It can be hard to know which social media trends to pay attention to and which ones to ignore.Here are the ones that matter most in 2023.Shannon Tien, Paige Cooper November 15, 2022 Table of Contents 11.More billionaires will buy more social networks
Working in an industry that morphs faster than a Power Ranger can be tough — the social media landscape is always changing.If you’re wondering what’s hot, what’s not, and how to fit new social media trends into your strategy… you’re definitely not alone.
But, don’t worry, we have answers.
We looked at the 9 key trends outlined in Hootsuite’s global Trends 2023 report , along with data from our survey of over 10,000 marketers to bring you this list of 11 social media marketing trends that will dominate the industry in 2023 — and might even change the way you do your job.
Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template to quickly and easily plan your own strategy.Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.
The 11 most important social media trends for 2023 1 .TikTok will take over the world
In our social media trends for 2022, we predicted TikTok would become the most important social network for marketing and we weren’t wrong.
But this year, we’re taking our prediction one giant step further.
A host of new feature releases in 2022 suggest that TikTok doesn’t just want to be the number one social network for marketers.It wants to be the number one social network, period.
TikTok, long known for innovation (its fresh video format was the inspiration for Meta’s Reels and YouTube Shorts, after all), has released at least 7 features this year directly inspired by other social media channels: October 2022: Adults only live-streams (Onlyfans clone?)
Ok we admit that last point might be a bit of a guess.But these new features, along with a partnership with Linktree , Shopify and Woocommerce, and speculation about a podcast app , suggest that TikTok is on a quest to become a “ super app .”
A super app is an all-in-one app that includes social media, messaging, services, payments, and basically anything else you would normally do on the internet.
TikTok is making moves into the non-digital world as well.Rumors are swirling that the Chinese-owned company is building fulfillment centers in Seattle and Los Angeles in an attempt to take on Amazon in the ecommerce business.
But will all these big bets be successful? All signs point to yes, mostly.
While TikTok continues to grow its user base ( 1.023 billion active users and counting as of Q3 2022), it’s also consistently the #1 app in terms of time spent and overall positive sentiment.Users spend 95 minutes per day on TikTok (#1) Users spend 23.6 hours per month on TikTok (#1) 78.6% of internet users use TikTok to look for funny or entertaining content (#1)
Also, according to Google Trends, interest in TikTok Ads (which is a good indicator of business interest in the platform) has increased by 1,125% since 2020.
All this interest is for good reason.TikTok ads revenue is growing so fast it’s set to match YouTube’s ad revenue by 2024.
Though Google and Meta are still the biggest companies by far in the digital ad space, that’s no joke for an internationally-owned social media company.
What does this all mean for businesses? Well, if your business isn’t on TikTok yet, this is your sign to get on it, now .To-do list Grab an account handle for your brand Explore TikTok so you can start feeling fluent on the platform and find some ideas Sketch out the basics of your TikTok marketing strategy Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite to easily schedule your TikToks , moderate comments, and measure your success on the platform from one handy dashboard.
Start exploring TikTok ads 2.The only new app that will matter will be BeReal
BeReal is a photo-sharing app that prompts users to post one unfiltered, unedited photo per day to a select group of friends.Photos taken outside of the two-minute time frame say how many minutes late they were posted.
The network launched in late 2019, but its popularity exploded in 2022.As of October 2022, it’s the top social networking app on the App Store and has been installed roughly 29.5 million times .
Google Trends also shows that global searches for “What is BeReal” and “BeReal app” exploded mid-year in 2022.
Users skew female and young.The majority are below 25.
The app doesn’t have ads or features for businesses yet, which many say is part of the appeal.listen, we’re in the golden age of bereal.no ads, nobody’s parents are on it, we still get an adrenaline rush when the ⚠️ goes off.none of these things will last.
we must savour the moment
— Jacob Rickard (@producerjacob) July 20, 2022
BeReal gives the feeling of the early days of social media when users mainly posted photos to show their friends what they were up to — before it became the highly curated, ad-heavy space it is today.
Even BeReal’s official communications sound like your best-friend texting you.After a large outage on their app, the company simply tweeted “all good now.” This is the opposite of the highly professional communications strategies of other major social networks.
