So much has changed in the past two years, social media video trends have evolved as well. To take a closer look at the social video landscape during COVID-19, we’ll glean insights from a 2021 survey and analyze how it continues to progress. All stats come from this survey unless otherwise noted.

1. How social media has changed during Covid-19

Live streaming

With the Covid-19 pandemic, the face-to-face conferences naturally became online meetings, and the live concerts and plays turned into live streams.

In terms of high-value content for businesses, 14% of marketers picked live streams.

With this rise in the use of digital technologies, now live streaming is gaining even more popularity among different brands and thus is becoming essential of their new social media strategies.

Increase in video marketing

Video has time and again proven to be a highly effective medium for marketers and businesses.

It can attract, engage, and convert leads better than other forms of content such as text and images. Thus businesses are now, more than ever, adopting video marketing to stay in touch with their customers.

According to the survey, these are the main business objectives marketers want to achieve with video.

Business Objectives

Use of VR/AR

As social communication is becoming digital, people are missing the real-world experience of having meaningful interactions. That void is being filled with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

The sense of presence that comes with VR and AR is pushing more brands in incorporating these technological trends into their social media.

Social commerce

To enhance user experience, the social media industry has been introducing added features and tools to support online shopping.

In 2021, 22% of marketers plan to experiment with shoppable videos.

For example, Facebook allows businesses to set up a shop for the consumers, who can browse and buy the products without leaving the platforms.

Instagram has done the same with its product tags and easy checkout.

Social commerce

2. Instagram’s latest features

Professional Dashboard

At the start of 2021, Instagram launched its Professional Dashboard for businesses.

Some of the features that come with it are Instagram insights, branded content approvals, Instagram shopping, overall account performance, and promotions, amongst others.

IGTV preview

IGTV videos (longer videos of Instagram—more than 60 seconds in duration) are now getting more hype than ever.

So Instagram, to further widen up the organic reach and visibility of these videos, introduced IGTV preview. Through this, the first 60 seconds of your IGTV video will appear as a regular Instagram post on your followers’ newsfeed and your profile feed. Then the viewers can click on it to view more.

Instagram Reels Remix

IG users have been enjoying its latest Remix feature quite a lot lately. Using this feature, you can place your Reels alongside another user’s video.

It allows users to communicate, engage and collaborate with other people on the app. You can sing, dance, record or mimic a reaction video alongside other Reels.

Posting to multiple accounts

This time-saving feature allows its users to post the same kind of content on different Instagram accounts.

You only have to create one post using any of the accounts and then select the other accounts you want to post on, and you have the same post on multiple accounts without extra effort.

According to the 2021 survey, 71% of people picked YouTube as their favorite platform for watching videos, while 54% of marketers picked YouTube as their favorite platform for sharing content.

The report also showed that 59% of consumers chose to watch entertaining videos during the pandemic, while 26% preferred informational/educational content.

Here are some more YouTube trends, which gained traction during the pandemic.

Self-care videos

With lockdowns and social distancing, people began focusing on is their physical and mental health.

A survey also found that 72% of people said that video reduced their stress level during the pandemic and made them happy.

The anxiety that has come with the pandemic has driven people to look for self-care videos related to relaxation, exercise or sleep, and more.

Credits: YouTube Culture & Trends – Watching The Pandemic

Identity videos

The pandemic has disrupted people’s lifestyle and future plans have come to a halt. This has forced people to re-evaluate their lives.

As a result, videos that allow people to express or redefine themselves have gained popularity.

Credits: YouTube Culture & Trends – Watching The Pandemic

DIY videos

TikTok was already on the rise of popularity before Covid-19 as 68% of consumers spent a quarter or more of their time on social media watching videos.

After the pandemic, the app’s use has been exponentially accelerating. Overall, 42% of people reported that they were more active on social media during the pandemic.

Also, lockdown has pushed people to find new ways to pass their free time.

This has made home-based activities popular. To get started with DIY projects, people turn to online videos for help, and how-to videos saw a viewership numbers soar.

Episodic content

With the length restriction on TikTok videos, where most of them can at most be 60 seconds, users have come up with a clever way to hook their audiences to the content using episodes as part of a whole series.

However, one long video cannot be break up into several episodes. Instead, one complete episode should be made with a cliffhanger at the end, so the viewers are interested in watching the rest.

Duets challenge

Another popular feature of TikTok is duets. It allows someone to create a video and encourage others to create their own videos alongside the original, thus helping brands and people interact with one another.

Brands have used duets as a challenge to create user-generated content and engage potential customers while also increasing viewership if collaboration is done with influencers.

The following trends have been prevalent during 2021, according to Facebook’s official report.

Education and action: awareness becomes action

With the world becoming digital and globalized, people are now sharing information and in new formats and venues from screens to streets, and Facebook has been playing a big role in that.

The Black Lives Matter movement gained a lot of traction on social media as Americans used their voices, votes, and wallet to support the cause by educating people on racial inequality in the United States while taking action with the protests.

Credits: The 2021 Topics and Trends Report from Facebook IQ

Lifestyle: hardworking homes

People staying at home are now becoming increasingly interested in revamping the spaces around them—from homes to offices.

For example, in Canada, home renovations have been on the rise as people are getting inspired by the Canadian home improvement shows and incorporating those DIY ideas into their living spaces.

Credits: The 2021 Topics and Trends Report from Facebook IQ

Technology: hybrid shopping

The use of technology has been rising ever since the pandemic hit, as people are substituting it for the local markets.

Australia, amongst other countries, has been a little slow in taking up online shopping because of the geographical difficulties faced in deliveries. But, with the entry of Amazon in 2017, e-commerce has been on the rise in the country.

Between March and April 2020, e-commerce spending increased 29% each passing month as people bought necessities online (Topic and Trends Report).

Credits: The 2021 Topics and Trends Report from Facebook IQ

Leisure: personalizing fashion

With more time on their hands, people are finding new hobbies, whether it’s fashion designing or DIYing their day-to-day fashion items.

In the United Kingdom, tie-dye projects and handmade jewelry have become increasingly popular as nearly a quarter of 24% of UK consumers (source: Topic and Trends Report) have made some DIY craft. Even high-fashion outlets are uploading tie-dye tutorials to help people jump into the trend.

Credits: The 2021 Topics and Trends Report from Facebook IQ

Over to you

Now that you know all about the latest social media video trends, begin experimenting with content that feels like the right fit for your business. Who knows, you may even become a video trendsetter yourself.

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