As we near the end of 2020, there is one thing we can all agree on… We've spent a lot of time on social media this year.
Our increased connection to social media isn't at all shocking. In March, as countries implemented stay-at-home orders due to the global pandemic, Statista reported a social media usage was 21% higher.
Throughout the year, consumers have not only continued to use social channels to catch up with loved ones, but they've also embraced them for product research, the latest news coverage, and hours of mindless entertainment.
Now, as the world hits 3.6 billion social media users and continues to deal with the pandemic, brands aren't just wondering how they'll engage huge social media audiences next year. They're also asking, "What social media trends should I expect in this constantly changing landscape?"
To figure out what brands can expect next year, I spoke with Honest London's Founder, Lauren.
Brands will continue to take a "less is more" posting approach.
This year, many brands spent less time churning out social media posts and more time creating content that felt thoughtful, valuable, and in-touch with the world around them.
According to Hendrickson, the trend of "less is more" is likely to continue in 2021.
"The pandemic had our clients asking us regularly a question they may have never asked themselves before: 'Does my audience even want to hear from me right now?'," Lauren says.
"I expect along with out clients, we’ll see brands being more thoughtful and careful about when they post. This may even mean posting less -- regardless of algorithms -- because it's the right thing to do," Lauren explains. "There will also be more thought behind ad buys and partnerships."
"There has never been a moment in time like this where ensuring your audience obtains true value from your brand meant so much," Lauren adds.
Content value will beat production quality.
When many brands were forced to go completely remote in 2020, social media and video marketing teams needed develop realistic production processes that could be done from home.
When consumers still continued to engage with videos, live streams, and other social media content that was clearly made from home offices, marketers realised that content with lower production quality can still be engaging -- if it provides value.
“The pandemic forced many brands and our clients to get scrappy when it came to producing content, especially video work," Lauren explains. "Without a production studio or a lot of equipment available, production value became a bit more lo-fi and in the end, but also a bit more human."
"The interesting thing that our clients discovered is that audiences seem to love it. If anything, they saw themselves more in the work," Lauren adds. "They too were on Zoom, filming things with their phones, or stuck in their homes. We’ll see bare bones productions in 2021. But, audiences will continue to appreciate it."
Conversational marketing will change its tone.
Conversational marketing isn't new. In fact, most of the big brands we know and love have allowed you to connect with them via social media messaging channels for many years.
In 2021, with more messaging channels than ever and consumers needing more information to make a worthy investment the tone of digital conversations might change.
For example, while past conversational marketing tactics centred around promotions and making sales as quickly as possible, 2021's conversational marketers might be more focused on helping a user with something, educating them about a product, and nurturing them to conversion with a more thoughtful or empathic tone.
"It’s crucial for brands to be more human and not robotic on social media, inviting the world for a meaningful and engaging conversation," says Lauren.
Consumers will crave snappy content.
In 2020, we all saw the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels along with continued engagement on stories from Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and brands creating other short-form or snappy pieces content to educate consumers about their brand.
As social media attention spans continue to shrink and more people scroll endlessly through feeds while bored at home, don't expect snappy content to lose steam anytime soon. Get your creative hat on.
Video will continue to take centre stage.
Early in 2020, video was the most commonly used marketing content and the second most engaging content type on social media.
As major platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn increasingly improved their video capabilities, marketers can expect high video consumption to continue and grow in coming years.
More brands will go live.
In 2020, as many brands had to take conferences, events, and other marketing experiences online, it's not surprising to think about how high 2020 live stream numbers will be.
At the moment, many brands are using Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and Twitter to live stream events, Q&As, tutorials and other types of content. These types of content keep your followers engaged with your brand by bringing an event they otherwise might not be able to attend directly to their screens.
Social media platforms could double as shopping channels.
As many brands learnt how to do business completely online, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok were quick to develop more online business marketing solutions.
While TikTok and Snapchat expanded business marketing offerings in 2020, Facebook and Instagram actually brought shopping capabilities directly to their apps.
In 2020, consumers and brands faced a global pandemic, uncertain financial times, and a number of major events that paused nations in front of news channels.
Now, consumers need much more than just great deals to trust, identify with, and invest in a brand. At this point, many brands have taken notice by embracing authenticity and their human side on social media. Abercrombie have been a great example of this.
While some brands have spoken directly about their thoughts related to COVID-19 or other news items, others have shown authenticity by zoning on their customers through user-generated content or customer testimonials.
When done authentically, both strategies can help brands gain trust from their audiences while boosting awareness as a company that cares about people.
"We’ll continue to see the growth in creators on social media platforms. Influencers will continue to be present, but accountability, authenticity, and transparency will be the areas brands and companies will use to determine who they will and won’t partner with.." says Lauren
In 2021, expect authenticity to take centre stage on social media as successful brands continue to build trust from their audiences.
Navigating Social Media in 2021
Today, the world around us is constantly changing. And, although we think we know what to expect with social media, this list of trends is likely not exhaustive of what we'll see in 2021.
As a brand owner with social platforms, the best thing you can do is to continue to research trends, online consumer behaviours, or rely on your social media agency to determine which trends or strategies to lean into or how to navigate unprecedented online scenarios.