Social Media is an inescapable media form and communication channel in today’s society. It is everywhere. Part of the allure of social media is the interactive and engaging components that different platforms provide, and the ease and accessibility of staying connected. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone without at least one social media account. Instead of looking someone up in a phone book, you can probably look them up on Facebook or Instagram and shoot them a DM. Employers use potential new hires’ social media accounts as an informal background check. People build entire careers around social media, a modern-day entrepreneur that goes by the name of “influencer.” Social media has become the be-all end-all of communication.

So what works on social media in today’s society? How can you ensure your posts are successful and don’t get lost in the digisphere when everyone (and their mother) uses social media? There’s no short answer to that. While there are guides and algorithms to figure out when the best times and days to post on social media are—and although many social media platforms offer insights to monitor when your follower-base is most active—you have to feel out your audience and your brand to figure out what content works for you. The best advice is to know your audience, know your message, and know what is going on in the world before you post on social media. You want to make sure all these pieces fit perfectly for the best possible results.

Nonetheless, before you can build a follower-base, you need to post content to give them something to engage with and evaluate. Nobody will follow a social media account with no content, no profile picture, and nothing attention-grabbing. This article shares 9 of the best kinds of content to utilize in 2020. Guides, infographics, and user-generated content (UGC) are some of the most current, popular content. It is easy to manipulate your messaging into these forms, and user-generated content produces some of the best engagement rates.

Far and away, one of the most popular forms of social media content are livestreams. They’re different from posts or stories in that they are live-feed videos that occur in real time and anyone can tune in, watch, and comment. From celebrities in quarantine to your best friend doing a mini Q&A, live streams have become less of a novelty and more of an expectation. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok all have livestream capabilities, and it’s best to take advantage of this recent trend and provide people with immediate access. Whether you want to promote a new product or simply engage your audience, give it a try and “go live.”

What about the numerous different platforms? Which ones should you be on and using, which ones are trending, which ones have stood the test of time? Every few years a new social media platform comes along that becomes the “latest and greatest”. Facebook was, in a lot of ways, the beginning of social media as we know it today. A few years later, though, Instagram grew in popularity and Facebook became “so last year.” Even later on, Snapchat became everyone’s most-visited app and commercialization took over.

We’ve been due for another overthrow of the digital hierarchy and developers have not disappointed. TikTok is the newest platform to sweep the masses. What started out as a lip-syncing app aimed towards pre-teens has become an all-accepting and diverse platform used to post 1 minute length videos with audio, text, and special effects.

As of February of 2020, TikTok has amassed 800 million active users worldwide, and 90% of these users are on the app daily. The younger generation is always quick to adopt these new platforms, but it’s important to keep updated with the latest trends no matter what age you are, or what purpose you are using social media for.

Facebook and Youtube are social media moguls. Rest assured, those monster platforms aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Still, if you’re struggling with your current social media platforms and accounts, or if you have become stagnant and uninspired, don’t be afraid to jump on the newest platform or join a trending hashtag or challenge. Anything can happen and you might just go viral.

What if you simply want to have a personal social media account? What if you don’t market a product or interact with people? Believe it or not, you’re still offering a product: yourself. Your own social media account has become a symbol of your personal brand. You don’t have to be a business or company to have a brand. Everything from your bio, your profile picture, and your feed are components of your own personal, individual brand and if affects how others perceive you.

As the times change, so does social media, and it is our responsibility to stay updated. When you’re planning your next social media post, a social media campaign, or you just want to share a funny meme with your audience, take advantage of trending hashtags and make sure your messaging isn’t tone-deaf to any political, medical, or economic crises at the moment.

From checking up on your favorite K-POP group to keeping up with the latest news, and even just sharing your latest life achievement with Grandma Betty, social media is part of our daily lives. It’s a global communication channel that helps us stay connected to one another. It’s easy to lose sight of it, but the sole purpose of social media is communication and connection. Every social media user is a person, and we’ve gotten too used to seeing them as a number. The world needs more happiness, more humanity, and social media is just one small way, perhaps the easiest way, that we can provide it.

Now more than ever, we need to understand social media and the content we are putting out on these platforms. We need to understand how our messages sound, how they will be perceived, and we need to proactively decide whether some of our “regularly-scheduled” messaging should be delayed or deleted all together. Social media is a powerful communication tool, and with great power comes great responsibility. Understand your brand, know your platforms and audience, and be aware and conscientious of the societal climate. Then—and only then—should you hit “post.”