TOP 5 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2021
Now, it’s coming up to one long year of lockdown (thanks to the virus that shall not be named) and although 2020 was chaotic, social media led the way with 88.1 percent of social media users spending at least half an hour scrolling through their feeds every day (Statistics here). This means the world is now relying much more on digital and it is our shining moment as content creators and digital marketers. I’ve curated these top 5 tips to give you some inspiration for keeping on top of trends in 2021!
5. Connecting with People
Now I know technology is moving fast, but it’s not the Year 3000 and we don’t live underwater. Our audiences are just people not robots and 2021 is the year to have more conversations with the people viewing our content. It helps build relationships, humanizes the brand and builds trust so they remember you!
Top engagement tip – Instagram stickers! Using Instagram story stickers such as ‘questions’ or ‘polls’ are a great way to increase engagement and to generate a conversation with an audience. This is an amazing organic way to help you understand what kind of content your audience would love to see.
4. Short Form content
Through the midst of cat videos, viral food and cringing at what Donald Trump has said on twitter, do you even remember the last time you sat and read a full news article? These days we scroll past information on socials as quickly as possible, this means our audience’s attention spans are working quickly and only processing information that stands out. Short form content such as a Tiktok style video, Instagram reels and even stories with an engaging first frame are the key to capturing people’s attention!
3. Influencer Marketing
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t purchased a product online just because I saw it advertised by an influencer on Instagram (okay, there’s been more than one occasion, my postman isn’t happy with me). With in-store shopping spent dodging mask-less Karen’s grabbing 500 toilet rolls and enough pasta to feed the whole of the UK, it’s no wonder online shopping has become the new norm. Many of us have had to rely on the recommendations of other users on social media when buying a product, therefore leading to the rise of Influencers! Working with a trusted influencer that relates to your company’s ethical values is a great way to increase brand awareness, and ensures audiences are introduced to the brand from an authentic source!
2. Tiktok
If you didn’t spend your March lockdown making whipped coffee, dancing to ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd and wishing you were as happy as the guy drinking cranberry juice and skating to Fleetwood Mac, I applaud you. From a digital marketing perspective, it’s a goldmine of content ideas, with topical, easily digestible trends that switch up on the regular. With over 800 million active monthly users https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics) and still growing, you’d be crazy to pass the opportunity to create some
fun, engaging content that can easily go viral!
We’re also only a month in to 2021 and we’ve already been blessed with Sea-Shanty Tiktok.. you just know it’s going to be a great year for digital marketers.
1. Meme Culture
January has been all about Bernie Sanders, and if he doesn’t sum up how you spent the whole of 2020, then please share your secrets with the rest of us. The last year has been a tough one, so let’s start 2021 laughing. Keep your eye on reddit, send a GIF instead of text and remember to include some topical memes within your social strategy!
Lauren Jones, Cohort 28, Social Media and Marketing Apprentice at Extreme Largeness
