What Are the Best Strategies for Social Media Marketing in 2023?

It’s the end of another year, and marketers across the globe are wondering, “What will 2023 bring us?” 

It’s no secret that 2022 was a chaotic year for many a social media platform. From Meta’s steady decline to Twitter’s uncertainty since Elon Musk took over, 2023 could see continued chaos or an increase in stability. Anything could happen at this point. 

Because of this, it’s more challenging to predict what is coming next, unlike in years past when future predictions were a bit more obvious. 

Let’s dive into the best strategies for social media marketing in 2023 to help you better prepare your social media marketing plan for the year. 

Short-Form Video Will Continue Its Reign Across Platforms

According to a CISCO report, 82% of global consumer internet traffic is driven by video and is expected to grow even higher in 2023. YouTube still leads in the area of video content. But because of the steady rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, users are being drawn more and more to short-form video content vs. the traditional long-form video content that you often see on YouTube. 

Video momentum is anticipated to explode across every social media community, especially as platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn increase their video capabilities to stay on trend. 

While long-form video will still hold a place in content across platforms, many businesses should focus more on creating engaging, short-form video content to keep the interest and attention of their audiences. 

Authenticity Is Key

Brand authenticity is less about showing up as your best, most cleaned-up self and more about how much your brand stays true to itself and your customers. 

Younger generations, who are quickly becoming the majority of consumers, crave authentic connections with brands and can quickly sniff out brands that are an airbrushed version of themselves. They want to see what a brand’s values are and, even more so, want to see that brand stick to those values no matter what – it’s the latest addition to the marketing mix that leans heavily on the concept that consistency is key.

Authenticity doesn’t mean you have to show every second of your process, nor do you have to share every trade secret and video editing process to prove your worth as a brand. But it does mean showing up consistently and sharing the same core message when you talk about your business.

Your brand can’t rely on gimmicks and quick, viral moments – to keep your customers happy and your audiences engaged, you have to continue to share trusted sources and legitimate insights on your social pages.

Today’s consumers crave a social media community and are more likely to choose a trustworthy, authentic, and transparent brand presence over a flashy and secretive brand.

tiktok and short-form video marketing

TikTok Continues Its Growth 

TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2021 and 2022, and it has over 1 billion monthly users. 

It is the social network of choice for Generation Z and a growing percentage of younger Millennials, and for good reason. You’ll find brands being more authentic, more engaging, and more ‘themselves’ on TikTok vs. any other platform. We talked about audiences craving authenticity from brands, and TikTok is where they find that. 

A prediction by eMarketer estimated that one-fifth of Gen Z spends an average of five hours on TikTok every single day. This allows brands to connect with a broader audience and increase their brand awareness. And with budgets for TikTok expected to surge in the new year, the social media giant will become one of the most effective social media platforms for marketing by the end of 2023.

That kind of engagement is hard to ignore, and while many established small businesses and brands are groaning at the thought of adding another social media platform to their marketing mix, just keep that statistic we just shared in mind – where else can you find an audience tuning into a potential marketing platform for five hours every day?

Goodbye Major Influencers, Hello Micro-Influencers 

Influencer marketing is nothing new. For many years, brands have been partnering with influencers to help boost their brand trust and awareness. However, a significant shift has already started and is predicted to continue in 2023. This trend is a shift away from major influencer marketing to micro-influencer partnership prioritization. 

Due to the rise in social media, especially since the start of 2020, well-known influencers are asking for a high price when promoting brands. This pushes most businesses out to pasture because their budget is much more limited. 

This is why we have seen steady growth in micro-influencer content and partnerships. Unlike big influencers who struggle to genuinely connect with their followers, micro-influencers have smaller audiences. As a result, they also have much higher engagement rates with their followers – a huge bonus for your business because they offer a better return on investment if you partner with them. 

Social Media Channels for Customer Service 

Prior to 2020, social media was mainly used by businesses as a marketing tool, but over the years, it has turned into something way more significant. Over time, social media sites have turned into customer service platforms, as well. Although some business owners and managers may still prefer more traditional forms of communication, such as phone calls and emails, younger generations are putting those conventional methods to the wayside and going to social media to reach out to company representatives. 

And customers collectively expect businesses to offer customer service quickly and efficiently via their social media channels. 

Because of these preferences, businesses that provide quick and efficient responses to queries and concerns on social media are more likely to be trusted by their customers. 

By being active on social media, businesses communicate that their brand actively listens to their customers and genuinely wants to engage and interact with them. 

Social Listening Will Be Huge 

You may wonder what social listening is and why it will likely take a front seat for many social media marketing strategies in 2023. 

Think of social listening as what happens after you’ve reviewed social media metrics and analytics. It goes beyond the data and moves into actually listening to the humans behind the screen. 

Social listening is when businesses closely analyze what users say about your brand and how they express their experiences with your products and services. This is vital to your brand and for connecting with your audience in ways they want.  

Social media listening tools can also give you an edge over your competitors because, when done right, you’ll be able to learn about the latest trends and preferences before your competitors and implement them into your marketing strategy sooner. 

social commerce

Social Commerce on The Rise 

Have you ever heard the phrase “go where your customers are?” We want to take that a step further and say, “get there before your customers do and set up shop so you’re ready for them before they know they need you.”

We can see that from Facebook and Instagram when they became the first platforms to offer social commerce options – and they were right to move into that space before anyone else because social commerce has steadily risen in popularity ever since. 

Modern-day consumers are more informed than ever before and are spending more time researching brands before making purchases. That’s why social commerce offers tremendous potential power for brands. It provides convenience for potential consumers and can offer them information and buying options all in the same place. This is a big deal because an average of 54% of consumers use social media to research businesses. 

Increase in Social Media Ads

We will always be proponents of having a strong, organic social media content strategy. There are numerous benefits that come from investing time and effort into organic social.

However, in 2023, many predict that paid campaigns will become more popular than ever, with more businesses putting in more money to ad campaigns to keep up with the more volatile post-COVID consumer and B2B markets. 

Social media ads are reported to have higher ROIs when compared to more traditional advertisement methods. According to a survey conducted by SurveyMonkey, 48% of social media users have bought something after seeing an ad on social media. This number increases even more in millennials and women. So, depending on your specific audience, social ads could greatly benefit your business. 

2023 may be the year you decide to reconsider your marketing strategy and how to incorporate more paid advertising into your budget. 

Conquer Social Media Marketing in 2023 with SharedTEAMS

No matter what trends are predicted for the new year, it’s even more important to take a step back and remember that successful social media marketing strategies are less about always following trends, and more about knowing your audience, finding or creating opportunities to connect with them, and sharing content that will resonate and connect with them.

Hopefully, our list of social media trends comes in handy when you’ll put in place your strategy for the new year. In case you have any questions, our team of marketing experts is always here to help.