Social Media Trends: The Most Important Social Media Predictions for Your Small Business in 2021

2020…what a year it’s been!

Fortunately, a new year has begun, and I have a fresh set of predictions that will help your small business get ahead in 2021.

Following are my predictions for the top 10 social media trends you need to know about!

1. Conversational Marketing Will Drive Sales.

How do you currently communicate with your customers and clients?

If you’re like most business owners, I’m going to guess by email, social media and phone.

But did you know that according to Twilio, 89% of consumers would like to use messaging to communicate with businesses?

This underlines the increasing importance of using more personal, conversational methods of communication: methods like texting and chatbots.

These allow you to converse in real-time, answering questions almost instantaneously, rather than waiting hours or even days to get a response.

I believe this is the type of marketing that’s going to drive sales in 2021…so now is definitely the time to jump in.

Not sure how to start using conversational marketing? Check out my post, What Are Chatbots, and How Should I Use Them?

2. Mobile Optimization is More Important Than Ever.

I know, I know…every expert and guru out there has been saying it for years: your website and content MUST be optimized for mobile!

But we’re not just blowing smoke when we say this: exactly half (50.8%) of all website traffic is now mobile.

Find this surprising? According to Constant Contact, approximately 60% of all email opens are on a mobile device or tablet.

And these percentages are only going to increase as we head into 2021 and beyond.

So, how can you optimize for your mobile customers and visitors?

For your email newsletters: Test your emails on multiple devices, keep your content short and catchy (this includes your subject lines, as mobile devices show fewer characters), make sure your buttons and calls to action/links are big and easy to click on a small screen.

For your website: Use a responsive website design, make sure your site loads quickly, ensure buttons and links are easy to click, optimize your content for voice search (more on this below), and compress your images to make sure they’re small and don’t slow down your site.

3. Organic Reach Will Continue to be an Uphill Battle.

Focus on platforms like YouTube and Pinterest where ranking in Search is still possible.

If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve no doubt had to work harder and harder just to get your stuff seen – whether that’s your website content or social media posts.

As I’m sure you noticed, this is especially the case on Facebook…which unfortunately may be where you’ve been working SO hard to build a presence all these years!

Fortunately, YouTube and Pinterest still offer a great opportunity for business owners to get found via Search.

On YouTube, try typing some keywords into the search bar to see what people are looking for…then create content around those topics. Use your keywords in your video description, tags, and of course, within your actual video.

Here are some more great tips for getting better rankings on YouTube.

On Pinterest, focus on creating fresh new content on a regular basis. Create multiple pins for each piece of content, and be sure to use your keywords in your pin description and board titles.

Need more tips for getting traffic and sales from Pinterest? Check out my new training, Pins Made Simple.

4. Short Video Content Will Drive Views and Engagement.

A tool like Invideo makes it easy to create short marketing videos

Given the rise in mobile use, it should come as no surprise that short videos are where it’s at in 2021 (Did someone say TikTok?).

Mobile usage, combined with generally shorter attention spans, sets the stage for concise, catchy and uber-informative videos…both on websites and social media.

Product demos, video ads, interviews, vlogs, and even video emails should get to the point quickly in order to capture (and keep) the attention of their viewers.

Not sure where to start with creating these snappy little videos? Invideo.io is a great tool that lets you easily create videos that will rock it on social media. Simply choose from their selection of thousands of video templates, customize the text and add music from their library, and you’re good to go.

Create your first video on Invideo.io for free now.

5. Consumers Will Expect More Personalized Marketing.

We’ve already talked about the rise in conversational marketing. So it’s not surprising that for this social media trend, consumers also expect a more personalized and targeted experience across all channels: website, social media, email and text.

According to Statista, 90% of US consumers find personalized marketing content “somewhat or very” appealing.

So…how exactly does one actually do this? Here are a few ideas you can implement right away:

• Use segmentation in your email marketing: Send campaigns based on demographics, interests and how your subscribers have interacted with you in the past.
• Offer personalized product recommendations on your website: For instance, “You might also be interested in…”
• Use retargeting to advertise products people have already looked at on your site.

6. The Popularity of Live Video Will Continue to Grow.

We’ve seen a steady increase in the creation and consumption of live video over the past few years…particularly since March 2020.

With most of the major social networking platforms offering the opportunity to livestream, it’s easier than ever to hop on and go live – or even to have your own live show.

For this reason, I believe one of the social media trends will be more and more business owners will use live video in 2021.

And this will be exactly what your customers want! According to research done by Livestream and New York Magazine, 80% of consumers would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog post.

So, take some of that time you’re investing in your blog and go create some Facebook, LinkedIn or Youtube lives!

7. Shiny Object Syndrome Will Decline: Tried and Proven Marketing Will Increase.

Businesses will get better at tracking ROI so they can do what actually works. Image courtesy of Hubspot.

If you’re like many business owners, you’re tired of trying the same things again and again, while never really getting ahead.

And given what we went through in 2020, you’re probably ready to latch on to what you KNOW works…and then do more of it!

This is going to mean businesses will get better at tracking their marketing ROI and analytics, as well as keeping up with the latest marketing stats.

For instance, did you know that businesses are still seeing the largest ROI from their efforts on Facebook?

While this doesn’t mean you need to use Facebook, it is a great reminder to stay on top of what’s working – not just for your business – but for others as well.

Want to stay ahead of the competition by knowing exactly which marketing strategies work, and which don’t? My Business Builder’s Academy is THE resource for staying in the “know” when it comes to marketing.

With over 50 exclusive mini-courses and workshops, you can stop guessing…and start doing what works!

Join the Academy now.

8. Meme Marketing Will Be a Great Way to Connect with Gen Z’s and Millennials.

You probably think of memes as just a fun way to pass time on social media.

And while they are fun, businesses can definitely use them to their advantage!

Memes are quick and easy to create, are excellent for getting reach and engagement, and are great for connecting with the 13-36 year old crowd.

A few tips for marketing with memes:

• Make sure they’re on brand and on voice. Your followers should know immediately that the meme is from you.
• Make sure you know how the image/meme has been used before. Some memes have a history of being divisive or controversial and you don’t want that associated with your brand!
• Make sure you’re not using a dated meme. This can make you look boring, disconnected, and out of touch.

9. More Businesses Will Care About Socially Conscious Marketing.

Businesses can no longer operate within their own little silo.

Rather, they need to be aware of what’s going on in society, and be up to date on the current state of politics and the environment.

As a business owner, this can not only help you avoid embarrassing or damaging marketing campaigns, but can also be a real boon for sales.

For instance, Toms Shoes has differentiated itself largely because of its popular “One for One” campaign: buy one pair of shoes, and the company will donate a second pair to a person in need.

Given everything we’ve gone through in 2020 – and are still dealing with in 2021 – being socially conscious, active and aware are more important than ever and will definitely be a social media trend!

10. Businesses Will Need to Take Voice Search Seriously.

According to a recent ComScore report, more than half of smartphone owners are now using voice search.

This number is going up every year, and shows no signs of slowing down…so businesses – even small ones – need to have a plan for how to get their content to rank for voice search.

Some ways you can do this include:

• Writing content that asks and answers specific questions (e.g., “Who is Matt Damon?”)
• Optimizing for location-based searches: This could mean including a map, step-by-step directions, address variations, etc.
• Keeping an up-to-date Google My Business profile
• Having a fast, mobile-optimized website

Well…what do you think?

Do you agree with my predictions of this year's social media trends? If not, why?

Share with us below!

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

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