If you manage a Facebook page, you’ll probably have noticed that social media for business is a fast-changing game. One day you might log on and see that your page looks different, or you have ad options you’ve never seen before.
While updates are always in the works, one thing is for certain: the importance of social media isn’t changing anytime soon. Facebook reaches 59% of the world’s social networking population and remains the world’s third-most visited website. When your prospective customers spend time online, there’s a good chance they’re spending it on Facebook.
Although Facebook is a competitive marketplace, there are always opportunities to get ahead by staying up-to-date with latest trends. So what’s in store for Facebook in 2021? Here’s a roundup.
Video will continue to dominate
Five years ago Mark Zuckerberg predicted Facebook would be mostly video by 2021, and we’re definitely seeing this come to fruition. In Q3 2020, videos made up 17.2% of all content on Facebook, a 2.6% increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Not only that, but 60% of Facebook marketers say video tends to drive more engagement than other content formats like images.
What does all this tell us? Videos are here to stay, and as a business, making them part of your social media strategy will be one of the most effective ways to engage customers online in 2021.
Ad formats will evolve
Facebook currently offers a whole host of ad types, including:
- Image ads
- Video ads
- Page likes ads
- Lead generation ads
- Carousel ads
- Collection ads
- Post engagement ads
- Slideshow ads
- Instant experience ads (formerly called Canvas)
- Dynamic ads
- Messenger ads
- Stories ads
- Playable ads
- Augmented reality ads
- App installs
Facebook is known for continually refining ad types, so in 2021, we’re likely to see improvements to these existing formats and potentially some new formats altogether. Not every one of these formats will work for your business, but if you’re considering advertising on Facebook, now is a good time to familiarise yourself with the options available and keep an eye on what’s new.
Privacy will be a bigger concern
Privacy is a growing issue around the globe. According to the OAIC, 70% of Australians consider their personal information to be a major concern. 84% also consider it to be data misuse if information supplied to an organisation for a specific purpose is used for another purpose.
Given the recent spotlight on Facebook and its handling of user data, we could see policy changes take place in 2021. For businesses, this could mean changes to ads tracking and the customer data available to you.
Interest-driven communities are on the rise
As Facebook shifts its focus towards more ‘meaningful communities’, more users are now engaging with interest-driven groups. There are now more than 10 million groups on Facebook, which are used by up to 1.4 billion people every month.
Depending on your business, 2021 could be the year to create your own Facebook group and build up a community of your own, or join other relevant groups to take advantage of engagement opportunities.
Customer experience will be critical for Facebook advertisers
In 2020, an unprecedented number of Facebook accounts were disabled as a result of violations of ad policies by businesses. As a result, Facebook is now using a ‘Customer Feedback Score’ to help determine whether it needs to restrict or ban accounts. This score is based on customers’ evaluation of factors like product/service quality, customer service level and delivery speed. You can check your feedback score here.
Providing a great experience is also one of the most effective ways to generate positive reviews on Facebook – which are crucial for building your brand reputation and bringing in new customers. Using a complete tool such as White Pages Connect allows you to easily manage reviews on Facebook and other social media platforms, as well as schedule and post, track your performance and more. Check out White Pages Connect here.
