Watch out for these social media marketing trends in the coming year
Want to start 2023 with a bang? How about building and trying new strategies for social media marketing?
The world of SMM is continually evolving, and in the last two years, we have witnessed a massive shift in the ways brands promote their services or products on various social platforms. In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen businesses becoming more and more reliant on social media, and those that did it right saw major returns on investment.
So, how did they do it? In this landscape, where there are several platforms and more content and competition than ever, having a solid strategy lets you focus on your objectives and discard efforts that do not serve them. To help you map out the way forward, we have put together this list of social media marketing strategies and trends that we can expect in 2023.
Social commerce and social selling are here to stay
As an eCommerce business owner, if you are aiming to elevate your brand presence and achieve real growth, you must consider social selling as a cornerstone of your marketing efforts. Since a large number of social media users make purchase decisions while browsing brands’ newsfeeds, it is up to you to nudge them closer to making the actual purchase. Implementing social commerce will allow your followers to buy your products directly through social media.
We have already seen big brands implement this trick. That is because social commerce sales are expected to increase by 34.8% in the coming year, and the number of social commerce users is likely to grow by 12.9%. Overall, social commerce as an industry will see a 37.9% growth. Therefore, you should certainly consider it when building strategies for social media marketing.
Paid and organic marketing will need to be hyper-local
To generate engagement and awareness through social media marketing, you need to try a healthy balance of both organic and paid campaigns. With time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage potential and first-time customers solely through social media ads. On the other hand, Facebook and other social media sites have significantly reduced their organic reach. That means you can no longer rely on one or the other. You need to create a mix of the two.
Furthermore, according to digital transformation services, paid and organic social media campaigns need to be hyper-local to be able to bring you the desired results. When it comes to paid marketing, we are seeing brands promote content and ads that are tailor-made for the audience of a specific geographic area. Popular examples include advertisements that promote live events to followers from a particular area, using branded and location-specific filters on temporary user-generated content, and ads featuring weather-specific or seasonal products.
Social proof and user-generated content is the key to building trust
User-generated content is already an integral part of an efficient social media strategy, but it is expected to become more focused in the coming years. Ask any SMM company or professional, and they will tell you that customers place a lot more trust on user-generated content than those produced by the brand itself. It applies to all forms of user-generated content, starting from peer recommendations and product reviews to brand-focused content and social media posts.
Simply put, UGC strengthens the idea that your brand is loved by many, and that attracts new and potential customers. As we move towards the New Year, having a plan for utilizing user-generated content becomes critical. You should focus on finding high-quality UGC as it is created, showcasing the UGC on your social media channels, and soliciting UGC in ways that create a valuable user experience and increase engagement.
Video content will continue to dominate
When creating content strategies for social media marketing, you cannot ignore video. Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know that video content has become integral to all digital marketing efforts. Over 60% of marketers and SMM services already use video, 61% say video content is a critical part of their marketing plan, and 30% say video content offers a higher ROI than the brand website.
Since video marketing is capable of generating nearly 50% more overall engagement, you should certainly include it in your social media marketing. Furthermore, for marketers and brands, the actual value of video is in its adaptability and versatility. For example, both short and long videos can be used for engaging new customers and offering value to the audience.
Never too late to experiment with influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is not a novel concept. Although it has been around for quite some time, it is constantly evolving. That is because consumers have started looking at influencer marketing differently. In today’s climate, it is not enough to just have a celebrity or a well-known face promote your products. According to surveys, only 4% of customers say that a celebrity endorsement is enough to get them to buy a product.
Instead, most social media users are looking for influencer content that presents the brand’s value, shows its services or products in action, and explains the best way to get the most out of those products or services. Because of that, we can expect more and more brands to use nano and micro-influencers for generating both engagement and awareness as part of their strategies for social media marketing.
These are the top trends and strategies that we can expect to see in social media marketing in 2023. If you are planning to revamp your existing strategy, make sure to employ these ideas. You can also consult a social media marketing company to guide you in the right direction.
Hire social media marketing services from a reliable company
If you are planning to get SMM services, make sure to check out iTrobes, one of the leading digital marketing agencies in India. We have dedicated social media marketing professionals helping businesses build their SMM campaigns. Since our inception, we have worked with start-ups, mid-sized businesses, and large enterprises. We understand the nuances of social media marketing, and we can help you build a solid campaign. Get in touch with us to know how we can help you!