Speaking of outages, the surge in popularity seems to have caught the company unaware.Glitches and outages are frequent (with most users opening the app and posting pictures at the exact same time) and threaten to hinder the app’s growth.
Users are also limited to 500 friends, meaning that your brand’s usual marketing strategy won’t work here.
Despite this, BeReal’s popularity has caught the attention of brands like e.l.f.Cosmetics, Chipotle, and Pacsun.
And TikTok and Instagram have both released clones of the dual camera feature (but we don’t know anyone who’s using them yet).
This is why we’re making a big bet on BeReal’s importance in 2023.Even if the app doesn’t survive the year, its impact is already undeniable.
This is what Gen Z wants from social media: unfiltered, uncurated content that doesn’t ask you to buy anything or make you feel bad about your life.It’s a fun place to be.And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
To-do list
Time will tell if BeReal caves to the pressure to monetize for business.But for now, just make sure you’re paying attention.Make a profile and get familiar with the platform Experiment with the dual camera feature on a platform your brand already has a presence on (i.e., Instagram or TikTok) to see if it gets any traction with your audience 3.
You will still have to make Reels
Instagram HQ seemed a wee bit chaotic in 2022, with multiple feature updates and Kardashian-inspired backpedaling.But, in our opinion, Instagram is still the reining platform for brands.
Why? Reels grew by 220 million users between July and October 2022.62% of Instagram users say they use it to research brands and products (Facebook takes 2nd place with 55%) It’s the preferred app among 16- to 24-year-olds (yes, it’s still beating TikTok) Its ad platform and in-app shopping tools have been around for years, meaning you’re not gambling for ROI
Plus, Instagram is still pushing video hard .For instance, all Instagram videos are Reels now , and Reels are heavily prioritized by the recommendation algorithm.For marketers, this means that posting Instagram Reels are the best way to get in front of new eyeballs on the platform.
Google Trends shows interest in Reels reaching all time highs after Adam Mosseri’s announcement that all videos on Instagram would be Reels (in July 2022).
Fortunately, with the rise of TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Amazon Video Shorts (??!), once you’ve made a short video, cross-posting is easy (though not officially encouraged).
Just make sure you scrub off those logos and watermarks! To-do list Open up your Reels tab and get comfortable with short-form video , if you aren’t fluent already Differentiate between making videos that are evergreen with original audio, versus more viral-style videos that rely on trending audio, replies, stitches, etc.For your original videos, learn how to download TikToks and Instagram Reels without watermarks so that you can cross-post them to all the platforms you like For viral-style videos you’ll need to keep an eye on the trends, and you probably won’t be able to cross-post as easily Save yourself time and headaches by scheduling all your videos in advance with Hootsuite 4.
Clubhouse will die and social audio will get more niche
Every now and then, a new social media app comes along that changes the way we create and consume content.Snapchat did it with disappearing content, then TikTok did it with short-form videos.In 2020, Clubhouse did it (or was supposed to do it) with social audio.
Once hailed as “the next big thing” in social media, Clubhouse is now competing against a new wave of copycat audio-based platforms.In fact, when was the last time you heard anyone mention Clubhouse?
Still racking your brain? Us too.
Nick Martin, Hootsuite’s Social Engagement Specialist (whom we interviewed about Clubhouse when it first came out) puts it nicely:
“Clubhouse showed that social audio was a viable way to share content and then the bigger networks said “thank you very much” and made their copycat features.Twitter Spaces rules the roost now and while Clubhouse is still around, it’s not people’s first choice.”
According to Martin, Twitter Spaces has been more successful among businesses because it’s in an app they already use, with an audience they’ve already built.At this point in social media history, it’s just too big of an ask to build a following from scratch with an expensive media format on a brand-new app — unless that app is TikTok (see social media trend #1).
Downloads have slowed for Clubhouse since its original success in early 2021.
Another worrying signal? Some top Clubhouse executives are leaving the company.
For instance, Aarthi Ramamurthy, former Head of International and co-host of “The Good Time Show,” not only left Clubhouse, she moved her show to YouTube.Not a great sign of confidence.
