Key digital trends for 2021

 Here are the seven digital trends for 2021.

1) Changes in B2B & B2C marketing strategies – Creating efficient strategies in lead generation and relationships

As well as engaging, social media now has to deliver sales results, and this is visible when a company begins to measure such results effectively. With the pandemic, some business models have been accelerated, such as online retail, click and collect, frictionless retail, and D2C e-commerce, changing the way companies position themselves to meet customer needs. Today, one of the basic principles of any content strategy is generating leads to build relationship with potential customers.

In the strategic domain, a big hit this year is expected to be big data-based natural language processing (NLP), which should help gain better understanding of the information obtained through big data systems and thus ease user interaction. Other highlights are the Data Warehouse (predictive, prescriptive, descriptive or diagnostic analytics) and Dark Data, which refer to all information that companies collect, process and store in the normal course of their activity, but are not intended for any other specific use.

2) Will 2021 be the year of AR and AI?

We are currently in the third wave of the Internet, a stage where Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are already part of all (or almost all) aspects of our lives. With these tools, brands can go beyond screens: they can experiment new formats and increase their creativity. However, like all new technology, using this resource requires a large investment in the development of prototypes.

Another factor pointing to the growth of Augmented Reality is the 5G technology, which should soon revolutionize how we connect with the Internet of Things (IoT). In the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can expect a significant advance in technology being used to improve workflows and the buyer’s journey through personalization and hyper-personalization. In marketing, automation should go beyond naming the person to whom the message is directed; however, as artificial intelligence advances, some companies, such as content agencies, may probably be adversely affected.

3) Entertainment, Music, & Games – Creating online communities through influencers

It is often said that one of the paths to the future of social media is entertainment. However, several brands have difficulties in creating attractive content to their customers. An extremely viable solution is to team up with influencers who already do it very naturally. After all, real people connect with real stories, and nothing better than working with great opinion makers to bring entertainment to consumers who are increasingly demanding and seeking true connections.

Another big news is Spotify Studios , launched in 2020, which is aiming to include video podcasts. The gaming world is promising too: for instance, Fortnite has already performed several initiatives, such as including DC Comics characters in the game.

4) Flywheel – The clients are in the center

Several markets have used data captured in the digital environment and creating segment-oriented messages based on the user’s personal characteristics. Now it is time to have these data used not only by the marketing team but by the entire organization in a more strategical fashion aiming to design new products, services and solutions, and place the customer in the very center of all operations. Part of this change is related to the m-commerce, whereby purchase is made via cellphones. By the end of 2021, mobile devices are estimated to generate nearly 73% of the total e-commerce sale record, which entails that we need new digital strategies, especially content-centered strategies.

5) Engagement with purpose – Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Changing people’s lives through the enterprise’s activities is a growing trend in the market. Embracing diversity is currently a challenge for brands of which the public demands a more authentic position and long-term actions. Therefore, organizations should not decide to support a cause if they do not intend to live up to the expectations through actions. For example, if an organization is willing to invest in an LGBT-oriented campaign, it must ensure that its employees hold this ideal, provide job opportunities to this demographic, and treat LGBT people adequately. This is the only way for the campaign to be effective. This applies to any other topic of interest. Brands approaching diversity-related topics is a response to the constant changes in society, but it is necessary to be cautious and avoid superficial approaches.

6) New possibilities – Virtual Assistants, Twitch, TikTok, WhatsApp, Shoploop, & Kormo Jobs

Both voice search and use of virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri should be taken into account in 2021. With the increasing use of voice search, brands are supposed to produce content aiming at these platforms. Twitch, which is widely used by the gaming community, has gained new audiences. Chinese social media TikTok already has offices in various parts of the world capable of designing solid strategies for brands. WhatsApp has promised to become an important sales tool, especially for small businesses.

The latest is Shoploop, a new video application that has come to compete with TikTok, but it has a more commercial focus that can truly benefit electronic commerce. This new project comes from Area 120, a Google department dedicated to innovation. For now, Shoploop is still in its trial phase, but another novelty, also from Google, that promises to draw attention in 2021 is Kormo Jobs, the Asian LinkedIn, Google’s newest professional tool. Already available in India, it promises to become the newest website connecting professionals worldwide.

