5 WAYS TO ACE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME IN 2021 BY OPTIMIZING ENGAGEMENT.

March 22, 2021 | Fox Tales

This may sound redundant, but 2020 was a tough year for most. The world as we know it came to a standstill, and everything we thought we knew about conducting our business was altered dramatically in a matter of days. We learnt to work from home, figure out our daily tasks amid home-school and other distractions, and find new forms of entertainment to keep each other occupied (and sane). The time people spent on social media almost doubled during the pandemic and for brands, keeping up with social media trends to optimize your social media strategy became more important than ever. And now, believe it or not, the first quarter of 2021 is ending! If you haven’t been paying attention, do not panic! We got you covered. Here are 5 social media trend predictions to capitalize on in 2021:

1. Video Content Continues to Reigns Supreme: Videos on Instagram generate more engagement than any other content type. Tweets with an embedded video see 10 x more engagement. That is why video content (irrespective of the format or channel) is here to stay! From Reels, Live and Live Rooms, to the original video hub YouTube, there are tons of opportunities to grow your audience and boost your engagement with video content.

How can you use this to fuel your social media strategy? Create and share video content for your social channels, and do not shy away from re-purposing content across channels. If you haven’t yet, jump on the reels bandwagon and create video content to engage with your audience.

2. Drive up your Instagram Visibility through SEO: In November 2020, Instagram announced that the platform would now be more search friendly. So, if you use the search bar in Instagram and type in keywords, the most relevant posts, videos, and profiles populate your feed. This is huge because it gives you the opportunity to expand your reach by using strategic keywords in your captions and your bio.

How can you use this to fuel your social media strategy? Take advantage of this new development and ensure all your content, captions, bio, and hashtags include important keywords so that Instagram’s algorithm can identify what your profile/post is about. In addition to this, consistently post content that relates to your area of expertise. This will help Instagram categorize your account correctly so that you show up when your keywords are searched for.

3. Stories…….Everywhere: Stories have come a LONG way on social media. From a feature exclusive to Snapchat, 24-hour stories are now a mainstay on all platforms and are extremely popular. 500million users across the world use stories every day on Instagram alone. Twitter (Fleets), Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube….social media stories are everywhere! Stories are an excellent way to push out fun, engaging content daily and stay relevant in the minds of your audience.

How can you use this to fuel your social media strategy? Engage your followers by using the stories feature across channels. From opinion polls and quizzes to customized filters and Q&A’s, stories offer so many opportunities to boost engagement every day. Remember to ensure that your stories align with your overall branding and messaging.

4. Social Shopping is the New Normal: Ecommerce has firmly moved into the social media sphere! From Instagram’s Shop Feature and Reels Shopping to Facebook’s Marketplace, social platforms are now digital storefronts, and more and more consumers are shopping on social media. It is imperative that you set up your social media stores correctly to make the shopping experience easy for your target audience.

How can you use this to fuel your social media strategy? Have shoppable posts, video content demonstrating product quality and usefulness, and carefully curate the Shop feature on social media to capture customer attention. Be sure to align your social media Shop with your overall brand aesthetic and message to create a streamlined brand experience for consumers. Also be responsive and attentive to customer queries and comments on your posts and DMs.

5. Meme Culture: Let’s face it, memes are here to stay! The best way to engage with audiences and increase brand engagement and recall is to stay on top of trending memes, jokes and social media trends and capitalize on them by adding a personal touch to trending memes. Memes help you stay relevant and are a tactical way to grow your audience and boost engagement.

How can you use this to fuel your social media strategy? Monitor social media and digital media to stay up to date on what is trending and put out memes and trending content in a timely manner.

Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What are some of your plans to ace the Social Media Game in 2021?

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends and colleagues!