Oh, what a ride 2020 has been! From a global pandemic to…, you know what? Scratch that. I’m so not going down that road ever again. EVER!
Social media in 2020
Marketers and business owners were all struggling with the impact on their business of the 2020’s event ranging from the Australian bushfires, to the BLM movement, to climate change, to political elections, to COVID-19 and beyond.
To post or not to post? That was one of the biggest questions that have run through every social media manager’s mind during those disruptive global events.
As mentioned in our 2021 Digital Marketing Trends eBook, social media marketing required a great deal of tact and sensitivity to deal with the happenings of 2020. The ability to ‘read the room’ was the overarching imperative that helped social media managers to get through these unprecedented times and navigate social media.
Throughout 2020, we saw a number of revolutionary changes from social media platforms and businesses alike. From global politics taking center stage to everything being cake on social, this article covers a vast line of social media moments and a month by month look into the most engaged social media brand posts of 2020.
Read on for a recap of what happened on social media in 2020.
Ephemeral content
Digital-first experiences reached new bounds in 2020. Raw, unfiltered, fleeting content overtook picture-perfect newsfeed posts as the preferred format to engage with. Iterations of Story-like features like LinkedIn Stories, Twitter Fleets, and Pinterest Story Pins made their debut in ephemeral content.
Social e-commerce
Social e-commerce flourished in the hands of at-home shopping and a surge in social media usage during lockdowns. Major social media platforms facilitated social commerce with more seamless, in-app buying experiences like Facebook and Instagram Shop, Snapchat’s shoppable ads and AR features for virtual try-on, and TikTok’s in-app purchases, to name a few.
The TikTok wave
2020 wasn’t a great year for TikTok either. From facing a ban in India and Pakistan to a possible ban in the United States, TikTok’s future in the social realm was just one big question mark.
Quick to grab the opportunity and snag a piece of TikTok’s mammoth size success in short-form video, almost every platform came up with their own take on TikTok. Instagram Reels, Snapchat’s Spotlight, and YouTube Shorts are the three TikTok clones that emerged in recent times.
Despite TikTok’s compromising situation, the platform emerged as one of the most downloaded apps of 2020. App Store and Google Play customers around the world downloaded TikTok almost 115 million times in March 2020 – the most the app has ever achieved to date in one month.
Social during civil unrest
Of the many events that 2020 gave us, one monumental event stood out from the rest. The Black Lives Matter movement. A global rally against racial inequality and police brutality and social media was at the forefront in spreading the message about BLM.
On social media, we witnessed a huge number of brands coming in support of the Black community and demanding justice for the murder of George Floyd. From partnering with organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality and social justice to donating to causes that further social justice, 2020 was the year global politics and brand activism took center stage on social.
While brands did their part to support the advancement of racial justice and equality, social media platforms did theirs by taking a harder look at how their products impacted Black communities. Almost every social media network shared resources on supporting at‑risk Black-owned businesses, topics that cover the history of racial injustice, how to be an authentic ally, how to diversify your content and hire Black creators, and much more.
Everything was cake
In the summer of 2020, everything was cake. When a video posted by a Turkish baker featuring everyday objects as cakes went viral, people of planet Earth started questioning themselves if they were even human or in fact cake.
These Are All Cakes pic.twitter.com/ejArkJHaid
— Tasty (@tasty) July 8, 2020
And in true internet fashion, everybody, including brands, took to Twitter to create memes about everything being a cake.
this apple is cake
(📺: Crazy Delicious) pic.twitter.com/b0xnsosPQk — Netflix (@netflix) July 13, 2020
Please do not stab your PS4 to check if it’s a cake https://t.co/bk88GXgWgV
— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) July 10, 2020
Now, onto the month-by-month look into the most engaging brand social media moments in 2020.
January
Little did we know (back in January) what 2020 had in store for us. Social media in January was all about welcoming the new year, running extended new year’s offer, sharing product-related updates, throwing shade at competitors on Twitter (I’m looking at you Wendy’s), and announcing the arrival of new products.
