5 Social Media Takeaways from 2021

As 2021 comes to an end (seriously, how is that possible?), we’ve seen some common themes across the social media channels of our clients. Here are some of the top takeaways and tips:

1. Be Personal

This is probably the top takeaway from this year and past years. Social media followers love a personal connection to brands. Post glimpses into daily life, ask questions to your followers and encourage engagement. You can even have a little fun along the way.

2. Post at the Right Time

There is an optimal day and time to post, BUT there is a catch – it depends who you are talking to. An HVAC contractor may be online at different times than a consumer looking to purchase a pie. We’ve learned to post at all times of day (from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.) as a test and track the analytics. Whenever we get the best engagement and reach is when we start to schedule posts for that particular client.

3. Stick to Your Strategy

It’s easy to get caught in the moment and post something on a whim, but we’ve learned to use a social media strategy as an anchor. This ensures everything posted to social media channels is on brand and helps achieve the goals of an online presence. At the same time, we don’t have to be too rigid on only posting promotional pieces.

4. Video. Video. Video.

Do you watch videos on Instagram? The answer is probably yes. Posting video boosts the amount of time users spend on social media, and the algorithms reward it. That means Instagram will actually show your videos to more people than they would a graphic. So, we work in small video clips an animations as often as possible to capture attention and boost our exposure.

5. Find Your Focus Channels

We’ve always enjoyed selecting the optimal social channels for our clients, and this grows more important every year. Brands should select the social media channels where their audience spends time and invest energy there. It’s OK to cut a social media channel if it isn’t doing well (keep your username just in case you need it in the future, of course). That way, you have time to create even better content for the channels of your choice.

We have about 100 more things we’ve learned about social media this year, but these are the highlights for now. Have questions about your social media channels or strategy? Email [email protected] and I’d be happy to help.