2020 was a revolutionary year for social media, because of the pandemic, people are forced to stay inside their house resulting in more people than ever before turning to their mobile phones, tablets, and computers to stay connected and updated with their communities. While we think a lot of social media marketing approaches can still be applied from last year, it is always best to look ahead to social media trends.

This drastic boost in social media usage has seen many companies decide to elevate their online marketing plans, many of whom are now looking to apply several new social media trends in 2021.

However, with 2020 dubbed as one of the toughest years on record, 2021 wants us moving and going into a time of economic ambiguity. This means that now more than ever, brands and companies have to utilize this symbolism of a new beginning and their social media schemes to grow, recuperate, and, of course, become more successful.

So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at the social media trends that I believe you should utilize and apply now and then within your social media plans for 2021.

1 . Consider TikTok As One Of Your Marketing Tools

TikTok’s bite-sized videos have been an enormous hit in 2020 while everyone on this planet was under quarantine, establishing a new style to social engagement and gimmicks.

Instagram has also taken a new method to help boost engagement by rolling out Reels, allowing influencers to create 15-second videos for their followers. Some companies and brands reuse their TikTok content to Instagram Reels to attract a larger audience reach. The process of repurposing can help lessen content creation fatigue.

In the past, TikTok has drawn more B2C than B2B. If you are B2B, you might have to place your content in a position that will educate your audience.

The only way these companies and brands will start to take an action is if the market drives a change the same way 2020 did.

Therefore, begin discovering ways you could integrate TikTok into your marketing tactics. If you cannot still decide, call a meeting with your white label social media team and run a competitor analysis and SWOT analysis and discern for your brand any way you can. Using these social media trends, you are likely to find a way to conquer the competition.

2. GO LIVE!

Log into any social media network and you will notice that live streaming is always ongoing. Live social media has skyrocket in popularity in 2021 because celebrities, influencers, and their audience enjoy the excitement that live media brings. It brings the users closer to each other. It’s really true that social media trends will change and will continue to adapt to the new generation.

Companies, brands, and their ambassadors always go for a live video—may it be webinars, collaborations, live audio conversations about gaming, music, film, sports, politics, and endless topics. They mostly use this feature when there is a new product/service to be launch, hence, “LIVE LAUNCH”

Adapting the “live” feature of different social media platforms is the way to go if you want your marketing strategy to work better in 2021.

Here are some topics/episodes you can talk/do if you plan to go live

• Interviews With Influencers and Experts
• Brand Collaborations
• Ambassadors Takeovers
• Company announcements
• Product Launces
• Announcements & Launches
• Q&A and Tell-All Sessions
• Behind-The-Scenes
• Exclusive Sale and Limited Time Offers

3. Present A Message

2020 was the year for sell-out news topics; the huge arrival of political, environmental calamities, and social and racial issues, as well as COVID-19 to top it all off, really got everyone around the globe conversing online non-stop. Social Media conversations have soared, reporting live updates here and there.

Therefore, our social media marketing strategies for 2021 will need to concentrate on the issues that users care about and must be published at a proper time on the proper platforms. Social advocacy is one good thing. Corporate social advocacy is another topic.

So if you are a company planning to create a Social Advocate brand for your channel to drive social media trends – may it be a racial, political, or environmental cause, you need to be sure that your content is authentic and not performative. And most importantly, you must back your reach with action and don’t do it because it is convenient for your business.

The first step here is a business should listen to other conversations happening – about their brand positioning and outside their brand, in their industry, outside the industry. You need to have an insight into what matters to a specific niche. Second, monitor it. If you think you have a negative image, get a team for white label reputation management. Third, understand where to concentrate your social advocacy efforts. Make sure to align your brand and your company’s mission with it.

4. Offer Value at Scale

Lots of companies were forced to work and go completely remote last year, 2020. Video marketing and social marketing teams had to change their usual methods and use the right social media management tools to be able to work everything perfectly online.

There are lots of magazine productions, even tv commercial productions and other marketing teams around the globe concentrated on scalable content that can be recorded and created on their own home. This may have affected the quality of the end-product for sure, and marketers soon realized that these homemade contents could still be engaging, will still garner lots of attention as long it is valuable to their audience.

Throughout 2021, when the whole world is still not available to vaccines, we can conclude most of our audience will still be at home, struggling with Zoom calls, and creating content from their humble abode can establish that there will be a rise in no-frills productions but it will highlight a range of creative messages that people can connect with. Your audience will realize that you focus on innovative thinking and creativity when coming up with new social media trends and marketing initiatives just for them.

5. Create Bite-Sized Content

Social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have proven that short-formed contents are the way to a higher engagement rate.

Ergo, creating bite-sized content as one of your social media marketing strategies is a good way to get virality and social media trends for your brand. You have half a minute to seek your audience’s attention.

From Tiktok’s trending dance move videos to cooking videos to dares and fast-paced Q&A’s and infographic slide shows, bite-sized content is social media trend of all the time and here to stay. After all, with so many of us still quarantined at home, more people than ever before are mindlessly scrolling through their phones, wanting to be amused. Let’s give them that.

That said, your content needs to catch the people’s attention in a glimpse and deliver on its promise. Wow, your audience and they’ll give you the engagement that you need.

Final Insights

As 2021 goes on, there will be several new social media trends coming out thick and fast, so marketing teams will have to adjust their strategies now and then to keep their content engaging.

For companies and brands, the best things you can do are threefold. Firstly, you need to research and discover these social media trends in your specific industry continually. Second, must analyze the behaviors of your audience, and lastly, use all these data to point out which social media marketing strategy and social media marketing tools are best suited for you and your audience.