While no one can say with certainty what lies ahead for marketers in 2021, a glimpse at historical data may help answer some questions. An analysis of more than 22 million posts from over 56,000 business sites identified some revealing industry benchmarks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The study was conducted over the course of more than a year and a half by SocialInsider between January 2019 and October 2020. Because the study began way before the pandemic and ran through nearly nine months of it, SocialInsider broke down some of its findings.

As much as a genius as physicist Isaac Newton was, he couldn’t have been farther off the mark had he been talking about web searches today when he said, “No great discovery was made without a bold guess.”

Brands depend on consumers finding them easily and successfully without having to guess. Content or SEO gap analysis arms marketers with information that will help them “fill the gap” to discovery.

The pandemic has made some notable structural changes in the global economy, with many businesses looking towards e-commerce as the best way to move forward. With everyone staying in their homes, this market was primed for exponential growth, precisely what happened this year.

As consumer spending accounts for about 70% of the economy, businesses and marketers are constantly looking for opportunities to sell highly popular products. One of the quickest and most effective ways to do this is via pay-per-click advertising.

The digital marketing leaders are constantly monitoring their companies’ digital performance over time, and have benchmarks in place to see if the strategies are working, and with those benchmarks, they’re also able to compare their strategies with the best industry brands.

This is how digital marketers can keep track of the overall brand image and prioritize digital investments according to the company’s biggest digital marketing opportunities – whether they are in already established or newly emerging digital channels.

Today’s reliance on social media platforms to search and shop by all generations continues to shine a light on every social media marketing phase. Somewhat forgotten, however, is the collective impact that’s resulted and which requires a team effort to achieve success.

Why is this important? Unifying the process eliminates some of the chaos caused by having to follow up with others in the chain, tracking “to-dos” and checking approvals. There will be less second=guessing and less tracking. Add to that the decreased likelihood of such things as misinformation, mistimed promotions, broken links, and off-brand Tweets or posts.

Crises come and go, and many, like the pandemic, can’t even be foreseen. Nonetheless, those that seriously affect the brand, its employees, operations, and leadership can have devastating and long-lasting effects. The acceleration of social media has added to the challenges of crisis communications, an impact that a Pentland Analytics study says has doubled the impact on shareholder value.

The study also found that those companies that responded well saw an average increase in the value of 20% while those that didn’t experience a 30% decrease. In a world where today’s COVID-19 crisis is much bigger than the brand but can have a tremendous effect on its business and operations, it’s highly advisable and not too late to craft and employ a social media crisis management strategy.

In his October 9, 2016 blog about the Baltimore Ravens fourth-quarter loss to the Washington Redskins, former NFL player Dan Birdwell threw in this quote: “You have to play this game just like somebody just hit your mother with a two by four.”

Game or what’s since evolved into gamification perked up again during the pandemic with so many people quarantined at home. Since 1984, companies were urged to use gamification to improve employee engagement and get workers to more clearly define their goals. It was viewed as a novel way to keep score and get more frequent feedback from employees.

There’s a general rule of thumb that people can “learn just about anything” on YouTube – and the entertainment value is high, too. From educational content to silly videos, to elaborate stunts and fun commentary, there’s plenty to experience on the user-generated video sharing site. Recently, though, new and unique topics have been trending on YouTube, underscoring how the platform is both art imitating life and life imitating art. 

Viewers have popularized videos about how to make PPE masks, quarantine lifestyle tips, and fun ways to make it through online education. Meanwhile, reposted content from political leaders related to COVID-19 response are also jumping into the most-viewed videos lineup in a given time frame. In recent remarks to the media, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said her team was monitoring the shift in content and viewership: