Social media marketing was shaped by the pandemic during the first half of the year and the effects of that disruption will still be felt as the final months of 2020 draw closer. If you are ready to greenlight new social campaigns in the coming weeks, here are a few trends that can help you make the most from your investment.
Ad revenue growth slows
The seemingly never-ending rise of ad investment appears to have finally plateaued. The pandemic led to widespread restructuring of marketing and ad budgets with organic content being the winner and more expensive ad campaigns being put on the back-burner for now. Facebook logged its slowest revenue growth from ads for eight years during Q2.
The recent ‘Stop Hate for Profit’ campaign that saw more than 150 brands boycott Facebook in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement has also had an impact on social ad spend. These factors are likely to weigh on overall ad investment during Q3 and Q4. Cost-effective social campaigns will take precedence for the time being, though SM Commerce’s Depesh Mandalia expects a new ad strategy to come to the fore during the festive period.
He believes that there will be a shift to include messages such as ‘deliver direct to your loved ones’, which will help brands target consumers as more consumers look to gift products directly to friends and family rather than buying them and giving them in person. Paid social could therefore be used by brands to create awareness early about anything that could help customers several months from now.
TikTok craze continues, for now
TikTok’s momentum may be checked by President Donald Trump’s declaration that the app will be banned in the US within 45 days, but for now it has captured the zeitgeist of 2020 and brands continue to look at ways to take advantage of the user-generated content boom.
The number of UK users skyrocketed to 12.9m during the first four months of the year, and more importantly for brands, the user base skews towards the highly valued younger segment. Research shows that children aged between four and 15 are now spending as much time with TikTok as YouTube every day.
The app’s huge popularity stems from its authenticity and how it allows users wherever they are and whoever they may be to showcase creative and personal expression. TikTok recently recognised its value to marketing and launched a ‘TikTok for Business’ initiative to offer advice to brands that want to embrace the platform.
After a tumultuous few months, marketers now have an opportunity to reset and experiment with new social platforms ahead of the autumn and winter, according to Campfire’s CEO Joe Gradwell, who expects consumption across social platforms to grow in late 2020.
He noted: “There’s still time to build your presence across social networks you’re not yet operating on – build your TikTok strategy, begin the podcast series you often talk about.”
Video marketing resurgence
Video has been very popular for some time, but it has been a go-to format for companies during the pandemic as brands look to stay connected with consumers on social platforms. A ‘Trends’ report from Socialbakers found that there was an increase in published videos across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in late March.
