By: Cori Widen, Product Marketing Lead at Boosted by Lightricks

So 2020 hasn’t quite been as great of a year as we all hoped it would be…but luckily we’re already halfway to 2021! After a rocky first half of 2020, it’s only natural to start planning for a better year to come. 

If you’re looking for ways to grow your small business in 2021, a great place to start is with your social media platforms. As a small business owner, word of mouth and social media can be a powerful combination to grow your business.

So, if you haven’t focused much on your social media strategy with everything happening so far in 2020, here are 21 ideas to revamp your social media for 2021.

1. Automate Your Social Media

As a small business owner, you might feel like you don’t have enough time to spend on social media. But did you know there are ways to help automate your social media strategy? It can be a lot of work to create quality content for your social media accounts and even more work to edit, upload, write captions and publish your posts. Try using a social media scheduling tool to help you schedule out your content a few weeks in advance to automate posting to your social media.

2. Plan Out Your Content

If you plan on automating some of your content, you will need to plan out your posts ahead of time. On a day you where you are feeling creative, take a few hours to brainstorm ideas for social media content. Next, create a big batch of social media content all at once. Once you’ve created all of the content, you can plan out what you want to post when and then schedule the posts out.

3. Set Strategies Seasonally

We often plan out our traditional marketing strategies by the different seasons, so why not set specific seasonal goals and campaigns for your social media strategy? An easy way to get started with seasonal marketing themes is by selecting a new business goal or marketing theme for each new season. You can even give your social media accounts a different ‘look’ each season by changing up the color schemes of your posts. For example, some influencers and businesses post bright, happy colors in the summer but switch to posting slightly darker, moodier photos for fall and winter.

4. Evaluate New Platforms

Have you been keeping up to date with new trends in the world of social media? New and emerging platforms like TikTok are becoming increasingly popular for businesses of all sizes. If there are any new platforms or features that you haven’t tested out yet, now is the time to start analyzing which new platforms make sense for your business to join.

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BOOSTED Tip: 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕌𝕤𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝔹𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤? 📱 ⁣ ⁣ #TikTok is one of the fastest-growing #socialmedia platforms in the world 🌎, with over 800M active users 😮 But is it worth investing the time & effort to to build a TikTok presence for your brand? ⁠🤔⁣ ⁣ #𝙄𝘾𝙔𝙈𝙄: TikTok allows users to create short #videos with music, filters & more. Most vids are up to 15-seconds long, but you can share content that’s up to 60-seconds long. ⁠⁣ ⁠⁣ 𝙒𝙝𝙤’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢? ⁣ ⁣ → TikTok is mainly used and loved by #GenZ. 66% of users are under 30 & 41% are between 16-24. TikTok is proving to be very addictive for teens, who are spending way more time on it than other #social platforms. TikTok targets #contentcreators. The younger audience appreciates how simple it is to become a creator & the potential they have on the app to go viral – fast ⚡️⁣ ⁠⁣ 𝙎𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙'𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙠𝙏𝙤𝙠?⁣ ⁣ → If your brand is looking to market to a younger audience, TikTok is the new place to be – & could provide you with a great #ROI. You could start your own channel & create content, work with #influencers or advertise on the platform. ⁣ ⁣ → If #GenZ isn’t your #targetaudience, it’s still worth learning your way around the rising platform and creating a few videos. Here’s why: ⁣ ⁣ · TikTok is still relatively new and growing, so now is a unique opportunity to establish yourself in your niche 🤳⁣ ⁣ · Any content you create on TikTok can be easily shared across different platforms right from the app 👌 ⁣ ⁣ · The content on TikTok is spontaneous and casual (think: less production time!) 📹⁣ ⁣ 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 #𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚!

A post shared by Boosted (@boosted_social) on May 7, 2020 at 10:27am PDT

5. Drop a Platform

While you are evaluating your social media platforms and thinking about trying out some new platforms, you might want to consider dropping a platform. If you’ve been posting consistently to a platform and are still seeing low engagement rates, it’s time to evaluate whether or not it’s worth your time to remain active on that platform. Check out Why Your Small Businesses Should NOT Be on Every Social Media Platform for more insights.

