Each year social media turns out to be a more integral part of peoples lives with constantly introduced features that keep the audience engaged and wanting to be more involved.
Given this importance, its best for brands to know and understand the upcoming trends that are likely to prevail on these platforms and keep the viewers even more entertained and enticed by a brand.
To fuel such strategies for brands online, we’ve listed some of the most important social media trends to prepare for 2023.
1) Using Social Media as the Marketplace
This year we’ve been noticing a rise in social commerce that has led to more direct sales on online platforms. Hence, enhanced use of this feature is expected to show up on various social media platforms.
Meta platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp have already introduced such features and other platforms are likely to follow.
2) Preference for bite-sized content
This year, over 80% of businesses were seen switching to video form of content. However, the trend for 2023 will be seen shifting to small and bite-sized content used by brands.
The content is likely to include only relevant data that fits into the average human attention span which is 8.25 seconds.
3) Decline in third-party cookies
Even though these third-party cookies are known to allow the audience a better and personalised overall experience, 2022 was a year full of privacy concerns that caused a backlash to these third-party cookies.
Hence, brands are more likely to put complete focus on consumer privacy and transparency, causing more first-party preferences.
4) AI will get more attention
2023 is expected to be a big year for AI as it will be used as an effective means to drive engagement from users. Recommended content through AI will take over on Instagram and Facebook, displaying content based on likes and preferences even more conveniently, thus categorising each piece of content more deeply will help.
5) Use of Interactive Ads
The hype for AR and VR has allowed brands to interact with audiences on a new level. With extended reality brands now have the opportunity to drive even more engagement to their products. The easiest start to this is through filters.
With time, these interactions are likely to take over and allow users to actually participate rather than skip through such ads. Shifting to an interactive form of ads will not only enlighten the audience and retain their attention for a longer time, but also help in brand awareness.
6) Gaming industry is likely to prevail
The growing popularity of AR and VR and people finding newer ways to keep themselves entertained while also being connected have led to the increase of VR-based gaming platforms. This industry is likely to reach over $300 billion towards the end of 2026.
Since the size of social media makes it highly unlikely to be replaced soon, brands still can use the opportunities from the gaming industry to drive social interaction.
7) Hightented focus on environment and sustainability
Consumers are no longer focusing on mere promises of better sustainability from brands. Seeing brands take action is likely to grab more attention.
Over 80% of consumers want companies to focus on the planet rather than their profits. Hence actions taken revolving around the same are likely to work best.
8) Growing social audio
Social audio is rapidly changing its role on various social media platforms. Meta platform Facebook has introduced soundbite reaction tools catering to this change. Twitter too has updated to voice tweets and Twitter spaces.
LinkedIn now focuses on Audio Events to channel this change and make social audios prevail more in the upcoming year.
