It looks like 2023 will be an exciting year for social media. There are many factors involved in these new-era trends, most of them are increasing their presence, and evolving in time, while others have been influenced by the recession and new technologies.
What is coming up for social media in 2023?
As we have seen in recent years, we will continue to see an increase in user-generated content (UGC); more people are engaging in live-streaming and sharing their experiences online. But this time, instead of spending a lot of time creating super-polished videos, users are more focused on having fun and creating spontaneous content as authentic as possible.
We can also expect to see more emphasis on personalization, with platforms introducing new ways for users to customize their profiles and content, as Instagram has been doing recently with the option to add music to regular posts.
Augmented reality (AR) will play a huge role in social media (now more than ever), allowing users to interact with virtual objects and experiences.
At the same time, we can look forward to more integration between social media platforms and other digital services, such as e-commerce and news services. And also, we will see a greater focus on user privacy as more people become aware of their data and privacy rights; social media platforms will have to take steps to ensure user data is secure and used responsibly.
But what are the most significant changes we will see this year?
Top 3 trends for Social Media
Small businesses x creators
The influencer marketing market has changed, and so have the needs of companies. It may be because of the recent lay-offs in the IT industry or because of the evolution of users' behavior during the last year. The truth is that large companies started to cut budgets in marketing, specifically for creators.
This measure allows small businesses to compete for the best creators in the market and have the opportunity to work with them, as the creators' rates are expected to decline. And to try to bring small businesses up to the same level as the big companies.
But also, it allows those big brands to focus on customer reactions online through UGC; which has proved to be an organic and very effective way to reach more people and gain their confidence while not investing large quantities of money.
Effective cross-posting
Emerging apps and constant changes in social networks to compete between them have affected content creation, pushing creators to adapt to different formats and think of every platform uses.
For better or worse, this has led creators to start repurposing their content on different social media apps. Why? We have to keep in mind that every platform has its personality, and users go to each of them for different reasons. At the same time, creating new content for each social network takes a lot of time, so it is better to use the same content with few changes for each platform.
According to Hootsuite, “On Facebook, they might catch up with a friend overseas. On Twitter, they might skim over the day’s breaking news. And on TikTok, they might look for a laugh while searching for the latest viral trends.”
Videos and more videos
Forget about aesthetics, the key is to create authentic and valuable content; the more organic and spontaneous, the better.
We agree with this trend because, for some time, we have been thinking that carefully produced videos were not generating as much impact and, or not necessary.
Many clients always highlight the importance of everything looking “perfect”, and the truth is that nowadays, perfection is in being authentic and original. That detail of flaw will make it valuable… and all this, we believe, is thanks to gen Z.
In a nutshell
2023 will be a year to focus on authentic content, for personal use or to create campaigns. Platforms evolve with the current generation, so content and brands have to grow and change along with it and with the new technologies.
Additionally, social networks are likely to start offering more personalized experiences to users, tailored to their interests. Influencer marketing is expected to continue to gain traction, as brands look to partner with influencers to reach their target audiences.