A new year means new trends. The beginning of the new year means experts are analyzing what happened in 2022 and gathering predictions for social media trends in 2023. There are potential challenges but also plenty of opportunities to spice up your social media feed and optimize your marketing efforts. Our creative marketing experts examined all the upcoming trends and condensed the most notable social media trends coming this year into the following list.
The Top 5 Social Media Trends
Death of the Cookie
HTTP cookies are small pieces of data from a website that are stored within a web browser; a website can retrieve this data at a later time and tell the server that social media users have returned to a particular website. This data mining has numerous consumers concerned and frustrated due to privacy concerns.
Third-party cookies are likely to be phased out in 2023, and this trend means that brands need to prioritize consumer privacy and transparency. Reliable first-party solutions are likely to be launched in the wake of the transition, and more regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union are likely to develop in the coming years.
Shopping on Socials
Since Instagram launched its in-app shopping feature, the social media marketing field has seen a continuous rise in popularity. The feature makes it easy for social media users to browse and checkout without being directed off the app.
Oberlo has also surveyed social commerce sales from 2020 and predicted profits into 2026. In 2020, social commerce made around $560 billion USD, and Oberlo gathered that sales would increase by about 30.8% per year, meaning 2026 is predicted to hit $2,900 billion.
54% of social media users already research brands and products on social media, and social commerce means the entire buyer’s experience is shifted to being entirely on social media platforms.
Brands Being Authentic
Over the years, consumers have lost trust in brands when matters of their data and privacy were compromised, and they now seek brands that are authentic and businesses that care about today’s problems.
One prime example of this trend is examining the competition between Aerie and Victoria’s Secret. Aerie, American Eagle Outfitters’ intimate apparel brand, stopped using supermodels and digitally altering models to promote body inclusivity and positivity, even becoming a sponsor of the National Eating Disorders Association. Since this authentic brand strategy in 2014, Aerie has become a leader in lingerie and reported major sales growth. Victoria’s Secret, on the other hand, is infamous for its use of supermodels and their intense diet and exercise regimens; the company announced last year that a quarter of its stores would be closing.
From Nike partnering with Colin Kapernick to Patagonia running its “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign, consumers have new expectations of businesses, desiring to put their money into companies that have their interests at heart, and authentic brands get customer loyalty as long as they maintain trust.
Marketing with Nano-Influencers & Micro-Influencers
Since the rise of social media influencers, companies have partnered with them to market their products and services. However, when the influencer in question has an army of followers, it can be difficult for smaller brands to work with and for audiences to have a more authentic connection.
A nano-influencer has less than 10,000 followers, while a micro-influencer has between 10,000 to 100,000 followers. While these influencers may have smaller followings, they have a highly engaged audience; nano-influencers average a 3.69% engagement rate, which is twice what macro-influencers have.
The perks of working with these smaller influencers are that they can cost you less, and if the influencer accepts your deal, brand trust will be established between your company and its audience.
Ads Becoming More Interactive
User engagement is approaching a whole new level with extended-reality technologies, and filters are becoming a popular method to engage a brand’s audience. Interactive advertising helps brands break through the challenge of 82% of Gen Z skipping or blocking ads, and social media users get to participate in an experience, creating memories with a brand. Interactive advertising gains more viewing time over non-interactive ads and helps brands stand out from the sea of advertisements consumers see.
Augmented and virtual reality is also likely to be adopted more in social media interactions. Billions of dollars are being invested in the metaverse, and they present a new kind of shopping experience with brand avatars, meta malls, entertainment, and much more.
Other Social Media Trends to Look Out For
More Searches on Social Media
TikTok SEO is the dubbed term for consumers using TikTok and Instagram as a search engine. The video ad, “Find What’s for You,” is a clear demonstration of this trend with its celebrity searching for answers on TikTok rather than search engine king, Google. Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan even acknowledged that about 40% of young people search for a place to eat on social media platforms.
Moving Off Mainstream Platforms
Public concern about the lack of control and censorship on TikTok and other mainstream platforms has triggered the rise of alternative apps. BeReal, LBRY, Diaspora, Mastodon, and Signal are just a few examples of apps that can replace the mainstream apps that have dominated the internet for years.
Recommendations from AI
Facebook is introducing measures for artificial intelligence to recommend content on social media users’ feeds. This strategy is being adopted to mimic a TikTok “For You” page experience for the platform users and aims to increase user engagement.
Social Media Results Realized
The rising social media trends in 2023 present exciting opportunities for companies to engage with their audience in new ways that will allow them to build brand trust and loyalty. Versa Creative can help your business level up its social media marketing game with bold and creative strategies, but that’s not the only thing we do. From strategy to traditional media, we can get you your next big win with diverse perspectives and industry expertise. Reach out to get started on a creative journey.
