Competitive and exciting times characterise the realm of social media and influencers. Consider the uproar that ensued when Elon Musk assumed control of Twitter to get an idea of how far things can go off the rails.
Social media platforms, however, are where brands can truly make an impact and connect with their target audiences. It can be challenging to stay abreast of the latest developments and opportunities for increasing brand awareness across the many social media platforms available for use in marketing.
One, the origins of social media are being revisited
In many cases, marketers will use a social media platform for something other than advertising. It could be to test the waters with some experimental content, reach out to a different demographic, or retarget previous buyers. Neal Schaffer, an expert on digital transformation, predicts that social media will return to its roots in 2023.
In 2023, I anticipate that businesses will still be asking and reimagining the proper form of their social media presence. He believes social media is returning to its roots as a place for brand awareness rather than traffic generation and as a genuine means of human connection.
From his own observation, social media referrals to his website have dropped from 2% to 1%. That being said, what should we do about it? He thinks brands should reconsider social media and what it means to them going forward.
With its updated features and growing number of business-to-business users, TikTok
In 2023, TikTok will have even more features as a social media platform. Three areas, including “actionable entertainment,” “making space for joy,” and “community-built ideals,” were announced as priorities for the platform in 2019.
Marketers, as a result, will need to produce videos that are more focused on providing entertainment, personalization, and uplift than on making a sale. The second strategy for encouraging people to buy is to make them happy and solve a problem.
Lastly, TikTok recommends that marketers embrace the unique characteristics of each community on the platform. Don’t be afraid to speak to subsets of a larger group, such as #TiredMoms rather than all moms or #CozyGamers rather than all gamers.
Furthermore, TikTok is working to streamline and improve the usability of its enterprise features. New ad targeting options have also been added.
Thirdly, there has been a decentralisation of social networks
A new generation of leaders
There is a growing demand for a different kind of social media platform, one that is collaboratively developed and owned by its users (as opposed to a billionaire). Mastodon is one such new platform that has arisen to meet this demand.
The second is BlueSky, which is being developed by Jack Dorsey, a former CEO of Twitter. It aspires to become a novel decentralised offering, one that is less of a social network and more of a protocol to construct additional platforms.
Although “influencer marketing” has been widely hailed as a trend for several years, the meaning of the term “influencer” will shift in 2023. It’s not just about the super-popular people who have millions of followers; great user-generated content can also come from smaller influencers who have a dedicated fan base and deep expertise in a specific field.
Realize that there is a big difference between influencer content and user-generated content. User-generated content, in contrast to paid promotion, consists of people discussing your brand or material related to it. Read our blog post “What is User-Generated Content and How Can Your Brand Use it (Plus 4 Great Examples)” to learn more. With the intent of learning more.
“As social media becomes more pay-to-play, brands should be looking more to influencers and to user-generated content to help them really appear, and be seen through the noise,” argues Neal Schaffer.
The emergence of a “super app”
Companies like Apple and Google are exploring new ways to access customer data to drive personalization in the wake of the decline of cookies and the increasing importance of first-party data. Whichever social media platform releases a “everything app” that tracks users across their entire customer journey first will win the market.
A new, superior app would be able to observe a user’s habits and cater to their tastes in real time.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine is working to incorporate Open AI’s ChatGPT in an effort to better compete with Google. With an anticipated rollout in early 2023, Bing’s chatbot will be put to use optimising search results. According to rumours, Microsoft is also planning to develop a game-changing app to challenge market leaders Apple and Google in the mobile search space.
Increases in both vertical and long-form video formats
As professionals, we are well aware of the impact that video advertising can have. This format is a great tool for spreading knowledge, entertaining, and engrossing an audience.
The video landscape in 2023 is becoming more intricate as more and more formats compete for audience attention.
Datareportal estimates that there are over 5.5 billion mobile users globally who frequently use their phones to view videos and log into social networking sites. For that reason, it’s crucial to consider the big picture and think vertically. Not only is this format preferred by social media sites, but it also works better on mobile devices. Take a moment to consider how you hold your phone when you’re using it to scroll or take a picture. Here’s a fantastic instance of Adidas using the vertical format.
In 2023, social media marketing will need to be ramped up
Many people use social media, which presents many opportunities for businesses and marketers. However, there is a skill involved in knowing how and where to engage your audience. Everything from social research to strategy, commerce, and content is covered in DMI’s social media course, making it the ideal choice for anyone looking to launch a successful campaign. You will also investigate prominent social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to learn their inner workings.