The revolutionary gravitation to social media has been ongoing for nearly two decades. In 2020, the world’s population used social media platforms for commerce, news, and personal connections and interactions every day. More than 4.2 billion people are active across multiple platforms, each spending an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes per day on multiple channels, making social media the primary marketing pathway for global commerce. While most marketers have become accustomed to using various social media platforms, understanding the unique characteristics of each platform and optimizing the effectiveness of marketing efforts can be daunting, even for the most capable marketing professional. With each outlet constantly updating and improving capabilities, staying up-to-date is essential.
With platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Shopify, and Pinterest, each site has carved a demographic niche and a stylistic specialty. Managing an effective approach to connecting with consumers can be complicated, given all the options. It should be no surprise that social media platforms are focusing efforts in 2021 on educating users and advertisers.
TikTok is launching a new initiative into the e-commerce space with its “education portal.” Called TikTok Shop: Seller University, the new portal is a training hub designed to help marketers do business on TikTok. Originally a social media platform where users developed short-form videos for dance, comedy, and education, the platform has become insanely popular particularly with younger users. The “University” offers a full suite of tools, policies, and updates designed to help advertisers learn how to attract business via TikTok. A new affiliate program will enable sellers to collaborate with TikTok creators to promote products.
Shopify’s Shop Pay is a new secure and fast payment system that will integrate with Facebook and Instagram to improve online retailer services for the more than 3.6 million online merchants. The revamped program is designed to enhance marketing, shipping, and customer engagement tools.
The professional social media network LinkedIn is introducing LinkedIn Marketing Labs, an education platform focused on assisting marketers with marketing tools, courses, and guides. LinkedIn Stories will allow users to share time-sensitive images and videos.
Pinterest is debuting two new user guides focused on restaurants and streaming services. The two guides contain insights on audience trends and usage data to help businesses with campaign planning. Story Pins is being selectively released to platform users over the coming year. Users, who are 71% female, will have the capability to add multiple images, videos, or lists to a post increasing engagements and audiences.
Instagram has updated its ‘keyword search’ feature so that posts can now be discovered without having a keyword listed as a hashtag or account name. A brand has a better chance of being discovered with the new feature which permits more people to access more content. Instagram has traditionally focused on imagery rather than content and is now adding a video option to its line-up. Instagram Guides are a new tool for content discovery from Instagram Creators, public figures, organizations, and publishers on the platform. Instagram Reels are a new short-form video feature launched in the Summer of 2020 that encourages users to create fun videos to share with followers.
The largest social media player, Facebook, is utilizing improvements to machine learning and automation. Advertisers can automatically deliver relevant ads based on a user’s behavior, interests, or actions while eliminating multiple, time-consuming inputs. Social media automation can reduce the amount of time spent on scheduling content, curating posts, and providing customer support.
Social media is clearly not resting on its commanding presence, but constantly changing and innovating to stay ahead of the competition for marketing spend. Marketers will need to keep up with the new additions and improvements in social media in order to create the best digital marketing experience.
If you’re looking to find the perfect digital marketing partner for your company, Junction Creative Solutions can help. With a comprehensive social media marketing plan, we offer a results-driven approach to build brand awareness, engagement, and revenue across social media platforms. Contact us at 678-686-1125 or info@junction-creative.com to get started with your digital marketing strategy!