The videos created for social media will continue to grow both in popularity and usefulness this coming year. No matter what level your social marketing video game is right now, you still have plenty of time to start taking advantage of these great strategies in the years to come.

Here are the biggest video and social media marketing trends for 2021:

1. Social media platforms introduce video features

On social media sites, videos rank higher than any other post type because they naturally encourage engagement from viewers. And video-driven apps flooded the marketplace with new features (TikTok, Lasso, and byte are just a few popular examples). LinkedIn adopted late to the video game than other platforms, but introduced video conferencing in LinkedIn Messaging. Expect to see an increased use in their Native Video, LinkedIn Live, and Linked Stories with Video.

2. Influencers record more live streams

As the pandemic kept people home in 2020, more people turned towards live-streams from celebrities, influencers, workshops, and classes. Facebook Live viewings also increased by 50% and Instagram saw a 70% increase in viewings. Not to be undone, Amazon Live also get into on the action. Influencers came onboard to promote their products and showcase live events.

3. Scaling video production

In-house video production using tools like Wibbitz will continue to be valuable as demand for videos on social media increases. Covering hot or trending topics quickly gives brands a leg up and helps them stand out as authority figures amongst competitors. So not only will video production scaling help create a higher volume of videos, it will also make each video’s style more uniform and give users the ability to optimize each piece for multiple platforms.

4. Targeting infinity groups

Videos that communicate specific messages to segmented markets on each social media platform is still a great way to maximize your marketing investment. And as we continue to monitor the social trends of 2021, incorporating known digital marketing strategies into comprehensive video ones will be even more important.

The good news is, reaching these groups will actually be simpler moving forward. Thanks to advancements in AI, long-tail keywords will be easier to find and use in your video marketing strategy.

5. The rise of Shoppable Videos

Businesses have already been adding more videos to their marketing strategy for years as a way to snag viewer’s attention. Stopping at engaging content isn’t enough when shoppable videos have a higher conversion over traditional display advertising. These shop while you watch videos are also a big win for brands who effectively shorten the customer journey. An embedded link in a video can make specific products shoppable and increase click-through rates.

6. Shorter micro videos reign

As more brands adopt to video, they’re realizing longer isn’t always better. In 2020, 73% of videos clocked in at two minutes or less. We’ll likely see micro videos get even shorter during 2021. Creating bite-sized, snackable videos are highly consumable and get the message across quickly before audiences lose interest. Chipolte creates engaging, quirky videos on Instagram that does more than advertise their food. They establish their personality and play up our increasingly prevalent Zoom culture.

7. More 1:1 communication

The pandemic brought people together over video and brands quickly followed with live events, streaming workshops, and live streams. Personalized videos will continue being used to facilitate one on one communication between brands and customers. The smartphone video quality also benefits this trend, which continues to improve year after year, making this one hot video marketing trend to keep an eye on in 2021 and beyond.