We have come up with 5 trends for 2021 that we think will be coming into play and will affect us more than ever.

1. User-Generated Content

Apps and interfaces such as Tik Tok and Instagram reels made their biggest boom in 2020 and they don’t look like they are slowing down anytime soon as their user demographic gradually starts to get older with Tik Tok already obtaining 3.7 million active users in the UK.

These apps’ primary force comes from its users creating the content for other users and whether a video has the potential to go viral comes down to a little push from Tik Tok’s algorithm but mostly from user engagement.

This spike in user content has lead to the sharpest influx in influencers. Many companies have caught onto this and targeted these new influencers for product placement and brand promotion whilst also utilising Tik Tok’s paid ad platform.

Although the opportunity to promote is abundant on Tik Tok, the criteria to create successful leads is extremely niche. The content must appeal to the young demographic of the app, it must be 60 seconds and it must contain some rare USP whether that be humour or dramatic landscape to stand a chance of going ‘viral’.

For example, if we at SHINE were to promote some of our hospitality clients on the app, there is a strong chance we would gain a strong viewer rate due to some of the unique landscapes we could utilise, but the chances of turning those viewers into successful conversions is very low due to the price point of our client and the demographic of the viewers.

2. ‘Comfort Content’

We as a society have never been more vulnerable than we are now. As social media reaches its peak bringing with it fake news, unachievable beauty standards and depreciating communication skills it is coupled with a global pandemic that has shaken the world and left us distrusting companies, governments and brands more than ever.

This has resulted in the creation of what we call ‘Needy Nations’. We are left seeking comfort and reassurance from whatever is put in front of us to be able to function freely.

Companies and brands fully understand this and are tweaking their promotions in favour of ‘Comfort Content’ to reduce backlash and to try and be more appealing than the next company.

Many brands are adapting their wording and promotion to include the 4 C’S –

• Community 
• Contactless 
• Cleanliness
• Compassion

Using the 4 C’s can keep you on track to building a sustainable and trusting consumer database who you can then convert into reliable leads.

This is something we at Shine have already started to implement into our own clients’ Social Media whether that be through soft promotion or highlighting cleanliness.

3. Social Commerce

E-commerce and social media will become more seamless in the upcoming year. With companies like Etsy, eBay and Amazon trying to take advantage of social media platforms, digital shopping is getting a whole new life. In 2021, we will see more Instagram storefronts and tailored platform ads. Social media data will be used to personalise ads, making them all the harder to ignore.

Overall, there is a lot of innovative social media features to get excited about in the coming year. We will see a more personalised experience thanks to increases in technology, but at a cost. With more machine learning running behind the scenes to figure out our tastes, we run into issues of privacy, legality and credibility. In the future, we will have to figure out how to balance all the new technology with our basic desires to feel in control.

We will be shown more and more products that relate to our specific tastes and it is almost getting the point where when a product is shown to us that is too similar to what we need, it might actually put us off because we are scared of what data companies hold on us. It could reach a point where brands are forced to cut back on targeted ad’s as the detail of them are actually having the opposite effect.

4. The continued rise of disinformation

Covid-19 isn’t the only virus we are having to deal with at the moment, there is a new and very real virus that has the power to affect us in many more ways than just a high-temperature.

If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that ‘Digital Disinformation’ is real and is not going away. It can range from menial fake news such as “Cocaine kills Covid’ up to the disinformation that Russia deployed during the USA 2016 elections.

Disinformation can easily be compared to a virus due to how it replicates. In a recent research project by Stanford University, they have identified the movements of fake news can scarily mimic that of a virus.

The researchers have adapted a model for understanding diseases that can infect a person more than once. It looks at how many people are “susceptible” to the disease – or in this case, likely to believe a piece of fake news. It also looks at how many have been exposed to it, and how many are actually “infected” and believe the story; and how many people are likely to spread a piece of fake news.

“Much like a virus, the researchers say that over time being exposed to multiple strains of fake news can wear down a person’s resistance and make them increasingly susceptible. The more times a person is exposed to a piece of fake news, especially if it comes from an influential source, the more likely they are to become persuaded or infected.”

