Key Social Content Marketing Trends So Far in 2020

Looking back about 18 months ago, much was being said about the year 2020, and how it was expected to usher in a new decade of innovation and digitization in every sphere of business. Social marketing was no exception to that, and it’s proven even more important after a year and a half of dealing with pandemic restrictions and lockdowns. In the dynamic world of social, trends rarely stay the same from one year to another, yet, one aspect that remains the same is what a winning social media strategy looks like. Essentially, it is about delivering interesting, on-point information through the most effective formats and channels in order to:

• Extend your brand reach and awareness
• Improve your leads and conversions
• Deepen your customer engagement

Staying on top of the ever-evolving tools and features of social platforms, and the voracious appetite of your social users will help you deliver meaningful content in the best possible manner.

Here’s a glimpse into the social media marketing efforts that you may need to rethink or redefine going forward.

Give Your 2021 Social Content Marketing Strategy a Facelift

Studies conducted across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social platforms reveal that the average internet user has 7.6 social media accounts, and spends around 116 minutes on social media daily. This takes the lifetime social media usage to 5 years, 3 months. Given this reach, depth, and usage, there is no doubt that social media will dominate future marketing strategies.

Active social listening, highly personalized content, and real-time presence could be the driving force of your social media marketing strategy. Additionally, this year, you may want to:

1. Extend Your Presence with User-Generated Content: Consumer reviews and user-generated content (UGC) have an ever-growing influence in building trust in your brand, and driving purchase decisions. For example, around 84% millennials think that UGC is a good indicator of the quality of a product or service, and may not make buying decisions without looking at it. Leverage UGC in your social content efforts by encouraging content creation and brand tagging amongst your consumers.
2. Be Open to Ephemeral (Short-Lived) Content: With short attention spans and an overload of content in general, formats, such as stories on Instagram or Snapchat continue to increase in popularity. Over 500 million stories are shared daily on Instagram alone, which means, incorporating and retaining ephemeral content could be an integral part of your social content strategy.
3. Enhance Your Footprint on Niche Platforms: Conventional social platforms are here to stay, but they are also quite broad-based, noisy and cluttered. While users will continue to use comprehensive social media channels, they also want tools and platforms that provide personalized and relevant content or experiences. Quora’s feature called ‘Spaces’ or LinkedIn’s tool called ‘Pages’ will allow businesses to curate content, build online brand communities around shared interests, and enhance the quality of engagement with your users. Incorporate niche platforms into your content strategy for building and deepening relationships, and rely on the traditional platforms for brand discovery and customer acquisition.

Sharpen Your Content Marketing Strategy with On-Trend Social Tactics

Harness the power of social by periodically evaluating your business on some pertinent parameters:

• Social Presence: Is your business maintaining an active presence on the relevant social channels?
• Social Content Quality: Do users find your current social content relatable and useful?
• Social Interaction Techniques: Do you need to find new ways to engage with your customers on social?

Whether you started years ago or are yet to take the plunge, social media is going to be an integral part of your overall marketing plan. No matter where you are in this journey, it’s important to refocus your efforts and investments on the latest social tactics for an effective and winning content marketing strategy.

Not sure where to begin or what to incorporate in your social content plans for 2021 and beyond? Book a discovery meeting with your experts at WSI eStrategies in Ottawa. We can help you create powerful strategies that give you a competitive edge in the social marketing space.

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