WTH Happened to Digital Marketing in 2020!
In January 2020, the words “Social Distancing” were never heard of and “wear a mask!”…..NO WAY. We planned holiday gatherings, weddings, and vacations for another year. When COVID-19 became a household word, our new normal consisted of navigating closing schools, operating companies on video chat, scouring the local grocery stores for toilet paper, and learning the latest TikTok dance. As the year’s events unfolded, the coronavirus pandemic, fights for justice and a chaotic election season altered our world forever.
Annually, major tech organizations release a recap of the year’s significant events and how each platform experienced trends in their own way. These recaps provide users a sense of community as we can see how our own use of the platform often mirrors millions of others’. Given the unusual circumstances we have experienced in 2020, some of these recaps look a little different than usual. We’ve put together some of the most popular recaps to reflect on how the events of 2020 shaped the digital space.
Google’s Year in Search touches on many of the topics we’ve seen throughout 2020, from COVID-19 to climate change to the Black Lives Matter movement . The recap hits home on many of our feelings about the past year, as we see “Why?” questions consistently searched. The video ends on a unifying positive note promoting together-ness in the uncertainty. It’s a feel-good video that reminds us no one, not even Google, has all the answers.
Think With Google, Google’s marketing newsletter, analyzed their data to determine which of their content pieces were the most referenced for marketers in 2020. As strategies continued to pivot as the events of 2020 unfolded, marketers and business professionals continually looked for information on how their peers were managing the promotional space.
Topping the list for the most read “Think With Google” article was “5 principles guiding Google’s media teams during the pandemic.” This article on how tech media giant Google’s marketing team handled crisis after crisis provided expert advice to marketers in other industries when re-evaluating their own strategies.
Other notable articles included “It’s time to unbias your business. Here’s how,” “Crisis marketing: How brands are addressing the coronavirus” and “3 things we’re considering as we rethink live events.”
Missing from the 2020 recap list is YouTube’s annual rewind video which typically includes a compilation or story featuring the year’s most popular content creators and viral videos. YouTube broke the news via tweet on November 12, stating there would be no rewind for 2020.
This comes as no surprise, given that YouTube has struggled to make the rewind video popular among the viewer community. 2019’s video was unmemorable and the 2018 rewind currently holds the title for most disliked video on YouTube ever.
Since many viewers have stated the video won’t be missed, we’re not sure if the rewind will ever make a comeback.
TOP ADS ON YOUTUBE
Despite not creating a rewind video, we can still reflect on 2020 in video. YouTube compiled a list of the top performing ads as part of their 2020 ads leaderboard. Included on the top 10 ads were a wide variety of industries - including everything from Clash of Clans to Apple’s Work at Home (from home) to Nike. The ads also varied in length and 4 of the 10 listed were Superbowl ads.
Nike’s Never Too Far Down | You Can't Stop Us ad came in the #1 spot.
TWITTER’S 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW REPORT
Twitter issues an annual recap of the most popular trends, moments, and memes based on the most liked tweets and most retweeted tweets. Topping both of these was the death announcement of Chadwick Boseman, star of Black Panther, after a tough battle with colon cancer.
The top hashtag used was #COVID-19, which correlates with #StayHome as the 3rd largest hashtag of the year. The second most used hashtag was #BlackLivesMatter as people took to Twitter to advocate for social justice. George Floyd was the 3rd most tweeted about person this year, following only the two Presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, respectively.
Twitter has added a hashtag, #ThisHappened2020 to chat on the platform about the year’s roundups, what made the cut and what didn’t.New Paragraph
FACEBOOK YEAR IN REVIEW
Taking a different approach, Facebook’s recap is in infographic form. This graphic showcases some of the major topics of the year and how Facebook played a role in their discussion. A notable statistic throughout the year was the explosion of video chat and group video chat use. In March, group video calls doubled globally, week-over-week. Then, the week of April 6th (Easter & Passover) was the largest week for group video chat use.
People didn’t just use Facebook for connection during the COVID-19 crisis. It was also used for social justice efforts, similar to Twitter. Conversations about BLM tripled following George Floyd’s death in May. The largest group among US Facebook users is The Blackout Coalition, with over 1.8 million members supporting Black businesses.
Later in the year, Facebook played a role in advocating for users to exercise their civic duty. 4.4 million people registered to vote via Facebook’s Voter Information Center and nearly all adults on Facebook & Instagram saw authoritative election information on at least one of the platforms. View the full infographic here.
SPOTIFY MUSIC STREAMING RECAP
Spotify released personalized recaps of users’ streaming throughout 2020. “Spotify Wrapped” included fun statistics like most listened to artists, songs, and the top percentile of listeners. The sharing of different music selections overtook Instagram stories earlier this month as users showed off their favorites.
Spotify released a
compilation of streaming trends as well, with Bad Bunny topping the charts at 8.3 billion streams. For the second consecutive year, Billie Eilish was the most-streamed female artist. The most streamed song was The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
The Joe Rogan Experience topped out Spotify’s podcast chart, followed by TED Talks Daily and The Daily.
Spotify playlists also reflected the year’s events, as Work-From-Home themed playlists saw a 1400% increase and nearly 65,000 playlists created by users were titled BLM or Black Lives Matter.
2020 often felt like the year of pivoting, adjusting, and pivoting again. Reviewing trends across these social and digital platforms remind us that we all have so much in common. Does your 2021 digital marketing strategy need some revamping? Contact us and we’ll reach out to see how we can help!
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