Make Next Year Great For Your Social Strategy: 2020 Here We Come!

As one year draws to a close, it's the right moment to reflect on a social strategy and plan for what's next. Social media doesn't hold still, so a strategy shouldn't either — treat it as flexible, keep testing, and lean into what's actually working rather than what worked last year.

A few consistent lessons hold true year over year: video drives the strongest engagement, direct messaging has become a preferred communication channel, and marketers increasingly use social media to drive real conversions — even as organic reach for business pages keeps shrinking and ad spend keeps climbing.

According to Social Media Examiner's yearly marketing predictions from industry pros, rising advertising costs are a recurring theme. That's not a reason to feel like paying to play is mandatory — a strategy built on strong organic reach and real relationships still works.

Use Stories to Connect With Your Community

Stories consistently drive strong engagement and visibility. Authentic, personal content works well here — mixing in business content between the personal keeps people actually watching. A brand needs to connect on a human level, and a peek behind the scenes does exactly that. Using a story as a teaser for a new post, rather than the full message, is a simple way to drive traffic back to the feed.

Organic Reach: Reaching People Without Paying for It

Personal content consistently outperforms business content, so blending personality into a business page matters. Video reach remains strong — worth experimenting with regularly. Direct messages build relationships in a way public posts can't, and pairing email with social multiplies overall reach.

Humanize the Brand With Authentic Content

Audiences increasingly prefer real, unpolished content over anything that feels overly produced. Leaning into a clear UVP and genuine strengths, rather than chasing a polished aesthetic, is what actually earns engagement and connection.

Social media has become a real channel for converting prospects into clients, not just a place to build relationships — which makes a strong digital handshake essential regardless of industry. Learning to adapt as the landscape shifts is what makes a social strategy actually work, year after year.