Social media continues to fuel B2B brands’ digital connection with target audiences. But with ever-changing platforms, trends content types and algorithms, successfully managing social media is also growing increasingly complex as users’ behaviours and needs rapidly evolve.
What will be the biggest trends across social media in 2023?
We’ve chosen to look at three areas of social media: What’s connecting people, what’s influencing content and what’s shifting creation. It’s shaping up to be another exciting year on social!
Trend #1: Meaningful value exchanges
More than ever, successful content creates an emotional connection in a way that puts the target audiences’ needs first. Across all industries, we see successful brands tapping into this idea. Some succeed with nostalgia, some with educational content and others with a response to social and environmental issues. Whatever the angle, customers expect brands to go deeper. Being reliable and relatable matters greatly.
For example, FedEx’s #SupportSmall Instagram campaign was designed to aid small businesses and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign encouraged customers to share photos and stories of their favourite small businesses on social media using the campaign hashtag. For every post shared, FedEx donated an additional $1 to the Small Business Relief fund. The campaign offered a way for FedEx to demonstrate its commitment to supporting customers and communities in times of need.
“Social media is a two-way conversation, not just a place to push out marketing messages. The most successful brands are those that deliver content that is authentic, useful and personal to their audiences”, highlights Antje Roehl, Founder & Managing Director at Ancora Communications.
Trend #2: Short-form video ever upwards
TikTok – the fastest growing network in history – is creating ripple effects across other social media platforms and rewriting the rules of content. In the competition for users’ attention and engagement, it’s clear that short-form video is no longer limited to entertainment-oriented platforms like TikTok and Instagram but is becoming the standard.
On LinkedIn, video content is growing rapidly, with a 50% increase in views year-over-year. LinkedIn reports that video is now the fastest growing format on the platform, with users engaging with video content at higher rates than any other content form. Short videos offer the opportunity to demonstrate skills, offer advice or provide industry insights. As remote work and virtual networking become increasingly important, video will only become more important for the B2B sector as it allows brands to create a more engaging, personal connections.
Trend #3: Brands become artificially intelligent
The annual survey from WARC, a leading marketing research company, reports AI as the biggest focus area for brands this year. As we move into 2023, we are already observing AI enabling social media users to create without limits. 2023 will see dozens of AI image generators pop up as well as search-command language tools like the widely hyped ChatGPT.
Throughout the next year, we expect to see wider (and smarter) usage of AI by brands for creative output, deeper measurement and translation of ideas. As AI technology continues to develop, image generation could begin to replace the stock photo market and equip brands beyond what’s within immediate reach.
Ancora’s Top 3 Predictions for Social Media 2023
Social media continues to fuel B2B brands’ digital connection with target audiences. But with ever-changing platforms, trends content types and algorithms, successfully managing social media is also growing increasingly complex as users’ behaviours and needs rapidly evolve.
What will be the biggest trends across social media in 2023?
We’ve chosen to look at three areas of social media: What’s connecting people, what’s influencing content and what’s shifting creation. It’s shaping up to be another exciting year on social!
Trend #1: Meaningful value exchanges
More than ever, successful content creates an emotional connection in a way that puts the target audiences’ needs first. Across all industries, we see successful brands tapping into this idea. Some succeed with nostalgia, some with educational content and others with a response to social and environmental issues. Whatever the angle, customers expect brands to go deeper. Being reliable and relatable matters greatly.
For example, FedEx’s #SupportSmall Instagram campaign was designed to aid small businesses and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign encouraged customers to share photos and stories of their favourite small businesses on social media using the campaign hashtag. For every post shared, FedEx donated an additional $1 to the Small Business Relief fund. The campaign offered a way for FedEx to demonstrate its commitment to supporting customers and communities in times of need.
“Social media is a two-way conversation, not just a place to push out marketing messages. The most successful brands are those that deliver content that is authentic, useful and personal to their audiences”, highlights Antje Roehl, Founder & Managing Director at Ancora Communications.
Trend #2: Short-form video ever upwards
TikTok – the fastest growing network in history – is creating ripple effects across other social media platforms and rewriting the rules of content. In the competition for users’ attention and engagement, it’s clear that short-form video is no longer limited to entertainment-oriented platforms like TikTok and Instagram but is becoming the standard.
On LinkedIn, video content is growing rapidly, with a 50% increase in views year-over-year. LinkedIn reports that video is now the fastest growing format on the platform, with users engaging with video content at higher rates than any other content form. Short videos offer the opportunity to demonstrate skills, offer advice or provide industry insights. As remote work and virtual networking become increasingly important, video will only become more important for the B2B sector as it allows brands to create a more engaging, personal connections.
Trend #3: Brands become artificially intelligent
The annual survey from WARC, a leading marketing research company, reports AI as the biggest focus area for brands this year. As we move into 2023, we are already observing AI enabling social media users to create without limits. 2023 will see dozens of AI image generators pop up as well as search-command language tools like the widely hyped ChatGPT.
Throughout the next year, we expect to see wider (and smarter) usage of AI by brands for creative output, deeper measurement and translation of ideas. As AI technology continues to develop, image generation could begin to replace the stock photo market and equip brands beyond what’s within immediate reach.
“With AI-powered tools, brands can gain insights into customer preferences and behaviours, allowing them to create more personalised and effective content. The role of content creators will continue to evolve as technology advances, but strategy, creativity and human insights will remain crucial to success.”
– Allison Edwards, Account Manager at Ancora Communications
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