Wearisma predicts that in 2020, brands will need to navigate evolving social media communities, embrace exclusive online spaces, leverage nostalgia and creativity, and focus on ephemeral content to stay ahead in influencer marketing.
Published On: November 25, 2019
2020 Influencer Marketing Trends
With 2020 on the horizon, Wearisma’s data and analytics team have put together 4 upcoming trends and predictions for brand strategists and Influencer Marketers to take into consideration.
As we build on the power of Influencers, our predictions for the year are:
In the late 90s, social media was launched as a free for all, a place where you could and would regularly connect with people far removed from your own life. Now, social media mirrors real life more closely, whereby, we stick within our own online communities, regularly conversing with people who share our own beliefs and ideals. Twitter’s #BlackTwitter and YouTube’s #YouTubeBlack events are just one example of how social media communities are breaking off to become standalone entities with their own popular topics and vernacular. In order to stay relevant, brands will have to first identify these growing communities and actively work with their key stakeholders to stay relevant within this evolving space.
Social Identity Theory posits that a significant proportion of our identity and self-worth hinges on our membership to certain social groups (see point 1). In 2020, it’s predicted that ‘in-group’ members will increasingly seek to separate themselves from outsiders by creating ‘safe spaces’ online where, through their content, they can express themselves freely and feel understood. Facebook groups, private watch parties and messaging apps like We-Chat will become increasingly exclusive which will serve to reinforce the identity of ‘in-group’ members.
In fashion and in music, nostalgia has been a recurrent trend for several years and in 2020, it’s predicted that social media will be looking back whilst moving forward. Before its demise, one of the main draws of MySpace is that it allowed a high degree of customisation. Users could make their pages their own, writing custom HTML to change wallpaper skins, change music and so on. While social media can help us find our tribes, it can also reinforce our desire to be unique. This month, Facebook’s launch of Whale, an app that allows users to create their own memes is a clear example of how social media users will be looking to utilise their creativity to help them stand out within their (chosen) crowds.
Ephemeral or disappearing content like those hosted on Instagram stories is projected to dominate Influencer Marketing in 2020. 1 in 4 Millennials and Gen Z-ers look for Stories of the products and services they want to buy. Hootsuite’s 2019 Social Trends Survey also revealed that 64% of marketers have either already implanted Instagram Stories into their social media strategy or are aiming to do so in the next 12 months. Consequently, a tool to track and monitor the performance of Instagram Stories like StoryVault will be increasingly necessary.
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Cannes Lions has always been where the industry takes stock, not just of the work, but of where the money is going and why. This year, creator marketing will be front and centre. Not because it’s new, but because the ground underneath it is shifting in ways that are forcing brands to fundamentally rethink how they plan, measure and value creator partnerships.
Here are the three topics we expect to define the week.
The top 100 media and entertainment brands across video streaming, audio streaming, and content creation generated $63.4B in total Earned Media Value in 2025, up +7.0% YoY. Growth is uneven across sub-sectors, video streaming surged while audio streaming declined sharply, platform dynamics are shifting fast, and a handful of breakout brands are rewriting what influence looks like in entertainment.
TikTok grew +70.2% YoY and is rapidly closing the gap on YouTube as the dominant entertainment influence platform. YouTube remains #1 at $32.6B but declined -11.3%, while Instagram grew +4.4% to $13.3B. Facebook nearly doubled to $7.3B (+98.9%), making media and entertainment one of the few categories where four platforms are genuinely competing for share.
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