My 6 Top Takeaways from Social Media Marketing World 2020

Do you know what’s working in social media marketing, and what’s not?

Things change so quickly in the social media marketing landscape that it can be hard to keep up!

I recently spoke at the largest social media conference in the world, Social Media Marketing World 2020.  Top experts in the field shared all the latest social media marketing news, tips, and tricks.

In this post, I’m going to share my top takeaways from Social Media Marketing World, including my WOW moment…when I learned something and thought, “How did I not know that?!”.

Let’s jump right in!

1. You NEED to be Using Video…It’s No Longer Optional.

Mike Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner, started off the event by giving us the lay of the land in the social media marketing space – not just his random thoughts, but the results of surveying his community to find out what they’re doing, not doing, etc.

And the core of his message was this: Video is more powerful than ever. He reiterated this over and over again.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there has been a massive shift in how people are consuming content. Many people aren’t watching traditional TV anymore: rather, they’re binge-watching, consuming content in blocks of time.

Disney knows this, and this is why Disney+ is their number one focus right now. They recognize that there’s a huge shift in how people are consuming content, and know they need to adapt.

But it’s not just video streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ that are adapting – it’s YouTube and Facebook Watch as well. And these are places where we (as marketers and business owners) can show up and get a slice of that binge watching shift that is happening with consumers.

First, social media marketing gave us the opportunity to level the playing field and compete with big brands. And now video gives us the opportunity to get a percentage of the market share that’s happening when it comes to how people are consuming content.

Video is nothing new…we’ve known about the power of video for a long time. However, over the past 5 years, LIVE video has really been where’s it at. But in spite of this, many people still haven’t stepped into it.

Let me give you a staggering statistic. By the year 2021, it’s estimated that somewhere between 80-86% of internet consumption is going to be video. And this is 2021 folks – as in NEXT YEAR.

It’s here, and you need to embrace it.

So, what does this mean exactly?

In my opinion, if you want to claim your percentage of the binge watching opportunity, you need to start your own LIVE show. You need a special time that you set aside to deliver video content to your audience. I think it needs to have an element of what I call “edutainment”. Lots of value but a little bit of entertainment as well.

To summarize: If you’re in the digital or social media marketing space, or are trying to share knowledge or connect with people, you absolutely need to be leveraging the power of live video…or at least video in general.

2. Stories MATTER!

You likely already know the power of storytelling when it comes to social media marketing. But let’s get real: how many of us actually do it?

I’ll own this. Many times when I’ve spoken in places in the past, my intent was to come in and deliver great value. I’ve usually had 35-40 minutes, with a 5-10-minute Q&A. This isn’t a lot of time! So, to make the most of it, I’ve gone in and just provided a ton of content and omitted the stories.

At this year’s Social Media Marketing World, however, I told a story I had never shared publicly before…and it wasn’t an awesome feel-good story, but it did have an inspirational message. It was uncomfortable for me to share it. But guess what? I did it, and I didn’t die.

The best part…people really resonated with my story, even more than my content, I think.

So…how can YOU use storytelling on a day to day basis?

A good way to start is simply to show up online from a story perspective. Use Instagram stories, Facebook stories, and create YouTube content that’s more story-based.

We all have stories, every single day. Here’s an example: My son, who’s 25, picked me up at the airport yesterday. He brought my little fur baby, Sophie, with him. We stopped to get some dinner, and went through a drive-through because we had Sophie with us. Then we headed home, hung out for the evening. Lots of little “stories” happened in that scenario that could have been shared.

The point is this: there’s a story in almost everything we do. Each and every one of us has multiple stories throughout the day. We just don’t always think of our “boring” day-to-day lives as consisting of mini stories.

I’d encourage you to recognize that what happens to you throughout the course of the day can be – and should be – shared. And if you feel uncomfortable with this? Bump up against that discomfort and put yourself out there anyway.

Storytelling is how people connect to us. So don’t be afraid to look for and use stories from your daily life to truly connect with your audience!

