Social Media Audience Trends to Look Out For in 2020

The world of social media is vast and constantly changing. The last thing you want to do is waste resources posting on outdated social media platforms that aren’t reaching potential customers. What are the top social media trends of 2020, and how are consumers interacting with them?

The world of social media is vast and constantly changing. The last thing you want to do is waste resources posting on outdated social media platforms that aren’t reaching potential customers. What are the top platforms of 2020, and how are consumers interacting with them?

Let’s start with some base numbers. In terms of user base, Facebook is by far the most widely adopted social media platform in the world with 2.7 billion monthly active users as of June 2020. Followed by YouTube, with roughly 2 billion monthly active users, and Instagram with just over 1 billion.

However, newcomer Tik Tok is on the rise with over 2 billion downloads between the App Store and Google Play.

But total population isn’t everything. Where is your target demographic? What social media platform do they prefer?

According to GlobalWebIndex, 41% of Tik Tok users are aged between 16 & 24. Instagram is in a similar boat with nearly 60.8% of their monthly active users being between the ages of 13 & 34. It’s safe to say that as of 2020, the younger generations are drawn to these eye-catching multi-media platforms.

But what about the old guard? It might not be surprising, but Pew Research Data shows that both Baby Boomers and the “Silent” generation, that’s people born before 1945, are migrating to Facebook in droves.

To be exact 60% of United States born Baby Boomers and 37% of U.S. seniors born before 1945 now have Facebook accounts. Both Millennials and Gen X appear to be maintaining a steady adoption rate on Facebook as well.

With billions of users, it’s safe to say the modern world is on social media like never before. Especially in 2020, a time when more and more of our transactions are happening online. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out where your business can fit in.

The Facebook & Instagram joint eco-system has always been a strong contender in the e-commerce space and continues to expand. On August 25th, Facebook announced Facebook Shops and additional features for Instagram Shop Live. Facebook Shops is a destination where consumers can discover and purchase products from brands & retailers of all sizes inside both Facebook and Instagram. In other words, this takes the entire buyer’s journey and makes it happen without the consumer ever leaving their social media platform of choice.

The Facebook Shop feature is currently only available to select businesses but is scheduled to go public later this year. For more information, check out the link in the description below.

Outside of Facebook & Instagram, YouTube continues to drive consumer spending with 78.8% of marketers in 2020 ranking it the best video-marketing platform. Without a doubt due to the influx of user generated content and influencer marketing.

Interested in learning more about how brands & retailers alike can use social media to elevate their business? Visit Thumbstopper.com.

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Key Points:

 

  • Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
  • Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
  • Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

 

 

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns. 

 

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It's one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible. 

Text

  • Use plain language that’s easy to understand 
  • Avoid text in all caps
  • Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

  • Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
  • Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
  • Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience - with your accessible, branded content - in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business. 

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

 

 

accessibility
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