2020 #SchoolMarketing Predictions and Wider Trends
Simon Noakes
Founder/CEO, Interactive Schools | A global digital agency creating the BEST WEBSITES for the world’s leading schools | #InspiringSchools to share their story | #FutureSchool thinker | #SprXtech creator
2019 has been an interesting and uncertain year for the marketing world with Facebook’s seemingly numerous data breaches and social media platforms releasing all kinds of new features in an increasingly competitive market. It was the year that finally saw digital advertising spending overtake traditional advertising, with the gap between the two looking set to grow even greater in 2020.
So, let’s get stuck in to our top 7 school marketing predictions and wider trends for 2020. There are some crackers in here! Don’t miss the outcome of last year’s predictions, too.
1 - Let’s Talk Generation Alpha
We’ve all heard of millennials and Generation Z by now, but it’s time to say hello to Generation Alpha in 2020. For those of you who do not yet know, Generation Alpha refers to anyone born between 2010 and 2025, meaning the oldest members of the generation will be just 10 years old in 2020. Despite this young age, this generation are quickly emerging as an important age group on which to focus marketing efforts. The phrase Generation Alpha was coined by Mark McCrindle, a social researcher in Australia:
"Generation Alpha will be the most formally educated generation ever, the most technology-supplied generation ever, and globally the wealthiest generation ever".
So, how do you target Generation Alpha and what is important to them? Many brands are focusing their efforts on building loyalty within the generation by grabbing their attention early on and building brand loyalty. Another way Generation Alpha are being targeted is by making use of the ever-increasing number of child influencers. Brands are tapping into a market of child influencers with millions of loyal subscribers producing reviews or unboxing videos to build trust within their target market. Generation Alpha will not want to be pop stars or football players but instead look up to YouTubers and crave TikTok fame. This is definitely one to keep an eye on in 2020!
2 - Snackable Video Streaming
This year saw the release of Facebook Portal, a device aimed at bringing people closer together by turning television devices into a video chat device. An exciting feature on this device is the inclusion of Facebook Watch, allowing users to co-watch content uploaded on this platform. The Facebook Watch platform never really took off in 2019, could this be set to change with Facebook Portal?
As Generation Alpha spend less and less time in front of the television screen and more time in front of a phone or tablet device, there has been a change in video content. With TV programmes seen as too lengthy for younger users, there has been a rise in the production and consumption of snackable video content. In 2020, video content is set to get shorter with much more focus on snappy, engaging and customised content.
3 - Digital Advertising Shift
As we mentioned at the start, digital advertising overtook traditional advertising for the first time in 2019 and is only set to grow in 2020, but which new trends are we likely to see?
The two main players of digital advertising are Facebook and Google’s advertising platforms. While other platforms offer digital advertising and each are great for specific purposes, they have not looked like uprooting the two main players, but 2020 could be the year of change.
With a year-on-year growth of 50% in ad revenue, Snapchat looks to be an ad platform that is rapidly on the rise. With an engaged community of 210 million daily users on Snapchat, it is no wonder that some companies are pumping some of their budget into digital advertising on Snapchat. The relatively new ad platform allows you to create ads that are creative-led and highly customisable, even granting users access to games after purchasing from their company.
All in all, digital advertising is set to become much more customisable with a higher focus on machine learning to deliver the best ads to the best audience.
Want to make use of digital advertising in your school, but not sure how? Get in touch with our team of #DigitalJedi and jump into the digital world!
4 - Event Planning and Communication
With the release of the LinkedIn events feature at the end of last year, event management is set to get even more digital. This year, give LinkedIn Events a go when planning your next alumni event. A common query received from schools around the world is how best to engage with their alumni, so using LinkedIn as a professional network is great for engaging with this community. Could this feature take it to the next level in 2020?
5 - Cross-platform Instant Messaging
With Facebook seemingly owning every single messaging platform you can name, it would be no surprise if instant messaging changed in early 2020. The shift to a simplified version of cross-communication was announced at the start of 2019, but has not yet come to fruition. This change would allow users to communicate between apps, while still maintaining all of the uses and features of each individual app. It’s only a matter of time!
