It’s time to start executing on your digital marketing strategy for 2023. More than ever before, that includes figuring out how to stay ahead of the always-changing trends in social media marketing.
In just a year’s time, we’ve seen Facebook, Google, and the other big players tweak the ways they allow businesses to advertise on social media. If you’re not on top of things, any small change could leave you trying to catch up.
Additionally, there are some new social media marketing tools to use on other emerging platforms. If you’re not advertising on these in 2023, you may end up missing out on a decent-sized cohort of your audience.
Whether you’ve got a robust program in place, or you’re just using the bare essentials, we’re letting you in on some social media marketing trends for 2023 to help you hone in on your strategy (and figure out where you may be able to improve).
New Social Media Updates for the Big-Time Players
First things first—yes, Facebook Advertising will still be highly relevant in 2023. Despite the controversial headlines of the last few years, the social media behemoth still retains a massive user base of an estimated 2.7 billion monthly active users. They were also the third-most visited website as recently as September 2022. And as more devices start to introduce updated privacy controls, Facebook will remain an important partner to have on your side so you can continue accessing your user’s data.
With privacy in mind, however, you’ve likely noticed how Facebook and Google have made substantial changes to their algorithms. You may remember when Facebook’s advertising worked more organically, promoting business page posts with high engagement to its users’ timelines. While maintaining a business page of unpaid content is still important for retaining your audience, Facebook’s most recent algorithms now promote paid content and videos to users as a priority.
If you’re heavy on Facebook Advertising, it’s worth it to prepare for these changes in 2023:
- More Facebook-owned apps to diversify and support your shifting advertising strategy
- More changes to the algorithm, meaning fiercer competition (and possibly higher spending) for the same amount of eyes
- A harder push for brands to create video content, along with more capabilities for building your video ads
- For eCommerce brands, more abilities to sell directly from Facebook and for customers to retain a wallet for easier purchasing
Due to their relative affordability and high return on investment, Facebook and Google Advertising should remain a pivotal part of your marketing portfolio. However, it may be time to start exploring some new social media trends to give your digital marketing efforts a boost in 2023.
Recent Trends in Social Media Marketing
If you’re active on social media, you already know about the ubiquitous presence of influencers, especially for brands with a social cause. Influencer marketing has become so popular that a recent survey shows a staggering 93% of marketers have used some form of influencer marketing by now.
Originally designated for celebrities with big endorsement deals, it’s now become lucrative enough that some people have made it their full time job. It’s no wonder, then, that it’s replaced classic jobs like doctors or teachers for most of today’s youth.
Getting an influencer on your side for your social media efforts is the first step toward a more modern marketing strategy. However, it’s also important to master some of the platforms outside of Google and Facebook to ensure you reach everyone in your audience where they are.
TikTok
TikTok continues to trend ahead of other social media marketing tools by making entertainment, authenticity, and connection their priorities, leading to its status as the most downloaded app in 2020 and 2021. Its designers and engineers know that today’s users aren’t on social media for their current network, but to engage with new people, new brands, and new cultures.
The main feature they’ll be pushing in the U.S. in 2023 is in-stream and live-stream shopping, similar to how YouTube inserts ads in any current video a user is streaming. Right now, it’s looking like the ads with the best performance will pay out the highest percentages, making the use of influencers in your marketing all the more relevant.
As part of Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse, Instagram will feature some of the more robust AI-recommended content available in social media today. Currently, they’re still working out the tweaks with their beta users, but you can expect it to become a huge priority with regards to marketing on Instagram in 2023.
Additionally, Instagram is (as always) following Facebook’s lead when it comes to new integrations that include augmented reality and 3D posts. Giving brands access and ease of use for this type of technology could be a game-changer when it comes to separating from their competitors.
Twitter has never been a great place for businesses to advertise, especially after they removed their analytics features a few years back. And though the recent realignment under Elon Musk has led to all sorts of uncertainty, it may be the kind of shake-up the company needed to get into the advertising space.
In 2023, you can expect the return of analytics features and insights, especially if Musk has his way when it comes to paid business account subscriptions. Additionally, the growth of Twitter Spaces may give your business a better opportunity to take advantage of video and audio advertising on Twitter.
The Rest
Though they’ve often been overshadowed by the bigger players, these following apps and their proposed changes will still be worth trying out in 2023 if your marketing team is ready to ride the wave:
- Pinterest will continue building on its product discovery & eCommerce push that had such huge successes in recent years by introducing AR tools and live-stream shopping.
- Snapchat may actually beat the Metaverse to the punch when it comes to AR-enabled features, thanks to its Spectacles integration. And with its continued appeal to younger users, you may be missing out on a large segment of your audience if you’re not advertising on Snap in 2023.
- LinkedIn may seem like it’s always running behind, though with its push for more video content in 2023, it could be worth checking out; especially if you’re most interested in the brand awareness, lead generation, and conversion rate optimization aspects of your marketing strategy.
To sum up, the best way to take advantage of social media marketing trends in 2023 will be to focus on entertainment, authenticity, and connection. You’ll likely have enough data at your fingertips to help you reach the right audience at the right time; now it’s all about making sure you have the right message, the right strategy, and the right tools at your disposal.
Social Media Marketing Tools to Start Exploring Today
In 2023, your audience will likely be spread around in many different places. Having multiple social media marketing tools on hand will be key, though you may only have time or budget for a few. With that in mind, here’s how you can capitalize on the impressive targeting capabilities of social media today:
Have a specific strategy in place for your ad
You may have billions of potential users to play with on Facebook and Google, though you still need to find the right people for optimal conversion rates. Don’t let the massive amount of data that these social media marketing tools collect for you go to waste. Start by choosing your target audience from demographic information, website activity, post engagement, and more.
Additionally, deciding on your lead objective will also help you build the best ad for conversion. Here are a few to start with:
- Brand Awareness (best for start-ups and emerging brands)
- Lead Capturing (learn more about your potential customers)
- Increased Traffic (boost your social sharing & word-of-mouth marketing)
- Engagement (start building a strong base of loyal customers)
- Promotions (make use of busy shopping times to level out your sales)
Set aggressive, yet attainable goals
This is important not just for your current ad, but all ads to come. By setting and smashing your goal, you’ll know what you’re doing is working. And if you come up short, you can assess where things may have gone wrong and tweak your message or strategy for the next attempt.
Utilize variations at all costs
Google, and to some extent Facebook and Instagram, allow you to create versions of your ad to help you understand what kind of messaging, images, and CTAs resonate most with your target audiences. Additionally, you can try out different types of ads (with its ownership of YouTube, Google is able to offer up to 18!) to help you determine what to focus on (and how to budget) for future campaigns.
This is the kind of testing that traditional marketers of previous decades would’ve done anything to have, so be sure to use it!
Choose Brandography to Assist You With the Ever-Changing Trends in Social Media Marketing
When it comes to advertising on social media, you’ll find there’s no dearth of subject matter experts with recommendations for you to try out. We get that it can feel overwhelming, and that sometimes you may feel like you’re spending more time reading about social media marketing than putting it into practice.
At Brandography, we’ll help you achieve your digital marketing goals by completing both the strategy and the execution for you. Whether you’re looking for search engine marketing (PPC) with a quick campaign push or long-term lead generation on Facebook or new social media channels, our experts remain passionate and never stop learning about how to achieve a higher ROI in these critical spheres.
Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you in 2023, and beyond.
