5 things we want on Social Media platforms this year
The last decade has seen social media platforms solidify into thriving, multifaceted communities. It is destined for more innovations, evolution and changes. We see what people want today, but what will they want in their media platforms tomorrow?
1. Detailed focus on child safety
Maybe the only silver lining to all the terrible things happening to children is the renewed attention to their safety everywhere they go, including when they are online. Millennial parents are hyper-aware of all things concerning online videos as kids spend so much time on video streaming platforms. Sure, YouTube has made some changes, but young parents expect child safety to be a big part of the continuing conversation and envisage more from the brands they allow into their kids lives.
2. Less emphasis on “vanity metrics.”
It’s no secret that brands and regular users often fixate on “likes,” comments and followers on social media as a measure of popularity and brand recognition stymieing the free flow of meaningful engagement. Instagram is the latest in a long list of social media sites seeking to make likes less prominent. To “depressurize” Instagram and help combat fake likes and followers now you will only be able to see the number of likes in your own posts not in others. Savvy marketers will take now explore other relevant user data to better understand their potential customers.
3. Social shopping seamlessly incorporated into social platforms.
In the last 10 years, social platforms have played a significant role in expanding e-commerce through social shopping into a multi billion-dollar industry. Users expect and want to have friction-less shopping access to brands and products through social platforms because of interest created via creative and engaging storytelling. So look for an increasing number of stoppable posts, stories and links across all social media sites.
4. Less public, more private interactions.
As our social media “friend” lists become more unwieldy, and concerns about information privacy grow, more users are turning to private groups and messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram messaging to create secure groups to share intimate and detailed information with others. This trend, which is really a return to direct communication, has the potential to be massive.
5. Better behavioral practices
Good news is we're slowly learning from our social media faux pas to respect others' opinion and not rage at everyone. That doesn't mean everyone's ditching their bad habits, like stalking exes, but at least we know it's probably not a good idea and eventually might ditch that habit for good.
So let’s look out for these improvements and more in 2020. This decade, we wish you good health, wealth, prosperity as well as meaningful connections on social media!