The 9 Most Important Social Media Trends of 2021

What trends can you expect to see on social media in the coming year? 🤔 

We’re going to make a prediction.

2020 was a year like no other, and certainly not what we expected.

The entire world had to change its way of life due to the COVID-19 pandemic and faced numerous challenges. The pandemic brought about changes in a wide variety of areas— and a shift in usage patterns can also be observed in the realm of social media. With people spending more time at home and having fewer in-person social interactions, various social networks have seen a significant increase in usage.

In Switzerland alone, for example, Instagram saw a whopping +12.5% increase in users in just 5 months (October 2019 through March 2020).

Worldwide, a roughly 21% increase in monthly social media usage was observed in March.

Current Social Media Statistics for Switzerland

Social media is increasingly becoming a shopping channel. Amazon, Alibaba, and Google Shopping are facing serious competition from Instagram Shopping, Facebook Shopping, Pinterest Shopping, and others.

Social media offers users the opportunity to discover a product and purchase it on the same platform—this makes the shopping experience incredibly easy and straightforward.

The changes in people’s daily lives around the world are further fueling the trend toward social shopping.

Example of the Instagram Shopping feed.

As a result, shopping on social media platforms had already become established by 2020. For example, Pinterest increased the number of “shoppable product pins” by a factor of 2.5 in 2020.  

In 2021, we can also expect some exciting new shopping features that will make online shopping even easier. 

Instagram, for example, launched Instagram Shop back in 2020—a shopping feed that will significantly boost e-commerce next year as well.

So in 2021, it’s important to keep up with e-commerce and, as a company, to take a deeper look at the topic.

Social media platforms are increasingly seeking to take over the role of search engines. Although Google, the major competitor with a 92% market share in the search sector, has not yet been seriously threatened, the search landscape is changing.

The plan is to also use social media to search for and find people.

Instagram has evolved accordingly. In mid-November 2020, Instagram announced that it was expanding the search function in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and other countries. Users can now search using keywords as well as hashtags.

This opens up a whole new world. And one thing is certain: the Facebook Group (which includes Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook, among others) doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunities in the search sector…  

At the same time, Pinterest has established itself in the field of visual search. Now, you can simply take a photo and immediately receive suggested image results: https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/pinterest-lens
So 2021 could bring some interesting shifts in this area—ones you should start preparing for now.

Live video formats have gained immense popularity, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With people avoiding social contact, it’s all the more important to feel connected through live broadcasts.  

For businesses, live formats offer an opportunity to build stronger customer loyalty, among other things.

The year 2020 clearly demonstrated that social media provides a platform for opinions and voices that convey a powerful message. 

Source: Unsplash

The Black Lives Matter movement, for example, was able to leverage the vast reach of social media to inspire people around the world to reflect and take action.

That is exactly why it will be even more important next year for companies to take a stand and voice their own opinions.

Issues such as sustainability, equality, and diversity will come even more into the public eye, and as a result, companies’ stances on these issues will be scrutinized.

Update February 4, 2021: As predicted, Instagram itself is now recommending that users be more active. So Prediction 4 seems to be coming true :)

After IGTV, Instagram launched another new format called Reels—short videos similar to TikTok. It became a huge success in no time.

Video remains popular, with Reels offering a short-form format and IGTV a long-form format.

Reels have also been available on YouTube since November 2020. Facebook is likely to follow suit, thereby cementing the trend. In 2021, this trendy TikTok video format will play an even more important role and gain in relevance—if only to cut the ground from under its competitor, TikTok.

Tip: Experience has shown that Reels that are no longer than 15 seconds perform better than longer Reels.

Amid all the trends toward more social media and greater digitalization, there is also a growing realization that minors, in particular, should be protected from harmful influences. 

As early as 2019, the WHO (World Health Organization) issued a recommendation that infants up to 2 years old should avoid screen time as much as possible, and that, from a health perspective, less screen time is also better for children up to 3 years old.

Last year, the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” brought this issue even more into the public spotlight.

In 2021, we expect awareness of healthy and mindful use of online media to continue to grow. Here are 11 helpful tips for improving your digital well-being.

We’re already familiar with the “disappearing messages” feature from Snapchat, which generated a huge buzz.

Now Facebook has joined the trend with “Vanish Mode,” which makes messages in Messenger and on Instagram disappear after they’ve been read. The feature is currently available only in the U.S., but it will also be available in Europe in the future.

WhatsApp had already introduced this feature, which makes messages disappear after 7 days. This trend continues to promote the ephemeral nature of content, just as with Stories (see next point).

We consume a lot of content very quickly, which contributes to its disappearance. Over the course of the year, other platforms will likely follow this trend as well.

Stories are a format that first gained popularity on the Snapchat app. Instagram helped make the format a huge hit, and by 2020 at the latest, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn had also jumped on the bandwagon.

Source: Unsplash

Why will Stories continue to gain relevance in 2021?

User behavior has changed over time, and consumers’ attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, which is why Stories are ideally suited to this shift. 

So, story content should definitely not be underestimated in the coming year!

Never heard of AR? Pay attention—in 2021, this form of augmented reality will play an even more important role online.  

Specifically, you can think of things like the various filters on Snapchat or Instagram.

Due to the limited opportunities to visit stores, virtual try-on technology will continue to evolve and thus go hand in hand with e-commerce.

Sources:

• WhatsApp (2020), About Disappearing Messages
• Emarketer (2020), Augmented Reality in Social Media
• Later (2020), Instagram SEO: 6 Ways to Increase Your Discoverability
• Later (2020), 9 Predictions to Fuel Your Social Media Strategy in 2021
• Later (2020), 8 Trends Shaping the Future of Instagram Marketing
• Frobes (2020), ” Seven Digital Marketing Trends for 2021“
• Statista (2020), How Is the Coronavirus Affecting Digital Media Use?
• Statista (2020), Increased time spent on media consumption