Top 8 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021
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Social media marketing is bigger than ever! The world of social media is constantly evolving, and as marketers, we are constantly learning, adapting, and sharing up-to-date information with our clients.
If you're looking for expert insights to help get your 2021 social media marketing on track, keep reading. In this article, the Bold x Collective digital marketing team shares some insights to help your company grow with these 2021 social media marketing tactics.
Read Our List of the Top 8 social media trends to take note of in 2021.
1. SEO Drives Organic Instagram Visibility
Instagram constantly releases brand new features, especially upcoming in 2021. Marketing on Instagram has some new changes; SEO and Reels are now introduced. This is a game changer for all of us marketers, as it will play a part in boosting your Instagram. In 2021, Instagram is more search friendly. There is no need to use hashtags in the search bar because keywords are all you need. When posting a picture, it’s best to post content that is relevant, and it’s important to make sure your captions include keywords that will help Instagram pinpoint what’s being shown or discussed in your post. Keywords are key to include in your "Instagram “bio”, so when someone searches something relevant to your industry or specialization, your profile or posts will show up first.
Additionally, Instagram launched “Reels” in order to compete with TikTok. Reels can be a few seconds or up to a minute and a half long and are made to grab your viewer's attention. Reels are a creative and entertaining way to get the viewer to follow your Instagram account, to see what more you do, as an individual or a company. In addition to this, they can share, like, comment or save your reel.
As a digital marketer, my advice is to create a TikTok account and see what videos or sounds are the most popular. Once you complete this “research phase,” our team recommends using the insights to create content for Instagram Reels. On social media, it’s no myth that 15 second videos are more intriguing than longer videos that are 30 seconds long or more. With that being said, we’d always recommend that you try to stick to 15 second videos. Also, don’t forget to include a short caption, which will be visible on the bottom left of your Instagram Reel, for everyone to see, to give your Reel more context. After all, you do want your viewers to hit that “Follow” button!
Marketers should take advantage of these two big Instagram updates, as it will help get your page more visibility and attract more followers that could be potential customers for your business! Post consistently and put yourself out there, and you’ll be sure to see results over time.
2. Reels Ignite Organic Instagram Exposure
Over the years, Instagram has given users many new features. The best one for marketers and businesses is video. In 2016, when Instagram introduced 24 hour stories, views on feed posts began to decrease. And now, story views are beginning to drop, meanwhile the reels are attracting high viewership. You can make reels exciting and engaging by adding a captivating element such as popular music or some descriptive text.
Another great feature to use in your reels is ‘The Green Screen’ effect. This is a very powerful tool for small business owners, it’ll give you the ability to share photos, screenshots, or videos within your reel. This will give your page more viewers, leads and customers. Your goal is to try to capture your audiences’ attention within the first five seconds, so make every second count.
3. Brick & Mortar Stores Embrace the Shift to Instagram’s Online Shopping
In the pandemic environment, businesses need to pivot to ensure they have sales coming in, and continue growing. With the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic limiting business activities, as business owners and marketers, we must adapt to new digital strategies. While E-commerce has been a popular monetization method for many brands over the last couple years, it is not utilized by brick-and-mortar stores.
In the 2020s, digital is the “new normal.” Gyms are offering online classes using Instagram Live or Zoom; grocery stores have implemented online shopping with delivery services; retail stores will begin to push more curbside pickup options, and may even implement a delivery option; online meetings for professional services such as lawyers are increasingly common. The world is changing, and as marketers and business owners, we must adapt, and fast.
Any normal operation that can be turned into an online process will implement this, therefore limiting in-person contact. Just like in 2020, these changes will be loved by some, meanwhile loathed by others, because it changes the way we are used to doing business. With that being said, this makes it crucial to have a digital component to your business, whether it is a product or service; it must be delivered in a high quality way.
2021 is the year for E-commerce businesses to grow. Social platforms like Instagram and Facebook have integrated their shopping abilities, which allows your customers and target audience to shop from your digital store.
There are a few steps you will need to use in order to take advantage of these new updates:
Do a survey to gauge what your audience wants and needs from shopping online.
Research and test multiple video platforms to find which one best supports your online shop.
Collect contact information from your customers to ensure you can be in touch at any time.
Sign up for Instagram and Facebook shopping if you haven’t already. As an e-commerce store, you will not regret it!
If you want to take your digital abilities to the next level, you should consider:
Setting up retargeting ads, as majority of your traffic will not purchase on their first visit to your site. However, implementing a retargeting strategy into your digital marketing will ensure that you can convert them to a customer. In turn, this will benefit your revenue.
Focus heavily on user experience. You need a website that loads fast, is optimized for mobile, has a simplified checkout process, and has convenient shipping and return policies. Any issues that your customer has to deal with can significantly reduce your conversion rate, and this is not something you want to deal with as a business owner.
Online shopping platforms and e-commerce abilities will always be evolving. It’s important to get on board now, so you are always prepared for changes in 2021, and even in the future. Digital agencies like Bold x Collective can help you and your company adapt and grow online.
