5 Social Media Predictions & Trends for 2021
Gaming, live shopping, online privacy and more
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Last year I wrote about 5 social media predictions & trends for 2020 and although it wasn’t the year any of us were expecting, here’s how I made out in terms of the predictions. So another year, another round of predictions and trends…
Social Gets More Gaming; Gaming Gets More Social
In the past year we saw an explosion of Instagram Lens’s that provide a game-like experience within the app. Snapchat launched Snappables in 2018 — augmented-reality based games within the app — and Bitmoji games last year. This past November Snapchat launched Bitmoji Paint, Snap Inc.’s fourth original game. According to John Imah, Head of Games and Entertainment Partnerships at Snap, more than 100 million Snapchatters play games within the app. Not only have social delved deeper into the gaming space but vice versa…
Facebook Gaming saw a100% year-over-year growth from 2019 to 2020 in terms of hours watched. YouTube Gaming incurred a 132% year-over-year growth from Q3 2020 to Q3 2019. Finally, there’s the behemoth of Twitch, which continues to grow and had an incredible ~1.7 billion hours watched in November 2020. Gaming has become more social.
The intersection between social media and gaming will continue to expand and develop in 2021.
Audio-Based Platforms & Features Gain Popularity
This past year, monthly podcast listenership increased to 37% of all Americans ages 12 and up (+16%, compared to 2019). Additionally, podcast listening on Spotify specifically more than doubled, according to their earnings release in July. Podcasts aren’t “social” per se. But I think it’s important to set the landscape of spoken-word audio. Let’s get into socials now…
March saw the launch of Clubhouse, an invite-only audio-chat app. Users participate in different chat rooms on a wide range of topics. Conversations are audio-only and when they finish, they disappear. The app is free to use, without advertisements, and has just over 10,000 users. Billboard Magazine claimed it “the music industry’s hottest club” due to its usage among artists, especially in hip-hop. Other celebrities including Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, and Chris Rock have used the app.
In December, Twitter started testing its new feature, “Spaces,” which “brings people together to connect directly in an intimate, conversational Space.” The feature allows hosts to start audio meet-ups, which appear as a purple icon on the hosts’ Fleets bubble. Twitter also rolled out Voice Tweets this past year.
Audio-based features and platforms will gain popularity in 2021.
Oh and let’s not forget that Instagram introduced voice messaging to Direct messages in 2018 and could look to expand the feature, based on the success of Spaces and Clubhouse.
Livestreams Receive More Engagement Tools
With COVID-19 disrupting offline interactions, conferences, and shows, livestreams took over the digital world in 2020. Within the music industry there were 60,905 live streams from March 25 to Dec (according to Bandsintown tracking nearly 20,000 artists). A survey showed that 80% of fans are now ready to watch a live broadcast.
Instagram saw an increase of 70% in live streams on the platform from March-April. This past October the platform announced new Live features. Instagram also added a “Live Now” section to IGTV, where users can find content to watch live in the moment. The platform also launched “Live Shopping,” allowing users the ability to purchase products in real-time during a livestream. Hip-hop artist Tory Lanez broke Instagram’s record for the most watched live stream with over 310,000 viewers after he brought Drake into the stream. Facebook also launched Messenger Rooms, which allows Facebook and Instagram users to join group calls of up to 50 people.
LinkedIn also merged its LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Events tools to enhance virtual events on the platform. According to LinkedIn, LinkedInLive broadcasts generate 23x more comments, and 6x more reactions per post than native video.
With the incredible increase in live streams this past year, 2021 will see the introduction of more engagement tools for hosts and viewers to interact with each other during a live stream.
Privacy vs. Advertising
Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, privacy concerns have come to the forefront of social media. 2019 saw the Russian-made FaceApp in the spotlight over privacy concerns. This past year, TikTok had its moment in the spotlight with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming the app puts “your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” After almost getting banned in the U.S., TikTok has gotten through the year still in tact but with many people on edge over privacy.
In iOS 14, Apple announced new privacy labels in its App Store to help users understand what information apps gather about them. Another new feature in iOS 14 would require explicit user permission before app developers could track users across apps or websites, or access a device’s unique identifier. This would have major ramifications for ad effectiveness and spend. Facebook estimates that the end of tracking could slash ad revenues in half.
In 2021, privacy will play a more critical role in the social space, especially when it comes to digital advertising and how consumers are tracked online.
Social Shopping
Social media is looking more and more like a sales channel. This past year, Instagram introduced a host of new Shopping features and have made it more prominent on the app. TikTok and Teespring partnered for a new integration within the app that enables creators to sell merch on the platform. Additionally, on December 18, Walmart tested a new kind of shopping experience on TikTok where users could shop from Walmart’s fashion items during a one-hour livestream event branded as a “Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular.” And don’t forget about Snapchat, which has had its hand in e-commerce for a number of years now.
In 2021, we’ll see platforms expand their feature set when it comes to e-commerce and brands and influencers will increasingly sell merch (aside from sponsored posts) directly through socials, whether it be via live streams, Reels, augmented reality integrations, and more.
Bonus — IG Reels and Twitter Fleets Mature
A couple of the more major social media launches this past year were Instagram Reels and Twitter Fleets. Given the importance of these features to each platform, in 2021 we’ll see both of these features go through a maturation phase. I imagine both will add new effects and functionality that make them more practical to use and more engaging to view.
2021, here we go.
