Social media marketing is one of the most important marketing strategies for e-commerce businesses. This is more than just opening a few soc...
Social media marketing is one of the most important marketing strategies for e-commerce businesses. This is more than just opening a few social media accounts where you expect your target audience to find you, and you also need to understand the latest social media trends.
From the growing
influence of social commerce to the latest social media marketing trends, we'll
dive deep into 10 social media trends every marketer needs to know in
2023. This information will definitely give your e-commerce business the
boost it needs.
1. Proliferation of Phenomena on Social Media
The first social media
trend you need to know isn't exactly new, and you don't have to be a social
media savvy to hear about it.
However, it has been
gaining popularity in recent months and very quickly. We are talking about
the rise of phenomena.
The use and mentions
of Phenomenons increased from 19.8 million in August 2019 to 24.9 million in
July 2020, an increase of 26 percent in just one year.
Perhaps
coincidentally, its usage peaked in April at 28 million. That's when the
lockdowns occurred and internet users turned to social media to pass the time.
In fact, almost 9 out
of 10 social media users (88.1 percent) reported spending at least half an hour
more time on social media every day during the coronavirus outbreak.
With the pandemic and
resulting lockdowns expected to continue into 2021, enomen are likely to
continue trending on social media. As a business owner, this is something
you should definitely consider incorporating into your social media strategy if
you haven't already.
2. Start Profiting from Your Social Media Videos
The videos, which were
already a hit before the pandemic, became even more popular during stay-at-home. In
response, many platforms now offer more video features for businesses.
Video streaming in
particular is something that has seen an increase in demand. With a
massive market value of $42.9 billion in 2019, the industry is expected to grow
20.4 percent between 2020 and 2027.
Recent consumer
behavior certainly supports this prediction. The live video shopping trend
has taken China by storm recently, with consumers flocking to online shopping
sites during the lockdown.
If you think this is a
temporary trend, think again. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it
plans to hire and train video influencers to drive more sales through
AliExpress. This is a sign that live video shopping is here for the long
haul.
Instagram is also
ramping up its video capabilities, as views of its live videos increased 70
percent from February to March.
To encourage video
creation, it now allows ads to appear before long-form videos on its IGTV
(Instagram TV) service, with 55 percent of those revenues going to creators.
3. Social Media Trends: Niche Platforms Increasing in
Popularity
Of course, Facebook
still reigns as the social media king. When done well, Facebook ads can be a lucrative marketing channel. But the latest
social media trends show that platforms are emerging, albeit smaller ones, that
are worth paying extra attention to.
TikTok is one such
platform. Global
time spent on TikTok increased 210 percent year-over-year in
2019 as a result of efforts to expand its user base and increase the time users
spend. In fact, almost half (44 percent) of TikTok's total downloads
occurred in 2019. It's no wonder so many businesses are signing up and
exploring ways to skyrocket TikTok growth.
Another niche platform
that is growing in popularity is Reddit. Even though it's been around for
15 years with the likes of Facebook and Instagram around , it's rarely seen
as a significant marketing channel. But this is where the latest social
media trends prove otherwise.
Reddit saw a huge
increase in 2019. The number of monthly active users on Reddit increased
by 30 percent year-on-year to 430 million, and monthly views also witnessed a
53 percent increase. These are clear indicators that brands should
seriously look at making Reddit part of their 2020 plans.
4. Social Media Stories Aren't Going Anywhere
If you're considering
marketing on stories like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram stories, you'll want
to pay attention to the next social media marketing trend.
The stories feature
for all three platforms mentioned above, all actually falling under the largerFacebook umbrella, allows users to post a limited-time update that disappears
after 24 hours.
Even though these
features were all released less than five years ago, they've proven to be one
of the most popular growing social media trends among users, and their growth
numbers suggest they're definitely here to stay.
Daily active users
reached half a billion across all three platforms in 2019. More
specifically, daily active users of Instagram Stories increased fivefold, from
100 million in 2016 to 500 million in 2019. As for Facebook stories, its
daily active users increased from 150 million in 2018 to 500 million in 2019,
and daily active users of Whatsapp stories increased from 450 million in 2018
to 500 million in 2019.
5. Digital Disinformation on the Rise
Social media is a
double-edged sword. While an increasing number of people rely on it as a
news source, it is precisely this potential that makes it so dangerous.
