Top 10 Biggest Social Media Trends In 2023
♦ Top 10 Career Trends Predicted to Dominate in 2023
♦ Top 10 Best Online Jobs for Teens To Earn Money From Anywhere in the World
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| 10 Biggest Social Media Trends In 2023 - Photo KnowInsiders |
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Saying that most people spend a good part of their days on social media would not be an exaggeration. Not in today's world.
Social media has become an integral part of people's lives and daily routines. Some are addicted to it so much that the first thing they do after waking up is to check their social media feeds.
Given the importance of social media in consumers' lives, marketers and businesses flock to social platforms in the hope of connecting with their target customers. However, there is a content overload on social media, and the competition is very high. It can be challenging for you to stand out unless you have a clear social media marketing strategy.
Knowinsiders.com predicts Top 10 Biggest Social Media Trends In 2023!
1. First steps into the metaverse
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| Photo One Tech Asia |
Social Media Today, PR Daily, Forbes and Talkwalker expect the metaverse to become more understood and integrated into our everyday social media consumption in 2023. Key trends include consumers experimenting with creating and using avatars, a focus on VR, AR, virtual stores and NFTs, and a format war between different metaverses.
| Several brands are already experimenting with metaverse experiences. For example: ♦ Bloomingdale’s launched a fully interactive virtual store during New York Fashion Week 2022. ♦ Nike has its own NIKELAND interactive world where visitors can play games centered on sports, as well as NFT sneakers and avatar accessories. ♦ Ferrari released its 296 GTB model to the Fortnite community before making its physical debut. ♦ Starbucks is offering members the ability to buy and earn NFTs that will unlock access to immersive coffee experiences. |
| Tips to navigate this social media trend: Although the notion of the metaverse may feel new and confusing to many, you don’t need to go all in just yet! If you can, start experimenting with the metaverse yourself, to get comfortable with it. Then also consider how your business can take some initial first steps, such as implementing AR into your social media strategy. Shopify reported that AR and 3D product content benefits from a 94% higher conversion rate compared to traditional product content — so that’s another reason to get started! |
2. Video will (still) dominate
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| Photo nealschaffer |
Marketers have been hearing it for years: “Video is the No. 1 content format brands need to leverage.” In 2023 this will still be the case, but fortunately for brands, it will be the scrappy, unpolished clips that attract audiences. Brands can ditch high-budget campaigns featuring celebrities. Instead, they will pick up a cell phone to record and edit their content experiences in-app. Instagram Reels are a prime example of less-polished, more authentic content paying off. Brands are publishing more Reels because they are seeing measurable results. According to a recent study, the interaction count for Reels was almost 40% higher than for traditional videos.
Even more enticing for marketers, the burden of video content creation doesn’t need to fall on in-house teams or agencies. More and more content creators are turning to platforms like TikTok to showcase products, giving brands an abundance of UGC to use in campaigns. With hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt growing to 32 billion views, it’s clear TikTok content has become a perfect fit for influencers and users to share their experiences in an engaging way. Brands will take this a step further in 2023 and get savvier about partnering with video-first influencers who can help amplify messages relevant to audiences while helping scale production.
3. TikTok’s Social Media Domination
Just five years ago, most of us had never heard of TikTok. In fact, this Chinese import has taken the US social media scene by storm. With over a billion viewers, it’s also one with a large following. Here’s another interesting fact: in a survey of Android phone users, people spent more hours per week on TikTok than YouTube. This is impressive for a young network, but perhaps less surprising if you consider that TikTok is designed for smartphones.
TikTok’s dominance is more than just watch hours, however. One study shows that advertising on TikTok is viewed more favorably than what’s presented on most other networks. This may not be surprising if you consider that TikTok has a young, hip user base and a quirky ethos. Or, it could be because the ads are more on-trend. Either way, advertisers on TikTok find it easier to counteract the jaded attitude people have towards much of the advertising online.
READ MORE: Facts About TikTok: Real Owners, History
Brands will invest more in TikTok advertisingBrand success on TikTok will not be isolated to UGC. The platform is doubling down on revenue generation with more digital advertising opportunities. As a relatively new platform, TikTok is seeing tremendous results owning the title of the world’s fastest-growing media app, and has experienced in-app consumer spending to the tune of more than $2.5 billion. Boasting nearly 30 million daily active users globally, it’s no wonder that brands are beginning to explore the TikTok’s potential – not only in generating brand awareness but in its ability to contribute to the bottom line. The brands that have tapped into TikTok advertising are already seeing promising results. According to a recent study conducted by Triple Whale, brands increased their spending on the platform by 231% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same time period the year before. And even more impressive, the same study found that direct-to-consumer brands leveraging TikTok were generating $1 million to $5 million dollars in revenue. In 2023, we will see an increase in the number of brands and industries putting more of their digital advertising budget towards TikTok, which will in turn drive more innovations on the platform and lead to more TikTok marketing opportunities within the digital advertising space. |
4. Content goes full-screen
While TikTok’s astronomic boom is nothing new, its influence on the way other social media platforms operate will continue. Expect to see more 9:16 (that’s full-screen vertical) content coming your way.