Posts and tweets of brands paying homage to late American basketball player, Kobe Bryant were also some of the most engaged-with posts in January.
1. Wendy’s
Is it a garbage truck? https://t.co/Fmpwe1nWTL
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) January 23, 2020
2. PlayStation
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3. Nike
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February
Don’t worry, the 20-second handwashing public services announcements hadn’t rolled out just yet and brands were still going on with their regular social media activity.
Bush’s Beans chili commercial featuring ‘Kevin Malon’ from The Office, Sony’s take on an ideal relationship status for Valentine’s Day, and Google’s heartwarming Superbowl commercial were some of the top contenders on social that month.
4. Bush’s Beans
5. Google
A love story about the moments that matter most, told with a little help from Google. #SuperBowlLIV pic.twitter.com/JXbcKpGSH5
— Google (@Google) February 3, 2020
6. Sony
Relationship status: ⚪️ single ⚪️ taken ⚪️ it’s complicated 🔘 ARMY#BTS @bts_bighit @BTS_twt #ValentinesDay
— Sony (@Sony) February 14, 2020
March
March, aka the month of early COVID-19-related PSAs and canceled events. This is pretty much when things started to take a drastic turn for the worse on social. Brands had to hit pause on their regular postings and review their pre-COVID content plan to stay relevant and not go viral for the wrong reasons.
So, here are the top contenders for March that managed to strike a chord with their audiences by staying relevant and informed about the pandemic.
7. Shedd Aquarium
The adventure continues! 🐧🐧 This morning, Edward and Annie explored Shedd’s rotunda. They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Springtime is nesting season for penguins at Shedd, and this year is no different! (1/3) 👇 pic.twitter.com/VdxN3oQAfe
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020
8. Abbott
BREAKING: We’re launching a test that can detect COVID-19 in as little as 5 minutes—bringing rapid testing to the frontlines. https://t.co/LqnRpPpqMM pic.twitter.com/W8jyN2az8G
— Abbott (@AbbottNews) March 27, 2020
9. H-E-B
10. West Virginia University
11. Trader Joe’s
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April & May
April and May were all about lifting each other on social. By then everyone, including brands, knew that we were in for a long haul. Staying indoors, thanking front like workers, and doing their part to fighting this global pandemic was the overarching theme and focus of brands on social during this period.
12. Walt Disney World
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13. Louis Vuitton
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14. USPS
We don’t know who needs to hear this, but writing letters can improve your day. ✨
— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) April 23, 2020
15. Steak-umm
friendly reminder in times of uncertainty and misinformation: anecdotes are not data. (good) data is carefully measured and collected information based on a range of subject-dependent factors, including, but not limited to, controlled variables, meta-analysis, and randomization
— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) April 7, 2020
16. Dove
As a thank you, Dove is donating to @DirectRelief to care for front-line healthcare workers in the US. See what else we’re doing and join us at https://t.co/FaQiWMYFbQ #CourageIsBeautiful #CareFromDove pic.twitter.com/RrCFv5j9Ba
— Dove (@Dove) April 8, 2020
17. Uber
If you can, stay home. We can stop this. #MoveWhatMatters
— Uber (@Uber) March 31, 2020
18. Nike
Let’s all be part of the change.#UntilWeAllWin pic.twitter.com/guhAG48Wbp
— Nike (@Nike) May 29, 2020
19. Dublin Airport
Apparently, the pilot is testing his eyesight just to make sure he’ll be ok for a transatlantic flight in a day or two. Sorry, that’s obviously not the case. It’s collecting information for a mapping software company. https://t.co/pPJ3sz9G6l
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) May 27, 2020
20. Sephora
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June
The murder of George Floyd by police officers led to millions of Americans taking to the streets with what would later become known as the Black Lives Matter Movement. During June, the Black Lives Matter Movement was in full swing on social. A lot of brands came in support of defending the Black community and ending systematic racism on social.
