Well it’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these. But better late than never right?! So let’s get straight into it.
What’s been happening?
Towards the end of last year with Covid restrictions finally dying out in most parts of the world, most industries saw a relative decline in spending and budget allocations. However, the opposite was true for social media and it’s pretty obvious why; everyone was at home looking at their screens 24/7. After almost 10 years of being background noise, social media marketing is finally considered a valued and mandatory facet of business operations. And it’s about time if you ask us. 😀
Trends to lookout for in 2023
Edutainment
What drives audience behavioural patterns and where does your business fit into this mix? All you need to do is look at the data.
The start of 2023 saw a general shift back towards “edutainment”. What does that mean? And how is it relevant to your business? A few industries have capitalised on creating informational videos that are also entertaining in their own right, hence coining the term “edutainment”.
While it may seem like this is a niche category that doesn’t apply to all businesses – consider combing through your FAQ’s and reviews, and looking for stand-out problems that your business faces. Using this information you could try creating videos or shorts that addresses these issues in a fun and entertaining way? You’d be surprised at what you find, and probably even a little impressed with suggestions from your customers or clients.
Overlapping content
One thing that stands out the most from past years is that users are now on a multitude of platforms rather than just one or two. According to Hootsuite’s article on social media trends, more than 84% of TikTok users are also on Facebook and almost 88% of Twitter users are also on Instagram. People explicitly use different networks for different purposes. Facebook for example is primarily used for catching up with friends and family, whereas twitter is more of a world events perusal, and TikTok is mostly for a quick laugh while searching for viral trends. Catering and customising your content for these platforms with these points in mind could definitely improve your post engagement and reach.
DM’s as the new customer service channel
Believe it or not, the best way to receive customer feedback or queries is through your social media platforms. Contacting brands through DM’s for customer service is the new norm in 2023. People tend to feel a lot more comfortable when they reach out to a company’s social media page and get a response immediately. You could stand to learn a lot from the people you are selling to.
YouTube Shorts are making a huge impact
Adweek states that YouTube Shorts have generated an average of 30B views per day. You’re essentially hitting two birds with one stone when it comes to YouTube Shorts. Content creators are able to hook in viewers through shorter content which then leads them to their long-form content and growth for subscribers, invariably generating views on both types of content. A win-win.
Recommendations and Conclusions
There are heaps of other trends in the market these days but we’ve limited it to the ones we believe affects our following and clients the most. Social media is much like the wild west of old, it’s constantly evolving, and while it can be quite overwhelming to navigate, it’s important to remember that social media exists to be experimented with, you won’t know what works till you try it. And if you’re still not convinced, get in touch with us, we’re happy to help and see what works best for you, your audience, and your goals.