5 Content Trends You Must Know in 2020
You’ll find “Staying ahead of the latest trends” on page one of every content marketer’s playbook (directly above “how to hire a great copywriter”). It’s an important part of content marketing, looking forward to seasonal shifts and social media advancements that can benefit organizations savvy enough to plan ahead.
2020 has brought a host of new technologies for marketers to play with and perfect, along with the renewal of some old favorites and a glimpse at the future of marketing automation. Here are five content trends we’re excited about:
1. The Introduction of The Nano-Influencer
The term “social media influencer” is generally reserved for those with massive follower bases — or at least, it was until marketers recently started emphasizing quality above quantity. True, internet stars and Hollywood celebrities offer a huge potential reach for branded content, but new findings suggest volume of distribution pales in comparison to a new factor called “audience relationship.”
While the mega-influencer days aren’t entirely behind us (yet), the new-school introduction of nano-influencers (which different sources define as somewhere between 1k-30k followers) will surely cause new waves of sponsored marketing content in 2020. The idea behind nano-influencers is simple — these are people you might know, trust, and genuinely engage with. So far, the return on these cheaper alternatives to mega-influencers is significant.
2. Increases in Voice Search
We’re smack in the middle of a five-year revolution for searches without screens. Voice searches conducted through smart speakers are expected to continue a steady trajectory upwards as more than half of US households are expected to own smart speakers by 2022.
As a result, Comscore expects half of all searches in 2020 to be voice searches. Unsurprisingly, the demographic pushing the voice search revolution is overwhelmingly made up of Millenials whose personal devices are seen as less of a technological marvel and more of a basic utility. Marketers will need to adjust plans accordingly to strategize for the next several years of voice commands becoming even more commonplace in homes.
3. Visual Search
Continuing the trend of searches without typing words into search bars, everyone seems to be trying to perfect the visual search engine for shoppable products. Pinterest’s entire business model revolves around getting there first, placing the Pinterest Lens in direct competition with Google Lens developers to determine how best technology can help smartphone users capture, identify and purchase products seamlessly.
While obviously lending itself to home decor, fashion and food verticals, the Google Lens also appears to be aiming for a more HUD-level understanding of images. If they pull it off, a single photo of a flyer could instantly add an event to your personal calendar.
4. Optimal Media-Buying Through AI
Ad-buying gets smarter and more efficient all the time. Bidding models for online ad placements are utilizing artificial intelligence to better find niche groups and produce optimal ROIs. It’s...actually pretty creepy, but it’s useful, too. With improvements being made to software responsible for media-buying, manually inputting keywords and target demographics can be a thing of the past.
If you’re worried artificial intelligence might threaten the need for real-life human content agencies, no need to panic just yet. Programmatic advertising is powerful, but it’s not without its costly faults.
5. The Arrival of Gen Z
Yeah, it’s sort of weird for us too. But it’s the truth — the workforce is about to get its first real influx of Gen Z-ers, and with it an estimated $4 Billion in spending. The first generation to truly grow up in a digital age, this group of young adults is the most device-savvy, streaming service-using, video content-watching collection of consumers to ever walk the Earth. They can also sniff out disingenuous social interactions or clumsy native advertising from miles away.
We’re excited for Gen-Z to make things their own in 2020 because we don’t actually know much about them yet. Previously rolled into one general demographic with Millenials (which is no longer a shorthand term for “young person”), it’s expected they’ll create their own profile of preferences over the next few years. Marketers will have to keep a sharp eye out for the emerging likes and dislikes of a group as familiar with digital ads as those working in the industry.
With dozens of technological and social advancements surely impacting how organizations do business in 2020, it pays to have a professional content creation team. Our expert writers specialize in creating content worthy of your business — feel free to contact us here to learn more about working with Team Comma.
