social media and search engine trends for 2021
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 4:52 am
Social media and search engine trends for 2021
Marketing Digital
During 2020, purchasing habits and commercial dynamics between consumers and companies underwent significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, both companies and marketing agencies had to modify strategies, content, campaigns, products, services, delivery methods, communication channels, among other elements, to adapt to the context, and thus avoid loss of profits.
This whole panorama gave rise to a set of challenges, trends and opportunities in digital marketing for 2021 , and in this article we will start by explaining the trends in social networks and search engines for 2021 .
1. Short videos
Short videos on social media are between 15 and 60 seconds long. They are usually a showcase for showcasing dances, choreographies and imitations; and a space to offer valuable content such as advice, information capsules and short tutorials.
Tik Tok is one of the platforms where this type of content is shared the most and during 2020 it was one of the most downloaded:
According to Sensor Tower figures , during the third quarter of 2020, Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store recorded 36.5 billion app downloads, with TikTok being the most downloaded app during this period, generating an 800% increase in consumer spending compared to the third quarter of 2019.
The rise of short videos was also reflected in Snapchat's interface changes to provide more features to its users when creating them, and in the launch of Instagram Reels: a tool in which you can create Instagram posts with sequences of short videos, texts, audios and stickers.
Thus, it is estimated that this trend will continue in 2021 as an attractive format to provide valuable content and tell stories.
Read also: What is Tik Tok App and why is it growing so fast?
2. Sustainability and inclusion campaigns
Since they were first announced in September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a guide to follow in order to solve a significant number of social, economic and environmental problems that affect us globally.
In this regard, over the last 5 years, treaties, regulations, laws and awareness campaigns have emerged around the world that have been promoted by non-profit organizations, public institutions and companies that are committed to reducing environmental pollution and increasing social inclusion policies.
In addition, many people today, especially young people, demonstrate greater sensitivity towards social injustice on social media; they want to see a more optimistic depiction of equality in the content they consume and the brands they buy.
According to Accenture , this cultural shift is already affecting purchasing behavior: 41% of shoppers “have switched… their business from a retailer that doesn’t reflect how important identity and diversity is to them.” The same study showed that 29% of consumers are willing to switch brands entirely if they don’t showcase enough diversity.
Another example is that, according to Nielsen , 81% of consumers surveyed for a study strongly believe that companies should help improve the environment. This shows us that we are witnessing an increase in the popularity of sustainable and ecological brands, especially in young communities.
In response to these demands, this year we were able to see how multiple brands around the world have developed marketing strategies related to these major movements and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and have even changed their business model to one that is more environmentally friendly; B or triple impact companies are an example of this.
These awareness-raising and promotional efforts to achieve a less polluted and, above all, more inclusive planet were noted on social media throughout 2021 through advertising campaigns, such as Calvin Klein's for LGBT Pride Month, and social campaigns, such as those of Black Lives Matter and the environmental movement "Friday For Future."
So in a way, using social media to communicate the changes, campaigns and alliances that brands have developed with inclusive and environmentalist purposes has become a very positive trend that we know will continue to grow in 2021.
3. Purchases through publications
The growth of Facebook Marketplace users and advertisements with calls to action to purchase on this social network, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube and LinkedIn have turned social networks into a space for commercial exchanges.
At the same time, with the arrival of Instagram Shopping in Latin taiwan contact number America and other European countries, consumers have had a new channel to make purchases: they only have to click on the products that appear in a post to automatically go to an e-commerce site with a payment gateway and purchase it.
These social media shopping options have facilitated transactions between consumers and businesses, and have played an important role during the months of quarantine, when home delivery orders have increased.
In light of these new demands and offers of options to facilitate shopping services, in the new Instagram interface update, for example, you can see how the button to access Instagram Shopping is located in the main menu, where the option to upload content was previously located.
Thus, it is expected that purchases through social media posts will continue to be a trend for 2021.
We invite you to read: Guide to activate Instagram Shopping [Updated 2020]
4. Voice searches
Voice search is now available on almost all smartphones. It is a quick and easy way to find information on the Internet.
It works through virtual assistants equipped with artificial intelligence such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana and Google Home, which process and analyze live audio with search requests, to help users find, in just a few seconds, the information they are interested in.
A 2017 Gartner study predicted that by 2020, 30% of Internet browsing will be done without a screen. Then, at the end of January 2018, the company indicated that that same month, 1 billion voice searches were registered.
Google, for its part, estimated that by 2020, 50% of all searches would be by voice commands; this percentage is sure to increase by 2021.
The truth is that voice searches, as a current trend, have caused SEO specialists to rethink the keywords with which they are going to position a website, based not only on the textual queries that a person can make in a search engine, but also on what they can say to it.
5. Image and video SEO
We all know we can search for images and videos by typing keywords into search engines, but did you know you can also submit existing images for a search, or even take original photos and find related content?
Image search on Google is the act of finding websites or articles without having to type a word: you just need to upload an image file or image URL to the search engine so that Google's algorithms can analyze it and find it in the billions of indexed images they have in their database.
Over the past two years, this Google tool, which is not new but has been around since 2011, has been used more by Internet users. As a result, this has led to new approaches in SEO techniques.
Just as voice searches have stimulated new ways of analyzing and selecting keywords, visual searches for images and videos have forced SEO specialists to take the following actions to appear first in the results:
Include “alt text” in all your image descriptions.
