6 COMMUNICATIONS TRENDS IN 2021

In the communications industry, 2020 was a great year. We witnessed the advancement, progression, and extinction of some communication trends. We saw brands bring more creativity, innovation, and efficiency to communication in the heat of COVID-19. Storytelling was the focal point of most communication strategies, as companies hoped to make more personal and emotional connections with their audiences. Certain trends and media platforms that were thought would be obsolete in 2020 proved resilient, while new platforms and strategies emerged, providing wider options for communication experts.

We’re a few months into 2021, a year which holds even more potential and excitement, with a great opportunity for more innovation and creativity.

Here, I’ve outlined 6 communication trends I expect to dominate in 2021. Let’s dig in!

The Rise and Rise of Social Media, Brands Continue to Humanize

We now live in a digital and hyper-connected world. Since the coming of social media, social media platforms have witnessed a steady rise in usage and wide social acceptance, especially by “millennials”, but also by older generations. For Generations Z, however, there is no such thing as a world that doesn’t have social media. Brands have no choice but to adapt. Statista reports that in 2020, over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025. This indicates that in 2021 there will be even more emphasis on the use of social media by businesses to communicate with their audience. This will force brands to take a more “human form” in order to connect with consumers.

Wide/Increasing Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Communication

2020 was a year of experimentation in the application of AI in business communications, but 2021 will be the year it becomes more integrated. The communication industry witnessed a significant increase in the use of artificial intelligence in 2020 and the results are very positive. AI has proven efficient, sustainable, and relatively cheaper. In 2021, we expect to see increasing use of AI in communication activities such as data gathering, media monitoring and even, interaction with consumers.

Email is Here to Stay

Since the introduction of electronic mail as a means of information sharing, it has proven extremely effective in both external and internal communications for businesses. Despite several innovations and improvements, in communication technology, and even with the rise of social media, e-mailing still remains a trend that will not be abandoned soon. A Statista report shows that roughly 306.4 billion emails were sent and received each day in 2020, the figure is expected to increase to over 361.6 billion daily emails in 2024. Businesses should make sure their e-mail databases are up-to-date and always growing, as important as social media is, many companies are only one Instagram crash away from losing their full customer base. Email remains one of the most influential tools in your digital marketing strategy. Emails allow you to reach your customers at a more personal level. I’m personally glad email is here to stay.  

Influencer Engagement Thrives and Shifts

2021 will be the year influencer marketing shifts from who to how. 2020 was all about brands learning whom to work with, but in 2021 the focus will be on how to get influencers to push sales. The influencer engagement landscape is shifting and the way social personalities and brands work together is changing. This is as a result of shifts in areas such as social paradigms, customers’ expectations of transparency, brand purpose, and accountability. As influencer engagement budgets are bulging, brands and businesses also want to be sure they receive their money’s worth. These changes present marketers with new issues and challenges, therefore organizations using influencers to reach their audience will adopt new strategies.

More Personalization

One goal of communication in business is to get the full attention of the target audience - hence businesses should always be working to make their messages more attractive. 2020 saw the use of storytelling by brands to enable them to connect emotionally and communicate with consumers, the year 2021 will see the intensification of storytelling, but on a more personal level. Companies will try as much as possible to personalize their messages to fit their target audience, in order to cut through the noise and get the undivided attention of the consumer.

Traditional Media (Print and Electronic) Live to Fight Another Day

Traditional media is not dead yet. The digital age has significantly disrupted the place of traditional media as the main means for mass communication, but it has not totally killed it. Despite the reduction in the use of traditional media in communication by businesses, higher consumption for 2020 was recorded partially based on the coronavirus outbreak, with daily consumption of traditional media such as television, radio, newspapers, and magazines also expected to grow despite years of decline. Therefore, there are strong indications that traditional media will survive 2021 and beyond. Traditional media still pulls large numbers, and it is shifting and evolving to mimic the things we love so much about digital media.

All in all, 2021 is proving to be a banner year for the industry; I’ll be back at the end of the year to see which trends hold true. 

What other Communication trends do you think will hold true? Let's catch up in the comments section.

#Communications #Media #2021 #PublicRelations #Marketing