2020 Facebook Marketing Trends

As the years come and go Facebook only continues to grow. It's becoming our number one spot to connect with friends and family, shop products and services, receive our news.. and the list goes on! Because of all the ways we utilize Facebook it's no surprise that we'll continue to see the platform evolve throughout 2020. While these changes can be exhausting for marketers, it's important to keep up!

To stay up-to-date on the Facebook trends for 2020 we've done some serious research and compiled the ultimate list of trends to expect in 2020 and what it means for us (marketers).

Here are the top 7 trends to expect from Facebook in 2020:

1. Video is Queen

This one should be a no brainer... We've already seen the trend of video increase throughout 2019 and it's not stopping anytime soon. Consumers want quick, informative content and video is the best way to give them what they want! But this doesn't mean you should go out and start creating as many videos as possible, it simply means we need to be more strategic about it - quality over quantity. Your audience is smart, they understand when they're watching a marketing video and they are over it. Create videos that your audience will find useful and informative, in simple terms create content people actually want to watch. You know those marketing videos you watch that are just so entertaining you almost don't realize you're watching a marketing video? More of that.

2. Increase in Private Messaging

You've already heard how Facebook wants to position itself to be less newsy and make friends and family posts a priority making it harder and harder for marketers to get their organic posts in front of people... This is only going to become more challenging moving into 2020. With this update, it projected that there will be less public posting and more private conversation within Facebook Messenger.

Facebook founder and CEO himself, Mark Zuckerberg said this recently, "Privacy gives people the freedom to be themselves and connect more naturally, which is why we build social networks. Today we already see that private messaging, ephemeral stories, and small groups are by far the fastest-growing areas of online communication. There are a number of reasons for this. Many people prefer the intimacy of communicating one-on-one or with just a few friends. People are more cautious of having a permanent record of what they've shared."

What does this mean for marketers? We need to strategize ways to get into more people's inboxes! This means, more private messaging with customers via Facebook Messanger, including answering questions about your business, booking services, and the most exciting news, potential accept payments (another feature Zuckerberg has mentioned introducing to Facebook soon).

3. Chatbots

In connection with Facebook transitioning to more private messaging, chatbots are going to be key in getting your customer's questions answered sooner. Nobody wants to be watching their Facebook Messenger 24/7 especially when a majority of the conversation is already answering frequently asked questions. That's where chatbots come in! Program your bots to answer those common questions or let them know you'll get back to them within a specific timeframe.

There are important do's and don'ts to remember when introducing chatbots... Number one, do not set your chatbots up to impersonate a real human. Your chatbot will eventually give you up and your customer will feel cheated. Let them know right from the start that they are talking to a bot. For example, when the conversation begins and your bot introduces themselves, come up with a fun intro such as "Hi, Berry the Bot here! I am working on an answer to your question if I don't have the answer I will alert a human to get back to you as soon as possible." Whatever you choose to do, have fun with it and make sure you incorporate your brand's voice within the responses.

4. Stories

There are many reasons why Facebook Stories are going to only get more popular moving into 2020... As we mentioned above, stories feel more personal and "real". For the most part, Stories are happening in real-time and people are more comfortable sharing those real moments. This means it's time for marketers to incorporate more on the spot, authentic insight on stories. This might look like, BTS content, event coverage, exclusive flash sales, product/services in action, etc.

Facebook stories are also a great place where you can increase engagement. With the option to add features such as polls this gives your audience the opportunity to voice their opinion and interact on a more personal level. With the "send a message" prominently featured it encourages your fans to send more direct messages, thus turning interactions private and more personal.

5. Facebook Groups

Jump on it! Facebook groups are a great way to segment your audience. You may have thousands of followers on Facebook but realistically only 10% off those followers actually interact with your business. Create a group for that 10%. Why? Because this helps you connect with your "true" fans and build up your community. Everyone loves to connect with their favorite brands and Facebook groups help them feel more connected.

However, before you start a Facebook Group it's important to first establish why and how you'll use it. Do you want to establish authority by sharing helpful articles, tips or tutorials that will help improve your audience's lives or business? Create a community around your product or service where you share exclusive announcements, offers, BTS, etc.? Or, create a topic-focused community? A topic-focused community is, for example, your company sells a food product that fits within the keto diet so you create a group where people can share their favorite keto recipes.

It's important to be aware that Facebook groups aren't a walk in the park to manage. Because groups are mostly discussion-based it's important to tune in frequently to engage with your group members and encourage engagement within the group. It's almost like a whole different social media platform you'll need to create content for, but it will be totally worth it!

Not only is this a good way to connect with your fans, but it's also a potential gold mine for marketers. The feature hasn't been added yet, however, a little birdie told us you'll eventually have the ability to create lookalike audiences using your Facebook groups and boost post within groups.

6. More Money for Ads

Yep, this one shouldn't be a surprise... With more private messaging that means we're going to have to spend more money to get in front of our audiences. Unfortunately, for marketers, you have to pay to play nowadays. The days of content reaching your audience organically is numbered, a trend we've already begun to see.

While you may feel like Facebook is taking advantage of you by asking for more and more money, really this creates a great opportunity for marketers. Facebook is constantly finding ways to improve paid social advertising by introducing new features that help us reach the right audience. However, with these new features, this means we're going to have to spend more money testing and optimizing throughout 2020.

7. Welcome the Year of AR (Augmented Reality)

We've been teased with AR for quite some time now, but it's beginning to look like 2020 is the year it's going to take off. You've seen all those fun filters on Instagram or Snapchat where they apply makeup to your face or swap faces? That's augmented reality.

AR isn't limited to photo filters on social media though, it goes far beyond that. With AR customers now have the ability to "try on" products, such as matching the perfect shade of foundation with makeup companies, trying on glasses, virtual tours of homes, testing paint colors on walls in your home, and more. I'm sure your mind is currently running through all the ways you can incorporate that into your business or with your clients... Go after it! Get on top of this trend before your competitors because it's going to become mainstream before you know it.

Thank you for taking the time to read our prediction on Facebook trends for 2020. As we continue on into 2020 we'll make updates to this list as changes to Facebook continue to roll in. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know how you feel about these Facebook trends. We'd love to hear your opinion or Facebook predictions!