Social media moves fast, and to remain competitive in what will be a defining year to come, brands need a complete view of the emerging trends set to shape the social landscape in 2023. Bridging this gap, Hootsuite has announced the results of its seventh annual Social Trends Report, providing a deep dive into the industry behaviours guiding brands’ marketing and social strategies this year.
At the time 2022’s Social Trends Report was released; pandemic restrictions were starting to ease and markets were booming – a positive turn of events that had many feeling optimistic for the future. However, looking ahead into 2023, a looming recession, rising inflation, declining consumer spending and workforce reductions across major business sectors have made decision-making precarious for businesses of all sizes. Despite this uncertainty, Hootsuite’s report shows that there is good news on the horizon.
Social marketers are experiencing a defining moment in history for the industry. After decades of advocating for social to have a seat at the boardroom table, it’s finally happening – social marketers are getting more agency over their work and social media marketing has matured as a profession.
“Social media has never played a more central role to businesses. As businesses continue to look for ways to future-proof operations and connect with today’s tech-savvy customers, social media and digital marketing will inevitably play a part in nearly every business strategy,” said Maggie Lower, Chief Marketing Officer, Hootsuite. “In 2023, businesses that take a social-first approach to their brand and customer care strategy will be the ones to reap the benefits. Stronger brand reputation, greater customer interaction, trust and loyalty – now and in the future – depends on it.”
Leveraging surveys from over 10,600 marketers and primary interviews with dozens of social marketing practitioners, leaders, observers and partners, Hootsuite found compelling insights spanning the social ecosystem. Here are the top insights for marketers to consider in the year to come:
- Big brands are investing less in influencer marketing, opening the door for small businesses to engage top creators (at lower price points!).
- Social’s newfound exposure in the C-suite opens it up to new levels of scrutiny – with differing opinions on what ROI looks like among social marketers and senior leaders.
- Recycling content becomes a thing of the past; marketers stop chasing new features and start getting more strategic, creating more creative, unique content for fewer platforms.
- Social commerce loses traction with platform pullback but is only a loss to those that follow suit; marketers with the patience to hold on see new opportunities to gain a competitive edge.
- Social search optimisation emerges as a make-or-break skill for marketers.
- The return to brick-and-mortar shopping makes businesses lose focus on digital customer service – opening the door for chatbot adopters to gain a massive advantage.
- Marketers don’t feel equipped for digital customer service and the implications of unanswered DMs are further reaching than one might think.