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Evolving social marketing and media trends in 2021

by | Feb 24, 2021 | Analysis, Public Relations

Social media platforms introduce new features and change their algorithms consistently to keep up to date and keep up with app feature trends to further improve your apps’ popularity. These rapid changes present a whole new challenge for brands, digital PR firms and social media marketers. This makes companies consistently review the future of social media and adjust their plan accordingly to stay relevant.

Live streams will always remain relevant and popular due to increasing technology and the online world. The global health crisis of 2020 saw many businesses going digital however they could to maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19. In-person meetings turned into Zoom conferences and live concerts turned into live streams of artists playing from their homes/small venues.

So naturally there was an uptick in the use of online streaming features on all social media. Facebook, instagram, TikTok, etc. For instance, the video and live video views nearly doubled in under a week. While the situation continues to evolve in 2021, people have gotten used to being able to interact with brands live without ever leaving their homes. Live streaming will continue to gain popularity and definitely be a part of your social media marketing strategy.

As marketer Alexei Orlov says, “Stories will need to take a more organized approach and plan for stories as a content format for their publishing calendars to keep up to date, if they aren’t already doing so. More importantly, the use of video as stories will increase since they appear to outperform photos and other posts.”

This is due to the more engaging content a video or a live video can provide as consumers can engage with the company or brand making it feel more personal/relatable for the consumer. A social insider study found that images in Stories have a 5.65% higher tap-forward rate than videos.

Tap-forward rate is the number of people who saw your Story and moved on to the next one before finishing it. The same analysis also found that photos in Stories had more drop-offs than videos, showing that people tend to spend more time viewing videos.

Virtual reality will become increasingly popular, due to the stay at home orders and the need for social distancing, people are searching for a more meaningful interaction virtually. Interacting with people through VR gives you a sense of actually being together even if they’re halfway across the world.

This is the exact kind of experience that people need at a time when they have to socially distance in these hard times. This can help the mental health of others giving a more personal and connected experience with virtual reality.

Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian is the Founder and Chairman of 5W Public Relations: 5WPR is one of the 20 largest PR Firms in the United States.

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