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Social Media Trends to Watch in 2020 by @DONNAAMOS

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by Donna Amos | Featured Contributor 

There are trends that are occurring in social media that business owners can take advantage of to help them grow their businesses. As changes take place on platforms, it may benefit business owners to stay current on the changes so that you don’t use outdated practices that no longer work on social networking sites.

Growth of Tik Tok

This site has gained popularity as a social networking site for business owners. Tik Tok is a social networking site that has become very popular with Generation Z.

Individuals who are micro-influencers have gained popularity on this social networking video app. Influencers are aware that using the site to promote video can benefit small businesses because it’s not geared towards traditional sales. The lack of hard sales on the site is popular with users. By connecting with followers through good video content, it will help small businesses expand and provide opportunities to sell products. It’s expected that one of the social media trends for 2020 will include the expansion of Tik Tok to allow platform users to shop online like other social networking channels.

Increase in social shopping

Entrepreneurs can benefit from using social shopping on their company sites because of the growth of e-commerce. During the past decade, social networking sites have contributed to the growth of e-commerce. It’s now the norm for social shopping to occur on social networking channels. Customers enjoy connecting with brands and building relationships with them on social networking sites. Consumers enjoy having access to brands without leaving platforms to purchase products and services. Entrepreneurs can look to expand social shopping on their social channels.

The rise of small business owners as influencers

Small businesses can benefit from the increase in popularity that they have experienced as influencers. Users on various social platforms desire to connect with small businesses rather than huge companies. The ability to connect with an audience on a small-scale is something that small business owners can take advantage of because they have a unique following.

The use of social media to develop consumer confidence

Small business owners can benefit from using their social platforms to develop a relationship with followers that are based on trust. Followers can develop relationships based on the quality of content that is promoted that informs followers about the value that a business brings into the market. By having real conversations with followers and connecting on a human level, companies establish relationships on a much richer level because of the connection that is made by showing the company as a place where real people work.

Use of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a powerful social platform because the site is geared toward business professionals. Business owners can reach decision-makers on LinkedIn to grow their businesses. If a company has products and services to sell and its budget is limited, being active on the platform can help generate sales and gain the attention of decision-makers.

Fewer boundaries between personal and professional lives

Social media trends include witnessing fewer boundaries between the professional and personal lives of business owners. Small business owners can grow their online audience by interacting with followers and showing them aspects of the personal and professional lives. Sharing unique content that shows followers portions of the daily lives allows followers to connect with business owners on a genuine level.

An increase in the number of brief posts

Businesses are posting new content that is online for a short amount of time, and this will continue to increase in 2020. These posts occur on sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Tikk Tok. The time-limited posts are primarily videos and allow businesses to share content that may be more personal and allows business owners to share special offers of their products and services.

Increase focus on customer interaction

Brands are working to focus more on customer responses in 2020. By responding to customer service issues that arise, businesses can learn what is necessary to meet the needs of their customers. Small businesses can gain attention from their followers by working to connect with followers and meeting the needs they address about the products and services they desire to purchase.

Expansion of the use of storytelling

Companies have increased their use of storytelling on social media sites using different types of media such as video and written content. By sharing what a company represents, it allows businesses to reach followers and potential customers. Business owners can engage with their audience telling stories on different social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Increase in video content

There is an increase expected in the amount of video content that brands produce in 2020 on social networking sites. Small businesses can increase their number of customers and followers by producing content that is appealing to followers. Business owners can determine which platforms work best for their followers and provide content that is based on what works best for their audience.

More social messenger apps

Small business owners can benefit from using social messenger apps to connect with their customers. The top messenger apps are used primarily by millennials. The top messenger apps include the following.

• Messenger
• WeChat
• Viber

There are over 2 billion messages sent on Messenger each month from businesses. The app is on over 1.2 billion phones. The potential exists for greater customer experiences to occur because of the growth of the social messaging service. Messaging apps that were developed using artificial intelligence have improved customer engagement. It’s expected that the customer experience will continue to improve because of the unique way that companies can improve the artificial intelligence they use to have more unique engagement with customers using social messaging services.

The use of messenger apps outranks the top social networking sites which include the following.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Small business owners can work to expand their businesses by using social networking sites and social messaging services. By working to create personalized experiences with customers and potential customers, businesses can expand and provide their customers with good experiences. Having an awareness of what their customers desire will help small businesses grow and effectively market to customers of all ages.

Social Media Trends to Grow Your Brand by @luckifit

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by LaKisha Greenwade | Featured Contributor

Is social media here to stay? Absolutely! Actually, it is an understatement.  Social media will continue to expand reach by integrating with non traditional platforms in the next few years.

When building a brand, please know that you are ‘tardy to the party’ if there is no online presence outside of a webpage.  A fan page on a popular platform is not enough today and considered Pre-K in the school of Business Building.

What does this mean?

It is no longer optional to curate regular fresh content for your audience and interact with your followers.

I have heard many moans and groans from business owners who just want to work on their business versus in it. I understand. However, that is not an excuse to allow your business to suffer due to discomfort with the ever changing social media landscape. To prevent overwhelm, create a content calendar or contract out social media management duties and ads services to:

1) achieve an online presence in platforms where your customers reside,

2) grow your customer base and mailing lists, and

3) prepare yourself for new social media launches and trends that impact the way your customers research brands.

Do you still need convincing?

Well, 4 in 10 internet users say they follow their favorite brands on social media. Over one-third of online shoppers use social        media to “find inspiration” for a purchase and 59% of Americans with social media accounts think that customer service through social media has made it easier to get questions answered and issues resolved.

It is imperative to establish and grow your presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Google Plus.

Facebook is the most widely used platform with 79% of the American population.   LinkedIn is a platform growing in importance for the Business to Business community, especially with use of video. It is critical for those seeking to build their personal brands to create some focus here. Twitter recently launched a service to help brands reach target audiences payable directly to the platform.

This is just the beginning.

Social integrations are guaranteed to dominate in the near future. Once you have established consistent online presence, consider how one of the upcoming trends will aid in your brand building efforts.

  • Artificial Intelligence and Voice programs such as Alexa;
  • Chat bots;
  • Video; and
  • Social Influencers.

It is possible for you to:

1) create micro content for voice focused platforms,

2) improve customer service interactions with chat bots,

3) improve brand knowledge with video on all platforms (especially YouTube), and lastly,

4) integrate the use of social influencers to build brand awareness.

These featured trends of today will become mainstays of tomorrow. Do not delay auditing your brand presence on social media and invest in resources to enhance it for growth. It’s a move you won’t regret.