Social Media Advertising Trends That Will Continue In 2021

Can you imagine advertising your product in hopes to drive in more people, without the impact of social media? Perhaps, your answer is no because you will be behind the curve if you are not advertising online. It is quite evident that with the advent of social media, it has become apparent to establish a relationship with your audience. With 3.81 billion people accommodating this realm and being an active user, you have the task of fostering a genuine community for your brand. By incorporating effective social media marketing strategies, you may have the pedestal ready to increase your referral traffic by 31%.

We have explored eight trends in social media advertisements which will continue to linger in 2021. With that, you will also get a brief idea about why social media is an excellent platform for advertising your products.

 TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENTS

You need to realise that social media, being the cornerstone of digital marketing, is not just a tool, rather it has its own goals. It is rapidly evolving while the audience gets smarter. There are varied ways of leveraging its power with innovative ideas to gain the most out of your advertisement contents. In this new era of human engagement, it is beneficial to keep up with the current trends and align your advertisement tactics along with it. 

1. Gamification 

Imagine being rewarded for a simple task like brushing teeth or anything from your mundane routine. Wouldn't it be fun? Well, the principle of gamification refers to incorporating game-like elements in an advertisement policy. It utilizes the essence of the competitive nature of the audience and rewards them in the form of scoring points, discounts, giveaways, etc. Gamification is an effective strategy in amplifying the brand's name while engaging the consumers in an impressive arena of fun activities. For instance, you may trigger your buyers in posting pictures with the products of your brand and encourage them to use a hashtag to enter a competition. You may offer the best entry with an incentive such as personalized gifts or coupon offers. It will serve the purpose of gaining the attention of many while displaying the creative bone of your company. Make sure to include a level of urgency by adding in the component of time constraints to increase the audience's motivation. You will be surprised to know that the gamification of social media advertisement will lead to an increase in the engagement rate by almost 100-150%. 

2. Memetic messaging

 A meme is a creation of satire which draws in parallels from subtle pertinence of the current popular culture. You can never guess which meme will go viral in the social media platforms. For one moment, "everything is cake" and next, its "Binod". You must hop on the trend at the right time to gain popularity while creating a connection with the audience through humour. It will allow people to laugh but, the rate at which the return-on-investment increases is not a matter of joke. It employs a cutting-edge performance while optimising social relevance at a cheap price. 

3. Interactive content

Do you know that 93% of the marketers would agree on the fact that interactive contents are profoundly useful in creating an acquaintance of your company with its prospects? This is mainly because people seek an experience with your brand, a certain degree of involvement with your brand and hope to receive real-time response from your brand. By doing so, it will encourage the users to increase their interactions and compel them to share your contents on other platforms too. Apart from this, you may also gain insight into their preferences. In your social networking ventures, there are many aspects of interactive content that you can implement to improve your performance and leverage your investment in the creation of social media content. Some of these include features like polls, surveys, ask me anything on Instagram, 360-degree videos etc. 

4. Social commerce and shoppable posts

Your brand can currently implement eCommerce strategies in social media posts to render maximum possibilities for sales. For instance, Instagram's shoppable feature wherein users can be directly transferred to the payment gateway within Instagram after clicking on the product. We also have the Facebook shop and buyable pins of Pinterest. It reduces the risk of users abandoning their purchase process because of logging in to an obscure store or visiting a different website. Instagram estimates that the network has 1 billion users, 90% of which already follow successful shopping brands, many of whom access these accounts regularly. Shoppable posts in your account will ease the method and allow the customer to shop with just a click on the given ads. 

5. Visual search

 The CEO of Pinterest asserts that the future will replace keywords with pictures while surfing online. Visual search serves the user with the feature of uploading an image file in hopes of receiving the specific result. Pinterest Lens is a great example of this method. It's a visual search app that allows users to take a picture of an object to find out where they can purchase it online, search for similar products or view related objects on pinboards. It currently recognizes 2.5 billion household and fashion pieces, inspired over 600 million searches on the mobile applications and browser extensions of Pinterest and has seen a rise of 140% from the day of launch. Almost 62% of people are intrigued by the capabilities of the visual search feature. 

6. Influencer marketing

You must be familiar with the idea of celebrity endorsements, right? Well, Influencer marketing, akin to celebrity endorsements, ties in prominent individuals across distinct spheres and builds word-of-mouth around a product or service to urge consumers to purchase. This trend delves into the population of young users who portray themselves as authentic and carry a sense of aesthetics in their posts. In today's world, 63% of people are more likely to follow the footsteps of such influencers from TikTok or YouTube. They have a particular niche of a community who idolises them and hold them credible to advise on products or services. With the current platform of Instagram Reels, you may pin your confidence in Influencer marketing as it is versatile and plain sailing.

7. Video Marketing

If you are scrolling through your social media feed, which is more likely to pique your interest, bland generic textual information or attractive video content? It would be right to conclude that you are 27% more likely to click on a video advertisement instead of a static banner that lacks a dynamic touch. Almost 52% of the consumers gather confidence in your brand after watching an interesting video on your page. It is due to the fact that people yearn for easy to digest contents in an exciting format. It is evident because 72% of businesses claim that videos aided in increasing their conversion rate. It is more like to drive engagements after introducing your brand in the market. You must leverage all sorts of function in various social media avenues, for instance, live show on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or utilising Reels on Instagram to create suspense around your product.

8. Value-based marketing

You must be aware of the fact that value-based marketing appeals to an individual's values and ethics. It just might be the trend which should top your list whilst planning to increase the engagement rate between the consumer and your brand. We are thriving in a world where the current generation is becoming more conscious about the social values linked with your brand. Your company might face a decline in ROI and customers if you fail to engage in benevolent issues like mental health, inclusivity, sustainable development and social justice. Try incorporating such social responsibility causes that will naturally fit your company culture and brand. Be sincere about your efforts and you will notice people appreciating your work. 

Psychological Facts About Social Media

Understanding the psychological facts behind the way people tend to behave on social media is the first step towards building better interactions, deeper connections, and far more satisfied customers in the immediate future. Try to gain insight into the anticipated nature of your target audience and what drives them to be influenced by your brand. 

• Emotional Contagion Drives Engagement

You see, an advertising strategy is only a plan of action but to compel people to engage with it, you need to trigger their emotions. Try to create positive and humorous contents which evoke a sense of happiness. 

• Impact Of Colors

People take around 90 seconds of their immediate encounters with your product to make a decision. Approximately 62 to 90% of the evaluation is solely based on colour. 

• The Fear Of Missing Out

 Try to leverage the phenomenon wherein people constantly check their social media feed to keep up with the trends. Try to make them realise, what might they miss if they don't acknowledge your advertisements or sales. 

• The Halo Effect

It depicts the power of positive influence for your audience, stating that they would associate with your brand based upon concrete information. To establish credibility, you can post contents on customer reviews or provide validation for your products via celebrities. 

 Let’s wrap this up

With the end of 2020, the ideals of the world have changed by manifolds. The current phase of social media advertising trends will continue to evolve too. With the unforeseen pandemic and the rise of various social awareness issues, consumers have become extremely cautious. So, the question is, are you keeping up? To put the right foot forward, you must understand the trends and the inclinations of the audience. If you need the assistance of a premium company who will thoroughly guide you on your journey of social media advertisement, you can pin your faith on Haarway.