Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at major social media trends for 2023

Every year, digital marketers try to predict what’s next for social media. However, there’s no need to consult a crystal ball or a psychic because the writing is already on the wall. Heads of the social media giants are already discussing the future of the platforms during 2023. So Emily Rose Hills, a leading social media strategist and coach, decided to embrace her inner Sherlock and investigate the rumours in this exclusive sneak peek.

What does 2023 hold for Facebook?

Facebook king, Mark Zuckerberg, announced in a recent interview that Facebook feeds will change in the next 12 months or so. Yes [sigh], more changes.

With the social media giant set to cull 11,000 jobs, blaming it on the macroeconomic downturn and increased competition, Zuck has to do something drastic to enhance user satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the 2022 algorithm change allowing people to go back to a chronological feed where users can connect with their friends and families hasn’t stopped the younger generation from defecting to more popular platforms like TikTok, BeReal and Snapchat.

Changes to your newsfeed

2023 is likely to see your newsfeed deliver almost half of what you see coming from brands and people you’ve never heard of. Not great news if you’re enjoying what the algorithm currently serves up.

This could be a golden opportunity for businesses to get noticed, as your best-performing posts will be delivered to people outside your usual audience.

The end of promoting external links

If you’re a digital marketer, it’s not new information that Facebook prefers to keep people on their platform rather than following external links to read a blog or news article, or watch videos on YouTube or Vimeo. Facebook wants users to create native content that keeps people engaged.

So, besides being useful, unique, ultra-specific or urgent, your content must be captivating enough to stop the scroll. Think of relatable memes and audience questions, or pose hypothetical questions and polls.

A drop in visible engagement

With Apple introducing its new privacy feature and many people sharing through dark socials, entertainment content has shifted to being transmitted privately. As a result, Facebook engagement via the feed is seeing new lows.

A 2022 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report from RivalIQ compared engagement levels to the previous year and discovered brands are seeing less organic engagement. Combined with more awareness of just how public social media can be, given a simple post can spiral into hundreds of trolls and keyboard warriors going to war, users are resorting to sharing content through Messenger, WhatsApp, Signal and Email. In addition, marketers can add ‘click to message’ through Meta’s messaging platforms that align with users’ behaviour.

Zuckerberg’s saving grace seems to be the fact that Facebook is the only platform where users are not restricted to short-form videos and can still connect with friends and family.

What does 2023 hold for Instagram?

With TikTok continuing to take pole position, Instagram was desperate to cash in on a piece of the pie by introducing their answer to short-form video – Reels. And it’s paid off with a huge increase in users. But can they continue to ride on TikTok’s coattails in 2023? And what other changes are in store for the app?

Live stream shopping

Essentially, this is an infomercial hosted by a celebrity or influencer on a live stream, encouraging users to purchase products and with the ability to answer questions in real-time.

This is still in its development stages but has the potential to be huge, with predictions of $57 billion in revenue by 2025.

Reels

2022 said goodbye to IGTV, and all video content was rolled into a single format called Instagram video. I don’t believe we’ve seen the end of changes to the video, as Reels are still Instagram’s most popular form of content.

However, with the evolution of AI, we’ll likely see random updates throughout the year. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, is likely to appear in your feed with a slew of updates that will throw the marketing world into a frenzy.

Recommended content increase

As with Facebook, your Instagram feed is about to see more recommended content. Currently, only 15 per cent of your content shown is recommended from Instagram; that’s about to be doubled.

Good news for brands and creators, who should be incentivised to create more compelling content to reach audiences that don’t follow them.

What does 2023 hold for Twitter?

Vague predictions and rumours are the only guaranteed changes at this stage. After that, it’s a wait-and-see game while CEO Elon Musk faffs about what is to become of Twitter. Nothing is confirmed at this stage, but here are some of what he’s briefly touched on.

Pay to be certified

The coveted blue tick used for official celebrity accounts, influencers and public accounts of interest is proposed to be charged out. Anyone can purchase one for $AUD12.50 a month – the user pays. In internal Twitter documents, 9 News reported current verified accounts could lose their blue ticks unless they pay for them.

The potential for this move has outraged many people, including prolific author Stephen King. He tweeted about it, to which Elon Musk replied, “We need to pay the bills somehow. Twitter can not rely upon advertisers.”

A push for free speech

Elon Musk tweeted, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” in a push for free speech.

Do we need to be subjected to the dangers of free speech? There will need to be some admin moderation around what’s allowed to be posted. Initially, there will be a rise in Twitter users as curiosity gets the better of some people, but based on the other predicted slew of changes where users pay, it may not be enough to keep users engaged.

Bringing Vine back from the social media graveyard

If you can believe the rumours, we might see the resurrection of Vine with Twitter potentially embracing short-form video. It’s been reported that Twitter engineers have been instructed to look at the old coding to bring it back to life after a six year absence.

This only scratches the surface of what’s next for social media in 2023, and digital marketers know first-hand the struggle of staying abreast of changes and taking on the algorithm to create engaging content.

The best way to deal with the constant updates is to engage the services of a social media coach or mentor. Regular check-ins where you ask questions and talk about the platform updates allow you to stay on track with content creation.

This article first appeared on Kochie’s Business Builders, read the original here.

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