BrandGraph 500 Shows Top Social Content Trends of 2021

Social content mirrors the events of real life, and in 2021 we had a lot to talk about. BrandGraph 500, which ranks the nation’s top brands by social content volume, breaks down what brands had the biggest increases in social content last year, and also looks at which brands didn’t have their best year ever.

BrandGraph has scanned over 741 million pieces of content across 16.6 million different social media accounts in 2021, and it is constantly updating. Rankings may change over time.

BrandGraph 500 Year in Review

The winners on the 2021 BrandGraph 500 were entertainers and video games, which in general continued to dominate the conversation after 2020 highlighted just how important entertainment is to the general public. The BrandGraph platform analyzed 741 million pieces of content across 16.6 million different social media accounts in 2021. The takeaway: We want to be entertained!

The entertainment category had the biggest movers on the BrandGraph 500. The largest jump came from “Wandavision”; the superhero show skyrocketed 257 places to No. 123 on the BrandGraph 500. The Academy Awards dropped 173 spots to No. 424 after ratings for the 2021 show tanked and garnered negative reviews.

Music Rewind

It was a big year to be a British singer, especially former One Direction members, who generated the most engagement on social media. Harry Styles rose 15 places to No. 95 while going on tour; Zayn Malik jumped 36 spots to No. 200 while breaking up with model Gigi Hadid and releasing new music; and Liam Payne dropped 26 places but still ranked No. 285 on the list after releasing the popular song “Sunshine.” Singer Dua Lipa, whose song “Levitating” was one No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list for 2021, ascended 32 places to No. 194. Ed Sheeran joined the list as he soared 142 positions to No. 291, one of the biggest jumps of 2021. 

Meanwhile, all American singers on the BrandGraph 500 dropped in the ranking except Taylor Swift, who rose three places to No. 114 after she re-recorded many of her songs. Ariana Grande was still the best performing American singer on the ranking, but she fell nine spots to No. 80 in 2021. Lizzo dropped the most — by 105 places to No. 481 — despite having her first music release in two years: the song “Rumors.” Twelve American rappers made the BrandGraph 500: Cardi B at No. 111; Travis Scott at No. 133; DaBaby at No. 176; Megan Thee Stallion at No. 188; Doja Cat at No. 246; Snoop Dogg at No. 263; Juice WRLD at No. 288; Lil Wayne at No. 330; Lil Nas X at No. 341; Nipsey Hussle at No. 349; Offset at No. 381; and Trippie Redd at No. 455. Canadian rapper Drake had one of the top rap albums of 2021 and came in at No. 74. 

All Fun and Games

Virtual worlds and mobile games were also generating buzz. Roblox spiked 113 slots to No. 149 and Minecraft rose 17 spots to No. 72. Pokemon climbed 82 places to No. 191 thanks to the popularity of Pokemon Go. Resident Evil had a spike as well, rising 77 places to No. 242.

Meanwhile, Animal Crossing — an early-pandemic favorite — dropped 159 spots to No. 409. Video games like Danganronpa (12.49%), Super Smash Bros. (10.62%), Minecraft (10.21%) and League of Legends (10.11%) also got people talking, shown by their high engagement rates. 

Give Them Something to Talk About

Public figures can always spark a conversation or debate. Sen. Bernie Sanders rose 171 spots to No. 246 after he became a meme during the presidential inauguration.

Billionaires and rivals Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos also made waves. Tesla CEO Musk rose 83 positions to No. 113 and landed himself the title of Time’s 2021 Person of the Year. Amazon’s founder Bezos soared 132 places to No. 258 while also launching into space last year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his debut on the list at No. 361.

Blockchain Heats Up

Cryptocurrency was a hot topic across all social channels in 2021, and BrandGraph 500 underscores just how big a buzz it created. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) became mainstream, and El Salvador became the first country to accept crypto as legal currency, driving the push to create more crypto-linked products.

Not surprisingly, Bitcoin — the OG of cryptocurrency — climbed 45 spots in the chart to No. 19, likely because it hit $65,000 in 2021, making lots of crypto investors wealthier. Several altcoins joined the party, too: Dogecoin, XRP, Binance Coin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Litecoin and Ethereum. 

Keeping Up with the Kardashian-Jenners

The Kardashian-Jenners had five appearances on the BrandGraph 500: Kim Kardashian West at No. 87; Kylie Jenner at No. 88; Kendall Jenner at No. 199; Kourtney Kardashian at No. 346 and Khloe Kardashian at No. 375. The biggest mover of the family was Kourtney, who surged 73 spots in a year when she got engaged to drummer Travis Barker.

Tech Face-Off

Two tech giants dominate the top 10: Meta/Facebook accounts for the No. 1 (WhatsApp), No. 2 (Instagram) and No. 5 (Facebook) spots in the BrandGraph 500, while Alphabet/Google owns No. 3 and 9 — YouTube and Google. Other mega companies — TikTok (No. 4), Twitter (No. 6), Nike (No. 7), Disney (No. 8) and Apple’s iPhone (No. 10) — were also top of mind for social media users in 2021. Netflix is making a play for a top-10 spot.