Social Media Trends To Look Forward To In 2023
The previous two years have changed the way businesses use the Internet and social media in particular. We can’t stress enough how this year has changed the dynamics forever and it will affect 2023 in a big way. Here are some social media trends to look forward to in the year 2023.
Social Media Trends #1 – It attracts new customers and give them a good virtual experience
In a survey by Hootsuite, when asked about their most important social media goal for 2022. “Nearly three-quarters of the marketers said the increased acquisition of new customers.” That’s a major increase since last year when less than half of the entrepreneurs said this was their most important social goal.
Brands are always focused on bringing in new business. But it’s interesting to know that so many business owners and marketers want to focus on customer experience. This will invariably be one of the most popular social media trends for 2023.
The pandemic just crashed all the offline displays and live events leaving every business owner clueless. Suddenly, there were no more in-store fancy displays or personal experience factors. There were no more sales events or in-person help from knowledgeable staff.
In 2022, marketers can still drive their ROI from new customers using social media. But they also need to give social experiences that help build relationships and brand loyalty online.
For example, face-to-face guidance from experts and live streams on Facebook and Instagram are huge resources to leverage. Coaches and experts can be tapped in to make specific videos on their social handles to increase engagement and knowledge among the customers. Today people appreciate this DIY approach.
Then Instagram introduced Reels and people enjoyed watching the influencers and experts post their at-home videos using this new social video format.
Those engaging short social videos create brand loyalty. But they can also drive sales which every salesperson wants at the end of the day.
For brands, customers, industry experts, Live streaming videos are another great way to connect. As quoted by Hootsuite “In China, a Tommy Hilfiger Livestream event attracted 14 million viewers. They sold out of 1,300 hoodies in two minutes and In the US, Livestream shopping events are predicted to generate $25 billion in sales by 2023”.
Social Media Trends # 2 – Listen more and speak less is the new mantra
The best thing businesses can do right now is to listen rather than talk. After all, Man is a social animal and in times of crisis, people want to use social media to distract and entertain themselves. Successful campaigns this year have helped create connections between people and they’ve provided much-needed moments of fun. These are the reasons people tune into social media.
Since many brands misinterpret new social media trends and misunderstand what people want from them on social media, and how much people want to interact with them. Half of the people in this world don’t think brands or companies share interesting content.
The smartest brands will understand what a social media user wants and they’ll find creative ways of fitting into the conversation instead of trying to lead it.
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Social Media Trends #3 – Baby boomers adopt social media like never before.
Baby boomers are getting used to social media trends. Boomers would spend more time online using social media, digital video, gaming, and mobile payments. According to a survey by Hootsuite “Seventy percent of internet users aged 55-64 have bought something online in the past month. And 37% plan to continue doing so more frequently”. Marketers typically target baby boomers through TV advertising. It is one of the most effective ways to reach them to date.
Getting on board with new social media trends, Boomers are also exploring and enjoying learning new hobbies online. A high increase has been seen within the demographic for gardening, travel, art, animals, DIY, and recipes.
Most marketing and advertising professionals are under 40. They can sometimes forget about older generations when creating marketing campaigns but now they won’t take that risk because people of the older generation are shifting their focus and interests.
Since Boomers are a target audience, many businesses are planning to increase their social media budget for Facebook, Instagram, and, Pinterest.
Social Media Trends #4 – Short-lived Content Will Keep Gaining Popularity
This type of content is something that is available only for a short duration and disappears afterward. Snapchat Stories are perfect examples of such content.
Today, people’s attention spans are short, and they like to consume quick content. This is why Stories have become popular. They are engaging, and addictive in an amusing way that people can spend hours scrolling through.
Marketers have taken notice of this trend and will continue to leverage it to their advantage till they can. According to this recent report by Hootsuite, “64% of marketers either already have incorporated Instagram Stories into their strategies or plan to do so in the future”.
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Social Media Trends #5 – Traditional Social media Platforms will continue to grow
Facebook and Instagram have dominated social media as the largest and most popular platforms for a very long time. In recent years, several other niche social media platforms emerged and rose to fame.
For example, TikTok started in 2016 and immediately gained popularity with youth. It grew to be one of the most popular apps in both the Android and Apple app stores. However, to an extent, TikTok has been a victim of its success. It got banned in India in 2020 due to its Chinese ownership. But Facebook and Instagram have continued to be popular in 2020.