6. Analyze Your Posts

It’s a good practice to regularly check the analytics of the posts and Stories that you’re sharing to social media. By reviewing the analytics for your posts, you can see which types of content are performing best – with higher engagement rates, views or link clicks. Once you’ve analyzed your posts, see if there’s a common theme among your best content to help you decide what type of posts you should create more of in 2021.

For Instagram, you can check out our guide here for navigating your Instagram Insights, as well as here for understanding your Stories analytics. Additionally, here is our guide for everything you need to know about TikTok analytics.

7. Update Your Bios

One of the quickest and easiest ways to revamp your social media accounts is to update all of your bios. It’s a good idea to review your bios and see if there’s any important updates that need to be made. Be sure to include a link to your website and make sure your bios are consistent across all of your social media platforms.

For IG bio best practices, check out How to Optimize Your Instagram Business Bio for Success.

8. Do a Competitive Analysis

Do you keep tabs on what your competitors are doing? If you’ve never put together a competitive analysis on your competitors, you are missing out! This is a great chance to understand what they are doing well on social media and gain some ideas on where you could improve. Make a chart listing out their strengths and weaknesses. Then, come up with a plan of action to implement changes to your own social media strategy.

9. Research New Hashtags

Hopefully you are already taking advantage of hashtags in your social media strategy! But did you know it’s important to not use the same hashtags on every single post? One of the best ways to revamp and grow your social media in 2021 is by researching and testing out new hashtags. Create a list of new hashtags and keep track of which posts and hashtags perform best to help your Instagram posts perform better and to enable you to connect with new customers.

Check out 7 Quick Tips to Build an Instagram Hashtag Strategy for insider insights on the topic.

10. Start Collaborating More

One of the great things about social media is the ability to connect and build a community. To help you grow your social media community even more in 2021, it’s a great idea to look for more ways to collaborate. Are there any like-minded small businesses you could partner with? For example, you could collaborate and host a social media giveaway for your followers. This is a great way to grow your following with customers who are likely to be interested.

Get inspired by this recent brand collab giveaway from @twobearscoffee:

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Happy Canada Day everyone! We are so excited to announce our Proudly Canadian Giveaway with some amazing Canadian Brands. Being a Canadian, means we are proud to support one another and we are so grateful to be apart of THIS amazing community! Want to win this incredible prize?! 🍁 @nakedcoconuts Coconut MCT Oil & Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil 🍁@twobearscoffee Variety-pack Frothed Latte & Coffee Beans 🍁@lynqlife Invincible Juice Blend & Matcha Almonds 🍁@profiprohealth Chocolate Jug & Variety Single-Servings All Canadian owned & Canadian-made! TO ENTER: 🌟 Follow all 4 accounts on Instagram. 🌟 In the comments below, tag 2 friends who would enjoy all these goodies! 🌟 Bonus points for additional entries! Stay tuned for some delicious recipes from all of us over the course of this week! Contest is for Canadian Residents only. Contest closes on July 5th at 8pm and winners will be announced Monday. Good luck!!

A post shared by Two Bears Coffee (@twobearscoffee) on Jul 1, 2020 at 4:57am PDT

11. Be an Activist

If there’s anything we learned in 2020, it’s that today’s consumers want brands to be part of the current conversationa. If you aren’t already taking an active stance in movements that you are passionate about, it’s time to stand up in a meaningful and authentic way in 2021, like clothing brand @minimioche did here:

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This past week we went silent to listen, reflect, learn and let the voices and messages of the Black community be heard.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ We also took this time to think about what we can do better as a company and the meaningful actions we can take, that align with the values that mini mioche has always stood for, which are kindness, respect, inclusion and compassion. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ We believe that change starts in the home – it starts with each of us as parents. It comes from the values we uphold and teach, the behaviours we model, the words we use, and the environment we create for our little humans.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ We believe that every person has a responsibility to look within, to learn and gain awareness about the biases we each have, that may, unknowingly or not, contribute to the systemic racism that continues to plague our society. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ We are committed to taking meaningful action – not just in this moment but for the longer-term.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ To learn more about the immediate steps we have taken, please visit the link in our bio.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ We will continue to listen, to learn and relentlessly uphold our values. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ To the Black families in our community and beyond, we stand with you.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣🖤🖤🖤 ⁣ Artwork by @loveandlion

A post shared by mini mioche (@minimioche) on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:55pm PDT

12. Get Personal

Are you guilty of hiding behind your work as a service-based business owner? Or only featuring your physical products on your social media feeds? It’s time to get in front of the camera and get personal! Show your customers the face behind the business. Share more personal posts to help them get to know you better and feel more connected to your business on a personal level. 

