Looking Back at 2020's Social Media Predictions
TikTok matures, Stories come to every platform, Instagram Shopping, and more
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On January 4th 2020, I wrote an article “5 Social Media Predictions & Trends for 2020.” I thought it’d be nice to wrap up the year by looking back at these predictions. Each section will start with a quote from the original article before diving deeper into what actually happened. Here’s a brief rundown of the predictions:
- The Professionalization of TikTok
- Stories Level Up, Again
- Augmented Reality Innovates Past Face Filters
- Shopping Through Instagram
- Tidying Up Twitter
The Professionalization of TikTok
Prediction
“how will it [TikTok] balance organic vs paid media? How will it handle controversial content? How will it utilize the data of billions of teenagers? […] In 2020, TikTok will be forced to answer these questions.”
What Happened
2020 was a crazy year to say the least for TikTok. Here’s a rundown of what the platform launched:
June: TikTok for Business, which provides marketers with a range of resources and tools to help them leverage the platform for their ad campaigns.
July: $200M TikTok Creator Fund to support creators who “are seeking opportunities to foster a livelihood through their innovative content.”
September: Integration with Teespring, enabling creators on the platform to sell merchandise directly to their fans on the platform.
September: Marketing Partner Program for advertisers, which provides a range of approved ad and creative services that can help brands better advertise on the platform.
The platform was also faced with major security concerns from multiple countries, got banned in India, almost banned in the U.S., and saw Oracle and Walmart agree to acquire a combined 20% stake in the business.
Safe to say, TikTok matured in 2020 and will continue to do so in 2021.
Stories Level Up, Again
Prediction
“All platforms will continue to innovate in the space and create new tools for sharing Stories.”
What Happened
This one can be fairly short. Twitter launched Fleets, LinkedIn made its Stories format available to all users, Pinterest is testing Story Pins, and even Spotify is testing its own Stories format. Almost every platform now has a “Stories” feature.
Augmented Reality Innovates Past Face Filters
Prediction
“In 2020, AR filters and effects will become even more comprehensive. Entire worlds will be created, which people will be able to view through their phone screen…In 2020, augmented reality will become an everyday staple of social media usage.”
What Happened
This one is a little hard to gauge. Augmented Reality (AR) filters and effects have become more and more an everyday staple of social media through Instagram and Snapchat. The filters have become more complex, with users being able to play games. Snapchat continues to innovate in the AR space, with its anime filter being used more than 3 billion times in the first week. It also continues to launch Snappables (AR games). For example, its Scavenger Hunt game requires users to find objects in the real world and then uses AR to “personify” each object.
Have “entire worlds” been created within AR? No. However, the technology has continued its widespread adoption through platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
Shopping Through Instagram
Prediction
“In 2020, Instagram will continue to offer more features for both brands and consumers that make it easier to shop.”
What Happened
This past year Instagram has continued to expand its shopping features on the platform. Here’s a rundown:
May: “Shops on Instagram”, a digital storefront which allows users to “browse products, explore collections, and purchase products“ within the app.
August: Checkout on Instagram, enables customers to buy products without ever leaving the app.
August: Live Shopping, provides users the ability to purchase products in real-time during a livestream.
October: Instagram Shopping expands to IGTV, allowing users to find and purchase products through longer-form video.
November: Home screen updates with new Reels and Shopping tabs.
Instagram has also announced its plan to test shopping on Reels. 2020 was a critical year for the growth of Instagram Shopping. It will be interesting to see how the platform continues to disrupt the e-commerce space.
Tidying Up Twitter
Prediction
“In 2020, Twitter will place a larger focus on cleaning up timelines to increase engagement and interest…I’d also expect Twitter to test increasing the capabilities of tweets — perhaps adding the ability to restrict your tweet to only chosen hashtags or regions, enabling an “edit tweet” button, and more”
What Happened
Twitter did launch new features to “clean up” the platform, albeit not as many as I thought it would. In May, Twitter launched new conversation settings, which allows a user to choose who can reply to their tweet. Twitter also introduced new labels and warning messages which provide additional context and information on Tweets which contain disputed or misleading information. I’m excited to see how the platform continues to evolve the capabilities of tweets (*please add an edit tweet button*!).
Well, 2020 was another crazy year for the social media landscape and there’s no doubt 2021 will be as well. Look out for my 2021 predictions, coming soon.
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