Ten social media trends for 2023 – part 2

Social media is constantly evolving and being used more and more by companies. After all, new trends that are really popular with users are emerging in record time. In part 2 of “Ten social media trends for 2023”, you will find out what trends you can use to your advantage. These include short videos, new social media platforms, social commerce, social marketing and new formats.

Short, inspiring videos

Thanks to TikTok and YouTube Shorts, the trend for short videos will continue to thrive, and even increase in popularity, in 2023. This success means the pressure on companies and marketers to invest more in videos is rising. It’s now become popular for companies to take part in challenges, or to actually launch them (brand challenges). These short videos, on TikTok for example, require bold, creative employees, as well as modern managers who move with the times.

Do you want to use TikTok for your company? Then take a look at this brief guide (in German).

New social media platforms in 2023

In addition to the usual social media heavyweights, we also see popular platforms and formats emerging on a regular basis. In some cases, they disappear just as soon as they appear, like Clubhouse in 2020.

BeReal

The French social media app BeReal became a hit in the US after just two years. In mid-2022, it made the Download Charts top 10 in the States. It’s only a matter of time before BeReal becomes a popular, widespread social media app in Europe in 2023.

Instagram Candid

Instagram is also looking to take a leaf out of BeReal’s book, and is working on replicating this format. Instagram’s new format, which is still in its trial phase, is called IG Candid. The idea is that, once a day, users are asked at random to spontaneously take selfies with the front and back camera at the same time. This is very similar to the main function of the social media photo app BeReal. The photo users take is then shared in their Instagram Story.

TikTok Now

When the people at TikTok realized how successful BeReal was, they hastily released their own version, TikTok Now, on the app market. Rather than integrate the functions into the successful TikTok app, they decided on a separate solution.

Twitter – relaunched

Following its takeover by Elon Musk and the announcement of major changes, Twitter will either sink or swim in 2023. The assumption is that Twitter may become an all-round app like the Chinese app WeChat.

Social commerce – a new source of income

Social commerce combines e-commerce, marketing and social media, and offers customers new shopping experiences. Given the popularity of social media and the interest it’s generated amongst companies, social commerce is set to be a trend in 2023. This is because it’s being used more to publicize products and the brand in an authentic way. Social media can also be used as an additional sales channel alongside your existing online shop.

Find out more about social commerce and social media selling here (in German).

Social marketing

Social marketing is an attempt to use social media to bring about a change in social awareness and to influence social values, attitudes and behaviour. This is something we are currently all going through in relation to climate change, the pandemic, global conflicts and trends in entertainment. Seeing as social marketing has proven successful and is increasingly being used for this purpose, it will continue to be a social media trend in 2023 and long after.

Users decide on the format

Every few months, the best-known social media platforms undergo format changes. This might be the image size or aspect ratio, video length, or brand new content formats. This is because social media companies have learnt what their users want and what formats they like.

As a result, VR and AR integrations, gamification and user integration are slowly being added to the mix. Moreover, we can say for sure that short videos and portrait formats, such as 9:16, will be a big deal in 2023.

Conclusion

The social media sector is trending towards new technologies, user-generated content (UGC) and new formats. The users ultimately determine the direction of a trend through their behaviour. Currently, short videos and creator content in particular are very popular. What’s more, customers are increasingly using social media channels to communicate with companies when they have questions.

This is why it’s so important for companies to be flexible in how they’re organized, and to respond to potential trends. After all, you can only hope to be at the forefront of the online sphere if you have reactive managers with the right mindset.

In part 1 of “Ten social media trends for 2023”, you can find out more about the challenges involved, as well as the first five trends. These are: artificial intelligence, cross-posting, creators vs influencers, data protection and customer service.