iBusiness, 01.12.2020:
Social commerce, social messaging and micro-influencers: three trends that could become more important in social media marketing in 2021.
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–More shopping on social networks, more AI and more micro-influencers: Yuval Ben-Itzhak, president of the social media management platform Socialbakers
predicts three trends for social media marketing in 2021:
- Social Commerce: With the help of smart investments in social commerce, companies can reach their audiences directly on the respective social platforms and increase their sales, says Ben-Itzhak. However, many brands have not yet fully exploited the potential of social commerce, although social media platforms now offer tools along the customer journey: Users can discover products on the platform, buy them directly (e.g. via the checkout function in Instagram Shopping) and then stay in touch with the company without having to switch platforms. Due to the simple, seamless customer experience from discovering a product to purchasing it and then customer support, it is only a matter of time before more and more companies invest in social commerce and benefit from it.
- Social Messaging: Customer interaction has moved from traditional call centers and email to social media and messaging applications. Customers are online – especially in times of pandemic – and expect companies to respond to their questions immediately. In order to meet customer expectations, brands will rely on a hybrid model of employees and AI-controlled social chatbots, so the expectation of Ben-Itzhak. “In 2021, even more AI chatbots will be used to immediately flag and answer the repetitive, frequently asked questions, regardless of the number, time of day or language.”
- Micro-influencing: Socialbakers looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the influencer industry in the first half of the year. One of the results: Companies – especially those with tighter marketing budgets – are increasingly relying on micro or nano influencers, who have been able to achieve a great effect in relation to the budget used. Socialbakers data also shows that more than 60 percent of all influencer collaborations in 2020 were with influencers who had fewer than 50,000 fans. “We forecast that this value will increase in 2021, as more and more brands recognize added value in nano and micro influencers measured by the marketing budget used”, the Socialbakers president sums up.
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