Marketing departments and marketers always need to be aware of the latest social media trends that are influencing the future of the space. There’s also a need to rapidly adapt to changes because these trends often reveal all new challenges for brands and their social media marketers. Social media marketing strategies are constantly under review with the need to to be ready for a pivot add new content to their brand personas.
Let’s look at some of the top social media trends that are pushing social media marketing to further evolve.
Stories Are Taking The Lead
Instagram Stories sees 500 million user interactions even day. The Stories feature of Instagram isn’t going away anytime soon and will likely only increase in popularity.
Brands now need to make a more organized approach to Stories when considering where it factors into their publishing calendars. The importance of Stories will continue to increase as the Stories format appears to outperform regular photo feed posts.
As a testament to the importance of the Stories format; Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have all embraced the Stories format and added it to their own platforms.
Social Commerce Will Continue to Grow
Social media companies are always making changes to enhance the user experience. More and more tools designed to make shopping fast and easy are being added to social media platforms. Instagram allows for product pages and easy checkout without leaving Instagram. Facebook has it’s well known and used Shop feature.
54% of social media users research a product on social media before making a purchase. Having an avenue right there on the platform for people to buy immediately is a tool that a lot of brands will be leveraging in 2021 and beyond.
You can even get a leg up by adding a simple “Buy” button to your posts because it’s shown an increase to the likelihood of a purchase.
Authenticity & Transparency Are of Key Importance
Consumers want brands to be real. They want authenticity and want more than just a statement of support or change of logo to honor something. People also want transparency about how your company or brand operates. If you want your customers to trust you, you need to be honest with them in exchange.
What’s the best way to demonstrate your authenticity and transparency? There’s nothing better today than social media.
If you’ve made a mistake as a brand or company, own up to it and publish your apology to social media. But make sure it’s a genuine apology. Non-apology apologies will only further tarnish your image. Allow customers to freely reach out to you and share their feedback, both good and bad. Don’t delete negative comments. Instead, openly address them and demonstrate that you care.
Virtual Reality Will Become Your Reality
Following the trends that arose with people working form home and social distancing using the pandemic, many people have begun seeking out virtual interactions. Unsurprisingly, virtual reality (VR) is the technological tool to provide such experience.
Interacting through VR gives people the feeling of actually being there. This is the exact experience people have been looking for and have grown more comfortable with during the pandemic.
Expect to see a push to move forward with virtual reality technology, especially on social media platform.
Live Streams!
2020 had forced many businesses to go digital with face-to-face meetings turned into Zoom meetings and concerts turned into live streams or even artists playing to audiences from home.
This trend has naturally leaked over into social media and there’s been an increase in the use of social media live streaming tools. Facebook saw a big uptick in its use in COVID hotspots such as Italy while the pandemic was raging around the globe.
Live streaming will naturally evolve and although some usage might decrease, it’ll still remain in use at levels far above pre-pandemic use.
Leading Customers With Purpose Driven Campaigns
Causes have always been drivers of engagement on social media platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic brought causes to the forefront. People needed help more than ever and people wanted to help. Of course, there’s an expectation for brands to pitch in on the effort.
There is a need to be authentic in today’s marketplace and the pandemic is a catalyst for some brands to make the realization. A lot brands are now learning when to engage on a subject and when to back off because the issue is too sensitive. The public is seeing and calling out the differences between authentic brand action and simply exploiting a topic as a marketing opportunity.
From Today On…
Anticipating the next social media trend helps you build a stronger brand presence for the future. Understanding social media trends and how they evolve will help you know what to watch for and to develop a social media strategy that’s appropriate for the current and future state of social media. However, knowing what to prioritize next can be challenging, but 3 Cats Labs Creative is here to help.
Let’s Talk About Your Brand
shane@3catslabs.com | Call +65-3159-4231
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