Here’s some inspiration from @workspacery:

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👆🏼 This picture is only part of the story. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our real priorities are literal translations of how we spend our time. Have you ever thought about that? Sure, we say this project or working out or self care is a priority… but does your day and your time reflect this? 🤔 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I find it kind of ironic that in a time when staying at home is the cool thing to do, self care has fallen to the bottom of my own priority list. (Wouldn't being trapped inside make it easy to actually do?) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Truthfully, my priorities lately have been family and work… two things I LOVE, and that's exactly where most of my time goes these days. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But I know when I step back and assess how I'm actually feeling, health/exercise and self-care have fallen to the wayside, and my body feels it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The positive side of this is that awareness is key, and now I see this perspective as an opportunity to move closer to my highest self by prioritizing exercise and self-care in the coming days and weeks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Think about it for yourself, write it down, or comment below: when you look at your day in full, what are you *actually* prioritizing? Is it aligned with what you *want* to be prioritizing in your daily life? ♡

A post shared by Workspacery | Jenna Murillo (@workspacery) on Jul 15, 2020 at 5:54pm PDT

13. Create Short-Form Video Content

One of the most important types of content in 2021 might just be short-form videos. 2020 has already proven that consumers love engaging with short-form videos, so get ready to create more of this type of content to revamp your social media accounts!

Boosted is a great tool for creating short-form, high-quality video content for your social media platforms. Boosted has a built-in library of photos and videos that are already perfectly formatted for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

For further video content inspiration, check out 7 Creative Ways to Use Video on Social Media.

14. Try Out Instagram Reels

If you’ve ever wanted to try out TikTok but weren’t ready to learn a whole new platform, Reels is a great way to begin posting more video content. The easiest way to start out testing Instagram Reels is by repurposing existing video content. It’s easy to upload a video (or several) from your photo gallery into Reels. Try uploading an existing video or an Instagram Story that you have saved to your phone as one of your first Reels.

Not sure where to start with Instagram Reels? Check out our Small Business Owner’s Guide to Instagram Reels here.

15. Shoot New Photo Content

Has it been a while since you’ve taken new photos for your small business? It’s time to up your photography game in 2021.  You don’t have to be a professional photographer in order to shoot new content – all you need is a smartphone with a quality camera and a willingness to learn. Be sure to have good lighting and a clean background when taking photos. Also, be sure to check out some photo editing tools to give your photos a more professional look.

16. Organize Your Instagram Story Highlights

Have you ever taken the time to review your Instagram Story Highlights and reorganize them? Story Highlights are prime real estate on your Instagram profile so be sure to feature the most important and valuable content in your highlights. Need some ideas for what to post in your Instagram Story Highlights? Check out this blog post on How to Use Instagram Story Highlights Strategically as a Small Business Owner.

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BOOSTED Tip: ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕌𝕤𝕖 𝕀𝔾 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 ℍ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪⁠ ⁠ Many #smallbusinesses miss out on the full potential of #InstagramStoryHighlights. Here’s how to leverage #StoryHighlights to boost engagement for your brand 👇⁠ ⁠ 𝙒𝙖𝙞𝙩 – 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣?⁠ ⁠ This IG feature allows you to organize Stories you’ve previously posted into easy-to-access collections. Highlights are found under your bio and right above your posts 👌⁠ ⁠ 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙞𝙯 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨⁠ ⁠ Regular Stories vanish after 24 hours, but when added to a Story Highlight, your content gets a permanent spot on your profile. Story Highlights enable you to:⁠ ⁠ ☑️ repurpose past content⁠ ⁠ ☑️ help your customers find the information they need quickly ⁠ ⁠ ☑️ drive more traffic. ⁠ ⁠ ☑️ offer another way for your customers to engage with your brand⁠ ⁠ 3 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨⁠ ⁠ 👉 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 – You only have space for a few characters in the title of a Story Highlight, so it’s important to use short, simple & descriptive titles to help customers know exactly what the Highlight is about, quickly.⁠ ⁠ 👉 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯 ‘𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵’ 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 – Think about Story Highlights as an extension of your website – creating an ‘About’ Highlight is a great way to help a customer know who you are and what you do right away ⚡️⁠ ⁠ 👉 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 – Story Highlights are also a way to bring your brand to life, so make sure you are creating custom icons/cover images for your Story Highlights that are consistent with your brand visuals.⁠ ⁠ ➡️ Follow these tips to ensure that your brand utilizes Story Highlights to their fullest potential!⁠

