Social Media Predictions for 2020

A report by Statista says that by 2020, there will be around 2.96 billion who will be using social media across the globe, and by 2021, this number will touch to 3.10 billion.

Gradually with time, social network penetration is increasing in leaps and bounds, and as of January 2019, it was reported at 45%. Experts believe that the number will increase exponentially as the lesser developed nations experience infrastructure development and availability of cheaper mobile devices.

In fact, social media’s highest penetration is through mobile devices.

As far as the most popular social media network is concerned, Facebook boasts of touching 2.4 monthly active users, making it the most popular social media network followed by Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.

Nevertheless, a question that might crop up in the minds of many is that what are some of the notable social media predictions for the year 2020. Let us have a quick look at them.

Top-Most Social Media Predictions For 2020:-

• IGTV Will Be The Next Big Thing
  Experts say Incoming 2020 Instagram will move to more of video content. IGTV, Instagram’s video application will come at the forefront because people today are more interested in the content, which is more engaging, and video is certainly one of them.The IGTV of Instagram will be full of educational content because that is one of the most effective ways to gain people’s attention.
• Podcasts Will Gain Momentum
  As already mentioned, people today are looking for the real thing, and podcast is one of them. In podcasts, you get to hear a person, and so it seems more trustworthy. People would just have to subscribe, rate, and download the podcast, and the content can be accessed anytime, as per the user’s convenience.The best thing about podcast content is that only once the content needs to be good because the podcast on a particular topic usually happens once. To be precise, more interactive content is the order of the day.
• TikTok Will Become The Next Big Social Media Platform
  As the new year ushers in social media platforms like TikTok will become the next big thing. Though initially begun by a Chinese developer, it will soon become a global brand.The speciality of TikTok is that it has already established a brand voice, and it is able to engage more with the younger audience with content that is fresh and more engaging.
• Augmented Reality – AR Will Occupy A Prominent Position
  In the last few years, augmented reality is becoming highly popular. The reason is that it is more immersive and engaging. Most of us could keep our fingers away from using AR filters like gender swap or the age modifying lens. Both Facebook and Snapchat have immersed us thoroughly into these AR filters.However, in spite of Facebook having the strong technical expertise to use these immersive filters, yet Snapchat has done a better job.Now imagine that you are being able to give a digital effect to the world outside you, yes that is the reality of 2020. Apple’s AR Glasses, which are due in 2020, will enable users to give a digital effect to the real world around them.
• Higher Focus On Virtual Reality
  Experts believe that VR is the next big thing that will rule the domain of social messaging in 2020. It is true that VR still has a limited expansion now, but the time has come when more and more people will enjoy interactions through the VR domain.In the coming year, VR may not become that common, but we can expect that with offerings like Oculus by Facebook, VR will become an important marketing tool as more consumers would love to interact with the products or services that they buy through VR.
• Cross-Stream Messaging
  Though Facebook had said at the beginning of 2019 itself that it will focus on integrating the messaging functionalities of Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, it will become a reality in 2020.The integration of the messaging functionalities of these apps will bring with it two additional functionalities. The first one is the payments.The facility of paying through WhatsApp and Messenger already exists, but as the opportunity to transfer payments through Instagram opens up, it will bring in a new dimension to the e-commerce world.

  The second change that would happen is the enabling of bots within Instagram. The advantage of introducing bots within Instagram is advantageous because young consumers are more comfortable buying from messenger bots as they can interact with the bot and know more about the product and the delivery options.

• Instagram
  Like 2019, even in 2020, Instagram will continue as the most trending app. However, in 2020, you can expect that Instagram gives a higher focus on the user’s health and well-being as it gives more importance to its e-commerce options. Also, in 2020, Instagram will shift more towards monetization.
• The Emergence Of Video Chat
  The millennials today are super busy, and hardly they have the time to catch up with their friends at regular intervals. Therefore, they prefer video chat, specifically group video chat wherein a group of friends can chat with each other.It is a way to hang out with your friends virtually. It is expected that Instagram will certainly capitalize on this opportunity during 2020 by introducing features like live-stream hang out process wherein four or more people can hang out within a single live-stream.
• LinkedIn Will Get Better
  After Microsoft bought LinkedIn, it was seen that the data banks of LinkedIn have got better. Professionals are able to access better connections with LinkedIn, as recruiters are getting in touch with more suitable candidates and vice versa. It is believed that in 2020, LinkedIn will only get better as the data pool becomes even stronger.Last and not least, there will be a plethora of changes in the social media platforms with the emergence of 2020, but the lies on us to stay grounded as we use these social media platforms.The primary objective of social media is to make our lives better and not to meddle with our lives unnecessarily.