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.

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.

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.

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: 

According to some digital media pundits, less than 2% of customers actually make a purchase upon their first visit on a site. This is where remarketing and retargeting come in: both tactics are designed to help businesses reach back to customers who have shown interest in their brand.

That said, it’s easy to confuse the two when devising a digital marketing strategy. Here is a guide to understanding the difference between the two, and advice on how to use these tactics to re-engage with site visitors.

Many people seem to be unaware of the fact that it’s not just Instagram and YouTube where people are able to gain a profit from sharing content. The same thing is also possible on Twitter, as every single account, hashtag, and tweet has an economic market value that anyone is able to calculate.

However, it’s a lot easier to make these calculations for people or accounts that are considered influencers, as they tend to have a higher number of followers, as well as better engagement. As with other social media platforms, the more popular an influencer is, the higher their potential social media-related wages are going to be.

For several years now, the mainstream news channels, including newspapers and TV broadcasts, are no longer the main industries for breaking news stories – especially if it means keeping up with any new developments to those stories in real-time.

All of this is due to the rapid development and increased popularity of social media and has led to traditional media outlets no longer having a monopoly on news and stories. This is especially important for public relations professionals, who used to rely on creating and maintaining relationships with media networks as a way to gain valuable newspaper and primetime TV space. This is no longer the case.