A post shared by Boosted (@boosted_social) on Aug 13, 2020 at 11:09am PDT

17. Create Branded Story Highlight Icons

While we are talking about highlights…did you know you can customize the look and feel of your highlights too? This is an easy way to revamp your Instagram feed in 2021. You can easily create new icons to revamp your Instagram feed in 2021 with consistent, branded highlight cover images. Click here to learn how to create Instagram cover images.

18. Send More DM’s

Another social media marketing strategy that your small business should consider in 2021 is direct messaging. DMs can be a powerful way to connect with customers and influencers. The very first tip to getting more DMs is to actually start sending more DMs yourself! Send DM’s to some of your most loyal customers and local influencers. And be sure to make it sound personal (everybody knows when it’s automated). Once you’ve built up a relationship, you can send your customers exclusive sales through DMs or ask influencers if they would be interested in collaborating.

Need some DM marketing advice? Read 8 Easy Ways to Get More Instagram DMs.

19. Be Super Consistent

One of the most important rules when it comes to social media success is consistency. If you weren’t posting consistently on your social media feeds in 2020, it’s time to revamp your social media feeds with consistent content in 2021. If you want to see real results, you will need to post regularly. This will help your followers stay more engaged and ensures your content will continue to actually show up in your customer’s Instagram feeds.

Here are some additional insights on the topic from branding & web design studio @brightenmade:

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My biggest piece of advice for those just starting out in their business, side hustle, passion- CONSISTENCY produces the results you want to see. Overnight success is a myth.⁣ ⁣ You can’t post on Instagram once, or for a week, or even a few months and expect to have “made it”.⁣ ⁣ When I first started out, my feed was nothin but crickets. I was searching high and low for my dream clients wondering where they were, but I kept showing up, I kept sharing my work, and now Insta is where a majority of my clients come from. ⁣ ⁣ So how? Might you be wondering… well, as I’ve been posting nearly every day for the last 3.5 years. You gotta show up… CONSISTENTLY! Not just when you feel like it or when you’re suddenly motivated in your business, but every dang day if you can. ⁣ ⁣ I’m all for setting boundaries with social media and everyone can find what works best for them, but if you can be consistently showing up, serving your ideal audience with value, things willlll happen for you. Pinky promise!⁣ ⁣ And to my designers / creatives out there who like to hide behind their work- trust me I can be guilty of this too, SHOW YOSELF every once in a while. 😘 People wanna see who’s behind the scenes! People connect with people. ⁣ ⁣ Were these tips helpful?! What is your biggest struggle with being consistent on insta?

A post shared by briana summers (@brightenmade) on Aug 25, 2020 at 6:58am PDT

20. Create Paid Ads

It can be a challenge for small businesses to reach new audiences organically on social media. Investing in a little paid advertising can be a powerful way to revamp your social media in 2021. With Facebook and Instagram, your small business can target very specific audiences and help increase your exposure to the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

21. Set Some BIG Goals

Last but not least, don’t be afraid to dream big. Have you ever sat down and thought about your goals for social media? If not, 2021 is the year to dream big when it comes to social media. Now that 2020 is halfway done, it’s time to start thinking about your social media ‘resolutions’. Once you know your goals and set a plan, you will know exactly what you are working towards.

Cori Widen is the Product Marketing Lead at Boosted by Lightricks. She has been leading product marketing campaigns and doing qualitative market research in the tech industry for 10 years.