both large and small, to have a strong online presence. One of the best ways to do this is through influencer marketing. However, small and medium-sized businesses do not always have the financial capacity to pay for big-time influencers. That’s where micro-influencers come into play.

Micro-influencers are those with smaller audiences of 10,000 or fewer. They are generally quite niche but are still popular enough to influence. In fact, micro-influencers have a higher engagement rate than influencers with a larger following. According to Mobile Marketer, influencers with 5,000 to 10,000 followers have an engagement rate of 6.3%, whereas those with at least 10,000 followers have an engagement rate of 3.6%. This is typically because those who follow micro-influencers, do so because their values align most closely with their own - and not just because they’re a “big name”. As such, micro-influencers establish credibility, trust and personal connections with a large number of their followers, so businesses who embrace digital trends like micro-influencers in 2020 will likely see some positive results.

Voice Search

“Ok Google”, “Hi Siri” and “Hello Alexa” - just a few of the many voice search commands that exist on Apple, Google and Amazon devices. As more and more devices implement voice search, it is predicted that 50% of all voice searches will be via voice in 2020. So, what does this trend mean for marketers and businesses?

With people interacting with searches more conversationally, marketers should start using more conversational and long-tail phrases when keyword targeting. You can use these terms to optimise website pages and even FAQ pages. These terms should also be used as part of an updated content creation plan to drive traffic to your website. As most voice searches typically happen on a mobile device, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Some ways to optimise your website for mobile? Keep your homepage concise and clear, keep a readable font size and keep important features like a search bar & menu options. Apparently, 22% of voices searches are for local content, so make sure your business has a Google My Business listing and include all local information like the address, and share your business information in the footer of your website.

Visual Search

Visual search, one of the key digital trends in 2020, will revolutionise the way we search and shop. It also presents great opportunities for businesses to optimise their images even further. Already, 19% of search queries on Google are visual and over 600 million visual searches occur on Pinterest each month. So, how can businesses embrace visual search into their digital strategy?

First of all, businesses like e-commerce websites should consider building image search into their website. Let’s look at ASOS as an example. Their ‘Style Match’ tool allows for customers to upload a picture - whether it is a photo they’ve personally taken or a screenshot from a website - and then search ASOS’ products for items similar to the image.

All businesses should be optimising their image titles and descriptions with relevant (and preferably long-tail) keywords. Using keywords in your description provides a better context of the image, and audiences/customers should be able to find your products and services faster. Optimising the file size and type of your images can also offer benefits to your visual search strategy. In most cases, JPEG is the preferred file type for your images. If you’re using a tool like Photoshop for your images, a great way to reduce the file size is using the ‘Save for Web’ command, adjusting the quality of your image to 60 or 70, selecting the ‘Progressive’ checkbox. Around 1mb in size should be big enough for just about any images you’re uploading.

Need Help Implementing These Digital Trends in 2020?

If you would like to implement these digital trends in your 2020 strategy but you are unsure where to start or what will work best for your business, we are here to help! Get in touch with the team and we can help you with all aspects of your digital strategy, social media strategy, SEO strategy and much more!