Social Media Predictions for 2021

As the world struggles in the wake of pandemic, social channels continue to serve users with several opportunities for entertainment, communication, and business. Especially marketers seized the opportunity and used social media to a possible extent in order to reach their customers effectively.

The influence of social media will remain in the coming years as well. This is why we are sharing a list of top social media trends to look out for in 2021. What are they? Let’s find out!

Facebook

Despite the severe backlash, Facebook will continue to hold the forth in 2021 and beyond. With the introduction of Storefront for both – Instagram and Facebook, the revenue for the social channel also sees a massive boost. And will resume as new features for users ease rolls out by Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook Pay and Diem is another feature to look out for in 2021. The one-click pay protocol with various advertising opportunities makes Facebook one of the most sought after platform for eCommerce activity.

Cross-Platform Messaging

While we have already seen a messaging merger between Instagram and Facebook, the trend will shape up as it broadens towards WhatsApp. This will not only give a boost to communication but give marketers more areas to explore and expand their advertising campaigns across all the leading social platforms.

AR Glasses

Facebook announced its ‘Project Aria’ wearable AR glasses in September with a potential release date in the second half of 2021. Alongside Facebook, Apple is also working on a similar project that is set to release at the same time.

This indicates AR eyewear to become a key addition in the tech sector as sales of Facebook’s previous AR glasses are also rising significantly in 2020.

The Rise of VR

With all major entertainment venues closed to contain the spread of coronavirus, many users are turning towards VR to fill in the gap. Of course by those who can afford it?

However, VR devices may see a reduction in price as well by next year as Facebook and other tech giants make more accessible options for the general public.

Twitter Tweaks

Twitter remains largely unchanged over the years and boasts stable growth as well. However, it does introduce options to compete with rivals such as Instagram and Facebook. For example, its version of Stories – the Fleets is now available for everyone and we can further expect Twitter to roll out new updates as the feature gains popularity.

Moreover, Twitter is also working on Audio Spaces, a unique audio-meet up feature. According to reports, the new feature would be similar to audio tweets but with a fun twist.

Instagram In-Stream Shopping

Instagram has become the hub of eCommerce and introduced several new features that make shopping easier from the platform. It seems like Instagram is moving away from its original roots - photography app - to become more reliant on online shopping. And it will continue developing tools and features that make shopping seamless.

Reels

Instagram introduced Reels – a clone to Tiktok but is it good enough? And does it stand at par with its rival? Most probably not!

However, we can expect Instagram to boost their Reels by introducing new features. The right influencers can also make a difference to Reels success and will help it gain more traction in several areas.

Snapchat

Snapchat stands apart from its competitors mainly because it caters primarily to a younger audience. Given this, we are anticipating Snapchat to put more focus on Snap Originals in 2021 and get notable celebrities on board to bring in more viewership.

It is also putting in more focus on eCommerce – just like Instagram and Facebook. It is working on several new partnerships, including an integration with Amazon to provide its creators with more opportunity to sell products direct in-stream.

Snapchat and Apple partnership

Things have been brewing up between Apple and Snapchat with both the tech giants working on Apple’s set of AR glasses. Apple has also announced Snap to be their first partner for its new LiDAR capacity. And as Apple’s specs are due to arrive in 2022, we can expect both the names are taken together on many occasions in the future as well.

TikTok eCommerce Focus

Despite facing several restrictions, TikTok continues to go strong – with a user base of close to a billion today. Like other social platforms, it is working on an eCommerce strategy.

However, it also needs to work on ways to have the creators paid for their efforts – or they might move away to other areas where they actually get paid real money.

LinkedIn

Lastly, we have LinkedIn, the network popular with the professional community. The network surpassed 700 million users in 2020 and continues to see record levels of engagement – even in the midst of a pandemic.

LinkedIn also leveraged the situation and made Live Events its forte by integrating several in-app live streaming functionalities for the benefit of its user base.

Expect to see more of those in 2021 as we may be allowed to go to physical events in 2021, the attractiveness of virtual events will remain for being cost-effective and accessible.

Final Words

2020 has been a tough year! And if it has taught us anything, it is to be prepared! These were just some expectations that we are anticipating from our favorite social media channels.

Have anything to add? Let us know in the comments section!


Illustration: Freepik / GiantTemplate
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