Social media is ever changing. Each year, new platforms and trends pop-up, making it challenging to know where to invest your club’s time and marketing budget. Regardless, social media is ever growing and not investing any time into these platforms can leave your company behind competitors.
Below are three major platforms that are taking 2020 by storm, and that may be beneficial for your club:
TikTok
TikTok hit the U.S. in 2017 and has been growing ever since. It is a platform where users make 15 to 60-second videos aimed to “go viral.” As of March 2019, it had 1.1 billion downloads and is expected to grow even more in 2020.
According to Dot Com Infoway, TikTok is the best option for B2B and B2C companies that are aiming to target a younger audience. With 41% of TikTok users being between the age of 16 to 24, this platform is a great tool for your club to reach Gen Z members.
Overall, people would rather consume video than still images. If YouTube and Gifs aren’t for your company, TikTok is a great platform to show your true personality in a quick video platform.
LinkedIn has always been a great social platform for businesses. However, they are adding new features that can take your company even further. The social site added employee notifications for company page admins, a new way to let employees on the platform know about important business updates or posts, and prompt them to share with their own networks.
A big trend for 2020 is pushing video on social media platforms, and LinkedIn is no different. It’s estimated that 82% of social media engagement will include watching videos in 2020. Find a way to stand out with your video content. Have a mix of live videos, prerecorded videos and make sure they are directed at your targeted audience.
Additionally, here are six of HubSpot’s 28 tips on how to best utilize LinkedIn:
- Post company status updates and target them.
- Check out LinkedIn’s Content Marketing Score and trending content resources.
- Experiment with LinkedIn’s sponsored content and Native Ads.
- Share content through LinkedIn’s publishing platform.
- Add a page follow button to your website.
- Analyze your LinkedIn marketing performance.
In November 2019, Instagram began testing the removal of “likes” from posts. This initiative is trying to reduce the judgement and bullying many users have experienced over the years. This means companies will have to get creative to keep their engagement high. One trend that is helping with this is transitioning to more videos rather than photos.
According to Later, videos on Instagram are effective at increasing reach. Post a three to 10-second video rather than a photo and see if your engagement changes. Instagram is also moving to longer-format videos through IGTV. In October 2019, Instagram launched IGTV Series, which allows viewers to watch video, and the next episode will automatically pop up encouraging continued viewing.
This feature can be great for health clubs with multiple locations to give tours of each location, a rundown on how to properly lift, meeting staff, new cleaning and sanitizing protocols in response to COVID-19, and so much more. The goal is to get creative and keep viewers engaged with your content.
Social media is a great and inexpensive way to spread brand awareness and engage your members. Try implementing one of the above trends into your marketing strategy for 2020 and see if your club reaps the benefits like many other companies have.