Social audio itself is still very much an experimental space, with no clear winner: Spotify Live (once Greenrooms), recently stopped funding their creator fund — an attempt to lure creators away from Clubhouse — saying simply, “We plan to shift toward other initiatives for live creators” Facebook Live Audio Rooms has decided to “ simplify ” by folding the feature into Facebook Live Twitter has reportedly shifted resources away from Spaces; Amazon created Amp , but then laid off 150 of the people working on it
And then there’s the data showing that social audio isn’t really resonating with users.
Only 2% of US teens and adults used Twitter Spaces as of January 2022 1% each used Clubhouse and Spotify Live
Though the data looks grim, some believe social audio might thrive with more niche audiences.
For example, Twitter’s Super Follows Spaces allows creators to host audio events exclusively for their paid subscribers.And Discord, the platform known for its niche communities, recently built its own social audio feature, Stage Channels.To-do list Unless you’re trying to reach an extremely niche audience, hold off on investing in a social audio strategy If you’re a creator, explore the direct monetization possibilities offered by Twitter’s Super Follows 5.LinkedIn will be about much more than jobs
Have you noticed your LinkedIn feed filling up with more and more personal posts lately? The kind of content you would normally expect to see on your Facebook feed?
You’re not alone.From CEOs crying to overwhelmed parents posting photos of their kids, to breastfeeding advice , the platform is remarkably more personal than it used to be.
Some people are even using the platform to find dates .Why?
A viral post about a CEO’s difficulty with breastfeeding sparks debate in the comments about whether it would be better suited to Facebook.
Has the LinkedIn algorithm changed to favor more personal posts? Or has the pandemic erased the boundaries between our personal and professional lives?
Could it be that trust in Facebook, where we would normally post this kind of content, is at an all-time low , while trust in LinkedIn remains high – along with engagement rates? Perhaps most of the other social networks feel so oversaturated that LinkedIn seems like an opportunity to grab attention?
In 2021 we noticed that similar to Twitter, LinkedIn posts without links outperformed those with links, suggesting an algorithm change favoring content that entices people to stay on the platform longer.This still seems to be the case in 2022, with most viral posts containing a mix of long-form personal storytelling and photos (almost like blog posts) vs.links to content on other websites.
Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem like this markedly less “professional” trend is going anywhere soon.LinkedIn invested $25 million in a Creator Fund, paying 100 creators $15,000 each to “share content, spark conversations, and build community.” (The goal is notably similar to ones held by Instagram and Facebook, neither of which are explicitly professional platforms.) It also launched LinkedIn Audio Events (a Clubhouse clone) and a podcast network .
It released carousels and reaction buttons — both originally found on Facebook and Instagram.To-do list
Don’t worry.We’re not going to suggest you slide into the DMs of a potential soulmate on LinkedIn.For now, experiment with the following: Change up your posting strategy to include some linkless posts, such as words of encouragement , cheesy jokes, or short personal anecdotes.If you’re dabbling in thought leadership on the platform, take the opportunity to dig deeper.
Help your C-suite execs offer ideas and advice through a personal lens, showing your followers their human side.But keep it genuine and grounded in reality, or else you could risk backlash .Consider hiring a ghostwriter to head your LinkedIn content strategy, and write posts that avoid jargon.
Use Hootsuite to crosspos t content you might typically post to Instagram and Facebook.Track if it performs well on LinkedIn.
Be careful not to overshare.Even though more personal content is trending, it’s still very much a professional app with 6 people getting hired every minute .
6.Gen Z will redefine UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is usually defined as content created by regular people on social media, rather than content made by brands.For example, instead of posting a product shot by a professional photographer, Nike might repost a photo from a happy customer wearing their new Nike kicks.
UGC is great for brands that care about increasing awareness and deepening relationships with their customers.It’s authentic social proof, and it makes the UGC creator feel special, both of which increase brand loyalty.
All that said, it has recently come to our attention that Gen Z understands the term “UGC” in a whole different way: that is, as social media posts produced by freelance marketers or micro-influencers for businesses.
In Gen Z terms, brands pay “UGC creators” to produce content that looks like organic UGC.
Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template to quickly and easily plan your own strategy.Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients..
