Suppose we talk about social networks, consumer behaviors, content, and how they consume them to change at breakneck speed. What is successful today will cease to be tomorrow, so it is essential to be aware of all these changes. Today we analyze the 10 trends in social networks that you should know for 2021 collected from a fascinating report prepared by HubSpot and Talkwalker.
1. Content remixing will be the new normal Due to the popularity of tools like Stitch from TikTok, Reels from Instagram or Koji, User Generated Content (UGC) has reached a new level of personalization . Thanks to these tools, which have removed technical barriers, anyone can easily remix or adapt content from other users and share it on networks to express their ideas, opinions, and points of view.
As a brand, you must make things easier for your audience, create content that allows it to be mixed, and provide your brand resources to users.
2. Communication adapted to COVID-19 The consequences and effects of the coronavirus will, unfortunately, also accompany us in 2021, and communication on social networks will have to adapt its tone to events.
Digitization will continue to be a mandatory trend, both in purchasing products and services through electronic commerce and training through events and online content pills.
Brands should try to replicate online the networking that was previously carried out in person, through online events such as webinars, and provide high educational value to a more aware audience and willing to consume educational content. 3. More and more memes Who doesn't like memes? In the last year, mentions of memes have increased by 26%, and more and more brands are using them on social networks. ## Memes allow us to reach new audiences in a less “corporate” way and become viral, but be careful because they are also a double-edged sword.
Before posting, analyze the possible connotations that the meme may have and monitor the conversation for possible changes in the conversation that negatively affect your brand.
4. Nostalgia as a marketing resource Twitter turns to KFC's CM: this is how it achieved 80,000 followers in less than 3 hours ## Now that it seems that any past time was better, users are looking more than ever to recall past times to charge with positivism and disconnect from their current problems.
The challenge for brands is to share content with a high emotional charge and get the audience to associate that positive memory with the brand, establishing an emotional connection.
The use of content, formats, and influencers from bygone eras will be one of the most used social network trends in 2021, although for it to work, it must be aimed at a single generation (60, 70, 80, or 90).
5. Conversations, pillar of your strategy Consumers demand authentic, accessible, and transparent brands that listen to them and help solve their problems. Use all the solutions that technology offers (calls, emails, chatbots, messages, and live videos) to start natural and human conversations with your audience. ## Share relevant and highly personalized content to build relationships with your followers. If they feel an authentic connection with your brand, they will value buying your products or services.
6. Gaming platforms and social networks merge. The confinements around the world by COVID-19 have caused a large part of the population to turn to video games to entertain themselves and distract themselves from the reality we live in.
This has led to the growth of large communities on Twitch or YouTube, where thousands of people meet daily and for several hours, which play and engage in conversation, debate, create and share content.
The border between video games and social media is disappearing, and brands will seek new audiences on video game platforms to complement their social media strategy.
7. Traditional marketing or return to the origins In uncertain times like the ones we live in today, people tend to turn to what has worked before. The same thing happens in the world of marketing.
One of the most important social network trends in 2021 will be using traditional means of communication, such as calls, SMS, and newsletters, in the form of personalized newsletters or podcasts. Especially important is the latter, whose audience does not stop growing and sponsors and advertising opportunities.
8. The giants will continue to command but will have to adapt. In 2020 we have seen how TikTok experienced great growth globally, but the market dominators will remain the same next year. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have the capacity and resources to adapt to the new trends and habits of users as they have already done this year by introducing Shops, Reels, or Audio Tweets, respectively. Although TikTok does not stop growing, it still has a long way to establish itself as an alternative to those large networks. ## Today, they are and will be solid platforms to develop your strategy, which does not prevent adding new networks to complement them. ##
9. Fight against misinformation The number of fake news circulating online continues to grow month by month. It is increasingly difficult to differentiate what content is real and what is not.
The current pandemic has triggered several fake news and conspiracy theories, and in 2021 it is expected that the platforms themselves and the brands will finally take an effective step forward in the fight against disinformation. ## Labeling and verifying information sources, transparency, social listening, and cybersecurity will be fundamental in this battle against fake news.
Twitter will ask you to read content that you have not opened ... before retweeting it.
10. Brands with social awareness New and future generations require brands to be socially conscious, abandon comfortable neutrality, and get wet on climate change, equality, inclusion, mental health, healthy eating, etc.
It is about complying with what is preached and generating a real social impact. Those brands that do not do so will be punished by the loss of consumer confidence and customers' gradual abandonment.
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