Key Marketing Trends 2021 – Part 1: Social Platforms

In this series of articles, we look at what key marketing trends will shape 2021.

Social media platforms evolve constantly and with this comes the need for marketers to always be ready to adapt. So what should we be expecting in 2021?

If 2020 was the year of Stories, then we are ready to bet that 2021 will be the year of even more ephemeral content. And that means that TikTok will be the platform to watch.

After a tumultuous year on the geopolitical level, TikTok will now be free to continue its explosive growth. But that does not mean that we should forget Instagram. The Facebook-owned platform has a lot to show when it comes to ephemeral content and its strong network of content Creators. Plus Instagram is already social-commerce ready. And in a year of “contactless” reality, that could mean a lot.

Here are our key marketing trends 2021 for platforms:

TikTok Will Explode

TikTok is set to continue growing at lighting speed (+27% global growth predicted, over 300M total downloads) and remain the only large social media site with growing penetration in 2021. But don’t think that TikTok is only for those brands who target younger demographics, the platform has seen strong growth amongolder and higher-income demographics.

Overall, the latest data show that 60% of TikTok users are aged 16 to 24 years, 26% are 25 to 44 years, and 14% are above 44 years.

Instagram bets on Stories

Instagram has become the new YouTube. The younger generation of Creators is choosing Instagram over YouTube to reach out to their audience. And that is because the platform offers what Millenials are craving: real content that does not stick around: In 2020, Stories were seen by over 500M viewers daily.

The platform will continue to focus on Stories and more social commerce and AR integrations are likely to land on the app very early in 2021.

Social commerce will boom

With almost half of the world’s population now using social media, social commerce is the obvious next step for online shopping. And after a year of social distancing, people have learned to navigate the newer and easier ways to shop online via social media.

71% of consumers turn to social media for shopping inspiration, with 55% of online shoppers now making the majority of their purchases through social media channels.

With the introduction of Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops social commerce will be big news in 2021.

Want more? Check out our Key Marketing Trends 2021 for Content.

An initiative by SuperHeroes, The Attention Academy is a collaborative platform where research, innovation, and international creativity help brands win, retain, and convert a digitally native generation—you know, the ones with micro-attention spans, and millions of options at their fingertips.

If you are looking for solutions to really grab the attention of your audience, contact us now.