6 of the Most Important Social Media & Influencer Trends in 2023

The social media and influencer landscape is intensely competitive and dynamic. Consider the Twitter controversy under Elon Musk's control to see how out of control things can get!

However, the social arena is where brands can make their mark and engage their customer base. With so many social media networks to choose from for your marketing activities, it can be difficult to keep up with what's new and what opportunities for increasing brand awareness are available.

Here’s the latest and our thoughts:

• Social media returns to its "roots."

• TikTok introduces new features and attracts new users.

• B2B Decentralization is beginning to occur in social networks.

• Influencers in a new era

• The birth of a "super app"

• Vertical and long-form video are becoming more popular

1. Social media returns to its origins

Marketers use social media for a variety of purposes. It could be to reach out to a new audience, retarget previous customers, or experiment with new creative content. However, digital transformation expert Neal Schaffer believes that in 2023, social media will return to its roots.

"By 2023, I believe businesses will continue to question and reimagine what their social media presence should look like. "Social media is really returning to its original roots as a place for brand awareness, not for traffic generation, but for connecting with other people," he says.

His own experience has shown that social media traffic to his website has decreased from 2% to 1%. So, what's the answer? He believes that brands should make better use of social media and consider what it is and will continue to mean.

"In this era of what they're calling recommended media, we've seen the rapid emergence of TikTok and a brand new social media culture that focuses not on the number of followers, but on the content itself," he says. “For that reason, brands are even more challenged to create the type of content that social media users today crave.”

For example, in 2022, Meta launched a Facebook 'Feeds tab' that recommends content to users from friends, groups, or pages that is personalized and can be curated in a 'Favorites' tab.

Instagram is also active in promoting recommended media, creating 'Candid Challenges' in response to the app BeReal's rising popularity. Each day, this feature will prompt users to take and share a photo of their surroundings in a different two-minute window.

2. TikTok introduces new features and attracts B2B

In 2023, TikTok will continue to evolve as a social media platform. This year's platform priorities are actionable entertainment, making space for joy, and community-built ideals.

This means that rather than focusing on a selling point, marketers will need to create videos that are entertaining, personalized, and uplifting. The second is a focus on joy and providing a solution to entice people to buy.

Finally, TikTok advises marketers to capitalize on the uniqueness that distinguishes its communities. "Don't be afraid to target layered identities, such as #TiredMoms rather than all moms or #CozyGamers rather than all gamers."

TikTok is also working to make its business tools easier to use. There are also new ad targeting options. "You could target anyone who has used the hashtag #thanksgiving on TikTok. "You can target people based on all kinds of different videos that they've watched, whether it's beauty, fitness, food, fast or gourmet food," says Alison Battisby, Social Media Consultant and Co-Founder of Avocado Social. "In terms of the user data they have available for advertisers now, (TikTok) are really challenging Meta."

Battisby has also noticed an increase in B2B content on TikTok. TikTok is a platform worth considering and exploring for B2B brands because there is a lot of education going on there.

"There are experts in quite dry-sounding industries, lawyers and accountants and all sorts there. I follow a divorce lawyer on TikTok, and she has over 1,000,000 followers. It's an excellent opportunity to go exploring. "Go where the audience is," Battisby recommends.

It is worth noting that SEO is becoming increasingly important on TikTok. You should optimize your videos so that they can be found on the network via search. It's also worth noting that, while Google previously did not index social media posts, they now appear in the SERPs. Consider keywords, expertise or authority, and relevance when optimizing your TikTok videos.

3. The decentralization of social networks

Many users are looking for a new type of social media platform, one that is built by the masses and owned by all (as opposed to a billionaire). As a result of this desire, new platforms such as Mastodon have emerged.

"On Mastodon, you can join various 'instances,' which are essentially forums based on your interests or geographic location. "The idea is that you move your social media profile between these instances rather than having access to a single central newsfeed like on Twitter," Battisby explains.

Another to mention is BlueSky, which is being developed by ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. It aspires to be a new decentralized offering that is less of a social network and more of a protocol upon which other platforms can be built.

"It's essentially going to offer users more choices in terms of what kind of algorithms they would like to use, and their usability. "That's available for people to sign up for the waitlist, and I'm sure a lot of people are doing so," Battisby concludes.

4. A new generation of influencers

For years, influencer marketing has been heralded as a trend, but in 2023, the definition of the term "influencer" is changing. It's not just about mega influencers with millions of followers; it's about influencers with devoted followers and niche knowledge who can produce great user-generated content.

It's critical to understand the distinction between influencer content and user-generated content (UGC). While the first involves sponsored posts and a contract, user-generated content is someone talking about your brand or content related to it in some way.

"As social media becomes more pay-to-play, brands should look to influencers and user-generated content to help them truly appear and be seen through the noise, not from their own voice, but from the voices of others," Neal Schaffer says.

That is, you must identify influencers who are relevant to your audience or industry. This is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as B2B brands. Companies must collaborate with influencers and content creators who have clout in order to provide consumers with the content they need and crave.

This, according to Schaffer, means "From a B2B marketing standpoint, this could also include internal influencers, such as your employees, or non-influencers, such as customers or other subject matter experts."

5. The emergence of a "super app"

With the demise of cookies and the increased emphasis on first-party data, companies such as Apple and Google are looking for new ways to access customer data in order to drive personalization. It will be the first social media network to enter the market with a "everything app" that follows people on their customer journey.

"WeChat is known as the 'everything app' in China. People have been discussing how we could do this in the West for nearly a decade. There are many reasons why it hasn't happened yet, but when we look at this new data landscape, it adds urgency to creating a super app," says Clark Boyd, Digital Transformation Expert.

A new super app would have access to the customer at multiple touchpoints and would be able to track their behavior and preferences.

"If you can just track (customers) wherever you go, you don't need to build that infrastructure. If you can't track people when they leave your app, it's a waste of money. "You have an impetus to try and create an all-encompassing solution that will keep them within your orbit and ensure you can sell the data," Boyd concludes.

Bing (owned by Microsoft) is attempting to integrate with Open AI's ChatGPT in order to compete with Google. The chatbot will be used to improve Bing search results and is scheduled to launch in early 2023. Microsoft is also rumored to be working on a super app to 'break Apple and Google's hold on mobile search'.

6. Vertical and long-form video are becoming more popular.

As marketers, we understand the power and reach of video marketing. The format is an efficient way to convey information, entertain, and engage viewers.

As different formats gain popularity, the video landscape will become more complex in 2023. "All of the social platforms now prioritize video content in their algorithms, including platforms that were traditionally text-based, such as LinkedIn," Battisby says.

According to Datareportal, there are nearly 5.5 billion mobile users worldwide who use their devices to watch videos and access social media. As a result, thinking vertically is essential. This format is not only better for mobile viewers, but it is also being adopted by social media platforms. Consider how you hold your phone when scrolling or taking a photo. Here's a great example of vertical from Adidas.

Long-form video is also becoming more popular. This is especially useful in the B2B space because it helps to convey more complicated information in a visual and easy way.

"Video is an excellent medium for communicating "my quick take on what I've learned this week" or "the best three things I've read or heard." "It's a great way for you to be a maven, a connector, and draw people into your content and feed because you become someone who becomes a trusted source of information and doesn't just bang on about your own products and services all the time," says Stephen Walsh, co-Founder of Kineo and Anders Pink.

Long-form videos can also be used on LinkedIn Live. This will assist businesses in hosting webinars, workshops, or seminars in order to educate and influence prospects and customers.

So what are your thoughts about the trends mentioned here? Let us know!