Do you have a successful social media marketing strategy? Do you want to learn about the trends and predictions of social media marketing and how to promote your business successfully?

Social Media Marketing: Trends and Predictions

In 2021, there are approximately 3.78B social media users around the world (2.5 billion users in 2017).

In the coming years, social media use will continue to grow.

Here are some trends and predictions of social media marketing and how to create a successful marketing strategy.

1. Social Media Are A Popular Shopping Platform

Shopping became more virtual (Pandemic Effect) and social media platforms became a popular shopping outlet.

The number of social commerce buyers in the US has increased by 25.2% (reaching over 80 million).

And that number will exceed over 100 million by 2023.

18% of US consumers hit a “buy” button on a social media platform last year, compared to 13% in 2019.

Younger people are more likely to shop on social media platforms.

2. Short-Form Video Content

Video posts perform better than static photo posts on social media.

Also, Instagram videos received twice as much engagement as photo posts.

Reports show that 82% of online content will consist of videos by 2022.

TikTok is a social media platform that is dedicated to short-form videos.

To compete with TikTok, Instagram launched Instagram Reels in 2020.

Reels allow users to record and post videos up to 30 seconds in length. This is on top of Instagram’s two other video options, IGTV, and Stories.

YouTube also rolled out a new feature in 2020, YouTube Shorts, as a TikTok and Instagram Reels competitor.

3. Social Media Becomes Part Of Daily Life

More than 72% of Americans were on social media by the end of 2020, a 4.3% increase from the year before.

Not only is the number of social media users growing.

But the amount of time that users are spending on social media platforms is growing too.

On average, people spent about 145 minutes on social media every day. This is about one hour longer than people were spending on social media in 2012.

4. Bite-Sized Content

People are spending more time on social media.

But they’re spending less time engaging with individual posts.

Studies show that the attention span of the average person today is 8 seconds.

People who access social media content on their computers tend to spend slightly more time on each piece of content than those on mobile devices.

Social media sites are adjusting to this by increasingly offering bite-size content options such as short-form videos and ephemeral (disappearing) content.

In late 2020, Twitter introduced Fleets, a feature similar to Snapchat and Instagram Stories.

5. Augmented Reality

The Augmented Reality (AR) market is still in its infancy.

But is projected to gain momentum in the coming years.

Approximately 48% of consumers are projected to use AR in some form by the end of 2021.

AR and VR are expected to become more mainstream as cell networks become stronger and faster.

By 2023, the AR market is projected to be generating $70-$75 billion in annual revenue.

Social media networks are getting in on the trend early.

AR has been incorporated into Instagram filters since 2017. In 2019, Instagram stepped up the AR game even further with an option for users to create their filters.

Social media platforms and businesses will find more ways to incorporate AR into their platforms.

6. User-Generated Content

Businesses are incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into their social media marketing strategies.

Brands that incorporate UGC have a 20% increase in return visitors and a 90% increase in the time that consumers spend on their websites.

UGC images are also 81% more likely to convert.

UGC it’s cheaper than traditional advertising, more relatable, and can help brands to be perceived as more authentic and socially conscious.

Authenticity is important to consumers.

Last Tip

Social media usage is expected to grow over the next 2-3 years.

New features, such as ephemeral content, short-form videos, and AR, are ensuring that users stay glued to social media platforms for longer periods each day.

Social media and social commerce will generate revenue for businesses and brands.

Businesses will find more ways to tailor their social media strategy around changes that these platforms roll out.