3. LinkedIn and YouTube are Getting a LOT of Attention Right Now.

I know what you’re thinking: these aren’t the sexiest of platforms. However, there is so much interest in them right now, and they can have a tremendous impact.

In terms of LinkedIn, there’s a lot of excitement about LinkedIn Lives right now. Not many people have the ability to do them yet, so it’s a hot, very sought-after feature!

I am blesses to have LinkedIn LIVE but had to apply multiple times to get access. So, I recommend that you go apply now, and if you get turned down, just keep applying. And one thing you might want to try (which I did), is to start sharing video content on your LinkedIn profile, just to show that you’re already using video on the platform.

One thing to note about LinkedIn LIVE is the quality of the viewers is amazing. Regardless of the platform you’re on, it’s an honor to have people give you their time and attention! However, the cool thing about LinkedIn Live is that you can see the brands and the types of people who are watching your videos.

For example, you could see that there are 33 people in sales, 50 people in management, etc. You see the categories of folks who are watching and can start to see whether you’re actually hitting the right demographic.

Being able to do LinkedIn LIVES has really made me appreciate the platform again. Traditionally, LinkedIn was my least favorite platform, but I find that I’m really starting to fall in love with it!

YouTube is the other platform that’s really generating a lot of interest right now.

People tend to come and go on platforms like Facebook, Twitter/Periscope, etc. – they stay for a few minutes, get distracted by something else, and then they’re gone.

YouTube content, on the other hand, tends to be much more “sticky”. People are there to watch videos, and that’s all there is (as opposed to the reams of different types of content vying for attention on Facebook or Twitter).

All this to say: If you want to create content that people are going to stick around for, it’s definitely time to up your YouTube game!

Now…I want to share something that I learned at Social Media Marketing World that was my big, “Oh my gosh, I did not know you could do this!” nugget. And that is this:

LinkedIn has an advertising pixel!!!

Just like with Facebook, you can go to LinkedIn, set up an ad account, and generate a pixel. You don’t have to spend any ad money, you just need to set up the account. The pixel will let you target or retarget different traffic sources: so you can not only track people coming from Facebook but from LinkedIn.

How cool is that?!

And keep in mind that the email address associated with a LinkedIn account is that person’s primary email address – not some throwaway email.

This was my biggest “ah-ha” moment at Social Media Marketing World!

So if this is all news to you too, I’d seriously recommend going to your LinkedIn account, setting up an ad account, generating the pixel and putting it on your site…pronto!

4. Facebook Page Reach is Dead, and Facebook Groups are Taking Over.

As I’m sure you’re aware, organic reach on Facebook pages is pretty much dead. It’s what I call “self-licking ice cream”: you can’t get more reach without engagement, and you can’t get more engagement without reach.

Even pages like mine, which have been around for a while, aren’t getting anywhere near the engagement they did even a year or two ago. And it’s like night and day from 5 years ago!

This is why people are turning from pages to Facebook groups. In groups, you can build community, foster relationships, and deliver value. And more importantly, you can actually get your content to show up in peoples’ feeds.

Facebook has been spending a lot of money to really promote their groups' ecosystem, and they’re building out incredible functionality inside of groups.

One of the overarching themes among people who were teaching about Facebook groups at Social Media Marketing World was the value of using live video in groups.

I have a course called Groups That Grow Your Business, and it focuses on this concept of teaching people how to use Facebook groups to grow their business, build community, and get sales.

And the one thing I’ve seen again and again is that live video within groups is the way to do this!

5. Instagram’s IGTV Represents a Huge Opportunity for Business Owners.

We have seen a lot more mass adoption recently on Instagram. But one of the biggest takeaways I got at Social Media Marketing World is that we need to not just be using the platform, but by taking advantage of the story functionality inside of Instagram.

There’s an amazing opportunity right now with IGTV because so many people and businesses aren’t using it – so doing so can really give you a leg up.

They are also building some really cool functionality within Instagram, kind of like a playlist. You can sort to categories to keep your content nicely organized…and this is going to be huge.