Marketing Digital
During 2020, purchasing habits and commercial dynamics between consumers and companies underwent significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, both companies and marketing agencies had to modify strategies, content, campaigns, products, services, delivery methods, communication channels, among other elements, to adapt to the context, and thus avoid loss of profits.
This whole panorama gave rise to a set of challenges, trends and opportunities in digital marketing for 2021 , and in this article we will start by explaining the trends in social networks and search engines for 2021 .
1. Short videos
Short videos on social media are between 15 and 60 seconds long. They are usually a showcase for showcasing dances, choreographies and imitations; and a space to offer valuable content such as advice, information capsules and short tutorials.
Tik Tok is one of the platforms where this type of content is shared the most and during 2020 it was one of the most downloaded:
According to Sensor Tower figures , during the third quarter of 2020, Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store recorded 36.5 billion app downloads, with TikTok being the most downloaded app during this period, generating an 800% increase in consumer spending compared to the third quarter of 2019.
The rise of short videos was also reflected in Snapchat's interface changes to provide more features to its users when creating them, and in the launch of Instagram Reels: a tool in which you can create Instagram posts with sequences of short videos, texts, audios and stickers.
Thus, it is estimated that this trend will continue in 2021 as an attractive format to provide valuable content and tell stories.
Read also: What is Tik Tok App and why is it growing so fast?
2. Sustainability and inclusion campaigns
Since they were first announced in September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a guide to follow in order to solve a significant number of social, economic and environmental problems that affect us globally.
In this regard, over the last 5 years, treaties, regulations, laws and awareness campaigns have emerged around the world that have been promoted by non-profit organizations, public institutions and companies that are committed to reducing environmental pollution and increasing social inclusion policies.
In addition, many people today, especially young people, demonstrate greater sensitivity towards social injustice on social media; they want to see a more optimistic depiction of equality in the content they consume and the brands they buy.
According to Accenture , this cultural shift is already affecting purchasing behavior: 41% of shoppers “have switched… their business from a retailer that doesn’t reflect how important identity and diversity is to them.” The same study showed that 29% of consumers are willing to switch brands entirely if they don’t showcase enough diversity.
Another example is that, according to Nielsen , 81% of consumers surveyed for a study strongly believe that companies should help improve the environment. This shows us that we are witnessing an increase in the popularity of sustainable and ecological brands, especially in young communities.
In response to these demands, this year we were able to see how multiple brands around the world have developed marketing strategies related to these major movements and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and have even changed their business model to one that is more environmentally friendly; B or triple impact companies are an example of this.
These awareness-raising and promotional efforts to achieve a less polluted and, above all, more inclusive planet were noted on social media throughout 2021 through advertising campaigns, such as Calvin Klein's for LGBT Pride Month, and social campaigns, such as those of Black Lives Matter and the environmental movement "Friday For Future."
So in a way, using social media to communicate the changes, campaigns and alliances that brands have developed with inclusive and environmentalist purposes has become a very positive trend that we know will continue to grow in 2021.
3. Purchases through publications
The growth of Facebook Marketplace users and advertisements with calls to action to purchase on this social network, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube and LinkedIn have turned social networks into a space for commercial exchanges.
At the same time, with the arrival of Instagram Shopping in Latin taiwan contact number America and other European countries, consumers have had a new channel to make purchases: they only have to click on the products that appear in a post to automatically go to an e-commerce site with a payment gateway and purchase it.
These social media shopping options have facilitated transactions between consumers and businesses, and have played an important role during the months of quarantine, when home delivery orders have increased.
In light of these new demands and offers of options to facilitate shopping services, in the new Instagram interface update, for example, you can see how the button to access Instagram Shopping is located in the main menu, where the option to upload content was previously located.
Thus, it is expected that purchases through social media posts will continue to be a trend for 2021.
We invite you to read: Guide to activate Instagram Shopping [Updated 2020]
4. Voice searches
Voice search is now available on almost all smartphones. It is a quick and easy way to find information on the Internet.
It works through virtual assistants equipped with artificial intelligence such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana and Google Home, which process and analyze live audio with search requests, to help users find, in just a few seconds, the information they are interested in.
A 2017 Gartner study predicted that by 2020, 30% of Internet browsing will be done without a screen. Then, at the end of January 2018, the company indicated that that same month, 1 billion voice searches were registered.
Google, for its part, estimated that by 2020, 50% of all searches would be by voice commands; this percentage is sure to increase by 2021.
The truth is that voice searches, as a current trend, have caused SEO specialists to rethink the keywords with which they are going to position a website, based not only on the textual queries that a person can make in a search engine, but also on what they can say to it.
5. Image and video SEO
We all know we can search for images and videos by typing keywords into search engines, but did you know you can also submit existing images for a search, or even take original photos and find related content?
Image search on Google is the act of finding websites or articles without having to type a word: you just need to upload an image file or image URL to the search engine so that Google's algorithms can analyze it and find it in the billions of indexed images they have in their database.
Over the past two years, this Google tool, which is not new but has been around since 2011, has been used more by Internet users. As a result, this has led to new approaches in SEO techniques.
Just as voice searches have stimulated new ways of analyzing and selecting keywords, visual searches for images and videos have forced SEO specialists to take the following actions to appear first in the results:
Include “alt text” in all your image descriptions.