Top 10 Social Media Trends in 2021

Here is a list of Top 10 social media trends that will rule the year in 2021. Adapting to these new trends will help businesses gain better engagement and improved online visibility, amidst fierce competition.

If you haven’t adapted to these new trends, it’s time you do so to leverage your Brand on social media, and stay ahead of the competition.

1.        LIVE Videos -- With a majority of Brands focusing on video marketing to promote their business, live videos are becoming more popular on Social Media in 2021. Brands and celebrities are now exploring live videos frequently to create opportunities for bonding with their audience and customers.

2.        Stories – This trending short-duration content that disappears within 24 hours of posting, AKA Facebook and Instagram Stories, is elevating engagement with its fun and ephemeral contents to give customers a sneak-peek into their world.

3.        Chatbots -- As many brands don’t have the facility to provide 24X7 support to their customers, these AI-powered chatbots are a welcome addition to the dream team to improve brand-customer relationships by answering your queries and concerns, and offering you the best solutions within seconds.

4.        Augmented Reality (AR) -- Many e-commerce companies have adapted AR-powered shopping to allow users to try-on products before purchasing them. On the other hand, affordable VR gears are now available to enable users to enjoy an immersive gaming experience in virtual space.

5.         Influencer Marketing -- Big brands are now collaborating with micro-influencers and niche bloggers to bring inclusivity and transparency in their marketing efforts, through a series of social media promotion posts -- with long-form content, how-to videos, demos, and photo stories.

6.         Local Targeting -- Local brands are finding ways to connect with their target audience to build brand awareness and gain popularity by geo-tagging their social media posts and stories. Just like local SEO, local targeting has become prevalent in 2021, and will continue to be in the coming years.

7.        Twitter News Portal -- Twitter has prioritized news stories from around the world, and it is now expected to rise as a mainstream news media platform with a stricter check on fake news, allowing only those that are 100% authentic to form reliable news sources.

8.        The Death of Instagram Likes -- In 2021, Instagram has initiated an experiment to make the LIKE counts private for some users, and this may be the year where digital marketing professionals need to shift their focus from LIKES  as an indication of success,  to engagement, and the quality of their content.

9. User-generated Content -- Many brands have started leveraging on UGC as social proof of the quality of their products and services. UGC is entirely authentic, as brands don’t have control over what users might say or post. And it is the most trustworthy source of information to boost their engagement rate further.

10. Social Media Communities -- The growth of social media communities is on the rise this year. These forums are very useful in getting customer feedback and suggestions to carry out discussions, resolve grievances, and share personalized content that customers love.

In the future, brands may use these exclusive online communities to get feedback on new products before launching them, and gain much richer customer insights at every step of their business journey.