6 - Social Media Trends in 2020
Here’s our platform-by-platform prediction guide on what to look out for in 2020.
- Increased push towards Facebook Watch for video content.
- Facebook Pay to be rolled out globally.
- IGTV to finally have its year: This feature has fallen relatively flat in previous years, but could 2020 be the year it finally takes off?
- Less focus on Instagram perfection: IG has long been considered a vanity platform where only the best will suffice, but with the popularity of Stories and Highlights, could the feed go the same way in 2020?
- Topics: At the end of 2019, Twitter started allowing users to follow topics with many more set to be added. We predict a growing importance on topics in 2020.
- Join the conversation: We predict that Twitter will put more emphasis on the topic and discussion as opposed to the individuals. One way Twitter plan to do this is by narrowing the reach of Tweets to specific hashtags/discussions and to certain users. This could be a big one for marketing!
Snapchat
- Increase growth in the digital advertising market to start taking on the duopoly of Google and Facebook.
- More interactive and engaging ad options available to all users.
- AR Spectacles to finally become a reality?
- Increased revenue on advertising particularly focused around those interested in travel, fashion, and event planning.
- Increased usage of boards for school art exhibition showcases.
TikTok
- Increased opportunities available to all for advertising and influencer marketing.
- New trends to feature as #HashtagChallenges first.
- Boosted engagement through Groups and Events.
We’re interested to hear your content strategy plans for social media in 2020. Take part in our poll on which platform you will be focusing your marketing efforts and see how your answer stacks up against the rest.
7 - More and more apps and websites to become one-handed
With some phones now almost as big as tablets, it has become increasingly difficult to use phones one-handed. Generally, you always need to reach to the top of the device to reach the menu, back button, search and more. Some apps and phone designers are now designing these features to be moved to the bottom on mobile so they can be reached by the user if holding the phone in one hand.
This change has already been introduced by Android (Android 9 and 10) and Samsung ( One Touch UI and One Touch UI 2, coming to the UK in Jan). In terms of apps this can now be seen on Instagram, Google app, Chrome app and more.
One to keep an eye on in website designs in 2020.
How did we do?
The answers are in! Let’s see how our 2019 predictions turned out...
1 - Podcasts - Verdict ??
Podcasts continued to increase in popularity throughout 2019, even with the Interactive Schools team! Find out how to make use of podcasts in your 2020 content strategy below.
2 - Newsletters - Verdict ??
The newsletter continues to be a great tool even in 2019 and going forward to 2020. We are bombarded with junk and marketing promotions but there is still a place for niche-newsletters. Our client newsletters frequently gain over an 80% open rate.
3 - Micro Influencers - Verdict ??
With children aspiring to be YouTubers and TikTok famous, it is no surprise that micro influencers grew in importance in 2019. Expect this to grow even further in 2020 with focus on emerging platforms, too.
4 - Privacy - Verdict ??
After Facebook’s numerous examples of public embarrassment for data breaches, the ship seems to have steadied. One to keep an eye on going into 2020.
5 - Smart Everything - Verdict ??
Unfortunately, 2019 didn’t see the smart plank of wood and smart toilet becoming household items. However, it is not uncommon to enter a single place these days with there being a smart something, be that Alexa, Siri, Google... oh wait, there’s one in your pocket right now!
We’re already building experiences upon the leading IoT platforms/assistants to connect with parents in the channel of choice.
Have you thought about integrating your website with smart devices?
6 - Emerging Content Channels - Verdict ??
Who would have thought that we would live in a time where the younger generation is no longer satisfied with playing games but they must also watch their favourite stars playing those games! Twitch was definitely a platform to watch in 2019 and is only set to grow in 2020.
With Generation Alpha watching less and less TV and craving snack-able video content, TikTok pushed on in 2019. Expect 2020 to see an increasing market in digital advertising and influencers on TikTok.
Round-Up
PHEW - that’s it for another year! 2020 is set to be an exciting year of tech developments and social media updates in a crowded market of big players all looking to outdo one another.
We hope that provides you with a head start and some inspiration for your 2020 content strategy.
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