Top social media trends to know for 2021

Isabel Taulé
The Square
2 min readDec 10, 2020

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As we wrap up such an eventful year, wearing masks and working from home were not the only things that were different in 2020. With changes in our day to day lives, our behaviors, and the way we interact with everything also shifted.

By spending so much more time at home, we relied on online interactions to connect with friends, work, shopping, which means our social media behaviors adjusted as well.

But worry not! We are here to bring you the top trends you need to know and keep in mind for 2021 as PR pros.

Instagram Reels are a must — These have proven to be the next big way to interact with your audience more organically and creatively. With this easy-to-use feature, brands and individuals can create 15 to 30 seconds of video to connect with consumers and reach new targets.

Instagram will now be more search-friendly, aka SEO! — This is a major game-changer! Marketers can now include SEO practices when writing their Instagram captions and strategy to reach a bigger audience since everything will be searchable.

Brick and mortar stores are shifting to the Instagram shopping feature — with fewer people going to physical stores following worldwide safety measures, consumers are now prioritizing their online shopping and enjoying the comfort of filling a shopping bag from their couch.

Humanizing your brand´s communication materials is vital — customers are a lot more aware of brand values and their mission, paying close attention to how they interact and respond to social issues around the globe. Brands can no longer simply reply to complaints, but also need to bring personality to their brands, and stand behind their commitments. Otherwise, the online community will #cancel it, as we explained in our previous blog post.

LinkedIn language becomes more informal and transparent — while still a professional channel, as more and more people shift to working from home, whether it is temporary or long-term, LinkedIn users are engaging with conversational and more informal content because it mimics the team environment they are missing. So, adjusting to the new ways, the social media channel is launching new features like LinkedIn live, events, polls, and stories, which marketers need to adjust to better reach their target.

By knowing and incorporating these new trends into your strategies, you, as PR pros, will be able to fortify and create stronger relationships with your community.

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