Now more than ever, social media is a noticeable part of our day – whether you choose to use it personally or professionally. The majority of 2020 was spent in our homes as we craved ways to connect with the outside world in a safe and socially distant way (can’t wait to stop using that phase, right?), forcing businesses and brands to think outside of their comfort zone. During this time we saw the explosion of TikTok, Zoom, Houseparty, and a variety of other forms of virtually communicating.
As we head into a new year, 2021 we will notice a shift in how we use social media and what’s important to its users –
all 3.6 billion of them from the way they interact to what they’re looking for from the businesses and brands they follow.
Here are six predictions for 2021 social media trends:
- More live unedited video – Sure, we had plenty of time to learn how to edit video during 2020, but we were much more likely to see live videos that involved less special lighting, makeup, and scripts. Businesses, brands, celebrities, and the like were often live on different social media platforms offering classes, seminars, and even just general hangouts with their followers. This allowed for a more raw and authentic approach that is likely to carry through in the new year, as social media users want to connect with real people and ideas.
- Brands will be expected to lead with a human approach – On the heels of the unfiltered and unedited approach, comes the desire for businesses and brands to show their human side. In 2020, we were faced with several social issues and users looked to their favorite brands for support. Not only was support important, but transparency with how businesses handled these large issues. Social media users want to know they are spending their hard earned money on brands that have the same believes as they do.
- Messenger will be home to most user sharing – Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp (all one umbrella company under Facebook) have been slowly introducing a merged messenger platform. While this does make it easier for social media users to communicate with one another, it creates more dark social that’s going to make it increasingly difficult for businesses and brands to track. Dark social refers to “invisible” shares that happen via messengers, email, and text message. An example of this would be sending a friend the link to a product or special being offered on social media, rather than to comment and tag them in the visible comment section. These intertwined platforms make sharing a breeze, but for businesses it’s going to be tough to gauge full analytics.
- The continued rise of the influencer – This appears to be a trend that’s grown steadily over the last decade. What’s different? How influencers get their street cred. Thanks to TikTok an influencer can be born overnight. The viral video platform has been responsible for creating hundreds of overnight influencers who simply took to a minute long (or less) video to state an opinion, share a product, or tell a story and woke up with massive following and often brand deals from the products they’ve mentioned or those like it. On the business end, this has led to an explosion of orders for many small businesses whose product or service landed in the right hands leading them to completely sell out in minutes.
- More options for e-commerce via virtual offerings – It’s a virtual world, and we’re just living in it. Chances are in 2020 you attended an online meeting, seminar, workshop, work out class, or concert. Many of the things we were used to doing in person were shifted into a digital platform during the pandemic, and though we’re itching to get back to “normal” life, the ability to partake in online demos, workouts, and more doesn’t look like it’s going any where.
- Hashtags become less relevant – Hashtags will always have a place, but in 2021 unless it’s a trending topic or a national holiday (silly social media holidays included) there’s a chance that they won’t be as useful. In November 2020, Instagram announced they’ve become more search-friendly – no hashtags needed. Now users can search a keyword and relevant posts, videos, and profiles will populate. What’s this mean for you? Make sure your captions and profile feature niche information about what you represent or are selling that way you’re included in these searches.
Social media is a great way to stay connected with friends, family, and your customers. We know it’s a lot to handle, especially if you’re also busy running all of the other aspects of your business. We get it and we’re here to help! Give us a call today at (305) 537-6465 to see how Miss Ink can help get your social media on track in 2021.
