6 Trends That Will Change the Social Landscape In 2023
Leah Antovel, Natalie Brown, Karine Bruce-Doe, Steve Dresner
Influencers. New social platforms. Old social platforms making comebacks. AI. Varying content formats.
With the uncertainty surrounding what digital marketing will look like in 2023, it can be difficult to cancel out the noise and anticipate new changes.
To make better sense of it all, we’ve compiled our outlook for 2023 with six trends we anticipate will evolve the social landscape for the financial services industry and beyond.
1. Increasing Content Duration, Audio Only and the End of Clickbait
We have the entire world at our fingertips, and there’s evidence of our collective attention span shrinking as a result. With TikTok increasing its video length to 10 minutes, a predicted audience of 424 million global podcast listeners at the end of 2022 and a YouTube userbase that continues to climb – it may seem counterintuitive, then, that long-form content is having a resurgence on social media.
Still, platforms are continuing to increase the limits on their content moving into 2023 – with Twitter reportedly bumping up its character count from 280 to 4,000 under Elon Musk’s leadership and audio-only social content booming once again post-lockdown. Today’s social media user doesn’t simply want to be entertained or stay in touch with their communities; they crave both highly engaging and educational content – spending more time on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn that can deliver just that.
Traditionally, short-form content apps like TikTok remain the gateway for new ideas and interests. Still, we’re seeing key demographics swap out low-value clickbait for longer-form, opinion-based content.
For audio-only social content, the prevalence of Twitter Spaces over the past year as an in-app tool was unmissable. We also saw audiograms come into play to mesh graphics and audio without the need for high-quality video assets. This signaled a continued interest in audio that will likely maintain its foothold in 2023.
A focus on insightful and original thought leadership from industry experts coupled with easily digestible, audio-only content will continue to remain popular in 2023
2. Brands Will BeReal and Authentic
Speaking of authenticity, is BeReal here to stay? The platform gained popularity in early-to-mid 2022, but organizations are still navigating the best way to leverage the channel from a business perspective while remaining true to their branding and target audiences.
Skeptics worry that the platform might not be sustainable without the ad revenue that pushes other major social channels – like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram – forward in the ever-evolving digital space. However, BeReal may consider implementing in-app purchases in the future to be profitable.
While other social networks are mimicking each other’s differentiating features, BeReal is… being real. The platform is rooted in sharing unfiltered moments; with individuals showing an increased preference for candid content and big brands leaning into their softer side on social media, we can expect to see BeReal stick around for a while.
And while brands and firms are not meant for the platform, they need to take note: the authentic content on BeReal is sure to have an influence on what content performs best on other platforms, too.
3. Influencers and Thought Leaders Will Be More Authentic
Leaning into influencers and thought leaders as promotional tools for companies was fundamental to effective marketing in 2022, with key consumers tuning out traditional advertising by way of ad blockers, premium streaming services and other methods. Influencers and thought leaders have presented a unique opportunity to reach, influence and build trust with specific groups – a trend that will only continue in 2023 – with them typically being viewed as credible spokespeople by their followers. For B2B companies, formal platforms like LinkedIn will continue to be a hub for influencer content from key executives and traditional influencers. Capitalizing on niche B2B influencer work opens brands up to industry-specific audiences and greater opportunities – like the potential for increased customer recruitment – that traditionally B2C platforms like Instagram and TikTok can’t always provide.
Influencers and thought leaders that audiences feel they can relate to (as opposed to those flaunting unattainable lifestyles) will continue to have their moment in 2023. With this in mind, aligning promotional content with their voice and general posting style that audiences are accustomed to seeing, will be more important than ever to keep the authenticity factor intact.
4. AI Will Be Leveraged for Social Content
AI is proving to be an effective tool for social media marketers. It can be used for social listening, to gather key performance insights, optimize paid campaigns and so much more. The most distinct opportunity, however, arises from AI’s generative capabilities – its ability to independently create content.
With the continued development of AI technology, tools like Concured and ChatGPT can be used to create personalized content that’s both unique and high quality. While these tools can’t replace human creativity or decision-making, they can be leveraged for tactical execution.
In the new year, AI will continue to be a tool that social media managers will explore to increase efficiency and improve user experience. What this means for you? Start surveying your tools and other tech and begin experimenting.
5. Social Platforms Will Compete with Traditional News Outlets
The War in Ukraine, Elon’s ownership of Twitter, and the collapse of FTX – these were just a few of the ever-evolving news stories of 2022 that led us to the internet – and social media – to find answers.
Twitter’s native capabilities and LinkedIn’s shift to promoting news stories aided in the sharing of information through peer-to-peer networks. This gave us real-time information faster than most traditional news outlets. Although social media certainly has its limitations as a source of credible news, we’ve seen that it can be difficult for traditional institutions to keep up with the speed and connectivity of the internet.
While traditional news outlets have and will continue to provide credible storylines and information, this gradual shift of relying on social media for news is here to stay.
6. Twitter Is Still Twitter
Elon Musk’s management style aside, the landscape of Twitter hasn’t changed much over the last few months. While some companies momentarily ceased activity on the platform, most are finding their way back as we see that maintaining platform visibility and protecting branded social handles still holds value.
Twitter has already launched the latest version of Twitter Blue and is expanding character count for tweets. These initial updates suggest that Twitter will continue to roll out new features, presenting more content strategy opportunities on both the organic and paid fronts.
Brands that were comfortable leveraging Twitter pre-Musk should feel confident about maintaining their platform presence and look to experiment with new tactics moving forward.
For help executing your 2023 digital marketing strategy, please contact the Prosek Digital Team at dallocca@prosek.com.