Social Media Trends # 6 – Social Commerce Will Continue to Expand its branches
Brands have been using social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to sell their products for a very long time. Social commerce has become a new retail store for brands, and this trend is only going to get better in the future.
Social commerce is on its way to becoming a mainstream retail channel on par with other not-so-new mediums like websites and offline stores. This trend will get stronger as time goes with more and more social networks introducing pro-selling features.
From Instagram stores to Facebook groups, social networks are continuously evolving to become retail platforms. Brands and marketers are more likely to leverage these and incorporate social commerce in their sales strategies.
Social Media Trends #7 – Video Content Will Dominate the Internet
Video content is one of the most engaging forms of content that we have seen in recent years, a clear winner over all other types. Whether it is short videos like those popular on Stories or long-format content on YouTube, videos are the future of social media content.
If you’re not currently creating videos, it is time that you include them ASAP. In no time, videos will dominate social media and anyone who doesn’t realize that will have a tough time running a business. Start by using features like Stories both for your social media and for advertisements.
8. Live Streaming Will Become everyone’s cup of tea
2020 has been a unique year like no one has ever seen before. It has destroyed the commerce industry and businesses turn on its head and forced them to change the entire retailing model to make shopping even possible.
Eventually, everybody has to do their everyday business online. People who may have never used their video cameras before now participate in Zoom calls like experienced videographers.
Even if the COVID situation improves live streaming is here to rock the world. People are addicted to being a part of live launches and Q n As. They can examine a product without leaving their home and they are loving it.
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9. Technology Adoption Will see an All-Time High like never before
Social media will see a rise in the adoption of technologies like augmented and virtual reality. As these platforms grow, users will demand better and more engaging experiences, and these technologies can make that happen.
Facebook has already taken a huge step in this direction with the introduction of Horizon, their social virtual reality world. This is a kind of virtual universe where people can connect, play games, and explore many things all at once. This is the next level of social engagement and could very well be the future of social media.
10. Influencer Marketing Will Continue to rise and shine
Influencer marketing is not a new norm, but it is going to stay for a while. Social media today is dominated by influencers who are getting paid humongous amounts to promote brands.
The acceptance of this trend can be seen from both ends. One can be seen by the sheer rise in the number of influencers on social channels. Second can be seen by the increase in the money spend on influencer marketing by businesses. Investing in influencers is much cheaper than running paid ad campaigns, and yet it delivers good results so it’s a win-win situation for both.
Besides this, influencers can help marketers achieve a variety of marketing goals and not just generate leads. These are the main reasons why it has become so popular and is continuously getting stronger as the day goes by. Marketers are not just collaborating with 1-2 influencers now but are working with a big network of small, relevant, niche influencers. This kind of influencer marketing gets much higher engagement and costs less. Going ahead, more and more marketers will use this strategy and work with multiple influencers instead of one celebrity.
11. More Regulatory Control and Legal Scrutiny
While there are various benefits of social media, some negatives have come into the picture recently. Data privacy and security are two such problems that have made the headlines for social networks.
We all know that Social media can be easily used to gather information about anyone and misuse it. There are allegations about some sites that sell their user data to other companies.
In light of this, social networks and regulatory bodies will tighten their norms and put more policies in place. Social media is considered unsafe by many people, and it would be in everyone’s best interest to change that. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have faced scrutiny as they have become more popular.
12. Social Media for Customer Service
Social media has traditionally been a place for us to connect with their social handles and share photos and videos. But those days are gone when social media consisted of only Facebook. It has become a virtual retail platform, a product discovery platform, and now, even a customer service platform. A lot of brands have acknowledged the fact that social media networks can be used as platforms for delivering customer service.
This transition has happened gradually over the last few years as brands started noticing that many customers try to reach out to them on social handles. This may be because it was a more direct way to reach the brands. Last year many Brands started responding to such messages and directing those customers to the right channels.
After a few years down the line, the number of such interactions will grow multifold. It’s not just sometimes where customers post their complaints on social media and brands respond.
13. Personalization Will be significant
Personalization/Customization is a global consumer trend that has been there for some years now. However, it is still at a nascent stage when it comes to its adoption of social media.
With that being said, brands can’t exactly personalize their social media content for different consumer segments. True that. But, they can still customize their social media ads for as many target segments as they want.
