Podcasts, Self-Care, and…Bees?: Facebook Releases 2020 Trends Prediction
What topics dominated the online conversation in the last year? From beekeeping to craft coffee, Facebook set out to find the ideas that gained momentum on its platforms over the last 12 months.
The company just dropped its “2020 Topics and Trends Report From Facebook IQ,” and while the previous years’ reports only focused on the U.S., Facebook is taking a more global approach this time by expanding its focus to include 4 key regions of the world—Asia Pacific, Europe, South America, and North America.
Facebook releases this yearly report to highlight the conversations that happened across its platforms and around the world over the course of the last year. Offering an intimate look at the ideas that influence people’s attitudes, expectations, and behaviors, the report highlights valuable information that marketers can use in the future to understand consumer behavior and position their brand to connect with what matters to their audience.
This year, 5 key insights are shaping the conversation:
- Sustainable is this year’s buzzword. Consumers are more conscious than ever about how their actions are impacting our planet.
- We want new ways to experience art and entertainment. Across the world, creators are experimenting with new media.
- As our lives become ever more entangled with the digital world, people are finding opportunities to unplug and participate in hands-on activities like gardening, hiking, and creating art.
- We’re going back to basics. Minimalism in terms of routine, design, and ingredients is in style.
- Small moments can have a big impact. People are interested in ways to make their everyday routine—from taking a coffee break to breaking a sweat—more enjoyable.
The rest of the 34-page report is broken down by users’ geography, presenting insights into 5 trends from each of the 4 areas of the world Facebook studied.
The North American section features sections titled “Beekeeping for Good,” “Plant Parents,” “The Bath is Back,” “Flexitarianism,” and “From Pods to Screens.”
3 Key Pieces of Advice for Businesses in 2020
Create Small Opportunities for Everyday Enjoyment
Our lives are more complicated than ever, and it’s increasingly important to consumers to carve out small moments of enjoyment throughout the day. Businesses can capitalize on this desire by finding ways to elevate mundane routines and focus on “treating yourself.”
When anything you want is only a click away, local businesses are finding ways to compete with convenience by offering unique in-person experiences. For example, Facebook notes that Canadian brands are using plants to create “more inviting places for customers to unwind while they shop.” Something as simple as finding ways to make your space cozier and more welcoming makes a difference in where costumers want to spend their time.
Find ways to position your product through the lens of self-care. How does your product present opportunities for consumers to participate in more “me-time”?
Tone It Down
With more choices than ever in how we consume entertainment, social media demanding more of our attention, and influencers promoting lifestyles fueled by ever more consumption, people are understandably fatigued by messages of “more, more, more.”
They want simplicity, and they want businesses to support a more minimalistic lifestyle. Brands should take care to simplify the way they interaction with consumers to avoid overwhelming them with too much information or too many choices.
Keep that in mind—especially when you’re designing your website or creative. And remember, less is more.
Looking for New Ways to Connect? Try a Podcast
From the time our ancestors traded myths around the fire to the modern age of podcasting, storytelling has always been a part of the human experience.
While writing is still a valuable way to connect and share your story, people tend to connect on an intimate and personal level when they hear the words spoken to them by a real, live person. Also, auditory media, like podcasts, allow us to multi-task and take our entertainment on the go.
Luckily, podcasts are relatively cheap and easy to get off the ground, and they offer an engaging way to spread brand awareness. All you need is a decent microphone and a story.
We’ve highlighted just a few of the most interesting insights from this year’s report, but you can check out the full eBook here. It’s worth noting what topics are gaining traction to fuel your strategic planning for the coming year.