While it’s no surprise that Instagram followed TikTok’s lead on this one, now so have YouTube and Facebook. On Facebook vertical video has a 90% higher completion rate than horizontal videos and YouTube is trialling a new feature that reformats video ads into vertical playback.
As more platforms support this aspect ratio, the same content can be repurposed for an extended reach. Making the switch will give you more bang for your buck.
READ MORE: 8 Best TikTok Online Tools to Use in 2022
5. A Boom in Social Audio
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| Photo battenhall |
As more social media platforms pivot towards video-based content, and thanks to the boom in gamers worldwide, the role of audio in social media is rapidly changing.
Facebook has soundbite reactions tools and Twitter has voice tweets and Twitter Spaces. LinkedIn has Audio Events. It’s time to create a social media strategy that harnesses the power of social audio in 2022!
Feeling bold? Jump into the Metaverse and experiment with audio marketing for your brand. Looking to start small? Level up your Instagram Reels strategy with trending audio to ensure higher engagement and broader reach.
Multi-sensory social mediaAccording to Talkwalker, multi-sensory social media will trend in 2023. Multi-sensory media is the integration of different formats such as audio, video, text and even fully-immersive environments. This helps to bring new and more engaging experiences to social media users. For example, Instagram launched the option to add music to still images. Twitter added a podcast page in the US. And Meta is of course heavily investing into the metaverse. Tips to navigate this 2023 trend: Editing your content to include audio, polls, GIFs, music, captions and more is a great way to introduce the notion of multi-sensory social media, even if it is on a smaller scale. |
6. Gaming is the new social media playground
If you’ve ever played Candy Crush or Wordle on your daily commute, you’re officially a gamer.
While social media platforms are tried and tested advertising platforms, gaming offers a stack of exciting new opportunities for brands and businesses in 2023. And a number of tech companies and brands are doubling down on their investment in gaming, too.
Netflix is set to expand its reach, building its first in-house video game studio in Helsinki. Plus luxury fashion houses continue to use gaming as a means of community engagement and to bridge the gap between virtual reality and the IRL.
The gaming industry is set to be worth in the region of $200.8bn, with in-game advertising estimated to reach $17.6 million by 2023. This is a world that thrives on social interaction, and has remained relatively untapped when it comes to marketing. Could 2023 be the year your brand dabbles in the power of gaming?
7. Super apps
The multi-sensory prediction ties in well with another top 2023 social media trend outlined by Marketing Interactive and Gartner: super apps. Super apps combine various features from messaging, video and entertainment, to commerce and payment — just like WeChat offers right now. This provides users both more immersive experiences, as well as the ease of having multiple needs met in one platform.
For example, TikTok has been adding multiple features that directly copy other social media apps, from a BeReal clone, to carousels, stories and longer videos, and it is even making moves into the non-digital world. Meta has been turning WhatsApp into an app that goes beyond one-on-one messaging, with community tools and payment features in selected regions. And Elon Musk described his purchase of Twitter as “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”
8. Social media for customer service
Mediatoolkit, Hootsuite and Convince & Convert, all predict that we will see more businesses incorporate a customer service element into their social media strategies in 2023. This means using social media as a direct line of communication with customers, to quickly address questions, complaints and requests. It can also include proactively responding to customers who mention your brand.
Why should social media management include an element of customer service?
It makes life easier for your customers. Most of your customers are already on social media, so simply offering support via these platforms is a great way to improve your customer service.
Some social media platforms provide readily-available functionalities to simplify your customer service management and improve response times. For example, Facebook offers features such as a common inbox, automated responses, and chat bots.
It helps you grow your brand. Public responses show brands taking accountability and builds trust and transparency (which ties in well with the first social media trend above). While ignoring customer inquiries on social media can have a negative impact on your brand.
| Tips to navigate this 2023 trend: There are several steps you can already take to incorporate customer service into your social media strategy: ♦ Train your social media managers on your customer service processes. ♦ Open your social media DMs for visitors to easily submit questions and complaints. ♦ Consider setting up separate, dedicated channels for social media customer support. Just like Nike Service, Starbucks Care, and Evernote Helps on Twitter. ♦ Provide customer support publicly. When done properly, this is great for PR. ♦ Listen to brand mentions and proactively jump in on conversations about your products and services (even if you are not tagged). Starbucks is a great example of this. |
9. Instagram Doubles Down on Creators
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| Photo battenhall |
There’s a lot of talk about Instagram being “over", especially to younger generations — but we wouldn’t count it out in 2023.
One reason? The app still has over 1B monthly active users.
And while the average user may have some complaints, Instagram’s staying power will lie in how it attracts (and retains) creators.
We’ve already seen it roll out creator-specific features in 2022, and we think they’ll double down in 2023.
10. YouTube Shorts Takes Off
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| Photo Youtube |
According to Adweek, views on YouTube Shorts have generated an average of 30B views per day.
The appeal of YouTube Shorts is twofold: creators who post on Shorts are able to attract more viewers to their long-form content and grow their number of subscribers.
Plus, with YouTube's upcoming monetization opportunities for Shorts, the platform will reemerge as a go-to for creators. Cha-ching.
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