2023 Social Media Trends To Watch

1. TikTok takes aim at B2B & offers new features

As a social media platform, TikTok will continue to evolve in 2023. According to the platform, its focus is actionable entertainment, creating space for joy, and fostering community-based ideals. For marketers, this means developing videos that are entertaining, personalised, and uplifting rather than focused on selling points. Additionally, there should be a focus on joy and providing a solution to drive people to make a purchase. In conclusion, TikTok advises marketers to focus on the specific characteristics that make its communities unique.

In addition, TikTok is working on improving the usability and simplicity of its business tools. They are also providing new targeting options for ads. “You could target everybody who has used #thanksgiving on TikTok. You can target people based on all kinds of different videos that they've watched, whether that's beauty, whether that's fitness, whether that's food-related, whether it's fast or gourmet food,” says Alison Battisby, Social Media Consultant and Co-Founder of Avocado Social. “TikTok are really challenging Meta in terms of the user data they have available for advertisers now.” Additionally, Battisby has noticed significantly more B2B content than ever before on TikTok.

TikTok hosts a lot of educational content, so it's a platform for B2B brands to think about and look into. “There are experts in quite dry-sounding industries, lawyers and accountants and all sorts there. There's a divorce lawyer I follow on TikTok and she's got over 1,000,000 followers. It's definitely an opportunity to go and explore. It's about going where the audience is,” Battisby advises. It's important to note that SEO is getting more and more important on TikTok. Your videos should be optimized so that they can be found via search on the network. It's also important to know that social media posts now appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs), even though Google did not previously index them. Consider keywords, expertise or authority, and relevance when optimizing your TikTok videos.

2. The evolution of influencers

The term "influencer" is changing in 2023 as it's no longer about the mega-influencers with millions of followers; it's also about the influencers with dedicated followers and knowledge of their niche who are able to produce excellent user-generated content.

Understanding the distinction between UGC content and influencer content is essential. User-generated content is when someone discusses your brand or content that is somehow related to it, whereas sponsored posts and a contract are part of the first.

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

This means that is going to about searching and finding influencers who are significant to your audience or industry. This is especially crucial for B2B brands and small and medium-sized businesses. Companies must collaborate with influential influencers and content creators as consumers search for content they want and need.

“Holistically, this could also include internal influencers, such as your employees, or non-influencers, i.e. customers, or other subject matter experts from a B2B marketing perspective,” according to Schaffer.

3. Vertical long-form video

We are aware of the power and influence of video marketing as marketers. The format is an excellent way to inform, entertain, and engage.

The video landscape in 2023 will become more complex as various formats gain popularity. According to Battisby, "all social platforms, including platforms that may traditionally be text-based like LinkedIn, are now giving priority to video content and their algorithms."

According to Datareportal, there are nearly 5.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide who use their devices to access social media and watch videos. Because of this, vertical thinking is important. In addition to being better for mobile viewers, this format is being adopted by social media platforms.

Consider how you hold your mobile device when scrolling or taking a picture. Check out this ad from Adidas shot vertically specifically for mobile users.

Long-form video is also getting more and more popular. This can be especially useful in the business-to-business market because it makes it easier to see and understand more complicated information.

"My quick take on what I've learned this week" or "the best three things I've read or heard" can be conveyed effectively through video. According to Stephen Walsh, co-founder of Kineo, and Anders Pink, "it's a great way for you to be, kind of act like a maven, a connector, and draw people into your content and feed because you become someone who becomes someone who becomes a trusted source of information, and doesn't just bang on about your own products and services all the time." Don't forget about LinkedIn live! Long-from videos can be used to help businesses host webinars, workshops, or seminars to inform and influence prospects and customers.

LinkedIn live can also use long-form videos. Businesses can use this to host webinars, workshops, or seminars to educate and influence customers and prospects.

4. Social media will take a U-turn

There are numerous uses for social media channels by marketers. It could be to reach a new audience, re-engage previous clients, or test out inventive new content. However, digital transformation specialist Neal Schaffer predicts that social media will return to its roots in 2023.

"I believe that businesses will continue to question and reimagine their social media presence in 2023." According to him, "social media is truly returning to its original roots as a place for brand awareness, not for traffic generation, but truly as a means of connecting with other people."

According to his own experience, social media-based website traffic has decreased from 2% to 1%. So, what can be done? He thinks that brands should use social media more effectively and consider what it means now and in the future.

He states, "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." Because of this, it is even more difficult for brands to produce the kind of content that today's social media users want.

For instance, Meta introduced a "Feeds" tab (In the US) for Facebook in 2022. This tab provides users with personalised recommendations for content from friends, groups, or pages that can be curated in a "Favourites" tab.