Tracking the Trends: Fall & Winter 2020

From TikTok to Reels and more, social media and other digital trends create a landscape for marketers and brands to adapt to consistently, often at a moment’s notice. Often, world news and culture have an impact on how the social landscape moves and responds, too. Let’s take a look at a few of the industry’s latest trends and see how they might impact your brand’s plans.

1. “Dreams” Come True With a Viral TikTok Video

After his car broke down, TikTok user Nathan Apodaca posted a video riding his skateboard and drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice while singing along to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. It didn’t take long for the video to gain over 69 million views, for the song to climb the charts, and for Ocean Spray to set an example for other brands. The company’s marketing team caught the wave early, engaged with the content, and rewarded Apodaca for helping bring awareness to their brand. This goes to show that sometimes, when brands monitor how their audience is interacting with their products, unexpected spikes in awareness can happen—even if by unconventional means. Read more here.

2. 306 Million Keywords Later, Top SEO Company Releases New Stats

SEO training and strategy company BackLinko analyzed over 300 million keywords to understand the types of queries people use in Google searches. A few takeaways: over 90% of search queries were long-tail keywords, but those only accounted for 3.3% of total search volume. And some dominant keywords—Amazon, Google and Facebook—show us that a large amount of Google searches are being used for navigational purposes. Additional data was gathered on cost per click (CPC), revealing that the average keyword has a $0.61 CPC. Get more BackLinko data here.

3. Social Platforms Take a Stand Against Harmful Content

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the election cycle, the spread of disinformation online has been a major concern with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter being three platforms on the hot seat. These platforms took an important step toward a new self-regulatory process negotiated by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). They agreed to adopt a common set of definitions for harmful content and to come together to work on developing ways to decrease the spread of harmful content in the future. Read more about the plans here.

4. A New Way to Optimize Instagram Content

Instagram updated its search functionality to enable users to find content by searching with keywords. Instagram will now show results based on keywords found in photo captions. This opens the door for optimization using SEO strategies in a new way on the platform. Other ranking factors could also come into play just like marketers plan for Google searches. Keeping tabs on this development will be key for brands relying on Instagram as a main tactic. Find out more here.

5. YouTube Responds to TikTok and Instagram Reels

YouTube introduced its own short-video feature, YouTube Shorts, which allows users to share 15-second video clips and use editing features. They’ll appear in a carousel on the YouTube homepage designed specifically for all the shorts created on the platform. With more than 2 billion global users this new feature, though in its beta stage, is likely to be a direct competitor for both TikTok and Reels. Read more on the new feature here.

Don’t forget these quick hits…

Art directors across the world celebrate! Facebook’s 20% text rule is no longer in effect. While still suggesting text be kept short, Facebook’s change offers advertisers more creative freedom and the ability to test ad success in a new way.

Twitter has introduced carousel ads that will allow space for up to six images or videos to be placed in one ad. Read up on the shift here.

LinkedIn and Pinterest have reported major growth in 2021 with LinkedIn up to 722 million members and an over 30% engagement increase. Pinterest showed revenue growth of 58% year over year.

Make sure your brand is keeping up with the latest trends and responding well in order to get your message in front of the right eyes. We can help you identify your audience, develop a strategy, and much more. Check out how we approach making a plan, and let’s get started today!

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