21. Ben & Jerry’s
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22. Nike
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23. PlayStation
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 1, 2020
24. Lego
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) June 3, 2020
25. Starbucks
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July
We all know what happened after President Donald Trump’s controversial statement on the #BlackLivesMatter movement blew up on social media. While Twitter chose to put a warning on the President’s tweet, Facebook chose not to respond.
Facebook’s inaction in this case made a group of civil rights groups and brands hit pause on all paid advertising on Facebook. A campaign in the name of #StopHateForProfit was launched to call on major advertisers to pause their Facebook ad spend in July.
26. ADL
As Facebook continues its failure to meaningfully address the spread of hate on its platforms we join @NAACP, @slpng_giants, @freepress, @CommonSense and @ColorOfChange in calling for a one-month ad pause for July. Facebook must #StopHateforProfit: https://t.co/DjiGaZFgCk pic.twitter.com/orrKFcGw5R
— ADL (@ADL) June 17, 2020
27. Ben & Jerry’s
We will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the US in support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign. Facebook, Inc. must take the clear and unequivocal actions to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate. >>>https://t.co/7OpxtcbDGg pic.twitter.com/I989Uk9V3h
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) June 23, 2020
28. Levi’s
Facebook must take actions to stop misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. It is an unacceptable affront to our values. We and @Dockers are joining the #StopHateForProfit campaign and pausing all ads on @Facebook and @Instagram. https://t.co/yLZ066Zthu
— Levi’s® (@LEVIS) June 27, 2020
August & September
’tis the season of early election talks, the arrival of pumpkin spice latte, and Halloween giveaways.
29. ColorPop
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30. USPS
We weren’t going to post a joke about mail, but sometimes you just gotta send it.
— U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) August 10, 2020
31. Starbucks
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October
October rolled in and so did the divisive US Presidential Election talk.
It’s no secret that social media has become a powerful political tool in presidential campaigns and elections in the past decades. Some of us (myself included) get our daily dose of political news from social media and other digital sources rather than tuning in to the local news channels.
While candidates were doing their part to amplify their message and spread election information, brands were doing theirs’ by sharing important election updates and urging citizens to register to vote.
32. Levi’s
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33. ThirdLove
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34. Beauty Bakers
November & December
Ah, this is pretty much where we are at right now!
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brands turned their social feeds into a digital storefront to deliver not just amazing deals but also a wonderful shopping experience for people.
35. Cult beauty
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36. Color Pop
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And with holidays just around the corner, brands poured in their holiday-themed content showing off their products and their usage, especially during the holidays.
37. Starbucks
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38. Bath & Body Works
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We even saw Burger King pull a major one to show how every fast-food chain, including McDonald’s, employing thousands of staff could use all the support at the moment.
39. Burger King
We know, we never thought we’d be saying this either. pic.twitter.com/cVRMSLSDq6
— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) November 2, 2020
Soon after the spotting of the mysterious metal monolith that popped out of nowhere, brands like McDonald’s were quick to jump on the meme wagon.
40. McDonald’s
welcome to McDonald’s what can i get you? pic.twitter.com/iIgd8J5QIW
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) December 1, 2020
And finally, while we’ve still got a good chunk of December left, I’d like to leave you all with Target’s post on Spotify wrapped 2020, that struck a chord with BTS fans.
41. Target
My 2020 Wrapped came in and it’s official, I am a @BTS_twt stan through and through.
— Target (@Target) December 2, 2020
Final thoughts
Well, that was social media 2020 in a nutshell!
Hope our version of ‘social media wrapped’ gave you a brief walk-through of the biggest moments from a year we’ll never forget even if we tried.
Here’s to 2021 being a lot less about viruses and masks but more about equality and lifting each other on social and IRL.
Happy holidays everybody!
