The new rules of social media marketing in 2021
Social media has taken on greater significance for consumers and marketers as 2020’s events have forced more digital communication, but the ways of using it are evolving.
The resurgence of social media
One marketing discipline that rose back to prominence in 2020 is social media. It makes sense – as the world was forced to remain physically distanced, social media bridged the gap and kept us connected to family, friends, and the brands we love.
Until earlier this year, most brands knew where they stood on social media. They had the right balance of engagement, listening, content, and advertising. However, once the pandemic hit, the rules of the game changed.
Trend 1: The race to ROI: Social bridges the gap to a new customer experience
Almost three-quarters of marketers surveyed for the report ranked “increased acquisition of new customers” as their top outcome for social media in 2021, a 58% year-over-year increase. However, transactions alone don’t create memorable brands or ensure long-term growth.
In 2021, marketers will continue to use social media to meet two equally urgent imperatives:
- Deliver short-term ROI with targeted performance marketing tactics
- Building innovative digital experiences to win long-term loyalty
Trend 2: Silence is golden: Brands find their place in the conversation
Many brands made the mistake of trying to capitalise on the increased social media activity during the pandemic, completely overlooking the fact that people primarily wanted to connect with each other, not brands.
For the most part, these brands saw the error of their ways early and pulled back on advertising spend, redirecting focus to crisis response, social customer care and engagement. In 2021, marketers will strive to place more value on content over engagement—passive audiences are still consuming your content.
Trend 3: Way more than OK: A generation ignored by digital marketers booms on social
Marketers have typically targeted baby boomers through traditional TV advertising, which is still one of the most effective ways of reaching them. However, there has been a 66-point increase in baby boomers discovering new brands and products via social media over the past four years, and over a quarter of baby boomers are spending even longer on social platforms as a result of the pandemic. In 2021, social marketers will continue to explore this increasingly digitally savvy audience.
Trend 4: Do I know you? Tying engagement to identity gives advanced marketers new momentum
The pandemic has given executives renewed appreciation for social media, which became the strongest bridge for connecting with customers after so many traditional strategies collapsed.
Hootsuite’s research found 85% of organisations that integrate social data into other systems have confidence in their organisation’s ability to accurately quantify the ROI of social media.
In 2021, marketers will take steps to bridge the gap between engagement and customer identity by connecting more customer data with social data.
Groupe Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs unites social and CRM for a deeper understanding of the customer journey
Trend 5: The perils (and promise) of purpose: Bold brands start in the boardroom, not the front lines of social
In 2020, marketers stumbled under pressure to publicly address issues that their organisations had never focused on. Strong CMOs will use the intelligence gathered by social media teams in 2021 to help the organisation adapt to new buyer beliefs and pave a new path to growth that requires balancing the twin demands of building a better business and a better world.
Source: marketingweek.com
