A lot can change over the space of a year. For example, remember when your Instagram feed was full of blurry, zoomed-in pictures? That was the biggest trend of January 2022…only a year ago!
As glum as it may often seem, January always provides a great opportunity to reflect on the previous year and plan ahead for the year to come. Looking at trends and predictions is a great way to get ahead of the game and make sure you are implementing a strategy that will remain innovative and on-trend, keeping you relevant in the ever-evolving world of social media.
It is no secret that social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools on the internet today. As such, many will be looking at the year ahead and wanting to know what trends we can expect to see across popular platforms in 2023.
As specialists in both organic and paid social media, we have also been looking at the year ahead and strategizing how to ensure that each of our clients’ content plans remain in line with the social media trends that this year holds in store.
To help, we have put together our list of 2023 social media trends and predictions to help you navigate your way through what looks to be another groundbreaking year in the social media space.
1. The growth in importance of brand responsibility, transparency and authenticity
The discussion of brand authenticity and social responsibility is nothing new, but the pressure on brands to respond to those issues and show how they are giving back continues to grow. In fact, a recent survey conducted by ING Research revealed that over six in ten (61%) global consumers say they would be less willing to buy a company’s product if they found it performed poorly on environmental practices.
Looking ahead to 2023, there will be mounting pressure on brands to show how they are responding to societal issues and display how they are giving back to society. With cancel culture not going away any time soon, users will also be expecting far more transparency and authenticity from brands on social media. This means tactics such as greenwashing and whitewashing will no longer be tolerated and may in fact have more detrimental consequences than we have previously witnessed.
Brands have already started to implement these changes and have taken the lead in addressing societal, environmental and political issues.
A good example is Ben & Jerry’s who uses its platform to address global issues and provide insight into its own ethical programs and sustainability initiatives, delivered through their trademark quirky branding. Here are some examples of recent posts they have produced addressing refugee rights in the UK:
2. Taking the first steps into the Metaverse
If you are still baffled by the Metaverse, you are not alone. Our basic understanding tells us that the Metaverse describes the inevitable evolution of the internet into a virtual world where billions of people live, work, shop, learn and interact with one another. Our computer screens will become a portal into a 3D virtual realm where avatars move from one experience to another.
Whilst we are still a way away from this taking over our entire lives, elements of this creation will begin to creep into social media during 2023. This will come in the form of VR, AR, virtual stores and NFT’s.
An example of this is Nike’s fully interactive world NIKELAND, which was one of the first examples of mainstream metaverse commerce. The virtual world which was created on Roblox saw over 7 million users during its first two months and now represents 26% of its total Nike brand revenue.
3. Utilising social media for customer service
Among its many positive qualities, social media has become a favoured platform for many due to its immediacy and simple communication abilities. Many have already taken the initiative to use this, and in 2023 we expect to see more and more businesses incorporate a customer service experience into their 2023 social media strategies.
As many already do, more businesses will favour using social media as a direct line of communication as:
It is easier for customers to reach out to businesses via social media.
It simplifies customer service management and enables a speedy response.
It plays on our first 2023 social media trend in that it will require transparency and in turn grow brand loyalty and increase business.
4. The ever-increasing emphasis on short-form video content
Instead of asking who has heard about the increase in short-form video on social media, it would probably be easier to ask who hasn’t?
Anyone working in the world of social media, or even anyone who uses social media, will know about the increase in short-form video content. Triggered by TikTok, this has filtered onto every social platform and continues to dominate the content landscape. From Instagram reels, to Snapchat spotlights to YouTube shorts, short-form video content has shaken up the social media world and is painting a very different picture to what we saw not so long ago.
Short-form video has been labelled the most effective marketing format generating the highest ROI at 30%, and is the format that 26% of marketers leveraged the most in 2022. So, if you haven’t already planned short-form video content into your 2023 social media strategy, we would highly recommend thinking about revisiting that! Think video-first in 2023 and be sure to establish a presence on the most popular social media platforms for short-form video content, including Instagram reels, TikTok, YouTube shorts, Snapchat spotlights and social media animation.
5. Social advertising is expected to soar
In 2022, ad spend on social media reached over $173 billion and is projected to reach over $268.7 billion in 2023. With over 3.6 billion people regularly active on social platforms, it makes sense for businesses to invest some of their marketing efforts towards social advertising. 2022 also saw social media video ad spend grow by 20.1% to $24.35 billion, further highlighting the dominance of short-form video content on social media.
With the number of people worldwide using social media expected to reach 4.4 billion by 2025, we can expect to see a significant boom in social advertising in 2023. Brands have already acknowledged the power and importance of social advertising, and will continue to invest in and grow their social advertising over the coming year.
With the constantly changing social media algorithms, producing well-informed and strategic ads will be more and more important. Whilst being able to boost regular content has worked in the past, 2023 will see a need for a more strategic approach and increased reasoning behind ad creatives in order for them to perform well and produce positive results. If you need any assistance with your social advertising, our social media team could be the answer for you!
6. Boost in user-generated content and influencer marketing
User-generated content (UGC) is content that has been posted by individual people rather than brands. This content can come from customers, employees or creators – otherwise known as influencers. In 2022, the influencer marketing industry reached $16.4 billion, and this was very much attributed to the previously mentioned growth in popularity of short-form video content.
This form of content marketing is a way for brands to gather heaps of content without having to worry about actually creating it. With time being a constant constraint for brands, and desires to streamline content creation and make social media strategy as efficient as possible, UGC and influencer marketing will soar in 2023 as a way for brands to get their content fix without having to spend person-hours creating it.
As ever, there is a lot going on in the world of social media, and it is a world of constant change and adaptation. From the Elon Musk Twitter war to the grand TikTok takeover, 2022 saw some exciting developments on social media, and 2023 can only grow with exciting things already underway. If you are looking to grow your brand’s presence on social media in 2023, get in touch with us to see how we might be able to work together. We hope you enjoyed our 2023 social media trends and predictions!
