Top 3 paid social trends for 2021

Given the events of the past year it’s probably no surprise that social platforms continue to be a focal point for both customers and businesses. Spikes in daily usage, as well as ecommerce transactions have made social a key channel for any enterprise looking to expand and grow. It’s essential to ensure that your business not only has a strong organic presence but that you’re also taking advantage of the latest opportunities in paid social too. These are some of the key trends that are emerging in paid social that every business needs to pay attention to in 2021.

Facebook Ads

Take some of your eggs out of the Facebook basket. Many businesses today are relying solely on Facebook when it comes to social media advertising – in fact, 93% of social media advertisers are putting their cash into ads on this platform. However, particularly given the number of outages that the Facebook ad platform has suffered recently, putting all your eggs in this basket isn’t a good idea. If your ads are time critical but go down for no reason this is a huge waste of budget. This uncertainty of reliability is being reflected in the growing trend towards much more diversified social ads. If you’re going to follow this trend then spend some time looking at the options for LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter etc – what targeting choices, design specifications and costs arise with each one?

Instagram Ads

Keep an eye on Instagram. Instagram is one social platform that is being very proactive when it comes to finding ways to monetise. Currently, ad options exist within Instagram Feed, Stories and Explore with Reels likely to soon follow. IGTV is another area where Instagram is starting to thrive – and which has strong potential for ads – even though it didn’t have the most energetic start when it was first launched in 2018. One of the reasons for focusing on Instagram is the range of both long and short form content that is available, with ad options in each one. Creating a strategy now that looks at the best way to optimise Instagram for your brand will reflect the shifts that are taking place in paid social trends and set you up for success as the platform continues to evolve.

Pinterest ads

Given that one of the big trends for this year is moving away from Facebook, the growing popularity of investing in Pinterest ads is probably no surprise. Pinterest has many benefits, despite being relatively undeveloped in terms of ads. Costs can be kept low and this is a great option for prospecting campaigns. For any enterprise in ecommerce, Pinterest definitely needs to be part of a paid social strategy for 2021 and beyond – now is the ideal time to get to know this platform as it continues to grow – so that you can take advantage of all the benefits of brand awareness, as well as the potential for revenue, as it develops.

With so many consumers now on social media paid ads are a no brainer – and these are the three key trends to integrate into your strategy for 2021. Find out how Iconic Digital can help your businesses advertising on social media, get in touch today and call us on 020 7100 0726. Find out more about our Paid Advertising agency in London.