The social first approach: how to engage global audiences on social media

Social media is the key to building loyal brand communities and enriching customers’ lives on a global scale. So in 2021, taking a social first approach to your global marketing is a must. But how can you master your social first marketing strategy when the channels, formats and audiences all keep changing so fast? That’s where this blog comes in handy. We’ve put together the social media trends you need to know for 2021, with tips and tricks on how to use them. 

Your first priority in the coming months should be using social to support your customers at a time when anxieties are running high. Right now, a brand’s social content needs to help their customers navigate our strange new world. According to a report by Talkwalker and Hubspot, 78% of consumers right now want brands to help them in their daily lives as the global pandemic continues.

Take inspiration from L’Oréal. With social distancing likely to be a part of everyday life in 2021, video calls are going to take up more and more of our time. In response, L’Oréal have released their first digital make-up line allowing users to apply make-up filters on live video across Snapchat, Instagram and Google Duo. By providing users with the opportunity to try out new looks with ease, ‘Signature Faces’ puts the fun back into video calling, helping to combat video call fatigue. Useful, innovative and engaging – it’s a great example of social first thinking. 

And it’s not just your social media marketing efforts that matter. Using community management to provide on-hand support for your customers will play a vital role in 2021. A recent Sprout Social survey revealed that 79% of consumers think brands should react to messages on social media within 24 hours. Add to that the 49% of consumers who will unfollow a brand if their concerns go unheard. The lesson here? Always be present for your customers and provide them with helpful responses.

When you’re responding to customers on a global level, it’s vital that you have the capabilities to talk to your customer not only in their own language, but also in a way that resonates with them culturally. A poorly translated, tone deaf response looks lazy and risks offending your customers. Seek out in-market experts who can provide your social media team with local insight and language expertise.

Gaming has well and truly taken over in the last year, with the number of gamers rising from around 31M in August 2019 to 41M in July 2020. The lockdown months saw a particular spike in the adoption of gaming, with many looking for much-needed escapism and the chance to connect with friends. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the unexpected new hit of the season, selling 13M+ copies in its first 6 weeks. Lots of brands – including Glossier, Hellmann’s, Chanel and Gucci – have leveraged Animal Crossing’s popularity, creating branded avatar skins for players to wear. 

Of course, Animal Crossing isn’t a social channel in itself. So how can brands use more traditional social platforms – TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. – to connect with their playful audiences? Burberry set a great example by creating their own Ratberry game to help launch their Lunar New Year 2020 capsule collection. Burberry produced accompanying Ratberry stickers for WeChat (a hugely popular Chinese social media platform with 1B+ daily active daily users) helping them to win over local audiences during the year of the rat (source: Business of Apps). 

Brands can also think about featuring their ads on Snapchat’s game platform, Snap Games. On Snap Games, players can choose whether or not to view ads. But opting-in often leads to in-game prizes, so gamers watching ads on Snap Games have something to gain. As a result, Span gamers are more willing to engage with the ad’s content. Something to think about for your 2021 social media marketing plans. 

While social gaming provided much-needed distraction from the chaos of 2020, many people actually chose to use social media to keep up with the year’s troubling news developments. Indeed, one of 2021’s top social media trends is the rise of social media as a main source of news. 

According to Statista, 51% of 18-34 year olds worldwide are choosing to use social media over major news organisations to get their news updates. On top of that, a recent Global Web Index survey showed that 51% of respondents in Latin America, 41% in Europe and 34% in North America all claim that their main reason for using social media is to know what’s happening in the world. 

But, with this thirst for news also comes a fear of fake news. Both misinformation (theories that lack real scientific evidence) and disinformation (intentionally false information intended to disrupt) has taken over social feeds. So, if it’s relevant for you to discuss current affairs with your audiences, make sure you’re presenting them with trustworthy, thoroughly-researched information.

For example, during the height of lockdown, Monzo (the fast-growing online bank) only shared Covid-19 news when it directly affected their customers’ finances. Rather than confuse their customers with frightening news, Monzo distilled the latest news developments into informative posts that helped their customers adapt to the situation. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Can’t afford your rent any more because of coronavirus? We asked @centrepointuk to explain your options | Link in bio 🏠

A post shared by monzo (@monzo) on Apr 28, 2020 at 3:22am PDT

Carrying on from current affairs, a key 2021 social media trend is that consumers expect brands to take a stance on the important social issues of today. Diversity, for example, continues to be a pressing topic, with many brands using social media to advocate the need for more acceptance in society, and greater representation in ads. 

Take Starbucks’ #WhatsYourName campaign. Through careful social listening, Starbucks discovered that the transgender community were using their new names in Starbucks stores, and then sharing the experience on YouTube. As a result, Starbucks created a TV ad telling the story of a young transgender male who finds acceptance when ordering a coffee using his trans name. Starbucks also partnered with Mermaids, a transgender youth charity, and launched a social campaign encouraging users to share their selfies with the Starbucks mermaid cookie using the campaign hashtag. This campaign showcases true social first thinking, using the best of TV and the best of social media to create a conversation-starting campaign. 

 

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“It finally feels like I’ve come to a point where I have become myself.” Find out more by clicking the link in our bio. #whatsyourname

A post shared by Starbucks UK (@starbucksuk) on Feb 28, 2020 at 6:37am PST

By listening to what wider communities were saying about their brand on social, Starbucks were able to support an important, relevant cause without falling into the trap of woke-washing. Indeed, brands must approach wokeness with caution. Jumping on a movement that has no relevance to your brand will seem fake and opportunistic. For more on how to create successful woke campaigns on a global scale, read our blog here.  

So if your customers are now influencers, where does that leave actual influencers? Well, in 2021, they aren’t just influencers, they’re brand ambassadors.

Face it, consumers don’t want to follow fickle influencers who flit between brands faster than can you say #SponCon. For 2021’s social media trends, it’s all about building genuine, long-term relationships with influencers. You should regularly integrate a few key influencers into your annual social media content plan. Over the course of the year, work closely with your influencers to fully understand what resonates with their audience and what doesn’t. Take their learnings and apply them to your influencer strategy. 

We hope this quick guide to the 2021 social media trends will come in handy when planning your upcoming social content. Just remember, this is an entirely new era of global marketing. Trends move fast and audiences move even faster… but the rewards are worth the race. Keep talking, keep listening and keep reacting. Your audiences will thank you for it. 

If you need any help talking to your local customers in a way that resonates, get in touch.