6 Social Media Trends You Need to Look Out for in 2021
6 Social Media Trends You Need to Look Out for in 2021
2021 is just around the corner and if you don't have a marketing plan in place already now is the time to start planning! Social media has really boomed this year because of the pandemic and if you aren't paying attention to your social media it's high time that you need to. As of July 2020, the average person is spending two hours a day on social media, spanning eight different social media platforms, according to The Global WebIndex. This is an incredibly powerful statistic considering there are many people still not using social media as part of their marketing tool belt.
1. YouTube Videos
It's time to start that YouTube channel if you haven't already. As of October 2020, YouTube has 20 billion monthly active users and 30 million DAILY active users, With 70% of users coming from mobile devices, it's best to optimize your channel for mobile, which means adding a story strategy to your daily cadence routine (yes, YouTube has stories!). If your company markets to people in Asia, India has 265 million active users. If you are Indian or you speak Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, or one of the many dialects India has, it might be a good idea to translate your videos to one of those languages. On top of all these statistics, only 62% of businesses use YouTube, which honestly needs to be higher because of this pandemic.
Start a channel! Here are some ideas:
Create videos off of your blog posts
Talk about how (fill in the blank) changed your life.
Vlog about going behind the scenes at your company
Expert how-tos (how to do fill in the blank, or 5 ways you can do fill in the blank)
Personal stories about how you got started in your business
Product (not sponsored) critiques.
New launch news
Year-end reviews
Holiday-themed videos
Birthday videos and (age you currently are) tips on (fill in the blank)
2. Niche Platforms are on the Rise.
TikTok grew by 210% and Reddit continues to grow year over year. There has been word of TikTok getting banned, but it looks like it's on hold for now. I would suggest you use Instagram Reels if you are too spooked, it's essentially the same thing. I personally love Instagram Reels, and they are just super fun especially if you are in a niche business. I am in a niche business, being a digital marketer and branding expert for spiritual entrepreneurs, these platforms are perfect. Reddit is also a great platform and it grew a lot over the years, with the engagement taking over Twitter. If you are a business that serves a specific group of people, it's best to get on a place like Reddit and create a lot of engagements with the niche conversations you can be a part of. Clubhouse is also great for this too!
3. Stories! Stories Stories!
How many times are you posting to your stories? If the answer is not at least four times a day then you really need to re-think your current story strategy. We are not just talking about Instagram and Facebook here, we are also talking about LinkedIn, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Yes, all of these guys added stories to their platform. There are a ton of different things you can create for in your stories.
Behind the scenes stuff. (I just put a story of this blog as I am writing it!)
Client/customer testimonials
Daily tips
Daily affirmations
Recipes you've created (take a bite out of your personal life)
Client/customer wins
4. The Rise of Social Commerce
If you sell physical products online, this is definitely the year for you. Only 3 out of 10 businesses have a plan or are already doing social commerce strategies for 2021. If you sell your products on social media and aren't integrating the tools available on social media for you to sell directly on the platform it's now time. Social commerce is expected to quadruple in 2022, and Instagram just laid out a feature where you can shop directly on the platform. If you, as a business are not taking advantage of this wonderful feature, you are going to be leaving lots of money on the floor.
Why? Millennials and Gen Z are the biggest consumers on the market right now and where are they? They are on social media, more specifically they are on Instagram and YouTube. In fact. 48% of users in this age bracket made a purchase just by scrolling on social media.
5. The Rise in Messaging Apps
Do you have a good messaging app platform? Messaging app users are expected to rise to 3.12 billion in 2023. Whether it's Facebook Messenger, Instagram messenger, LinkedIn DMs, or WhatsApp, no matter what messaging platform you use, it's all going to increase in 2021. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if LinkedIn came out with their own Messenger like app soon, since so many people DM on there. A lot of people like that 1:1 connection that people get on social media. No one likes it when you are talking to a bunch of people in a post, while I feel like doing posts every day is a good thing to have in your arsenal, personal direct message is where it's at.
You will need to automate your messages if you want to streamline your process and I love using ManyChat to automate messages on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It can take a while to set up ManyChat, but once you get a handle on it, it's actually really simple to use.
6. Customer Service is Going Social!
You might have heard me talk about why your reputation matters on social media. This extends out to how you are serving your customers. If your customer service is not on point for social media, word will spread quickly on the internet. How do you combat negative reviews? You bury them with positive reviews, and how do you do that? You ask! Ask your best customers if they love your service, write a review. It shouldn't take them long to write a few sentences on how much they love you!
You should also be able to answer FAQs, and anything else your customer has questions about. If you don't have a team that can answer your customers 24/7 on social media, you should.
Pro tip: If you don't have someone handling your customer service on social media, 24/7 in the United States, split it. Have a team offshore to handle your off hours.
Let's Figure Out Your 2021 Strategy!
If you are having trouble or need help how to move forward with your marketing strategy as a spiritual entrepreneur in 2021, The Spirit Digital can strategize with you! From paid social ads to creating beautiful graphics for your page, we can get your social media to the high class level it can be. Interested? Let's get on a call to talk about how we can help you!