7) Creative Talent – Senior professionals with a disruptive leader

With the increasing value of digital marketing over the past months, native advertising and programmatical advertising have joined forces, and now must work cooperatively. Having a team well directed by a manager with robust global experience and holistic vision is of essence. Having a well-aligned team delivering projects by the deadline is no longer enough; it is also necessary to innovate and be disruptive, to have the ability to leverage the social media and content team and assist the marketing professionals to make important decisions.

For example, in 2021 digital teams should create strategies for Bing and Yahoo! as alternatives to Google, and consider programmatical advertising for wearables, including the popular smartwatches. All that must be discussed and strategically lined-up with televised merchandising.

5 Powerful Instagram Lessons

Virtual influencers are a growing trend now. Miquela and her creators are doing a fantastic job when it comes to developing storytelling and connecting to the audience. Marketers, influencers, and businesses have much to learn from her. From creating an excellent bio to selling a product, Miquela knows how to use her social media.

Robots can be tremendously successful in social media.

Lil Miquela is currently one of the most popular virtual influencers on Instagram.

She was created in 2016 by a company called Brud, in Los Angeles, and she is entirely computer-generated. But don’t let that fool you: Even though she’s a robot, Miquela has a strong personality.

She is 19 and has Brazilian and Spanish roots. Miquela is a singer who uses her social media to discuss travel, fashion, art, and lifestyle. The virtual influencer has 2.5 million followers on Instagram. Among the brand that she worked with are Prada, Off White, and Samsung.

And if you, like me, are amazed by the potential of the virtual influencers, there are some social media lessons that we can learn from the young Miquela.

Create a Good Bio

The bio is the first thing we see when we find a profile on Instagram. It is like the introduction of a text — it needs to make the user curious enough to scroll down and keep consuming your content. It’s the only opportunity to make an excellent first impression.

The picture below shows Miquela’s bio:

There are some elements Miquela uses to make a great bio:

• Picture: Her profile picture contrasts with the pink circle of the stories. This contrast creates an interesting visual effect that attracts attention.
• What to write on the bio: She uses the bio to reinforce her values through the #BlackLivesMatter movement and to communicate that she supports @plus1org and @musicares.
• The power of links: Miquela announces that her single, “Hard Feelings,” is out. She has a compelling call-to-action, followed by a link at the end that directs followers to platforms in which they can listen to the music.
• Personality: “Change-seeking robot” demonstrates her uniqueness. She is a robot, and this makes her authentic. Miquela uses it to build her storytelling. She’s not a regular robot: she’s a robot on social media. At the same time, she’s not a typical influencer either, because she’s not human.

How to Sell

Miquela is not only a virtual influencer, but she is also a singer. Her account on Spotify has almost one million monthly listeners.

Her Instagram account is one of the ways through which she promotes her songs. The promotion strategy is very robust and includes storytelling and most of Instagram’s other features.

Repetition

The most substantial aspect of Miquela’s promotion is repetition.

Considering that Instagram is a fast platform, repetition is crucial for an effective campaign. The same message gets across on multiple posts. Here’s how she promoted her latest song, “Hard Feelings”:

• Different versions: “Hard Feelings” had three releases so far — the single, the music video, and the remix. She brings novelty to the same song, which keeps the audience interested.
• Multiple posts: Since July 25, every single post on her feed references her song, “Hard Feelings.” That’s so far 22 pictures and videos, only on her feed.

Using multiple features

By promoting the song in different features, it’s simple to use the repetition strategy.

• Link in bio.
• She uses multiple videos and pictures on the feed.
• Her strategy includes both stories and story highlights.

Storytelling

Whenever Miquela releases a new single, she develops a story behind it.

For the song “Speak Now,” she recorded an IGTV telling the story of how she recorded the music video with her ex. She says the experience helped her to overcome the breakup.

It becomes more than just music — it’s part of her personal story. This strategy works very well for other artists, such as Taylor Swift.

