The social media trends of 2021

Now we all know trends come and go, but in the world of social media they tend to pass us by faster than ever. If you’ve been following our Web Wednesdays series on both our website and IGTV, you’d appreciate just how many new updates the big social media platforms push out on a weekly basis, not to mention the up-comers that seem to appear from nowhere (we’re looking at you, Clubhouse!).

In this short list, we will delve a little deeper into what we predict users, creators and developers will want to see as we progress further into 2021. In truth, we do feel that the world may take a slight step back from social media as it slowly returns to normality after Covid-19. Millions of us have been totally engrossed by screens and working from home has left us feeling like there’s a monitor wherever we turn. This leads us nicely onto our first predicted trend for this year…

 

Becoming spontaneous and adventurous

As we mentioned, many of us around the world but particularly here in the U.K are SO SICK OF BEING INDOORS. It’s creeping up to the one year anniversary of the first national lockdown, meaning many have been within the same four walls for one whole year. We expect to see a surge in marketing around falling back in love with the outdoors and the need for adventure.

We’ve already seen travel companies investing in this urge for freedom, with Airbnb being one of the main contributors to this. Their current campaign is based around just how much lockdowns around the world have caused families to be without each other, friends missing out on birthdays and occasions, and how when the world does return to normal Airbnb will be the place people will reunite.

Keep an eye out for more of this especially in the U.K as we finally start to ease back into normality, businesses will be looking to capitalise on that feeling of release and freedom!

 

Short videos will continue to dominate

Now this one seems pretty obvious, but there are now so many platforms and areas for short form videos content to be uploaded, it can be a little difficult to keep up with it all!

TikTok continues to be one of the biggest players, recently surpassing 1,000,000,000 users, putting them extremely close to Instagram. Naturally, the two rivals are constantly learning from each other and how their users interact with content on the appsInstagram’s response to TikTok, Reels has been a great success for the app, increasing the average time spent on the app by 3.5%.

Some of the numbers surrounding Instagram Reels are staggering too, with Louis Vuitton’s account claiming to average 7,000,000 views on every single Reel they share.

Both platforms have now cemented their place in content creation, with TikTok being slightly more geared towards editing and creativity, and Reels being a worthy addition to the creative suite that Instagram offers.

Shopping will become even easier

With the social media industry constantly adapting to enhance the user experience, we’re seeing more features and tools that support quick and easy shopping.

A good example of this is Instagram, businesses can add product tags and allow users to checkout whenever they want to. This commerce platform has come an awfully long way since it was first launched, and is now incredibly popular and seamless. Naturally, Facebook is just as simple with businesses being able to sell products directly through the app.

This could be the perfect tool for businesses of all sizes to capitalise on in 2021, especially considering the role of social media in purchase decisions. It’s worth keeping in mind that 54% of social media users research products using social media. Social media referrals can influence the purchase decisions of 71% of users.

 


Conversation is key

We’ve seen a huge rise in the number of conversational platforms in the last few months, allowing users to interact with influencers, friends, family and even celebrities from all over the world. This isn’t exactly a new or ground breaking discovery, FaceTime and Zoom were maximised throughout 2020, but apps like Clubhouse and Stereo add a new spin on what makes a good conversation.

We’ll start with Clubhouse, an app we’ve discussed before on our Web Wednesday’s article, which has been a meteoric rise to fame, despite still being in development. It works to connect like-minded people from any industry all over the world to share their knowledge and creativity, allowing followers to join in the conversation or just listen along should they wish to do so.

The desire to listen in on live podcasts has also boomed too, with Stereo providing exactly that: users can listen in as a podcast is being recorded, being able to share comments or ask questions, bringing listener and creator closer than ever before. We expect to see apps such as these continue to grow as we move further into 2021!

That was a quick insight into what we think will be main trends in the world of social media this year. If you’ve enjoyed this article, why not check out our others here!

Elliot NewtonThe social media trends of 2021