Digital Predictions in 2020
As we look forward to 2020, I wanted to leave you with 3 insights & predictions about the digital landscape for businesses and causes
The Facebook Public Feed – Facebook, like all social platforms, underwent many structural changes in 2019. As Facebook waffles over whether or not it’s a legal publisher or a platform, digital marketers like us have been riding the waves over the past year from ad targeting changes, feature updates, fact checking, and intense authorization standards. The big pivot yet to come: I predict there will be no public newsfeed on Facebook in 2020. I wrote about Facebook’s massive transition to a “Groups“ Focus this year and its impact on politics. To protect themselves from the responsibility of fact checking, political liability, and managing PR, I think the platform itself will allow users to insulate themselves into communities they’re more comfortable with. How is your brand preparing for that shift?
Data Democratization – I think there will be several movements in 2020 by users to retain the rights of their own data as property. As more people discover just how much their how much their profiles (and influence!) are worth and just how much they’ve been leveraged for the last decade, legitimate social movements will sprout up calling for change. Look for platforms like Mastodon to grow and look for rapid advancements in how normal people can retain and protect their own data. This will, of course, impact the way businesses reach their audiences.
TikTok Establishes Itself – Launched in 2016 by Chinese developer ByteDance, TikTok is already a massive global platform. It’s growing rapidly among younger Millennials and Gen-Z’ers in the United States, boasting millions of views per day. Many folks like to write the platform off as Vine, which could not figure out a way to effectively monetize. We wrote about this in September. I believe TikTok will not only continue to grow but will become a tour de force for marketers in 2020. Their audience is growing, their ad platform is simple and cheap, and younger generations are going to grow their buying power. It will become a household name, like Facebook or Twitter, by the end of next year. Add it to your content/social strategy if younger buyers are part of your target audience.