Story Highlights

Let’s analyze Miquela’s story highlights:

Here’s her strategy to produce excellent content for the highlights:

• Visual identity: Every cover has the same visual identity. Each one is a picture with a black background, with colorful icons. This way, it’s easier to build appealing visual content and to maintain consistency.
• Titles: The titles of the highlights are in caps lock, which makes it easier to read. Besides, they are short — each of them in only one word since there’s little space there.
• Music: All highlights refer to Miquela’s music. She heavily uses this feature to promote her work.

The following picture is an example of what type of content she uses in the story highlights:

It’s easy to see that Miquela uses multiple features:

• Swipe up: She uses the swipe function to promote her music.
• Music: Miquela added her song to the “music” feature that’s available.
• Icons: At the bottom, there’s the “swipe up” icon. This feature is a part of Miquela’s informal language, and this one is a clear call-to-action.

In other stories on the highlights, Miquela uses other features, such as reposting, short videos, pictures, and even texts for more serious topics. However, most of them are related to her music.

Adjust the Language to the Audience

This advice is as old as social media, but still overlooked by content producers: speak the audience’s language.

Unlike other platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram offers fast and entertaining content. Miquela understands this and has developed a very informal style.

She expresses this informality in three ways: captions, comments, and videos.

Captions

Miquela writes captions to every single post. She uses them to promote her sings — as seen before — and to connect with the audience.

Take this picture as an example:

In these four lines of text, the influencer uses multiple elements to reinforce her message:

• Slang: “GTFO” and “y’all.”
• Emojis: She uses emojis at the end of the text.
• Extended words: “Byyeeeee.”

Comments

The comments section is also essential for Miquela’s interaction with the audience. The picture below is a video in which she provides a sneak peek of her latest song, “Hard Feelings”:

Miquela’s post on Instagram. Screenshot courtesy of the author.

Precisely like the captions, the comments also have some lessons:

• Reply: Miquela replies to comments of the audience, which increases engagement.
• Language: The style of the comment is remarkably similar to the caption. She maintains the same form of communication.
• Emojis and abbreviations: Both elements present in the comment that make it informal.

Videos

Instead of long IGTV videos, Miquela focuses on short videos on her feed.

• These are mostly related to her music — either short video clips or calls-to-action. They are part of an overall strategy to promote the songs.
• By making short videos, she gets the message across more directly.
• Short videos are more engaging because they are faster to watch.
• It keeps communication informal.

Other Features

Instagram is a platform with multiple features. Besides the ones mentioned previously, here’s how Miquela uses IGTV, location, and stories.

IGTV

IGTV is the least used feature in Miquela’s strategy.

Since March of 2019, she has only posted 15 videos. As mentioned previously, she prefers to focus on short posts on the feed when it comes to videos.

Here are some lessons from this:

• Intention: Miquela’s videos are short, and most of them have the intention to promote her music. When planning the content production, it’s best to take into consideration the overall strategy — in her case, to sell the music. Posting on IGTV simply to have content makes no sense.
• Focus: Miquela uses most of Instagram features. The fact that she doesn’t use IGTV too much doesn’t matter, because she has plenty of good content for the other features, such as highlights and the feed.

Miquela is the perfect example that each influencer has a different niche — and, thus, different strategies. While other influencers use IGTV in their approach, Miquela chose another plan, and it works well for her.

Location

Miquela always uses exciting locations for the posts on her feed.

She’s not afraid to get creative. Locations became a supporting tool to promote her music, and don’t refer to physical locations.

Some examples are “Somewhere Out There,” “Middle of the Dessert,” and “My Own World.”

Stories

Stories are another Instagram feature that Miquela uses well. For the everyday stories, not the highlights, here are the different uses:

• Calls-to-action: swipe-ups and links.
• Reposting: Miquela often shares pictures from fans listening to her music.
• Mixed content: both videos and pictures.

Overall, it feels like she uses it mainly to promote her music. The focus, however, is on the highlights instead of the everyday stories.

Samsung| Celebrity Selfie

Who could forget the star-studded selfie from the 2014 Oscars that received 1 million retweets in 45 minutes? While this isn't technically a campaign, it was a great accidental social marketing by Samsung.