How to Use Social Media Trends to Your Advantage In 2023
Learn which trends will drive your marketing success in 2023 with insight from our content marketing strategy team.
What's next for social media? In 2023, it’s all about trust between brands and consumers. Even the savviest marketers were thrown a curve ball as consumers became more disruptive over the past few years.
As you move into a new year and create your marketing and content strategies, it's important to understand how to use social media trends to your advantage in 2023.
We lean on Talkwalker, a consumer intelligence acceleration platform, for their yearly social media trend report. Based on global data, they provide insight into how you can disrupt a disruptive consumer this year. Read on to discover which trends you should work into your marketing and content strategy this year.
Invest in better social media community management
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way consumers prioritize their time and interactions with brands. 75% of consumers say the pandemic has driven long-term changes in their behaviors and preferences, one of which is a bigger focus on urgency.*
Consumers now expect faster response times and more immediate solutions, putting a strain on businesses that are unable to provide instant products due to supply chain issues.
To combat this challenge, brands have a new path: a focus on customer experience. Brands must provide customers with an excellent experience by responding quickly to their questions and needs through social media platforms. This can help build customer loyalty and trust in the long run, which is essential for brands to succeed.
How to leverage this trend
If you have the means, invest in a community manager or team of community managers. They should be your eyes and ears on social media, monitoring consumer discourse and sentiment about the brand.
Answer any follower question on social media to show you deeply care about what consumers are saying, even if it’s a complaint. It’s important to respond quickly and offer to continue the conversation in a DM or email. This direct contact is seen in a positive light by the follower it’s regarding and others who see the comment!
Retire personas in favor of ‘communities’
Don’t worry, this isn’t as big of a shift as it sounds. Personas have been a useful tool in marketers’ back pockets for decades for good reason: they help internalize the ideal consumer you’re trying to attract.
Communities take this a step further. They are a more comprehensive approach to understanding consumer groups that constantly shift and adapt. Instead of personas, brands should target broader communities that make up their fan base. Deeper insight into who drives and shares conversations about brands is essential; it will help brads craft more effective strategies to reach new customers and maintain existing ones.
How to leverage this trend
Savvy marketers know that people trust other people over brands. Draw on this truth to foster better relationships with your audience this year and create a safe space on social media for your communities to connect.
Partnerships with influencers, content creators, employees and sharing user-generated content will promote the human side of a brand.
Stop relying on third-party cookies
The end is near for cookies. Although Google has pushed back cookie retirement until 2024, marketers should be prepared to move forward without them.
Cookies track the sites consumers visit, allowing marketers to create personalized ad experiences across the web. Consumers, in general, find cookies to breach their privacy and won’t be sorry to see them go; however, where does this leave brands who rely on cookies to connect with target audiences?
How to leverage this trend
Brands must lean on social listening to uncover consumers’ feelings or positions about a brand. Use a free or paid resource to track mentions about your brand across blogs, social media, forums and across the web to gather information.
Once you have these insights, dig even deeper into consumers’ habits, lifestyles and needs to build long term relationships without the use of cookies.
On trend and on track
One common point of advice ties each of these social media trends together: Put your consumer first. Prioritize their needs to gain the upper hand over competitors and build trust. Learn which other social media trends Talkwalker believes brands should focus on in 2023.
With these top trends at the core of your marketing and content strategy, you’ll be on the path to success in 2023. Don’t go it alone: our content marketing strategy experts are here to elevate your content and boost audience engagement. Connect with us here.
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*Source: all data points via the Talkwalker 2023 Social Media Trends Report
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan Factor is a Content Manager at Muse and a passionate creator, both professionally and personally. She developed her content marketing skills working in a wide range of industries and pulls inspiration from her diverse experiences. Her keen eye for design, penchant for writing, and love of good storytelling work together to create meaningful content that provides value to clients.
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