As another year comes to a close and the economy is changing every day, many companies are taking a look back on the year and into their budgets to assess what worked for them and what needs to be tweaked in the coming years. Many companies expect to make budget cuts, as exemplified by Twitter’s current skeleton staff. Brand marketing, like social media, can seem risky since it can be challenging to see a direct ROI. In order to combat some of this anxiety, the Kip & King Marketing team is ready to dive into some possible upcoming social media trends to help you maximize your digital marketing efforts.

Three words you must remember. Transparency is key. Consumers continually demand greater integrity and transparency standards of any brands and social networks they follow.

Of course, there are certain things to keep an eye out for on each individual platform. Starting with the Metaverse, Facebook is looking to make some updates to stay relevant in the changing social media landscape. Zuckerberg has been considering implementing posts recommended by AI into feeds. This idea stems from TikTok’s algorithm’s ability to keep users engaged for hours at a time, and Zuckerberg has announced he is aiming for 40% of a feed to be AI-based. Users can expect similar updates to Instagram; however, there has already been backlash when this was first implemented in July. Instagram will need to find a happy medium to keep users happy and still engaged. Facebook will also be moving away from promoting external links. If you frequently attach your website link in your posts, expect to see some downturn in your post reach. Instead, aim to generate engagement with your brand within the app. This shouldn’t be too difficult as there has already been growth in “click to message” ads. People are ready to engage with their favorite brands (see transparency note above). Back on the Instagram front, Reels is their fastest-growing content format, so start getting creative now on how to reach your target audience in these short videos. Talk about an elevator pitch. Instagram has also hinted at experimenting with live-stream shopping, but be on the lookout for a more significant announcement in early 2023.

Moving on to the social media platform that is handing in limbo, Twitter. TL;DR, who the heck knows? The new owner, Elon Musk, has released many vague plans with nothing set in stone. Anything is possible, but here is what we think is most likely. Musk has made it his top priority to boost Twitter’s revenue. There has been a decent amount of talk about using subscriptions. With this plan, businesses may be charged a monthly fee to use the platform but will receive improved analytics and insights in return. This may not be all bad as companies will better understand what kind of content works best for them and maximize their efforts to make the most bang for their buck. This would also be preferred over Musk’s original idea of charging for the verification tick, which only ended in madness. A flood of accounts bought the tick mark and impersonated large corporations. When a fake Eli Lilly account (with the coveted blue tick) tweeted that insulin would be free to all, the legit Eli Lilly had to come back and say they would still be charging for this life-saving drug. Not only did this have severe public relations consequences for the pharmacy company, but stock in Eli Lilly and Twitter dropped drastically. Musk has also stated that he is committed to weeding out the bot accounts that litter the app, so keep an eye out for some verification processes that may require a working phone number for each account. However, Musk has recently declared “war” on technology giant Apple after the iPhone maker suggested no longer listing Twitter in the app store.

On the more professional side of things, users can also expect LinkedIn to be making some changes. The professional networking site has gone quite some time without a facelift, so don’t be surprised if your feed starts changing. LinkedIn uses the largest database of professional and career insights to help job seekers maximize their opportunities and may begin to give advice on how to land dream jobs. Additionally, there have been reports of a tool that could help users map out their careers starting from the schooling stages. On the flip side of things, LinkedIn is also looking to improve the experience for hiring managers. They are looking at incorporating more data insights into job listings to highlight the best candidates to recruiters. As the world advances technologically into an increasingly remote workforce, LinkedIn may expand its intro video, video chat, and video events (webinars and Zooms) features.

Let’s take a moment to go back to the more fun side of life. TikTok has cemented its place in social media and shows no signs of going anywhere despite BeReal’s growth and current political climate. The pressure remains heavy for the entertainment platform to break its ties with the Chinese government; however, until federal agents uncover some underlying plot against the American government, they will not be getting shut down anytime soon. As the TikTok community has grown, creators must work even harder to maintain a profit. Unlike YouTube, ads cannot be placed within the videos, so creator funds are mostly padded with brand deals. However, TikTok is looking into ways to add ads to a creator’s live stream to help them succeed.

Overall, each platform is looking to make changes to stay up-to-date and continue to stand out among competitors. Companies must be strategic about who they are creating content for on each platform. Your tone on TikTok should be significantly different than your tone on LinkedIn, which should also be different from Twitter. However, there may be a break in the storm for small businesses! Creators have become a vital tool for companies to get their brands and products in front of their target audiences. With many big brands cutting back on discretionary funding, creators may have lower price points which could allow small businesses to utilize this marketing technique. If you need help keeping up with the upcoming trends or want to revamp your social media presence, Kip & King Marketing is here to help.

Sources:

https://digiday.com/marketing/here-are-the-trends-likely-to-have-the-biggest-impact-on-social-media-channels-in-2023/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/32-predictions-for-social-media-marketing-in-2023/635297/

https://www.hootsuite.com/research/social-trends/marketing