Top 10 Social Media Trends To Look Out For In 2021
Social media has proven itself to be a valuable channel for marketers to reach and convert customers. Renowned for an agile approach, social media marketing requires channel managers to keep up to date with the latest social media trends in technical and social developments to make sure they are exploiting all the opportunities available.
Social media has become an integral part of people's lives and daily routines. Some are addicted to it so much that the first thing they do after waking up is to check their social media feeds.
Given the importance of social media in consumers' lives, marketers and businesses flock to social platforms in the hope of connecting with their target customers. However, there is a content overload on social media, and the competition is very high. It can be challenging for you to stand out unless you have a clear social media marketing strategy. Marketers continually have to keep an eye out for the latest trends influencing the future of social media and evolve accordingly.
- Live streams will remain popular
The global health crisis of 2020 saw many businesses going digital however they could to maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Face-to-face meetings turned into Zoom conferences and live concerts turned into live streams of artists playing from their homes.
there’s an uptick in the use of live streaming features on social media. Facebook saw a massive rise in messaging and live streaming, the number of views on Instagram and Facebook Live doubled in places that were under hotspots.
2. Artificial Intelligence
AI can analyze consumer behavior and search patterns, and use data from social media platforms and blog posts to help businesses understand how customers find their products and services.
3. Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising means using AI to automate ad buying so you can target more specific audiences. Real-time bidding, is a type of programmatic ad buying. This automation is much more efficient and fast, which means higher conversions and lower customer acquisition costs.
4. Stories as a content
Brands will need to take a more organized approach and plan for Stories as a content format for their publishing calendars, if they aren’t already doing so. More importantly, the use of video as Stories will increase since they appear to outperform photos.
5. Social e-commerce
With the social media industry constantly adapting to enhance the user experience, we’re seeing more features and tools that support quick and easy shopping. Instagram, for instance, allows you to add product tags and enable easy checkout without ever leaving the platform. On Facebook, you can set up a Shop that people can browse and buy right on the platform. This could be the perfect tool for marketers to capitalize on in 2021, especially considering the role of social media in purchase decisions.
6. Augmented reality
The adoption of Augmented reality (AR) experiences, including in the social space. AR doesn’t require additional hardware beyond a smartphone, making it even more readily accessible. Augmented reality experiences are inherently interactive and highly effective for engagement.
Brands are quickly buying into this latest social media trend by creating AR filters to promote new products or encourage fan interaction. This keeps your audience engaged and entertained, and could even help you attract new customers with the right promotion.
7. Purpose-driven campaigns
While social media has always driven engagement with causes, the global pandemic has shined an even brighter spotlight on these causes. People want to help more than ever, and they expect brands to pitch in.
8. Authenticity and transparency
Consumers want brands to get real. That means maintaining authenticity and transparency about your products and operations. If you want people to trust you, you need to be honest with them.
9. Inclusivity
Brands are increasingly under pressure to make meaningful strides for inclusion in their business operations and marketing. Audiences are more aware than ever that they have plenty of options, leading them to put their money behind companies that show investment in the communities and issues they are passionate about.
10.Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is one of the current technological trends that can provide them with those interactions.
Interacting with people through VR gives you a sense of actually being together even if they’re halfway across the world. This is the exact kind of experience that people need at a time when they have to socially distance.
For anyone in digital marketing, change is an integral part of the job. You must keep looking ahead and strive to embrace new technologies, tools and strategies in order to gain an edge over your competitors.