Five Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021

In 2021, brands learned that less is more when reaching your target audience on social media. Companies spent less time trying to churn out large quantities of social media posts and put more focus on creating content with more meaning. 

After the year we had in 2020, it was apparent that to survive, brands needed to show that they were in-touch with the world around them. This resulted in a shift from salesy, promotional-type posts to more authentic, thoughtful and valuable social media content.

Ensuring your audience obtains true value from your brand is the key. Don’t bombard your viewers with content. Posting periodically instead of daily ensures a build up of anticipation and makes it even more exciting when you do post something. MAC Cosmetic’s YouTube channel is a great example of this less is more approach. They post videos weekly instead of overkilling their audience with videos.

Key takeaways and tips: Consider your business’ values. How can you share these values with your customers in a unique way? Think about what kind of content would help show them you understand their needs. Determine a posting schedule that doesn’t overload your audience with posts, but also helps reach them when and how they need it.

Last year HubSpot released a report entitled Not Another State of Marketing Report which found that video is the most commonly used marketing content. It also showed that it is the second most engaging type of content on social media. The 2021 report concluded that the year 2020 had the highest rate of year-over-year growth, with an 80% increase in video uploads.

As the pandemic raged, video-based social media sites like Tik Tok increased in popularity. Major social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter also ramped up their site’s video capabilities. This is only expected to continue to grow in the coming years.

COVID-19 not only increased overall video consumption on social media but also the length of time audiences spent watching videos. According to HubSpot’s report, in 2020 there was an 85% increase in the minutes watched on social media channels. Creating compelling video content that is clear and gets to the point of your message is important as viewing percentage tends to decrease in intervals after the three minute mark.

Key takeaways and tips: If your content is compelling enough, your viewers will watch it. Still, when creating video content for your channel make sure you capture your users attention from start to finish. Tailor your content depending on your social media channel as well. For example, Tik Tok users enjoy shorter, more trending videos while Facebook allows for longer content.

During the pandemic, brands saw a rise in “snackable” content. Social media use increased overall leading to users being hungry for straightforward, easily digestible content. As the world spent more time indoors, more social media fans spent time browsing their social media feeds soaking up visually engaging posts, videos, and infographics.

Last year, Tik Tok users increased and more people were engaged on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat “stories”. Brands learned to create small pieces of content that were posted consistently that were engaging and shareable. Brand followers enjoyed posts that they received value from that didn’t include spending too much time looking at it.

Recently Tesla used a gif (instead of a blog) to announce a new safety feature. This type of content boosts credibility and traffic for websites. This is because most of the information we absorb is because of it being visual in nature. Using memes helps to make an idea relatable and presents it in a new light that might tickle a funny bone or two.

Key takeaways and tips: A great resource to find ideas for snackable content is your own blogs. Repurpose main points and topics into infographics, memes, or gifs. Keep content easy to grasp and shareable and watch your engagement increase.

In 2020 many brands were forced to change the way they held conferences, events and other marketing experiences. Using sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Twitch to live stream events and tutorials has allowed followers to stay engaged with their brand. Viewers were able to attend events that they otherwise may not be able to attend.

Because of this, live stream numbers have been at an all-time high. Online video and live viewing has increased by 85%. Going live on social media also helps to bring your audience into your world and provide a more human side of your business. It’s also a low cost and effective video production option.

Key takeaways and tips: Get creative with your live content. Is your business featuring a particular menu item this week? Get in the kitchen and do a live stream of it being prepared along with the final product. Hold Q&A sessions and tutorials live and put a face to your brand.