5. Conversational Marketing

As our information regarding social media grows and we begin to release the power big corporations and business have in-regards to data and knowledge there is a unanimous feeling of fear among the general public towards social media and the complete ambiguity of it.

In light of this, Businesses need to acknowledge that now more than ever they need to be more accessible and bring down any ‘virtual wall’ that may lie in-between their business and consumer and must appear to be at one with their customer.

Smart businesses will understand that being transparent, authentic, and even vulnerable is smart marketing in 2021. Building a connecting between people is now essential to promote longevity and solid frameworks of marketing. This means the brand should be personified in a way that reveals who they stand for and what they stand for.

This particular ‘transparency’ will see the rise in conversational marketing such as chatbots, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for Business in an effort to build relationships through personalised one-to-one content.

This will more than likely be accompanied with a rise in ‘human-voice’ social media presence that adopts a more conversational tone through the potential use of humour and relatability for example

In short, Social Media is both at its strongest and scariest with so much potential for growth into areas that we don’t know exist yet. Although some aspects of Social Media can be scary, we try and harness the best of it and use it to promote organic growth and stimulate businesses.

As an agency who deal with clients’ Social Media directly, we are constantly looking out for juicy new trends to latch onto and are constantly trying to learn and progress to make our social management some of the best out there!

If you are interested in how we can adapt your social strategy to get you miles ahead of your competition.

You may be thinking why would my business benefit from being on a photography lead app, created for socialising? Although this was the original roots of Instagram, it has grown and transformed into a huge and fundamental marketing tool for both B2B and B2C functions. It is much more than just socialising, here’s why.

Engagement 

Instagram is a visually led tool that works in your favour. Its layout is simple and isn’t cluttered like Facebook and Twitter with copious amounts of wording, its low word-count aesthetic is visually appealing and in turn, keeps the focal point to the picture and drives engagement. 

However, to harness maximum engagement, your picture must stand out in a busy newsfeed. Using quality photography that has a clear focus will be sure to gain attention. This doesn’t mean you need to have professional photography to get traction, but a clear, in-focus photo that showcases a product, team member or service will be sure to get noticed.

Landing Page 

Instagram’s visually-lead landing page immediately gives viewers and potential customers the feel and personality of your business.

Without even having to read a single word, viewers can make snap judgements on whether they are interested in your product or service based on the colour scheme, layout and overall impression of your Instagram homepage.

The homepage should act as an eye-piece into your business and reflect your ideals and values alongside the product you offer in a way that flows smoothly.

You can achieve this by using a mix of branding and photography, for example, in a grid that follows a continuous pattern or perhaps using consistent photographic direction and style. 

Your main aim is to try and reduce the bounce rate of your landing page. By creating something that is attractive to potential customers and makes them stick around, they could eventually be lead through to your website.

Ad Platform

Instagram uses one of the most complex and detailed targeting platforms in marketing. With the ability to preset who you would like to see your ad’s down to the age, gender, social habits and location it is now easier than ever before to reach your ideal customers. 

Your Instagram ad can be 40x more effective than traditional marketing as there is now a powerful targeting process that can lead customers to checkout or contact information within a matter of clicks.

There is also the possibility to retarget people who have visited your website and can turn them from a cold lead into a warm one by capturing product interest when is it fresh.

Brand Loyalty

Once a customer has purchased a product or service from you and have followed you on Instagram, it increases the possibility of follow up purchases.

This is where customer engagement is key. Those who follow you can potentially be notified of every new product release or announcement you make. They then engage with this creating another potential lead.

This not only drives engagement and interaction for your posts but reduces the barrier between buyer and seller, meaning the buyer has now begun to build a relationship with your brand.

We hope we have inspired you to get your business on Instagram and how to use it efficiently! However, if you would like to work with us on improving your social strategy, get in touch!

Check out our Instagram and give us a follow for updates on life at Shine – https://www.instagram.com/theshineagency/

We are having to deal with two viruses at once – COVID-19 and Social Media which acts as a catalyst for fake news and panic promotion.

As a worldwide population, it is unlikely we have ever experienced something this wide-spread before or will ever experience again. So how can businesses be using social media effectively and positively, when there are no rule books on how to do so?