4. Brands Must Humanize
Smart marketing means being able to make your brand come off more authentic and showing viewers or customers who you are and what you stand for! The more personalized your business is, the more it will catch your viewers’ attention. Start humanizing your brand and showcasing what your company is really about. Show your audience what matters most to your brand.
There are many different tactics you can leverage to achieve this. Firstly, make a video that includes more people; get them to talk about what matters most to your brand; whether it be the head chef at your restaurant discussing food palettes, or a real estate agent talking about what matters to their brand. Bring some life and personality to your brand and stand out. Make genuine connections that will last.
5. Facebook and Instagram Advertising
Facebook and Instagram are critical to success in 2022. Facebook advertising costs are rising continually. Nevertheless, we believe they are a worthwhile investment. Further, it is important to access the customer lifestyle, and the average customer value, so you know how much a lead will cost while still remaining profitable. It’s important to review your past customers’ records to get a better sense of how you generate quality leads, the time period between someone joining your list to becoming a paid customer, and how much your average customer spends with you.
Using this information will help you build a strong Facebook advertising strategy that will reflect this critical data. Armed with this information, you can develop innovative Facebook ad campaigns and do necessary testing to see what works best.
For example, we discussed earlier that video is a growing trend, especially with the new Instagram Reels feature garnering a lot of attention. With that being said, we can see the best way to convert a lead is through video ads rather than images. As an agency, we’re always testing new tactics to see which one yields the highest engagement. Rather than a single image, we notice that ads featuring video or a moving image convert better and at a smaller lead cost. At Bold x Collective we can help you create content that works while assisting you with strategic ad campaigns to capture leads.
““Content-based marketing gets repeated in social media and increases word-of-mouth mentions; it’s the best way to gather buzz about a product.””
6. Facebook Ad Creative Needs to be Strategic
As mentioned above, Facebook Ads are here to help your business grow. Creative plays a key role in an ad campaign. As marketers, there are certain types of creative, what we can see being successful in 2021.
Firstly, we have GIFs, which are now in use by advanced advertisers! They are so easy to use, and exciting to watch, at their short length. All you have to do is take 3-15 seconds of a video, and create your own GIF on platforms like Giphy.com. They are so easy to create, everyone will watch them and they’re counted as video views, which will help you with retargeted ads.
Another way you can capture more attention is by using a short video, which is not necessarily a GIF. This can be a 15 second commercial featuring a demonstration of a yoga pose, or trying out a makeup or skincare brand, showcasing new clothing, and more. Video is an effective way to capture your audiences’ attention. People have short attention spans, so it’s best to keep the video under 15 seconds to get more replays and engagement, especially to get a larger reach on Facebook.
Next, we have user-generated content (UGC) which is from your actual customers and clients. Companies are beginning to recognize and acknowledge all of the benefits from user-generated content, and are finding great ways to use this amongst their customer base. Some examples of user-generated content include testimonials, fun reel-style videos of people using your product or service, blogs, and even images of people using your product. Of course, you’ll need to confirm that you have permission to use this content by asking your client or customer, and with their consent you can feel free to use it. This is going to become a very good advertising tactic on Facebook, as it is a real person giving positive feedback of your product or service - it is the real deal!
Along with current techniques, you can try the above through A/B testing, to see what will give you real results. Algorithms do prefer new content, so it’s a good idea to give these ideas a try!
7. Personality is Key to YouTube Growth
YouTube is great platform for expanding your small business. Many individuals and businesses have seen major organic growth on their channels. Viewers want to see your unique personality, which you can convey with the way you speak or explain certain concepts. This will make you stand out from the rest and give you more views.
Try different tactics, such as starting your videos off with a fun or unique introduction. Try to introduce yourself at the beginning and end of your videos so that your audience remembers you. Do a fun Q&A, to teach people more about who you are and what you do. Invite another business or individual to do a collaborative video for your YouTube channel. Offer live videos. There are endless ways to help your brand stand out; you just need to find what works!
8. Transparency & Networking Changes on LinkedIn
If you haven’t already seen it, LinkedIn has added brand new features to benefit companies and marketers. These features include LinkedIn Live, Events, Polls and Stories. Due to the pandemic, many LinkedIn users are working from home and are engaging in “conversational” content.
As a marketer, you’ll want to focus on mastering conversational marketing. There are so many different engaging tactics to try. For example, you can create polls and get your audience to vote. Ask your audience engaging questions that they can answer and start a conversation. Share a photo of your workday to add a personal touch. Celebrate career milestones, and don’t hesitate to share them with your LinkedIn friends and acquaintances!
Looking at the networking behaviour changes on LinkedIn, we often notice that in 2021, people are more focused on building relationships, rather than collecting connections. Real connections are build when the connection request is customized for your recipient, because it makes them feel valued, opposed to sending a mass message to everyone. Strategic messaging is key!
Conclusion
The digital age is here in full force, and as business owners and marketers, we have tons of adjustments to make, so we can adapt to the new concepts and strategies that will help us succeed. At our Toronto digital agency, our experienced team of digital marketers know what works, and how to do it.
Whether you need consulting or assistance with social media, the Bold x Collective team is here to help. Contact us, we are here to help you get started, and adapt to 2022’s social media world.