Despite the rise of other social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, Facebook still remains an incredibly important marketing channel, boasting over 2.7 billion monthly active users! As such, many businesses will continue to use Facebook as their prime marketing platform for the foreseeable future. However, while Facebook is an excellent place to market goods and services, Facebook marketing strategies and trends tend to change over time so it is important to stay on top of the latest Facebook marketing updates. In this article, we will break down some of the top Facebook marketing trends for 2021. 

Here are the top Facebook marketing trends to be aware of for 2021:

1. Video 

When Facebook first came out, it was primarily an image and text sharing platform. However, recently, video content has been gaining a lot of momentum on the site. In fact, video content now makes up roughly 17 percent of all content on Facebook. In Q3, 2020, the amount of video content on the platform rose 2.6% from the previous year. Facebook users are demonstrating an increasing demand and preference for video content. Because of this, many companies are now coming up with lots of different creative ways to use and post marketing videos to their audiences on Facebook. These videos can often be created from the comfort of your own home using video creation apps, like Boosted. This trend will most likely continue throughout 2021. Need help formatting your videos for Facebook? Check out this Facebook video guide here.

2. Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality, also known as AR, is a technology that projects computer-generated, virtual augmentations to our reality in order to create unique and entertaining experiences. Augmented reality is different from virtual reality, which involves creating a completely virtual world. In the past year, and especially during the pandemic, many people have been using augmented reality filters in their pictures and video on Facebook, in addition to on many other social media platforms, like Instagram. More and more companies are starting to use their own AR filters to engage their audiences and enhance the experience customers have with their brands. Because users like AR filters so much, it is very likely that brands will use them more heavily in 2021 as it becomes more accessible to create these unique filters. 

3. Customer Journey Tracking 

In order for marketers to get the greatest possible ROI on their ad spend, they need to be able to fully understand the customer journey and to see which advertising strategies are working and which are not. To help understand this journey, Facebook released the Facebook Attribution Tool several years ago. This tool allows brands to get a complete understanding of their customer journeys. For example, using this Attribution Tool, brands can see if customers are coming more from mobile or desktop, messenger or audience network, Facebook or Instagram, etc. In 2021, the Facebook Attribution Tool is expected to become even more important for marketers as Facebook ad prices continue to rise and the need for high marketing ROI increases. To get a better understanding of Facebook ads as a tool for giving your engagement a boost, check out this guide here.

4. Newsfeed Ads  

For a number of years now, newsfeed ads have been both the most popular and the most effective types of ads on Facebook. This is largely because newsfeed ads appear directly in the user’s line of vision when they are scrolling through their newsfeed. It is almost impossible not to see them! Brands prefer newsfeed ads so much that roughly 58.2 percent of all ad spend on Facebook by businesses is newsfeed ads. Newsfeed ads also have an average click-through rate of 1.82%, which is higher than other forms of Facebook ads. Because of the high click-through rates and prominent display areas, newsfeed ads will most likely continue to dominate in 2021. New to Facebook ads? Get started now!

5. Personalization 

Personalization is another Facebook marketing trend that will continue to surge in 2021. The reason why personalization is so important for Facebook marketing is because customers simply don’t find generic marketing messaging very interesting. However, when marketing messaging is personalized to their preferences, interests, likes, users are much more interested in the messaging and more likely to engage. In fact, personalized messages are three times as likely to convert as generic messages. For this reason, marketers will continue to use personalization heavily in 2021 most likely. 

6. Facebook Stories 

Stories have become extremely popular on most social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Now they are also becoming very popular on Facebook. Stories are just brief videos that allow brands to provide updates about their company whenever they want to. Facebook stories can be a type of video marketing – they’re great because they generally require very little production and editing and can be published very quickly. Because Stories are so easy to use, and because social media users love them, Facebook stories will most likely be more heavily used by marketers in 2021. 

7. User-Generated Content 

User-generated content is quickly becoming a key marketing method for many brands. This is because user-generated content allows brands to reduce their marketing costs by getting quality image and video content for free from their customers. One company that uses this strategy with extreme effectiveness is GoPro. GoPro regularly provides awards to its users for the best user-generated content. This content can be easily distributed on Facebook to increase engagement and interest in the company. User-generated content has become even more popular during these past months when companies are needing to pivot their marketing strategies for a more DIY approach. Check out here how to utilize user-generated content to give your Instagram profile a boost as well!

Conclusion 

2021 is coming and your business needs to get ready for the new year! In addition to following new social media content trends for 2021, you will need to jump on the new Facebook marketing campaign tools available. Being aware of these key changes will allow you to take full advantage of Facebook for your marketing needs. If you are already capitalising on some of these Facebook marketing trends, then you are ahead of the game, congrats! However, if you are not currently using any of these Facebook marketing trends, then you should strongly consider starting to use some of them. You can start with just one, or you can use a number of different Facebook marketing techniques. Needless to say, however, the sooner you start using them, the sooner you can start benefiting from them.