While social networks are constantly changing and releasing new updates and features, a few trends have emerged from the lot in recent months and seem to be firmly embedded in the fluctuating habits of social network users. Here are the vectors to exploit to optimize the rest of your social media budget for 2023.
The Live Video
Whether on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, or Instagram, all social platforms have the common goal of generating engagement. This issue is all the more relevant when it affects brands, which run accounts on social networks precisely to create commitment and thus form a community. The most engaging media on social media is video, and if you add a notion of “live,” in which users can react live, you have the winning combo.
Although Snapchat stories have been around since 2019, live streaming has become known to brands with its launch on Facebook in 2022, then on Instagram. YouTube also got into it by offering its live TV streaming platform in early 2023. Live streaming has shaped our Facebook in 2022, from viral video to live chat; the trend is only growing in 2023. Live video is undoubtedly a culture for businesses to embrace this year.
Indeed, users appreciate the live video experience because of the proximity and their direct connection with the speaker or the event. Moreover, this gives the brands a more authentic dimension, which can only appear natural during a live show without retouching. Authenticity is an aspect undeniably coveted by Internet users.
The (Trans)Mutation Of Platforms
A few years ago, it was easy to define the different social networks according to their primary purpose:
- Connecting with friends via Facebook
- Sharing photos on Instagram
- Using Twitter as a micro-blogging platform
However, platforms have shared it for a few months to borrow features. Thus, we now find “stories” on Facebook or Instagram, just as Snapchat has recently equipped itself with a search bar, like YouTube. Social networks thus offer a more global and less targeted dimension of their functionalities.
This change affects brands in such a way that they no longer need to seek to allocate equal budgets on each platform: each network taking on the characteristics of another, companies can now seek to dig deeper into a service one in particular, using their previous results – is my community more engaged in Twitter or Facebook Lives?
The Integration Of Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a trendy subject in marketing trends, and it must be said that social networks have gotten into it: Facebook has recently launched a 360 ° app, in which it is possible to navigate among the functionalities using a specific headset. Similarly, Snapchat launched its Spectacles, sunglasses connected to their smartphone and capable of recording photos and videos in one click.
Virtual reality allows all sectors to offer their audience innovative and interactive content. Today, it represents a competitive advantage for brands that lend themselves to the game, especially in the tourism or real estate sector, where user expectations for visuals exceed all others!
As a brand, it is your responsibility to spot trends to exploit before they become obsolete and change! You have to meet users’ expectations before they even have the idea and offer them, both on social networks and everywhere else, a unique experience. For now, these three trends may be emerging on social media, but who knows what 2023 will bring?
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