It’s difficult to believe we’re almost at the end of 2019. As we start to look forward to 2020, it’s natural to try to foresee the ways in which technology will evolve, and social media is a significant part of that. While social media becomes increasingly significant in our world, it is fascinating to consider the ways in which it will further alter our lives. Let’s take a look at some predictions for social media for the next year. 

1. Video continues to grow.

It’s not difficult to realize how much the medium of video has expanded on the various platforms. Looking at the facts and figures from Social Media Today and GlobalWebIndex about social media video, we see that:

• Of all internet users, 56% use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat to consume videos.
• One out of every three viewers of social videos watch videos produced by brands every month
• 45% of people watch more than an hour of video on Facebook or YouTube each week
• On social media, videos are shared 1200% more than text and images combined

As the number of users that are mobile first grows, this is an area that will continue to grow. Additionally, for countries that have literacy rates that are lower, video is an easier medium. Also, more people are using video in the messaging apps every day.

2. Artificial intelligence continues to expand.

30% of the B2B businesses will utilize artificial intelligence on one of their main sales processes at least as estimated by Gartner.com. Our lives are already influenced by algorithms–the content we read and the products we discover, for example. Because a number of these innovations in AI will get rid of tasks that are tedious, they will be useful to marketers. So marketers can begin to utilize tools that feature AI in order to prepare for this. It’s also predicted that the way companies run ads on social media will be dramatically altered.

3. Social commerce becomes more and more popular.

Over the next few years, social commerce will expand in popularity. It’s true that taking off in North America and Europe has been slow, but emerging economies will take the lead on social commerce. While new platforms like Holonis continue to emerge, offering social commerce, Instagram is now permitting businesses to construct storefronts in conjunction with content that is visual. According to Forbes, Generation Z spends 2 – 3 times more shopping on social channels.

4. Emerging markets use mobile to innovate.

According to Facebook, by 2020, there will be more people with mobile devices than there are people with running water. Over three billion people are estimated to acquire access to mobile phones by 2020. For these users, accessing the internet will be solely done on mobile. This means that as messaging apps continue to grow, companies will have new ways to communicate with customers.

5. Generation Z drives AR and VR adoption.

We will start to see practical uses of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for marketers. For instance, marketing campaigns are being created by Snapchat to influence nearby customers to attend certain events or visit specific stores. This revolution will be led by Generation Z, and in order to boost revenue, many messaging platforms will utilize AR.

It’s fascinating to consider the way the world will look in the next year–how social media and technology will grow and evolve, further changing the way we interact with each other. With all these predictions, though, one thing is certain. Social media isn’t going anywhere.