2021 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS: REMIXING
Last year has shown to rock the social media landscape. 2021 has brought unexpected changes that your business can use to its advantage. Over the next few weeks, we are going to dive into social media trends that your business should consider implementing. Some of the trends we will share with you may be foreign, while others you may have seen but with a new twist. Follow along with us as we make recommendations for your business digital strategy that will make your brand relevant this year.
First things first, remix! Remixing is the new user-generated content that adds a contemporary touch on how the content is created, shared, and sourced. Hubspot defines remixing as “the art of taking existing formats, templates, or ideas, and recreating them to express a user’s own personality or ideas.” This year has already brought many opportunities for remixing. Brands are engaging with new audiences and creating unique content that stands out through remixing. It has taken off and it is an ideal time for your business to implement the following remixing content strategies.
Provide Users the Right Assets
Provide your business’s audience with digital assets. Logos, branded templates, user-friendly formats that help people create or remix effectively. Encourage creativity and provide these assets complementarity. Be sure to brand every digital asset in a distinguishable way so that your brand is recognized if it isn’t tagged.
Monitoring Your Brand
Hubspot warns that “this type of user-generated content…could be missed by the brand themselves, especially if the brand isn’t tagged into the tweet. Image and brand recognition is essential in this case. Image and video recognition helps you track your brand across social media, even when it’s not directly mentioned in the text.” Through this recognition, your business will discover communities that are engaging and remixing with your brand.
Engagement with Creators
Discover the content your audience created and be intentional about engaging with it. Users will be encouraged to create more content. This will also improve brand engagement. Hubspot shared that “user-generated content drives 28% more engagement than standard brand-led content.” Assign someone to keep daily track of branded content and mentions to respond or share quickly. It will allow audiences to feel heard, seen, and make your brand reachable.
Channel Consideration
TikTok, Koji, and Instagram Reels are taking the lead for remixing and help connect your brand to a younger, more creative audience. Ask yourself if your brand fits these social media platforms. On embracing remix culture, Wilson Kriegel, CBO of PicsArt, recommends that businesses and creative environments should leverage trends, be open to experimentation, and enable fans to be creative and have fun with your brand.
Risks of User-Generated Content
As you may know, not all user-generated content is positive. Some negative content can be created with critical or off-brand design. Hubspot suggests that your business “monitor this remixed content continually, so you can react quickly before it goes viral.”
Future of Digital Landscape
This new creative outlet will be embraced by brands and social media platforms alike.
“Companies will look to provide users with more creative outlets, arming them with templates, tools, and assets to create original content,” shared Hubspot. More apps, and larger social platforms, will adapt by offering “other outlets for users to create beyond video—expect to see a greater number of games, 3D pics, and even VR and AR user-generated content led by Smartphone advances.”
Bottom Line
The remix trend is only just beginning. According to Hubspot, “there will be more co-production opportunities in the future, with brands providing templates for users to base their content off of. This will enable more organic connections between companies and consumers. Remixing makes content creation easier, with fewer technical restrictions.” Remixing is appealing because anyone can take a trend and recreate it into something new. Implementing remixing into your business social media strategy is a wise move for 2021.
