With a new year comes new goals, new projects and (of course) new Social Media trends. Those of us that get ahead of the trends before the rest and utilise them correctly are generally the ones that will reap the benefits ten-fold.
The world of social saw some drastic changes in 2022, and I have no doubt that 2023 will be the exact same. From AI and the Metaverse to Audio Rooms and Personal Branding, there’s a lot to digest in the new social age 😅
So grab a cuppa (or a vodka shot) and let’s dig deep into the Social Trends you need to look out for to maximise your Social Strategy in 2023 🔥
1 – Social Audio 🎤
2022 had a huge boom in video on social media: Reels, TikToks, Idea Pins – all the channels were hopping on the short form video trend.
As we go into 2023 we’re starting to see a pivot towards more audio content. Think podcasts, audio rooms (Clubhouse style) and sparking ACTUAL conversations. Recent audio changes in social media represent this shift:
- Facebook has harnessed audio reaction tools
- Twitter has voice tweets and Twitter spaces and
- (my personal favourite) LinkedIn allows you to host your own Audio Events
It’s officially time to start thinking about incorporating audio into your social strategy this year.
Chuck yourself in the deep end and experiment with audio marketing on the Metaverse, or start off small and maximise your Reels reach with trending audio paired with educational content for increased engagement and broader reach.
2 – Keep it authentic 💯
It’s not a secret that consumer behaviour is evolving (and has been for some time). Customers are becoming more digitally savvy and they won’t be fooled by the simple marketing you could get away with a few years ago.
Worldwide, people now demand more authenticity from brands, which means you’ve got to focus on showcasing your brands personality a lot more in 2023. A huge 86% of consumers say that transparency is the first thing they consider when purchasing from a brand 👀
Don’t think you can squirm your way out of this one – in the same survey, 70% of millennial consumers said they want CEOs to have a personal presence on Social Media channels. So while it’s important to showcase your brands personality and values, you may also want to consider broadening your personal brand (this doesn’t just have to be on LinkedIn, I love using Instagram and TikTok as well!).
When you build a more personal connection with your audience, it’s naturally going to lead to a stronger community and thus better results. That’s just how the cookie crumbles in 2023 🙌
If you’d like to read up more on this, you have to read ‘Purple Cow’!
3 – AI takeover 🤖
Now I know the relatively new AI world is scary for a lot of people (including myself), but stay with me here.
In this sense, AI is simply a software that automates certain tasks for you – such as writing blog posts, repurposing content, or coming up with content ideas. This is a key factor to implement into your strategies in 2023 as the AI market has been projected to grow yearly by 120%.
In the social world, it’s not as big of a beast to tackle as you’re imagining. In fact, you’re probably already using AI, you just haven’t defined a strategy for implementing it.
A good way to dip your foot into the AI water is to experiment with some copywriting AI – all you have to do is input a few keywords, pick a tone of voice and it will spit out some copy that you can chop, change and use on your social media channels.
My personal favourites are copy.ai for more simple copywriting (captions, headlines, quick paragraphs) and Chat GTP for longer form copy such as blogs (although I am actually writing this blog the old fashioned manual way, so maybe I need to take a page out of my own book 😅).
AI is an insanely powerful and addictive tool, so it’s important to remember that it will never be able to replace the power of personalised and authentic content. So they’re good for the odd caption, content ideas and blogs – but they won’t be able to replace that true brand authenticity and personality we just spoke about, only you can do that!
4 – Size doesn’t matter 🍆
Despite what anyone says, size doesn’t matter in 2023 👀
(don’t send this to your SO)
Influencer marketing is no longer about the follower count or the biggest names in the industry. Smaller and more community-driven micro and nano influencers are taking the UGC game by storm.
If you think about it, it totally makes sense! As I’ve explained above, in 2023 consumers are looking for more authentic content with a transparent and engaging twist on things. Nano/micro influencers tend to naturally have a more engaged and ‘loyal’ community of followers that genuinely listen to them and their views as opposed to huge influencers like Molly-Mae and Kim Kardashian. The average engagement rate of a nanoinfluencer is 3.7%, much higher than larger influencers.
The great part is, their influence comes at even less of a cost to your brand with even more reward – it’s a win win! A lot of smaller influencers will work for gifted items, affiliate links or a small post fee which will save you lots of £££.
5 – Get your game face on 🕹
The gaming industry is predicted to reach a mahoosive £260 BILLION by 2026. Gaming has been around long before social media (and maybe long after) and whilst it won’t replace social media, it presents a fantastic opportunity for businesses to drive social interactions and community engagement.
This is the most shaky one of all in my opinion and I’m still not sure on where the industry will fit into the social landscape, but I think we’re going to see some insanely creative concepts around gaming and social in 2023 🎲
Do yourself a favour and educate yourself on the above topics and get ahead of your competitors – as we all know, trends aren’t ‘trendy’ for very long and so it’s crucial to be one of the first to hop on the boat when it comes along so your brand can benefit ⛴
aaand that’s a wrap! I’m sure there’s more trends to come and I’m super excited to see what 2023 brings to the world of social.
Are there any trends that I’ve missed? 👀