Here are some Top Tips to keep up appearances positively on Social Media!

1.Escapism

As people are confined to the realms of their own home without much access to the outdoors it is important to break up their newsfeed from news articles, with pictures and articles that can transport them away. This can include landscape shots, peoples faces, top tips and videos that provide a certain escape to the viewer.

This is a soft approach but at the same time promotes your businesses ideals and services without coming across as promotional.

2. Avoiding Humour

Although there is a lot of doom and gloom on our newsfeeds currently, filling it with humour at a time like this, especially from a business angle, can be easily scrutinised by the public and media. Although you may see it as harmless, on the other end of a screen someone could perceive it as being insensitive. Keep your jokes until after the Health Crisis and focus on some positivity instead!

3. No Politics

Unless your business is involved with politics, keep away from sharing your views on the current situation. A business should not be seen to be taking sides or promoting a news story, you never know what could be real or fake news! Even on your personal accounts, if you have your company listed in your bio, posting controversial comments can come back to bite you!

4. Be social on social

Let’s use social media for its desired intention – to be social. Communicate with your followers, share constant updates on your progress and be interactive. People need reassurance at the moment so if you are in events for example and don’t know whether a certain event is going be cancelled be transparent and share your knowledge with your followers so they feel in the loop. As long as people that are interested in your business feel they are being talked to, they will more than likely feel reassured and stay loyal.

5. Avoid the present tense

When creating content, either dig back into the archives and post a throwback or talk hypothetically about the future, talking about the present at the moment can also be deemed insensitive and come off as promotional. This allows you to still share relevant and positive content without causing a stir!

We hope these tips will prove useful to you and your business and can help you keep up a presence on Social Media!

The perfect time for ‘Spring cleaning’ your social media? Everyone stresses the importance of keeping your social media platforms up to date and continually adding new content. However, so many brands let their Pinterest slip.

Not only should we be continually adding new ‘Pins’ to our boards, it’s also important to remember to update the cover photos and change the order of the boards. At different times of the year, people will be searching for different things. For example, as Autumn approaches, people may be looking for crisp Autumn leaves and cosy looking images. While in the Springtime, people are beginning to think more about ideas to decorate and freshen their home for Spring.

It’s important to be reactional to the season, yet proactive to be ahead of the trend. We’ve just had a bit of a ‘Spring clean’ of our Pinterest, updating the cover images to keep it looking fresh, but also to coincide with the new season. Have a look here.

In fact, as we see snowdrops and daffodils start to appear in gardens and shops, the thought of Spring and Easter are great cause for excitement. Our marketer, Jennifer, even has some fresh tulips on her desk!

Naturally, pictures of daffodils, tulips, daisies and snowdrops are starting to ‘Spring’ up on Pinterest. Why? Because people are searching for them!

What better time to start our ‘Fresh as a Daisy’ Pinterest board. A little board of images to brighten every day and help you get excited about the new seasons to come – of course, there’s a fair bit of yellow in there too!!

Ready to be inspired and put a ‘Spring’ in your step? Have a look at our new board here and feel free to give us a follow.

Why yellow pictures? Well if you remember reading our blog about branding, we talked about our brand image and how ‘yellow’ is kind of our thing. We love it. Yellow is such a happy colour and we want our clients to be happy when they think of SHINE.

Recently we got to thinking about how we could do this. We wanted our branding to be so strong that when people see yellow in everyday life, they will associate it with SHINE. We have started to share images with yellow in them, using #seeyellowthinkshine. The images are designed to cheer you up when you see them and make you smile when you think of SHINE. So that’s the method behind the yellow madness.

So, the next time you see daffodils (which should be often as they are everywhere at the moment) – think of SHINE.

The next time you see yellow post-it notes – think of SHINE.

And the next time you see an all-yellow bicycle (?!!) – think of SHINE.

Keep an eye out for anything yellow, picture or object, and send it in to us by post, email, tweet us or use #seeyellowthinkshine on social media. We would love to hear from you.

We have loads of ideas for this campaign, including upcoming events and competitions, so be sure to follow us on social media if you aren’t already. Our new marketer also loves Pinterest and this will be used more by SHINE in the coming weeks.