Top 5 Trends in Social Media And Influencer Marketing | December 2020

2020 is coming to an end... and we couldn’t be more excited about it! This holiday season has been quite a tumultuous one and all we are looking forward to is a better 2021. For this month’s trends, we bring you all the latest updates and insights given by social media platforms to start 2021 on the right foot.

1. Instagram’s new updates adding pressure on TikTok

Photo Credits: Social Media Today

Earlier this month, Instagram released a new update (only available in India for now), which allows users to have up to three guests on livestreams. This is not a new idea but something that the platform was looking at back in March, though it was weighing if this option should be prioritized over other pressing matters such as getting the stability up for the Live feature.

With TikTok banned in India (where it had over 200 million users), there is definitely a market opportunity for other social media platforms in the country. Although Reels is “Instagram's big push in this respect”, Live views have grown by over 60% in India throughout 2020 making it more pressing than other options in the region.

Instagram carries on its battle against TikTok to stay the top platform for social e-commerce. And another step in this direction is its recent update on Reels, which allows creators and brands to add shopping tags on their Reels videos - much like TikTok’s functionality.

We can only wait and see how this battle unfolds, but one thing is certain...Instagram is moving fast and TikTok’s momentum can only last for so much.

2. TikTok’s longer-form video test and its year-end music report release

Photo Credits: TikTok

It was reported that TikTok is testing longer-form videos by allowing some users to have "early access to uploading videos up to 3 minutes long". With current user trends amid the pandemic, this update does not come as a surprise, especially not after Instagram also extended the limit for its Reels videos back in September.

At the moment, users are only able to upload 60 seconds videos, which has pushed some creators to add the "like for part 2" message below their content. It could be that soon, it will no longer be needed.

Additionally, TikTok recently released its first year-end music report with insights into the music used on the platform and its effect on the industry.

The report includes a Top 10 list of the songs that reached one billion views the fastest, and claims that more than 70 artists discovered on TikTok have been signed to major-label deals, though it only lists five in the report. Many of these viral songs on TikTok translated into the Billboard Hot 100 music chart, making the platform a reliable predictor of hits. An excellent example of how the platform can impact the music industry is the iconic skateboarding video by @420doggface208, which helped Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 #21 after a 43-year absence, and reached the Top Ten of Spotify’s Global and U.S. charts.

3. YouTube shares new insights on video trends

Photo Credits: YouTube

TikTok is not the only social media platform releasing reports and insights into the current trends this month. YouTube has created an interactive Culture & Trends report showcasing its emerging video trends. The report consists of three parts, which discuss 1) how the archetype of the content creator has evolved, 2) how video is becoming more interactive and 3) how digital media is evolving to help us face personal and societal adversity.

The insights indicate that we are in a new age of creators with the creator archetype clearly broadening as 47% of people agree that their favourite content creators can be difficult to categorize in one genre. For example, beauty content with true crime commentary. But also, senior content creators have seen a significant increase in views/subscribers throughout 2020, as well as virtual YouTubers known as ‘VTubers’ and indigenous creators who share their unique cultural experiences.

The platform is also seeing a more interactive audience this year. With restrictions and lockdowns in place around the world, people are looking for a way to share their experiences and one of those ways is co-watching. In fact, 73% of the people surveyed say they have watched gaming on online video platforms this year.

The report also indicates that 48% of people rely on online videos to show them new perspectives on cultural issues and to learn to do things themselves (82%). So instead of escaping these difficult times, people are leaning on digital media to help them face adversity.

4. 2020: breakout year for creators

Photo Credits: The Verge

2020 has been a very impactful year for content creators. Not only has their reach exponentially expanded, but also apps geared towards creators are experiencing explosive growth.

Data from Apptopia shows that Cameo has had a +134% change in app downloads, while Twitch and Patreon have seen an increase of +61% and +43% respectively. This has helped these apps raise their value. For example, Patreon is now valued at $1.2 billion, after raising $90 million in September.

Going back to Twitch, just in October millions spent 1.6 billion hours on the platform! Making this the year of the Twitch streamer, but necessarily only referring to streamers within the platform, as Bijan Stephen puts it:

“I’ve been thinking of 2020 as the year of the Twitch streamer for a while now. As the internet has become the main place people socialize over these last nine months, it feels like we’ve all become a little more like streamers — we present our whole selves online behind a webcam and a microphone, and we expect people to see us.”

5. Leverage the holiday season with influencers

Influencers have become an essential part of any marketing plan for the holiday season. Especially this year, when production studios aren’t reliable due to covid-19 restrictions, influencers became the go-to. With Christmas just a few days away, and 2021 just around the corner as well, we can see more and more influencer activations with holiday-themed campaigns.

Aveeno is one example of how to leverage this holiday season with influencers. Last year, the skin care brand aimed to maximise sales around the holidays by partnering up with macro and micro influencers across the U.S. to share their individual experiences with Aveeno’s gift sets and define what Healthy Skin means to them. Macro influencers visited pop-up activations at 5 different college campuses and documented their experiences via IG Posts + IG Stories, while micro influencers unboxed and reviewed their holiday gift sets from home, encouraging their followers to purchase via swipe-up links. The campaign resulted in 1.9M impressions and an engagement rate of 12.3%! There was a perfect match between brand and influencers which led to influencers posting earned content.

This year, Aveeno has partnered up with influencers once again to create awareness around their mini gift sets and ultimately increase its sales through authentic content. We can’t wait to see the results!

Photo Credits: @raekanoa

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