6 Social Media Predictions for 2021

Social media grew more than ever in 2020 and all signs are pointing to more growth as we enter 2021. This means utilizing social media to grow your small business this year is a must! So we've put together our top 6 predictions for social media in 2021 to help you adjust your marketing strategy or get started if you haven't already!

Purposeful Brands Will Flourish

2020 led to an increasing awareness of social, environmental, and ethical issues. As people spoke up on social media, brands leaned in to support. 2021 will see an increase in brands that are clear and outspoken about their values. To apply this to your small business, identify causes that you want to support and lean into them on social media to build a connection with your customers.

Educational Posts Will Engage Viewers

Customers are spending more time on social media learning about their interests. Educational posts are a great way to engage the audience, and also share important data and product information. Users are engaging with content that they can save and share and educational posts are great ways to reach a new audience.

Video Content Will be Bigger Than Ever

2020 saw an increase in video content on social media platforms. Video content is no longer limited to YouTube and is proliferating through other social media channels such as TikTok or Instagram Reels. Short-form videos are going to be the key for marketing your small business in 2021. Being active on video platforms and producing short-form videos for Instagram Reels or Twitter Fleets is key to growing your brand and online presence.

Social Shopping is Standard

E-commerce has evolved this year, too. We will see e-commerce grow on social media platforms this year with many platforms already developing robust infrastructure to help customers shop on social media. Instagram Reels Shopping and TikTok’s partnership with Shopify are two major key players already making moves towards this trend.

Stories on Every Platform

We’ve already started seeing social media platforms lean into the short-form story content in 2020! Instagram Stories have grown dramatically over the past few years. Since it’s launch in 2016, 150 million people used the feature; now, over 500 million people use stories every day. Other social media platforms have added this short-term format to their own platform, from Twitter Fleets, LinkedIn Stories, and Facebook Stories. Learning how to repurpose content across multiple channels is going to be a key component to growing your online presence in 2021.

Influencer Marketing Will Be Key

Influencer marketing has been big on Instagram for several years. But in 2021, we can expect to influencers grow on other social media platforms, too. Social Media platforms such as TikTok and Pinterest are branching out into e-commerce and brands will lean into influencers to help them tap into their audience. Expect to see influencer marketing and product placement grow across various platforms this year!

Without a doubt, 2021 will bring fresh and innovative features to the digital marketing space. And we can’t wait to see what is to come!