The last few years have been challenging for many business owners. Dealing with a pandemic, numerous lockdowns, supply chain issues and now, coming into 2023, a cost of living crisis; all these factors have been disruptive to the market.
Social media marketers now need to find a new way to be innovative and connect with consumers. There is more now than ever urgency – consumers have a demanding attitude, they are fickle, and until recently, brands have struggled to keep up. 2023 will change all that.
Social Media Trends 2023
Copper Square has the top social media trends for 2023 and it is all about reconnecting with your consumers and turning that disruption into brand wins
1. Social Media Meets A New Social Standard
Not everything on the internet is real. Over the last year, “authenticity” has been one of the hottest buzzwords in social media. Now, businesses are finally seeing the repercussions of that. Brands are having to deal with the consequences of fake news and consumers need to be able to trust the content they engage with, 2023 will show an increased demand for integrity and authenticity that brands and social media channels will have to adapt to.
Authenticity is a non-negotiable prerequisite for consumers. This means businesses need to focus on real-life stories and share social proof. In turn, brands will develop deeper, longer-lasting relationships with their audience meaning more engagement, increased online traffic, and, of course, larger profits.
2. Exploring Social Commerce
Consumers are open to the opportunity to explore new shopping channels as the cost of living crisis drives the need for affordability. This opens huge potential for businesses to grow on social channels and prioritise customer experience, enabling a prompt and efficient response in real-time, building customers for life.
People enjoy browsing and shopping on social media because they get an accessible, yet in-depth, perspective on different brands. This allows them to make more informed purchase decisions quickly and conveniently.
3. The Growth Of The Metaverse
The Metaverse is something everyone will learn about and want to be a part of in 2023 based on the concept of a mix of digital, augmented, and real-world realities, immersive reality, web3 – including digital assets via NFTs and Blockchain – will see consumers in 3D worlds, using virtual currency. There is no hiding from it.
The Metaverse’s success will depend on whether the consumer feels these new realities connect with their real-world needs. Marketers know that consumers are always looking for new and more engaging ways to connect with brands they want to do business with. The metaverse, with its focus on customer experience and one-to-one connections, is another channel of communication.
4. Short Form Video Content
Why does short-form video work so well? Consumer attention spans are short and their time is limited. Consumers want to absorb as much content as they can, but in the quickest way possible. You only need to look at the move to prioritise Instagram’s Reels, the popularity of Tik-Tok and the increase in YouTube’s Shorts to see that short-form video content is driving consumer engagement. Short-form video is a trend every business should be implementing into their social media marketing strategy.
5. The Environment Can No Longer Be An Afterthought
A desire to help the environment is one of the primary reasons consumers purchase sustainable products and brands. In simple terms, consumers don’t want to hear buzzwords used within marketing on social media like sustainability, green, or net zero without brands having the social proof to back it up. Instead, they need action that makes a genuine difference.
Consumers want companies to put people and the planet before profit. Businesses which take the hint and plan to adapt sooner rather than later may be better positioned to take advantage of consumers becoming even more conscious of sustainability.
6. Customer Experience Gets Even More Social
Social media is the go-to place for brands to connect with customers. In 2023, expect more brands to create dedicated in-channel social media support channels. Chatbots will become more integrated allowing marketers to make more of an effort to integrate chatbots and other AI assistants into their consumer buying journey. This is going to help SMEs in particular because it will create a more personalised experience for customers. Some businesses have already introduced these types of technologies and these are likely to continue into 2023.
7. Customers seek instant gratification
With advances in technology, customers have become accustomed to instant gratification. This is expected to continue and indeed increase in 2023.
Customers demand response times to be as little as a few hours rather than waiting days for an email reply. Brands need to be able to deliver and meet these expectations as a priority If they want to remain a competitor.
In 2023, expect more brands to leverage social media as dedicated support channels, enabling a fast, efficient response no matter which platform consumers use to get in touch.
The bottom line
While many social media trends are fickle, others are not. By carefully tracking social media trends businesses can develop marketing strategies that best suit their future revenue and consumer engagement targets. As we all know, the internet is ever-changing, along with consumers’ needs and wants – when it comes to social media, be ready for anything.
Copper Square helps businesses navigate social media trends through the implementation of a successful social media strategy. We can advise on the right blend of social media content, and how to integrate that strategy with your wider marketing goals for business growth. Contact Copper Square for more details on our one-to-one consultancy support.
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