By Christina Nguyen
Since social media is pretty much a prime catalyst for societal trends to spread, it’s extremely important that businesses stay on top of the ways it’s used. Following social media trends can help your business better engage with trend-savvy customers and show that your brand is aware of current events.
As time passes, social media platforms often improve their design and features, such as the debut of Reels on Instagram. This generally impacts how businesses and customers use social media to engage with one another. Here are some common strategies marketing experts predict will be going strong in 2023’s social media marketing:
Social media customer service
Ever read through the comments on the business social media pages you follow? If so, you’ve probably read a few customer complaints and questions. Sometimes, they’re thoroughly answered by the brand, and sometimes they’re ignored. If your customers are asking questions or voicing frustrations directly on your social media, don’t wait until they’re at the point of calling your customer service number or sending an email. Plenty of statistics show that effective social media customer service positively impacts customer retention and, consequently, profits.
A recent study found that 2 out of 3 customers prefer using social media to ask questions during the buying process so make sure your social media managers are equipped to handle this!
Content created by AI
Artificial intelligence has been steadily advancing and is now more capable than ever of creative endeavors. For example, experiences with the new AI tool ChatGPT often report rather articulate answers similar to the quality of human writing. AI can now generate art and copy, which can be used in social media posts with the oversight of your human team. For example, AI recently has even written job applications that ended up being accepted as one of the top candidates!
Relationship building will outweigh vanity metrics
Even though some of our social media content won’t be human-made based on strategy number 2, that doesn’t mean social media is totally losing its human touch. It’s likely that marketers and users will be less concerned with numerical vanity metrics (the number of likes, followers or shares) and more concerned with the community being built. In other words, how your business and your followers interact on your social media is more important than your follower count.
User-generated content will be impactful, even for small businesses
An increased emphasis on community building has also led businesses to rely more on micro-influencers rather than celebrities for social media promotion. Although they have lower followings, micro-influencers are often more socially engaged with their audience. Downsizing the follower count of your brand’s promoters leads to engaging “regular” everyday users of the social media platform and of your products to promote you to their community. This is often accompanied by a trendy, fun hashtag and well-known audio.
More usage of short-form video
With the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts over the past few years, it’s no surprise they’ve become excellent tools to quickly demonstrate your products or services without the professional editing of a full-length YouTube video. For example, a 30-60 second Reel, TikTok or Short might be enough to summarize how a product works and demonstrate its results, reeling in prospective customers who might have been viewing similar content.
YouTube Shorts currently average 30 billion views daily and have been increasing by 400% each year. YouTube has just launched monetization opportunities for Shorts to begin in 2023.
What do you think will be hot and rising in social media marketing this year? And, how is your business planning to utilize social media within its strategy? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
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About Stingray Advisory Group LLC: Stingray Advisory Group LLC is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a proud member of Local First and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We help businesses grow. By creating customized solutions, we empower businesses and entrepreneurs with the tools to further their development.
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