10 most impactful social media trends to expect in 2023
The Social Media Trends 2023 Report highlights the social media trends that matter most for brands, marketers, and PR professionals to watch in the coming year. Released by Talkwalker and Khoros, the report leveraged social listening and AI-enabled analytics to uncover the 10 most impactful social media trends to expect in 2023 and demonstrate how consumers are driving these trends.
David Low, Talkwalker’s CMO “We all know the digital ecosphere has disrupted how marketers engage with consumers,” said. “In this new environment, marketers must focus on forging symbiotic relationships through a better understanding of online conversations and taking quicker action. It’s this new understanding that will help brands create meaningful experiences and become closer to their consumers.”
Customer experience will get even more social
75 percent of consumers say the pandemic has driven long-term changes in their behaviours and preferences, including a bigger focus on urgency. Brands must prioritize customer experience by providing support, information, or solutions as fast as possible.
Daniel Nuss, Marketing Director at Aramex, said, “The workflows between customer support agents, social media managers and CX experts need to be 100 percent defined and adhered to - otherwise unhappy users will pile up and make themselves heard, leading to deteriorating brand perception.”
For Anja Petrovski, Marketing and PR Director at Volkswagen ME, social media are a channel where their customers can engage as a brand – whether this includes making it easy to book a test drive through chat functionalities, highlighting existing customers through UGC or showcasing the potential lifestyle customers can unlock when they are behind the wheel of a Volkswagen.
Social media will operate at a new standard
The trend that struck most with the Middle East market is that social media platforms will need to adjust to a new standard, one that fosters trust and reliability with consumers. With the increasing proliferation of fake news, deep fakes, and AI-generated art, the borderline between what’s true and what’s not is becoming increasingly blurred.
Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn EMEA Venture Markets, commented that “authenticity has become the differentiating marker in the new age of social communication. Economic uncertainty and huge changes in the world of work have made it necessary for content creators to own their voice and demonstrate a deeper understanding of their audiences in order to build a resilient digital presence.”
YouTube’s Director for Middle East & Africa, Tarek Amin, sees transparency as integral to their content moderation efforts. “Our community demands it, and we see it as an important part of being trustworthy and accountable to them.”
Brands will place emphasis on communities rather than personas
66 percent of branded communities say that their community has led to increased loyalty. Brands will focus on gaining deeper knowledge of their consumer ecosystems to understand who is driving and sharing brand-focused conversations.
The insights behind each trend are further supported with industry-specific social engagement actions marketers can take from Khoros’s Strategic Services team. The report also features input from industry experts from Aramex, Volkswagen, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter.