The key aspect where businesses can leverage the personalization trend is their unique way of delivering social media ads. In recent years, Social media platforms have started providing advanced targeting and customization choice. They let you show the right ads to the right people at the right times and the right locations.
If you don’t believe then try checking an ad on Instagram. Within minutes, you will see ads for similar products on your feed. The more ads you click on, the better it will understand your online behavior pattern, likes, and dislikes. And, the next thing you know, all of your ads will be customized and curated to your taste.
14. User-Generated Content Will become more trustworthy
It’s not a new social media trend but it is still going strong and will continue to do so. The only thing that has changed quickly is the rate of acceptance.
For example, Daniel Wellington, motivates their customers to create content and tag the brand for a chance to get featured on their page. Some others run relevant marketing campaigns that encourage people to submit their entries to be a part of the campaign and giveaways. Whereas, some brands, like Airbnb, completely rely on user-generated content for their social media content because that’s the core of the service they provide.
It doesn’t matter how you want to leverage UGC, you should have a place for it in your marketing mix. User-generated content is free and is considered much more authentic and value-based than branded content. It can help your brand appear more trustworthy and can do wonders for your public image. So, if you have never experimented with user-generated content before for your social media profiles, it’s time that you start leveraging it.
15. Local Targeting Will Be The key
Vocal for Local is the way to go from now on. Local targeting is the counterpart for social media. These days, social media trends have forced brands to use location-based targeting to reach out to and attract people from a specific geographic location.
This is certainly not a new social media trend where Social platforms like Instagram provide you the option to search for posts from nearby places or specific locations. If you add your current location to your content, it will show up in the search results, helping local people find your brand. It helps you target the region-specific audience.
For example, if you use the “boost post” option on Facebook, you can also select the locations that you want to target and Facebook will show your posts to particular users in those locations. There are numerous benefits of location-based targeting on social media, the only thing you need to know is how to leverage it.
16. Brands Will Incorporate Social Listening into their marketing plan
Social media is the best place for information and insights that businesses can use to redesign their social and even PR strategies. And, with the launch of so many social listening tools, it has become very easy for anyone to access these resources. Brands and marketers are using social listening for a variety of use cases. One of the most efficient social media trends, social listening is here to stay.
It can help brands to understand the impact of social media and how people perceive their brand. This has made social listening an integral part of most marketing strategies.
17. Social Media Communities Rule
Though this is not something new, it is something that is becoming more popular and of great importance.
Social media communities are social groups created by brands and influencers to provide a networking platform for their customers and followers. These are generally private groups that one-of-a-kind people can join to talk about their common interests. Facebook Groups are a good example of such social groups and communities.
Many brands utilize such groups to bring all of their existing and prospective buyers together and engage with them in a meaningful and value-adding way. Group members can discuss various topics, share their experiences, and seek solutions to their problems together. Brands also leverage their social media communities to launch new products, take customer feedback, and gain valuable customer insights.
18. Goodwill and purpose-driven campaigns from brands will hike up
Consumers can’t connect with brands that they see as dishonest and deceiving. They won’t invest in something that they can’t trust or don’t believe in that is right on their part too. This is why connecting with the customers will be crucial for brands that want to remain trusted. We have seen brands doing good and honest things, but there will be an even bigger responsibility on them in this next year.
19. Sustainability will be a thing to look forward
Nowadays more people want brands to be more sustainable. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen brands moving towards a more sustainable future, whether it’s through the materials they use in their packaging, their systems, or whatever. This will be one of the social media trends to look forward to in 2023.
The quest for a greener planet continues, and consumers are likely seeking out brands that are conscious of the environment. As the world remains a fragile place, it will be the key for brands to take this seriously in 2023.
20. Inclusivity will be taken care of
Inclusivity became a focus area in 2020, with the Black Lives Matter movement highlighting issues that are prevalent within various elements of society.
In a study by Accenture, it was quoted that “cultural shift towards inclusivity is also impacting purchase behavior, with 41% of shoppers shifting away from retailers which don’t reflect their views on Identity and 29% are willing to switch brands completely if they don’t show enough diversity”.
Social Media Trends Conclusion
Brands that are seen to be non-inclusive will likely suffer negative impacts in 2023. On the other side, brands that openly showcase their involvement in inclusive causes, for example, Rihanna’s Lingerie line Savage will reap the benefits and drive deeper connections with their buyers.
