Our Social Media Predictions

#1 Twitter is going down

Twitter has experienced a slow breakdown since Elon Musk’s takeover, leaving many on the hunt for their new favourite corner of the internet. 

Despite many users spending more than a decade building their presence on the platform, it looks likely that Twitter’s audience will continue to drop off in 2023. In fact, we’ve already seen high-profile brands starting to react to this, with many either pausing advertising spend, or halting activity altogether. 

Users have been eagerly waiting for Twitter’s next replacement for a few months now, and when the fun, new playground comes along, brands will be able to distinguish between passing trends and something that will stick around. 

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things:  

• Don’t rely on Twitter to deliver the results it used to; continue to also back proven channels. 
• Stay up to date on Musk news, to react appropriately and make sure you’re always where your audience are. 
• If you’re finding most of your success on Twitter, find a way to be successful on other channels too. Facebook and Instagram still have the biggest user base, so it’s a good idea to look there unless you’re targeting a highly specific audience. 

#2 Social as a search engine

There’s no doubt that social has changed the way we operate our everyday life. Going on holiday? Scrap the Lonely Planet travel pocketbooks and browse Instagram guides and hashtags instead!  

Social research has shown an increase in long-tail keyword use on platforms like TikTok. For example, ‘#Venice’ has transformed to, ‘What is the best pizza restaurant in Venice?’. People ask social platforms questions like they do people, or Google – and it’s important to harness this insight and create content based on things people are searching for.

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things: 

• Optimise your content to make it more discoverable, either in the form of location tags, hashtags, copy (long and short tail) and closed captions. 
• Activating social listening; use hashtag and keyword research to see what people are searching for – getting a better understanding of what they want from your content. 

#3 Better ideas are still king

Good ideas aren’t going anywhere. Ever. 

Like every other year, in 2023, social marketeers will continue to focus on “what should we do on Reels?” and “how do we cut this TVC into 15-second cuts for social?” The brands that win on social in 2023 will be the ones who do the same as brands that have been winning on social since the beginning of time; the ones who understand the importance of a good idea. 

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things: 

• Focus on strategy and big ideas first, then think about channels and formats to execute.  
• Leverage best practice in the execution, using distinctive assets made just for social – and the algorithm will work in your favour. 
• Don’t be afraid of anarchy; boldness often wins in the social media attention wars.  

#4 Short-form video hangs around

Short-form video isn’t still emerging, it’s here – and here to stay. TikToks and Instagram Reels will, at the very least, continue to maintain their prominence on social.  

According to Hubspot data, it’s the most effective social format with the highest ROI. Especially as TikTok shop starts to take off, video and social commerce will come together – creating an online review culture, using real people (in the same style as early YouTube). 

We anticipate a surge of video production investment to futureproof brands, allowing them maximise content opportunities in-house and really harness all things brand storytelling. The creator economy will continue to blossom, meaning a higher priority on faces and places – and we’re so here for it! 

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things: 

• Continue to think video-first.  
• Have a solid video strategy for your channels, taking everything into account from captions to video bleeds. 
• Rely less on animation and more on in-house video production, with a UGC look and feel. 

#5 Even higher quality organic content

With ad spend dropping as we enter a recession, there will be a larger focus on high-quality, drumbeat content to keep a steady rhythm of social media results, year-round. 

We’re encouraging brands to stay noisy to protect their positions on social and in the market. If you don’t have budget for epic campaign activity at your disposal, invest more time and effort into making your BAU more exciting and effective for your brand. 

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things: 

• Plan well to ensure you have a steady cadence of content going out at the right time. 
• Test new organic formats to surprise and delight your audiences. 
• Stay on the pulse of trending conversation to post more reactive content. 

#6 Social customer service will go above and beyond

Gone are the days of the Evri agony aunts; in 2023, social customer service will become a vehicle to surprise and delight customers. 

Social will become a direct line for brands to build connections with audiences – quickly addressing questions in a personal way, and solving problems using human touch. We predict brands will be savvier with their customer service on social, using it as a consumer understanding and relationship tool to get a better understanding of what makes their audience tick – helping their content perform better in the long-run.  

Ensure effectiveness in 2023 by trying these things: 

• Training your customer service team on your brand tone of voice – and vice versa. 
• Open your social DMs for users to easily submit questions and concerns. 
• Activate social listening to monitor brand mentions and proactively respond to conversations. 
• Don’t take every conversation offline; build trust and transparency by responding to simple questions or comments in the public domain.