Nothing ever stays the same, and that’s one of the great truths of modern culture. Fashion, the media, and even the built environment are all subject to cyclical trends. Even the general public discusses the effects that trends have on daily life. And in the last two decades, social media trends have become a major issue for both consumers and businesses. We’ll take a look at the year’s biggest developments here. Your future choices should benefit from this information.
The Benefits of Social Media to Business
There is a consistent theme among the social media trends of 2023: the growth of the social media economy. The term “social media economy” refers to the practise of making and spending money via social media platforms. Content, purchases, subscriptions, advertisements, and more can all be monetized in this way. Let’s analyse this subset of recent advances.
The rise of social media as a powerful e-commerce platform
Since the start of the pandemic, social media has grown from a minor shopping platform to a significant economic force. People are more likely to make purchases after using social media features like shoppable Instagram posts and social ads. Furthermore, Facebook Messenger’s function in sales and service has grown significantly in recent years.
The Growth of Paid Social Media
Also, brands are adapting to the times by increasing their investment in social media marketing. This is one of the more lasting developments in the world of social media, especially now that platforms like Facebook have essentially handicapped organic branded content. Marketers anticipate that the long-term trend of rising ad spending will continue.
The Explosion of the Creator Economy
Merging of Major Brands and Independent Content Creators, or the Rise of Nano and Micro Influencers
You may have noticed that many YouTube channels are sponsored if you’ve watched videos there for any length of time. It could be anything from a YouTube subscription to an external sponsorship site or a branded collaboration.
Speaking of YouTube partnerships, this is nothing new. The concept of paid sponsorships was partially inspired by the growth of influencer marketing. Before, people who made posts on social media did so for two main reasons: to gain notoriety or to maintain contact lists.
Video content remains unrivalled
Incredibly, YouTube reports that each day 1 billion hours of content is viewed by users. If we extrapolate this to the entire human population, we find that, on average, everyone spends at least some time on YouTube each day. When you consider that a sizable chunk of the content on YouTube is uploaded by regular people, it becomes even more impressive. You can see YouTube’s overall power, as well as the prevalence of branded content made by companies.
The Demand for Short-Form Video Is Strong Even in 2018
YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Pinterest Idea Pins, and Google Web Stories are all great examples of short-form content. TikTok and YouTube Shorts are just two examples of recent developments in this space. TikTok, on the other hand, is a relatively new phenomenon, while YouTube Shorts is an extension of an already established platform. When there is money to be made, new possibilities emerge in a free market. Simply because newer video content options exist demonstrates that video is still one of the major social media trends.
Responsibility of Brands in Social Media
Due in large part to the widespread use of social media during the COVID pandemic, people from all walks of life were brought closer together. We can predict business responses to global events, starting with the Black Lives Matter movement. In recent months, companies have been using social media to publicly declare their support for Ukraine and opposition to Russia.
Demands for Brand Responsibility and Ethical Consciousness Are Rising 6
There was a time when companies could act as if they didn’t know what was going on in the world. They weren’t obligated to make a statement on political matters, and their employees’ well-being was of little concern to anyone. But now it’s a different story. One of the most popular activities on social media is criticising companies online for their stances on controversial topics. Taking the wrong stance on certain issues can even lead to the cancellation of a product line. Numerous occurrences over the past couple of years have illustrated just how true this statement is.
Recommitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Companies are often called out on social media when they are seen to have discriminated against a member of a “disadvantaged” group in the workplace. This exemplifies yet another trend in the world of social media: a priority on diversity and tolerance. Many companies have begun to highlight the positive ways in which their brand treats underrepresented groups in the workforce, such as minorities, women, and the LGBTQ community, in response to this growing trend. Committees within businesses also investigate methods to broaden participation and increase diversity.
TikTok is the undisputed king of social media
Few of us had even heard of TikTok until just about five years ago. As a matter of fact, this product made in China has become immensely popular in the United States. It also has a massive audience, clocking in at over a billion viewers per year. Here’s something else we learned from the survey: Android phone users spend more time on TikTok than they do on YouTube each week. That’s pretty remarkable for such a young network, though it makes sense given that TikTok was built specifically for mobile devices.
But TikTok’s dominance goes beyond simple numbers of views. One study found that users were more likely to view ads on TikTok than they were on other platforms.
Meme Marketing
At long last, memes are beginning to adopt cutting-edge social media practises. Although memes have been around for some time, using them for promotional purposes on social media is a relatively recent development. It’s surprising, though, that marketers haven’t hopped on this cultural phenomenon sooner.