5 Marketing Lessons We Learned in 2021

We learned a lot last year. We learned the importance of prioritizing your mental health from an Olympic champion. We [re-]learned what Twitter was during a 7-hour-long Facebook and Instagram blackout. We learned what the hell NFTs are. The list goes on and on, and it didn’t stop when it came to social media. Here are the top 5 things we learned last year in the world of social marketing:

You can’t rely on the Pixel

We know. It hurts us to say that as much as it hurts you to read it. Since that fateful day in 2013 when Facebook released its Pixel, it became our old-faithful for tracking conversions, building new audiences, and remarketing to users. 

However, with Apple’s release of iOS 14.5 and new user privacy settings, Facebook has been scrambling to keep up. They’ve encouraged users to set up aggregated event measurement, verify domains, and modify strategy. However, at the end of the day, iOS 14.5 dealt a serious blow to the effectiveness of the Pixel. Since the update, we’ve seen everything from unreliable conversion numbers in Ads Manager to decreased effectiveness of Pixel-based audiences. 

While we have full faith that the Facebook overlords will come up with a new way to monitor their users’ off-app activity eventually, for now, we’re stuck in a sort of tracking limbo. In the meantime, we’re ramping up in-app conversion campaigns, full-proofing our UTM strategy, and praying for the best. 

Video is king 

That urge to sit for hours at a time watching endless TikTok videos has spilled over into the rest of the social media sphere. Even Instagram, which has touted itself as a photo-sharing platform since its conception, admitted they are now more focused on video content. 

Now, this shouldn’t come as breaking news to you unless you’ve been living with your head in the ground. However, the rate at which video content is catching on is newsworthy. A report by Cisco claimed that by 2022, 82% of all online content will be video. And, if you’ve spent any time perusing your explore page on Instagram or news feed on Facebook lately, you know just how true that is turning out to be. 

Our top tips for producing video content for your brand’s social? Make it easy to digest, include music, keep it under 2 minutes, and don’t sweat it! You’ll soon find out that you don’t have to be a professional videographer to create video content your audience will love.

All aboard the viral trend train

Covid wasn’t the only thing going viral in 2021. Viral social trends, from “understanding the assignment” to bones day, people and brands alike were jumping on board the trend train left and right last year. 

So, how did that impact our world of social media marketing? The days of writing content months in advance are gone. While it’s still crucial to plan out a comprehensive content calendar, at the end of the day, you also have to be ready to scrap a pre-planned post for the latest and greatest viral sensation. 

True, not every trend is going to be relevant to your brand. So, be in tune with your audience so you know which to pursue and which to skip over.

Let the people shop – on social

Our wallets and mailman can all attest to this: online shopping is having a moment. Last year, many brands, both big and small, finally took their online shops onto social media. 

While social e-commerce isn’t exactly a new concept, Instagram and Facebook have been pushing brands more and more to leverage it in their sales strategies. New features like personalized shop ads and Instagram visual search show us just how all-in Facebook is going on the e-commerce front. 

Going organic won’t cut it anymore

Over the past year, we’ve seen drastic decreases in organic reach, impressions, and engagement. While this trend is nothing new, it is now impossible to ignore. Recent reports have put the average organic reach on Facebook at an abysmally low 5.2% of total page likes. The simple truth is that your brand needs to be running paid ads in order to get your message in front of potential customers. 

But, you don’t have to completely give up on organic just yet. Users are still visiting your social pages before making decisions, and that’s when those organic posts can pull their weight! Some ways to pump more life back into your organic strategy? Keep up to date on social best practices, focus on video content, and (we can’t stress this enough) make sure your content offers some value to your users!