Top Social Media Marketing Trends in 2023

2020 was a big year for changes in the marketing industry and significantly more effort was put into digital marketing campaigns as a result of quarantines and lockdown restrictions. As consumer habits change to favour online more, 2021 will be an important year for marketers to focus on their digital marketing plans—specifically for social media marketing. Recently we have seen countless new social trends, media trends, platforms becoming popular and the rise of social-commerce. So, what are the key social media marketing trends your brand should watch out for in 2021?

Firstly, let’s see what’s trending on social media.

Key social media trends in 2023

Live Streaming

Live streaming gained popularity throughout 2020 and will continue to be a consumer favourite in 2021. Consumers began using live streams to fill the social-interaction-void through lockdowns, and have since begun watching live streams as entertainment. Live streaming has moved from simply being gamers streaming to include music, cultural events, sports, social commentary and even designer fashion shows. 

TikTok

2020 was TikTok’s best year for growth and in 2021 there are expected to be 1.2 billion active users globally. TikTok is now the second highest revenue-generating app in the world, with some experts predicting it will take the top spot in 2021.

Social Commerce

As consumers have been spending more and more time on social media, their interest in social commerce has increased. With more platforms offering “shop now” features, around 40% of consumers have or are willing to make purchases through social apps.

What are the key social media marketing trends for 2021?

1. Brands to focus on Reels for exposure

It has been revealed that Reels provide brands with more exposure than TikToks. Instagram’s own version of TikToks provide bite-sized, digestible pieces of entertainment that help with organic Instagram exposure. When a brand-owned account posts a Reel, it gains more engagement and exposure than if they were to post the same content on TikTok. Brands should focus on creating owned content for Reels over TikTok, following the ruling that Reels will no longer promote content with a TikTok watermark. However, for influencer marketing, TikToks perform significantly better than Reels.

 

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Instagram has become more search-friendly, so brands should focus on regularly and consistently uploading Reels to their accounts. This will ensure they are optimising SEO within the app.

2. Brands must humanise

Consumers demand transparency and authenticity nowadays, and a great way for brands to provide this is to provide a face consumers can associate with the brand. This personifies the brand and allows customers to relate and resonate with the brand to create a loyal relationship. This could mean using someone from the social media team as the face of your brand, or utilising global and local ambassadors. People want to begin reconnecting with people.

3. Live stream consumption

Live streaming platforms such as Twitch and Amazon Live began gaining traction in 2020, and this is set to continue into 2021. Twitch users are very open to seeing their favourite streamers being sponsored by brands, and with the wide range of live streaming content, it makes sense that we will see more brands utilise Twitch marketing. In addition to this, other social platforms have been developing their Live features – for example, Instagram is set to launch group Live chats, and TikTok now lets creators download old live streams.

4. Social commerce

Through 2020 many brands began developing their social commerce capabilities, and in 2021 we will see these take off. Consumers use social media to find information about brands, so if they see a brand they like and can immediately make a purchase, this puts a good impression in their mind. Social commerce is one of the most trackable sales points as social media accounts supply invaluable data to brands.

Amazon Live has helped Amazon become a social platform in its own right. Streamers using Amazon Live are able to earn commission from affiliate links underneath the streams, directing customers towards products mentioned in the Live.

5. Purpose-driven content

In 2020, brands and marketers were put under pressure to publicly address issues their businesses had not previously discussed. Brands need to align themselves with social issues and prove what they are doing to help. Brands should use data gathered by social media teams to help adapt to new buyer beliefs, and pave a new path to balance the demands of building a better business and world.

Our Influencer marketing agency and Social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

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