April 10, 2021
Social media is the number one place you want to be if you’re a modern business. There simply is no other alternative to the sheer volume of people and places you can get a message across. However, much like the rest of the world wide web, trends are constantly changing and technology evolves fast.
Therefore, it’s necessary to perform a yearly review of top trends to ensure you stay ahead of the competition. In 2021, here is what’s busting the ceiling:
As always, video is still the most effective format of social media marketing. People prefer to understand a product or service through video. A recent survey discovered:
For the online customer service landscape, chatbots are a game-changer. Chatbots are an online conversation system that assists users through artificial intelligence (AI). It can provide 24/7 service and solve straightforward queries without human intervention. A recent survey shows that:
As AI tech continues to develop, so will chatbots. Machine learning will enable them to answer more sophisticated questions and eventually, cut out human interaction entirely. Even if you don’t have an ecommerce store, chatbots can still be used to answer questions like opening hours and FAQs.
Initiated by Snapchat, stories are becoming more popular than ever, especially on Instagram. Different from posts, stories enable a higher level of interaction with followers. They also allow for more engagement because there are a variety of functions, like:
Stories are more popular now than ever. Recent stats show:
Many companies take advantage of the stories function to post video ads and behind-the-scenes content that further engages an audience. Stories can increase interaction between users and brands in a variety of ways.
Live streaming was highly popularized through companies like Twitch. In 2020, the platform reached 1,116 billion minutes watched and 6.9 million monthly streamers. But live streaming is quickly expanding to other niches. Live shopping is one of them.
Live shopping is the next online trend. It combines social commerce with live streaming. It generated over $60 billion in global sales in 2019 alone and continues to rise.
Instagram Live Shopping is available for creators and brands to sell stuff during a live broadcast. Many brands are taking advantage of this to collaborate with influencers and drive sales.
Influencer marketing continues to be a major social strategy. Reports show that 63% of marketers plan to invest more in their influencer marketing in 2021. Despite followers, micro-influencers tend to have the highest engagement rates. That’s because they treat followers more like friends and word-of-mouth is highly valued.
Consumer-based content will also dominate 2021. As users seek custom content, addressing real concerns will have a more effective impact. A good example is the Q&A function in Instagram stories. It helps influencers better understand follower’s concerns.
Lastly, companies and influencers are moving to long-term relationships. Brands want repeat promotion by the same people to appear more reliable and trustworthy.
The landscape of social media is everchanging so it’s critical to watch out for new trends and act accordingly. Whether you choose to up your video game or hire a new influencer, you should be doing something new every year. Collaborate and use live streaming to increase brand awareness and sales. Test different strategies to see what works and stay the path!
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