In Arik's annual presentation, he outlines 14 social media trends that realistically have a chance of impacting our work in 2021.

1. ACH
14 Social MediaTrends
to Watch in 2021
Arik C. Hanson
ACH Communications
Dec. 16, 2020

2. ACHACH
ABOUT ARIK

3. ACHACH
arik@arikhanson.com
arikhanson.com
TheTalkingPointsPodcast.com
arikhanson.com/subscribe
HERE’S WHERE TO FIND ME

4. ACHACH
What trended in 2020?
• More companies (and Mick Fleetwood)
experimented with TikTok
• Live video had its day in the sun
• More brands weighed in on social issues on
social media

5. ACHACH
What about 2021?

6. ACHACH
Trend #1: The comeback of the
corporate blog

7. ACHACH

8. ACHACH

9. ACHACH
Walmart

10. ACHACH
Walmart

11. ACHACH
US Bank

12. ACHACH
Target

13. ACHACH
Target

14. ACHACH
What it means for you
• Owned content never went out of style
• Time to knock the rust off your corporate blog in
2021?
• Maybe it’s time to start—remember, it doesn’t have
to be a “blog”

15. ACHACH
Trend #2: Companies embrace
video…on LinkedIn

16. ACHACH

17. ACHACH
Also:
LinkedIn reports that users spent three times more
time watching videos than viewing static content.
During the limited or beta release of LinkedIn Video, it
was found that videos were shared 20 times
more than any other type of content.

18. ACHACH

19. ACHACH

20. ACHACH

21. ACHACH

22. ACHACH
What it means for you
• Start small—you don’t necessarily need original
video content
• Make sure video connects to overall goals
• Won’t be apples to apples with photo-based content

23. ACHACH
Trend #3: User-generated content
becomes a social mainstay

24. ACHACH
Why?
• More relatable
• More human
• Easier to source (especially during COVID)

25. ACHACH

26. ACHACH

27. ACHACH

28. ACHACH

29. ACHACH
Trend #4: Stories actually don’t
become the future of social media

30. ACHACH

31. ACHACH

32. ACHACH

33. ACHACH
Feed still comes first
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook

34. ACHACH
Stories:
• Time-consuming to build
• Mostly cannot be repurposed
• Generating results brands want?

35. ACHACH
Trend #5: Facebook (finally) becomes
an e-commerce player

36. ACHACH
Why?
• 140 million small businesses use Facebook's
products, and 1 in 3 businesses in the U.S. didn't
even have a website
• Facebook family of apps: 2.4 billion daily users and
three billion monthly users
• Facebook plays to “discovery”

37. ACHACH

38. ACHACH

39. ACHACH

40. ACHACH
Won’t make sense for all brands, but…
• If you use Shopify, it syncs nicely with that tool.
• It could be a more seamless shopping experience
than your site for some companies
• It’s e-commerce without the build

41. ACHACH
Trend #6: Niche platforms further
splinter the social web

42. ACHACH

43. ACHACH

44. ACHACH

45. ACHACH
What does this mean for brands?
• You don’t HAVE to be on the “Big 4”
• Additional investment or shifting priorities—spending
time/energy on these niche platforms will require
both
• Budget ample “get to know the platform” time
• Educate key leaders

46. ACHACH
Trend #7: TikTok won’t crack the “top
5” for most brands

47. ACHACH
But—brands need to be ready

48. ACHACH
What does that mean?
• Prepare for your “viral moment”
• Scan to see if you have employees who might be
influencers
• Educate key internal stakeholders

49. ACHACH
Trend #8: More companies will make
bigger bets on bigger pieces of
content

50. ACHACH

51. ACHACH

52. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Quality > Quantity
• Resist the urge to focus on volume
• Goal: Create one major content asset in Q1—see
how it performs vs. 5-7 smaller ones.

53. ACHACH
Trend #9: “Taking a stand” will be table
stakes on social

54. ACHACH

55. ACHACH
These companies have been doing it
for years

56. ACHACH
But now…

57. ACHACH

58. ACHACH

59. ACHACH
What it means for you
• Whatever stand you take, it should align with your
mission, vision and values.
• In this current climate, actions speak (a lot) louder
than words.

60. ACHACH
Trend #10: Influencers doing more
social good than social selling

61. ACHACH

62. ACHACH

63. ACHACH

64. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Chance to engage influencers across different areas
of your organization
• Lead with social good—get to the selling later (read:
establish trust).

65. ACHACH
Trend #11: Companies let customers,
culture dictate brand (a little)

66. ACHACH
It’s amazing, but in 2020 some brands
still think they can control everything

67. ACHACH
However, more brands are adapting

68. ACHACH

69. ACHACH

70. ACHACH

71. ACHACH

72. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Be ready to embrace your “viral moment”—focus on
education with key leaders now before you need it
• Social listening can play a big role in figuring out
what customers really think about your brand

73. ACHACH
Trend #12: Social marketing will tug on
nostalgic heartstrings

74. ACHACH

75. ACHACH

76. ACHACH

77. ACHACH

78. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Even if your brand doesn’t have obvious ties to
nostalgia, it doesn’t mean you can’t participate
• Even nostalgia for your brand can work well in some
cases (old brand logos, former brand experiences
and milestones)

79. ACHACH
Trend #13: Twitch officially becomes a
major social media platform for brands
(via influencers)

80. ACHACH
The stats
• 40 million monthly active viewers
• Owns almost 75% of video game streaming market
• Average viewer spends 95 minutes a day on Twitch
• Hours watched on Twitch jumped 50 percent
between March and April 2020 and a full 101
percent year over year.
• Overwhelmingly Millennial—71% of Twitch users are
Millennials (the remaining 29% comes from my
son’s usage)

81. ACHACH

82. ACHACH

83. ACHACH

84. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Maybe nothing—Twitch clearly isn’t for every brand
• Identify influencers you think your brand might align
with first—Twitch is an “influencer first” platform right
now.

85. ACHACH
Trend #14: Executives—not employees—
will hold more influence on LinkedIn

86. ACHACH

87. ACHACH

88. ACHACH

89. ACHACH
What it means for you:
• Make sure your CEOs/executives profiles are
polished.
• Take advantage of this moment—now is the time to
work with your execs to get them active on LinkedIn!

90. ACHACH
14 Social Media Trends
• #1: The comeback of the corporate blog
• #2: Companies embrace video…on LinkedIn
• #3: User-Generated Content Becomes a Mainstay
• #4: Stories actually don’t become the future of social media
• #5: Facebook (finally) becomes an e-commerce player
• #6: Niche platforms further splinter the social web
• #7: TikTok won’t crack the “top 5” for most brands—but…
#8: More companies will make big bets on fewer pieces of content
• #9: “Taking a stand” will be table stakes on social
• #10: Influencers doing more social good than social selling
• #11: Companies let customers, culture dictate brand
• #12: Social marketing will tug on nostalgic heartstrings
• #13: Twitch officially becomes a major social media platform for brands
(via influencers)
• #14: Executives—not employees—will hold more influence on LinkedIn