In April 2019 Mark Zuckerberg opened up the F8 event with the statement “The future is private”, setting the course for the rest of the evening.
“A major shift in how we run this company”, as Mark called it, is a major shift for marketers worldwide.

Now, if one of the major platforms for marketing is undergoing a major shift, what does that mean for marketers in 2020? 

In this article, we’ll give you three steps on how to stay ahead on social media in 2020.

1. Know your followers.
2. Go private.
3. Over-communicate.

These three things will help you not only maintain your momentum but to grow your following, turn your following into advocates for your brand.

Those who dared to buy attention when the prices were low reaped the benefits. Ad prices for next to nothing, organic views, stats that can only be referred to as “the good old days” in 2020, created an opportunity for anyone with a smartphone who was dedicated to constantly creating content to become as influential as any brand on the market. 

What changed?

A new agency could watch as a gamer with a webcam reach views they could only dream about. The same with influencers building brands and making millions on Instagram. 

With the playing field leveled anyone with a story to tell could compete with the ‘big boys’. 

But with the influx of new players, the price for attention started to go up… What a few bucks once did to reach a completely new audience to give a high ROI won’t even let you reach your own following in 2020. 

With the price of attention continuously climbing as brands continue to develop on social media, prices will only continue to go up. And when the day comes that the world’s major brands within retail and television turn to social media aggressively we’ll see a bigger shift in the market than ever before, and those who will suffer are the small and medium-size companies competing for the top.

Shifting strategy is always a bold decision, sadly most people take it too late. The good news is that change can be done gradually without confusing your customers.

The last decade has shown that no matter how big of an enterprise you’re part of, it’s always the right choice to listen when those who write the rules speak. These changes will affect small to medium sizes businesses the most, but if your business doesn’t have a quality following online, you’ll have a tough year no matter who you are – unless you make a shift. 

Here are 3 things to do in 2020
to stay ahead of the curve.

1. Know your followers.

Who are your followers? Where are they? Why do they follow you, and most important – what can you do for them?

Knowing your target audience based on their demographic will help you map out other connection points where you can meet them, meaning, new and better ways to help and serve.

Knowing why they follow you, how your stories align and how you can tell these stories in a better way through your work will enable them to take that extra step towards becoming an advocate for your brand.

2. Go private.

At the same F8 event where Zuckerberg declared that “the future is private,'' he and other Facebook representatives introduce new efforts and functionalities on platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, following their promises by adjusting their apps to promote a private future. In 2020, going private doesn’t only mean personal but also practical. Where you meet your audience will have to be in the private spaces as well as the public.

As your followers will view your content from your feed, there are other opportunities to reach a designated audience within your following. Being able to open a private group within your page gives you the option to invite your most avid followers and address them in an exclusive environment. Communicating directly with your most avid followers allows you to get feedback from people who are more involved than others, serve those who find the most value in your brand and offer new services and products to your biggest supporters.

Instagram stories, a medium in itself, is probably the most underrated space in 2020. The moment your followers open their Instagram app, stories from the pages they follow sit on top of the feed. If you’re one of the top stories they watch on a regular basis, you’ll be shown first. That means that for your most avid followers you’re the first thing they see when they open one of the most used apps in the world. Instagram stories also give you the opportunity to share visuals in ways different from the video, as well as new ways to communicate with your audience.  

Direct messages and Facebook messenger allow you to directly communicate with your followers which opens up a whole new atmosphere to add more value. And if the ROI in direct communications with your followers isn’t there, you might want to think about raising the price for the value you provide. 

3. Over-communicate.

In 2020 the best companies no longer compete over their services being of quality, if it’s accessible or if it’s cheap – all those factors are a given, what makes or breaks a company is their customer service experience and the feeling they leave their clients with. Communicating with your clients in a personal way will be the red thread that guides your followers through the noisy social media jungle all the way to you, taking you from “a brand” to being “their brand”. 

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
- Maya Angelou

With constant ads and flux of content, it’s a personal connection that will be the defining factor for growth. If you can take the extra time to connect with the right customers, the right followers, and make the effort to make them feel special on a continual basis, you’ll build a following that will not only be your best clients but also your most steady, trusting and avid followers of your work.

These followers will be advocating your brand to their immediate circuit, friends of friends, which is an actual target audience category on Facebook you’d pay for to reach.

Let’s do the math: If a million clients give a dollar each it equals a million dollars, but don’t forget that five hundred clients giving two thousand dollars each is a million dollars as well.

A smaller group of more devoted followers can make just as big of an impact as a vastly bigger group – and in a “private future”, investing in those 500 is the way to go.

Are you ready for 2020?

We’re moving towards a private future quickly. This is the year to focus on your following, to reach out, connect and bring your following along a journey to see how far they’ll go with you. In the end, what you’ll have is a group of people who are avid supporters of your brand. A group of people you’ll be able to passionately invest in, knowing the faces of those who you work so hard to connect with.

2020 is the year to get to know your followers in their space. Within your audience you have those who follow only for the sake of following, those who might be interested in your product and those who are avid fans of what you do – it’s time to take each one on a journey and see how far they’ll go with you. Goldfish Marketing Inc, an Israeli based marketing company consulting the Israeli government press office and a worldwide clientele, works with visionary brands and businesses to grow in new media and succeed in 2020. 

For consulting or inquiries regarding our services we invite you to contact us today, we’ll be happy to advise you on any matters regarding marketing and media in 2020.