It’s the first year of a new decade, 2020 is absolutely to be a big year for Facebook trends.
With the U.S. election in full swing, Facebook will continue to face public scrutiny in terms of political adverts. There will be more face-offs with regulators in terms of data privacy, too.
However, Fb has its own plans to shake things up as well. In 2020, Facebook plans to launch a 5th redesign of the platform, FB5. Libra, its cryptocurrency is due out in June. Innovation on the virtual and augmented reality front purpose to keep adverts fascinating, too.
Without further ado, these are the top Facebook trends in 2020 we are watching now.
9 of the most important Facebook trends in 2020
Here are some of the Facebook trends in2020 you need to have on your radar.
1. More shifts to private channels
In 2019, At the annual F8 Developer conference, Mark Zuckerberg said “A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking.” And he doubled down on that vision at the beginning of 2020.
“Our digital social environments will feel very different over the next 5+ years, re-emphasizing private interactions and assist us to build the smaller communities that all of us need in our lives,” he mentioned in a Facebook update.
So, what does this mean? Expect Facebook to prioritize the private channels it already gives. That consists of Fb Messenger, Groups—and channels in its app family like WhatsApp and Instagram. Close Friends functions—like the one Instagram released, will likely show up more on Facebook, too.
Many brands succeed with private Instagram accounts. Facebook launched Groups for Pages in 2017, and last year the firm let brand pages join Private Groups.
2. A group-centric redesign
Facebook has already begun rolling out FB5, a “fifth version” of Fb that’ll put Fb Groups at the center of the platform.
The redesign was officially announced in April, however, only a chosen few have been granted access to the new format so far. Some are already getting used to it.
Right here’s what the redesign will look like:
- The Groups tab will get a new look aimed at making it simpler to find new groups.
- The Groups tab will feature a personalized feed that’ll show activity from all the groups a member has joined.
- Group updates will also show up more usually in the News Feed.
There are already 1.4 billion people utilizing Fb Groups—400 million of whom say they belong to a group they find meaningful. Over 2020, Fb will undoubtedly push to see these figures climb. Fb will start making group suggestions to users all across its platform, including in Marketplace, Today In, the Gaming tab, and Fb Watch.
New functions will also be launched to assist different communities. For instance, Health Support groups will let people ask questions and share sensitive info anonymously. Gaming groups will have a new chat function that lets members make threads for different topics. If successful, these functions will find their method into other groups, too.
3. Upgrades to Messenger, with pivots to desktop
You read that right: Pivot to desktop.
Mobile still reigns supreme. Actually, in terms of marketing, 94% of all advert revenue comes from mobile.
However, Fb has also begun making small pivots to desktop. In 2019, at Fb’s annual F8 Developer conference, the company introduced the release of a desktop app for Messenger. While a beta version has appeared in some test markets, we are still waiting for the full roll-out. Earlier this month, Instagram shared that it’ll also begin testing direct messaging on desktop version.
Messenger Desktop will have the same functions as the phone app. Calling group video and collaboration functions will be available in the new format, supporting the platform’s shift to private spaces.
These features sound awfully the same with the tools offered in Facebook Workplace. Look for a mishmash between TikTok story and Workplace collab add-ons in 2020.
In August, software engineer Jane Manchun Wong spotted that Fb Messenger was also testing screen sharing for mobile.
4. No more like counts?
In Sep 2019, Fb confirmed that it would test hiding like counts in Australia. The tests follow Instagram’s move to roll out private like counts globally after conducting trials.
According to Instagram, the feedback has been mostly positive so far, which makes it all the more likely that likes will disappear from Fb, too. Many Instagram trends find their method on Facebook.
It’s still too early to say how it will or won’t affect brands on Fb. In terms of partnerships with influencers, it’ll not be possible to decide the engagement rate by like count. In this case, brands will have to depend on the influencer to offer that info.