Top 5 Social Media Marketing Trends To Help Your Business In 2021

For the past year, most of us have been cooped up in our homes avoiding in-person gatherings and events. What do you think humanity did in that free time? Not surprisingly, billions of people moved the party to Social Media! Infact, according to Hootsuite's 2021 Digital Overview Report, over half a billion users joined Social Media in 2021, pushing the global Social Media population to over 4 billion. Yup, the Social Media party leaves Coachella way behind in the rearview mirror!

What are the other things that changed? A lot - the Social Media Marketing trends of 2021 reflect the monumental changes that impacted consumer behavior over the last twelve months. Before we dive into specific trends and predictions (we think), it’s helpful to know the latest what, where, why and how of Social Media usage. Mostly, it’s not surprising; Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will dominate the Social Media landscape.

Facebook and Instagram were the largest platforms based on monthly active users, followed by Tiktok (Hello, Gen Z!), Pinterest and Reddit. TikTok, Pinterest and Reddit had the largest increase in daily active users (38%, 32% and 30% respectively). That's an interesting factoid to keep in your back pocket when creating your Social Media Marketing strategy but also keep in mind the lesser of the eight evils. Namely: Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat collectively reach hundreds of millions of users.

Now that you know what social platform people are using, let's cleanse your palate with the hottest Social Media Marketing trends for 2021.
 

Trend 1: Social Media Goes Live (Stream) And So Do Your Marketing Messages

Livestreaming on apps like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube saw a huge increase last year and this will continue throughout 2021. Mashable calls this a livestreaming "boom" and reported that users on Twitch, the Amazon-owned live streaming service, had watched 3 billion hours of live streamed content in the months after lockdowns began, up from 1.1 billion the previous quarter. Facebook also reported a sharp increase in hours watched on their video game streaming platform. YouTube saw a 250% increase in the amount of time its users spent watching live content on their TVs. People are getting comfortable with live streaming services and this is good news for companies who want to reach out via video.

TechDogs' Opinion: The live streaming trend isn't slowing down. Popular Social Media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn continue to invest in live streaming capabilities (and users continue to embrace these features). Live streaming was an essential tool throughout the pandemic, helping businesses connect with potential customers in real-time even though they couldn't do it in real-place. We predict live streaming will continue to play a role for Social Media Marketers, enabling businesses to broadcast events, conduct real-time training workshops, promote new products, services and capabilities and help companies reach consumers where they are most likely to be (namely, Social Media).
 

Trend 2: Social Media Tells A Story

 
Disappearing content that appears outside a user's regular feed-referred to as "Stories"-is growing in popularity. Stories use mixed media (photos, videos, audio, text and more.) to, well, tell a story. Content posted to Stories is ephemeral and mysterious. That is, it disappears after a certain period of time (or, as is the case with SnapChat, as soon as the content is viewed). Users love stories. Over 500 million people use Instagram stories each day. Five of the top Social Media platforms offer some type of Stories feature including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

TechDogs' Opinion If you want to tell a compelling story about your brand in 2021, you should really be leveraging Stories across multiple Social Media platforms (particularly Instagram). 19% of Instagram impressions for businesses come from Stories and more than 70% of Instagram users access Stories each day. We predict that Stories will continue to be embraced by users because they're the culmination of several digital marketing trends including the rising use of video, the fact that they're mobile friendly and the way they leverage mixed media which provides for an engaging interactive experience. Plus, it's cool that they self-destruct.
 

Trend 3: Shopping Goes Social

Ready for a new buzzword? Repeat after us: social commerce. Social commerce, the phenomenon of shopping on the social channel and/or buying products through Social Media, is one of the hottest Social Media trends in 2021. Last year, 55% of people bought products through Social Media (zero regrets here, folks). Nearly 90% of people claimed that social media helped them make a purchasing decision. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook ads make it easy for users to discover brands and products via social media ads, recommendations and research. This is true across all age groups but particularly for younger groups (16-44).

TechDogs' Opinion There promises to be a lot more buying and selling on Social Media in 2021. Plan your Social Media marketing strategy accordingly. Platforms are constantly rolling out new social commerce features like Facebook Shops, a feature that Facebook launched last May to help small retailers who were forced to shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions. Facebook Shops are promoted on Facebook and Instagram feeds and stories, enabling users to browse a store's products, place an order, reach out to a business, or navigate to the business's website.

Trend 4: Social Users Are Snacking On Video

From live streams to ephemeral video to shoppable videos, Social Media users are-more than ever before-embracing video in their feeds. Facebook and Instagram saw a 50% and 70% increase (respectively) in live video viewings in 2020. Amazon and LinkedIn both launched video features last year (Amazon Live and LinkedIn Live). At the intersection of social shopping and video lies (drum roll...) shoppable social video, a type of display social media advertising that has a higher engagement rate than traditional display ads (if you can't buy a pair of shoes from your display ad, does the ad really exist?) Short-form "snackable" video on Social Media profile is another video trend thanks to TikTok and Instagram Reels.

TechDogs' Opinion: Video in all its many forms and lengths is dominating Social network. This will not change. This will, in fact, continue to be the rule rather than the exception. The statistics support this bold statement. 72% of people prefer video over text when learning about a new product or customer service (video is how we learned how to make Dalgona coffee-thanks, YouTube!) 60% of Internet traffic comes from video viewers. 68% of people will watch a video if it's under a minute. By understanding how video intersects with Social Media management, what viewers prefer and how they interact with video, you can better plan your video content marketing approach in 2021.
 

Trend 5: Tiktok On The Clock

Your teenage niece might try to hide it from you but the numbers speak louder than her loud teenage protests. TikTok is the hottest Social Media platform since sliced bread (or Facebook group). Their target audience of mostly Gen Z followers (aged 16-24) spend an average of 850 minutes per month on the app. TikTok was the 2nd most popular iPhone app downloaded in 2020. Add to this that TikTok recently announced a partnership with Shopify and you've got yourself a social commerce powerhouse (potentially).

TechDogs' Opinion: TikTok users, 43% of whom fall within the Gen Z age group, represent a $143 billion of buying power. Brands like Chipotle, Kroger and McDonald's are taking advantage of this with campaigns aimed at an older Gen Z crowd (e.g., those departing for college). Throughout 2021, we'll continue to see businesses of all sizes embrace TikTok with influencer marketing campaigns, In-feed video ads, hashtag challenges and more.

To #WrapItUp

Look, we don't have to tell you that Social Media channel is important (at least, we hope we don't). More than 53% of the world's total population uses Social Media. In a study by Social Media analytics company Sprout Social and The Harris Poll, nearly 90% of respondents felt that companies that don't invest in Social Media marketing efforts will be left behind. Consumers are on board with this sentiment too, with over 60% of consumers saying that brands and companies must have a strong Social Media presence creating brand loyalty, or they won't succeed in the long run.

Understanding the latest trends in Social Media Marketing campaign can help you plan a Social Media strategy that resonates with users, amplifies your brand awareness, messaging and contributes to growth. Just ask Gen Z - they know what's what.