Before brands embark on short-video marketing, one of their key considerations should be the pros and cons of user-generated content (UGC). Marketers have had to learn to be comfortable with showing their brand messages in the midst of UGC on social media—and that’s been harder than ever, thanks to the recent rise in negativity and misinformation on some platforms. But to excel in the short-video format, especially on TikTok, marketers must also be willing to tap ordinary users for inspiration, participation, and viral distribution.

The eMarketer team deliberated extensively to select the 10 key digital trends to watch in 2021 from a list of 43. Which trends narrowly missed the cut? Here’s our first in a series of additional transformative developments that ought to be on your radar in the year ahead.

According to Jeremy Goldman, eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, it’s because “consumers are less trusting of the mainstream media and slick corporate marketing, turning instead to user-generated content and influencers to find their own truth.”. Brands should take note of this.

From there, learn about the pros and cons of user-generated content (UGC) and take time to understand the differences between the short-video venues. (Spoiler alert: They’re not all the same.). What steps come next?

One area of potential risk where marketers won’t show as much concern is in user-generated content. During the pandemic, many brands enlisted fans and influencers to help develop marketing creative. What started out as a workaround when normal production processes weren’t possible will become a more regular occurrence.

What started out as a workaround when normal production processes weren’t possible has become more of a modus operandi, and the combination of user-generated content and creator marketing is a one-two punch that short-video venues offer up in spades.

But since memes also tap into several of the trends that the pandemic has accelerated—from the growth in user-generated content and influencer marketing, to “making social media fun again” through social entertainment—it’s likely that memes will continue to flood many social feeds in 2021 and beyond.

After a tumultuous year, the social platforms will close 2020 on a high note in terms of ad revenues and users—and with features that closely resemble each other.

YouTube can also offer creators a lot more freedom than other platforms due to its longstanding agreements with music labels and huge library of existing user-generated content. Creators will be able to choose from more than 250 music labels’ sounds without worrying about copyright claims. And the platform plans to eventually let users remix sounds from any YouTube video into a Shorts video.

Read about the first runner-up, influencer- and user-generated content, in our recent article. Digital fitness, telemedicine, and food delivery. In 2021, expect to see a convergence of content and commerce, led by the likes of Peloton, lululemon athletica, Nike, and Apple. Amazon and Google are getting into the act as well with Halo and Fitbit, respectively, in addition to emerging services offerings.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver, Nicole Perrin and Debra Aho Williamson at Insider Intelligence discuss what a new executive order could mean for user-generated content. They then talk about why The Wall Street Journal is doing well, publisher expectations for Q2 and Facebook's latest TikTok-like music making app Collab.

In his two years in the role, Dunkin' Brands’ CMO Tony Weisman has led the company through a rebrand, updating Dunkin’s image to reflect its growing beverage priorities; expanded brand partnerships, working with companies that may not seem obvious for a business focused on drinks and donuts; and become laser-focused on user-generated content (UGC).

Often, you'll be getting a specific message from a member of the team; the images we use are less polished than those on Instagram, they're more of a user-generated content style of photography. So, it does feel more intimate and like you're getting an insight into the brand.

On today's episode, we discuss whether sports are the key to moving viewers from TVs to streaming platforms, if online audiences can ever rival TV viewership, and whether people will want to watch user-generated or professionally made content online. We then talk about the most interesting part of The Walt Disney Co.'s streaming endeavors, how HBO Max stacks up so far, and how this second year of virtual upfronts might be different. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Ross Benes.

TikTok is likely hoping to avoid the many issues that come with running ads alongside user-generated content, though at the moment, there aren’t more details about whether brands can build inclusion or exclusion lists. Snapchat emphasizes its curated Discover content as a way to advertise in a brand-safe environment.

But since memes also tap into several of the trends that the pandemic has accelerated—from the growth in user-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing, to “making social media fun again” through social entertainment—it’s likely that memes will continue to flood many social feeds in 2021 and beyond.

Section 230 has encouraged the vast increase of user-generated content, including influencer content. A complete revocation of Section 230 would create huge potential user-generated content liabilities for some social media platforms, threatening the viability of their business models.