As I’ve already noted above, video is a HUGE theme, across the board. So definitely make sure you’re leveraging the power of video on Instagram. And if you’re not active on Instagram? It might be time to really focus on it and get more active there!

6. Is It Time to Get in on the Ground Floor of TikTok?

Interestingly, there was only one speaker at #SMMW20 talking about TikTok. But I had so many conversations around TikTok, so it was definitely top of mind for a lot of people!

There have been some security concerns related to TikTok, so let me briefly address those. It’s a Chinese-owner app, so there have been some concerns over this. My husband is retired from the military, and they have basically forbidden people to put TikTok on their personal phone. So I think it could be a security risk and you simply need to decide if the risk feels real for you.

That said, I’m in this space and have been monitoring TikTok for a couple of months. I want to understand the application of it from a business perspective – to understand if there’s a place for me to show up on the app.

One of the things I found fascinating at Social Media Marketing World is this: 35% of the TikTok demographic is between the ages of 35 and 49.

Is this a shock to you? Did you assume it was all just teenagers bopping around dancing and sharing inappropriate content?

While there are certainly lots of that on the app too, my experience is that there’s some really great content on there. I haven’t created any videos for TikTok yet, but have been consuming content. I’m actually a little bit addicted because it’s so easy to scroll through the content so quickly!

Have you ever sat down and watched something for a while, and then thought, “What is this, and why am I watching it?”. Well, this is how TikTok can be! It’s like your brain doesn’t register that you shouldn’t be watching it..and then before you know it, the content is over. It’s a fascinating dynamic!

So, does TikTok matter when it comes to marketing?

I think it depends on whether you have the bandwidth to create content in a new space.

Part of the opportunity behind TikTok lies in being an early adopter. When I started on Periscope, I was an early adopter and was able to build a pretty massive community there since I was early to the game.

I would say the same could be true of using TikTok…but the window to do this is disappearing quickly. There are people there who have already built huge communities, mainly because the app is brand new and these creators are consistently adding content. They’re showing up, and are really engaging with people.

Another part of the opportunity is creating short-form content. If this is something that sparks your interest, I would argue there’s a place for you on TikTok.

While TikTok may still involve teen dance-offs and other, similar content, keep in mind the platform is still evolving, and definitely has application for business owners and marketers.

For most of us, our demographic is there. There is definitely a young audience there, but as noted earlier, there’s a pretty good chunk of older users there as well.

So regardless of the demographic, you’re targeting, if you have the time and energy to create some short-form content, and to really commit to using the platform ASAP, I say go for it!

Bonus Takeaway: How to Save Time and Streamline Your Message.

 Feeling a little overwhelmed, thinking you need to be creating content for every single platform I’ve mentioned above?

 Well, this is where re-purposing comes in: creating one piece of content, and then re-purposing it for different platforms.

Why are we constantly chasing our tails to create more content?

I’m going to suggest we STOP doing that, and instead, create fewer pieces of content – and then milk them for everything their worth.

For instance, this blog post is based on a LIVE show I did. And we re-purposed that show not just for this blog post, but for 50-100 pieces of additional content. In the past, we have even hit closer to 200 pieces of content from one live show.

But even if you can’t do 50, you can likely do at least 5 or 10, and this will save you a ton of time. Just a few examples of how you can purpose your content:

• Turn your live videos into blog posts
• Takes clips of your videos and turn them into videos for IGTV or YouTube
• Do quote tiles and turn them into visual images

One of my favorite things about re-purposing content is that it ensures your messaging is streamlined across all your socials. And if you took all the time you spend on creating new content (and spreading yourself too thin in the process), and instead used it for re-purposing, you’d save yourself a TON of time!

Want more tips for repurposing your existing content?  Check out my post, 15+ Ways to Create New Content from Old Content.

I’d love to hear from you: Did anything above surprise you? What platforms or strategies are you going to invest more time in in the future? Let me know in the comments below!

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

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