Keeping up with trends is important
Time doesn’t stand still when it comes to social media. One-minute TikTok is a song by Ke$ha and the next it’s the biggest new social media platform around. Sorry Instagram. It’s tricky to keep on top of everything so whether it’s short captions or long captions, mega influencers or nano influencers, or the increase in ephemeral content. Want to know more? Then keep reading…. here are the biggest social media trends you need to know about in 2020, and how you can apply them to your restaurant or café’s marketing strategy.
TikTok.. the clock is ticking
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months you’ll have heard of TikTok. TikTok exploded onto the scene only a few months ago and its unfiltered aesthetic is pretty different to what we’re accustomed to with social media. Restaurants are already using it to their advantage with US chain Chipotle partnering with TikTok to get customers to dance for guacamole as part of National Guacamole Day. As you do. The good news is you don’t even have to have loads of followers to go viral – you can go global with just 20 or so followers.
Ephemeral content. What do we mean by that?
Quite simply, we mean Instagram and Facebook Stories along with Snapchat. It’s not all about the grid anymore. Yes, while the overall aesthetic of your feed is what converts a visitor into a follower on Instagram, it’s the ephemeral content that gets people to spend more time on your content. And that’s why advertisers are investing a lot more money in Instagram Stories advertising. According to reports, 64% of marketers are already incorporating Instagram Stories into their strategy.
AR & VR
The rise in augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. Did anyone else do the ‘What Disney character are you?’ filter that everyone you’ve ever known was doing over Christmas? Brands are already seeing the opportunity of Snapchat and Instagram filters, and it doesn’t stop there. You’re going to see plenty more in 2020, with augmented reality menus, Pizza Hut’s augmented reality app which replaces Domino’s deals with theirs, and a whole host of others. McDonald’s in Sweden even enables its customers to transform their Happy Meal boxes into a virtual reality headset. I’m lovin’ it, indeed.
Try using a more trustworthy nano influencer
The rise of the nano influencer. There’s a definite shift away from the influencing prowess of influencers with huge followings, perhaps in part due to one Kardashian too many promoting the truth-defying properties of the latest diet drink. In short, people have stopped buying into overstated proclamations. In this new era of social media in 2020, authenticity is key. Capitalise on the rise of the nano influencer, who are perceived as more trustworthy and are likely to have a smaller but highly engaged community of followers.
Use Instagram to tell your story
Long captions on Instagram. When Instagram first arrived on the scene it was all about incredible images and short, punchy captions. In 2019, that shifted, and brands started to become more aware of the power of a long caption to tell the story about their product and connect with followers. We’ll see a continuation of that trend. What’s your brand story? Consider sharing it as a long-form Instagram post rather than a blog and you may just find yourself creating a real community for your followers to interact and engage with.
