After the year that was 2020, a lot has changed in the world and this does not exclude social media and the digital world. With more people staying at home due to the pandemic, more people are spending time on social media. In March of 2020 alone we saw worldwide an increase of social media use by 21%. 

And social media is not slowing down! 2020 saw 3.6 billion people using social media, with it projected to reach 4.4 billion by 2025. With so many people using social media we have to change and adapt with social media to make sure we are staying up to date with trends.

With one month of 2021 down, here are 5 trends you should be following this year:

Live Streaming

Because of the pandemic almost everything in-person was canceled. This was a bummer but it led to the increase of live streaming content across social media. 1.1 billion hours of content on Twitch were watched at the start of the pandemic, with it jumping to a record breaking 3 billion hours the next quarter. Facebook streaming saw an increase of people watching gaming live streams on their platform, hitting 822 million hours watched. Not only was gaming popular, but Amazon Live really started to kick off during the pandemic allowing people to shop their favorite fashion and accessory brands live. With more people staying at home and finding themselves needing content to watch, live streaming through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, and even Amazon has taken the stage and will continue to be a big trend throughout 2021.

Trustworthy and Purpose Driven Missions

In 2021 people do not want to follow brands that simply promote themselves and try to sell products. They want brands they feel they can trust, have a connection with, and see a purpose in their mission. Brands that are shady or insincere will have a hard time growing this year. People like to see brands do good things, especially in these times when many people are struggling. For example Apple sourced and gathered 20 million masks, donating at least 10 million of them to healthcare workers in the United States. Although Apple already has a great image and following, this makes people feel good about themselves for supporting them. Doing good and being trustworthy has always been useful, but we will continue to see more and more of this in 2021.

Inclusivity & Diversity

2020 sparked a lot of discussion about inclusivity and diversity which changed some people’s purchase behavior. According to Accenture, 42% of ethnic diversity shoppers and 41% of LGBTQ+ shoppers would switch where they shopped to places committed to inclusivity and diversity. This is very important to understand as people see brands more than just a company that sells things. They see them as influencers on people and want them to stand for what they believe in. Brands that are non-inclusive, show little or no diversity, or are not a part of the conversation will find themselves hurting this year. Brands that are inclusive, show diversity, and are a part of the conversation will find themselves having deeper connections with their customers.

Easy to Consume and Snackable Content

As we already know the amount of activity on social media has risen since the start of the pandemic and is not slowing down, but the kinds of content people are consuming has shifted. People are looking more for “easy to consume” content, something they can easily pull up and watch or listen to like podcasts. Because of the pandemic, Americans who listen to podcasts have gone up to 55%. Not only do they want content that is easy to consume, but also “snackable” or quick content. 2020 saw the rise of TikTok, as well as the popularity of Stories on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and even Fleets on Twitter. Easy to consume and quick, snackable content will continue to grow in 2021.

Less = More

As in 2020, the trend of creating less content will continue to follow in 2021. Brands spent less time creating large amounts of content and instead spent more time on creating thoughtful, thorough, and current content. HubSpot's Social Media Manager Kelly Hendrickson said "I expect we’ll see brands being more thoughtful about when they post. This may even mean posting less - regardless of algorithms - because it's the right thing to do”. With the understanding that quality content is better than quantity of content we should expect to see less posting from brands in 2021, but instead see more content that is powerful.

By following these 5 social media trends you will see vast improvements to your social media this year!

Need help keeping up with the social media trends? Quantifi Media can help you with that, as well as with other digital marketing solutions. Contact us at (570) 620-6350 to schedule a free consultation today!