Recent research shows
that digital misinformation on social media has been on the rise since February
2020. This has been brought about by COVID-19 as people flock to social
media to learn more about it and get the latest updates on the pandemic.
This has led to
opportunities to spread fake news. Misinformation aside, some users have
gone so far as to make up conspiracy theories, and this has also increased
dramatically.
Some social media
platforms have safeguards against the spread of misinformation. For
example, Twitter began adding warning labels to tweets containing “synthetic
and modified” content.
Despite these
measures, controlling digital disinformation on social media has always been a
challenge and will likely continue to be as we move towards 2023.
6. Social Commerce is the Future
If the previous social
media trend hasn't convinced you of the power of social commerce, read this:
Today, 55.2 percent of all Gen Z internet users say their latest fashion
purchases are inspired by social media content.
Considering that this
user group makes half of their fashion purchases online, this is a pretty
significant revenue generator.
Slightly fewer
millennials (50.6 percent) also reported purchasing a fashion item online after
browsing social media. As a result, more than half of all internet users
between the ages of 14 and 34 say they have recently purchased a
fashion-related item online as a result of social media.
By keeping these
social media trends in mind, you won't want to lose out on social
commerce and its benefits for your business. After all, your
competitors may already be doing this, with nearly three in ten businesses
saying they are either already implementing a social commerce plan or
considering doing so within the next 12 months.
7. Authenticity is Important in Social Media Marketing
To further reiterate
the previous point about user-generated content, here is a statistic that
highlights the importance of originality on social media.
A growing number of
consumers see authenticity as an important factor in determining which brands
they love and support. Statistics show that 90 percent of consumers today
prioritize authenticity in brands, up from 86 percent in 2017.
Authenticity is
important for the younger generation, who enjoy visual, raw and real content
more than the older crowd, especially Gen Z and Millennials.
However, there seems to be a gap between the type of content consumers enjoy and what brands publish. Although more than 90 percent of marketers believe they create original content that consumers can relate to, 51 percent of all consumers think less than half of all brands create truly original content.
8. Social Media as a Discovery Engine
Here's another one of
the latest social media trends: social media plays a huge role in a consumer's
entire purchasing journey.
Consumers are
increasingly relying on social media for their shopping. According to a
recent study, a quarter of all consumers are exposed to new brands and products
through social ads and recommendations.
Passive consumption
aside, consumers are also taking a proactive approach to discovering new
products. Statistics show that 43 percent of consumers research products
online through social media networks.
And there's an age
trend to this too: younger generations tend to search for products on social
media more often than older generations.
9. Growth in Messaging Apps
One of the latest
trends in social media marketing has to do with messaging apps. Latest
research figures show that the number of users of mobile messaging apps is
expected to reach 3.12 billion worldwide in 2023 – a 24 per cent increase from
2.52 billion in 2019.
Currently, 90 percent
of all smartphone users in the world use at least one messaging app, and this
is a huge market for businesses to tap into. Combined with the fact that
most consumers prefer to communicate with companies, this is definitely a
social media trend you should include in your business' marketing plan.
And if you're
considering doing this, consider the potential of each platform. WhatsApp
and Facebook Messenger may be the two most popular mobile messaging apps, with
1.6 million and 1.3 billion active users respectively. However, if you're
targeting markets like China, WeChat, which has 1.1 billion monthly active
users, will be effective.
10. Customer Service via Social Media
Finally, one of the
latest social media trends relates to consumers' increasing use of social media
for customer service issues. A recent study shows that nearly three in ten
consumers use social media to communicate with a company.
Of those who do, most
cite convenience, 24-hour service, and convenience as the top three expected
benefits. However, these benefits appear to be limited to simpler problems
consumers face, as only 10 percent of consumers say social media offers quick
answers to complex questions.
However, social media
has become an important communication channel for consumers and has even had an
impact on branding. Today, nearly 70 percent say being able to message a
company directly makes them feel more confident about the brand.
Conclusion
Whether you're looking
to change up your social media strategy or just want to keep up with the latest
social media trends, these ten social media trends we've listed above willdefinitely help you understand how your customers engage with social media.
Note: Given that
social media trends are constantly evolving, you'll want to make sure you stay
up to date on the latest social media marketing trends to stay one step ahead
of the competition!
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