SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2023

Andrew Hutchinson from SocialMediaToday has compiled the Social Media Predictions for 2023 for us. We want to share some of these with you:

Facebook Avatar Integration
We know that avatars will play a big role in Zuckerberg`s metaverse. It could be that these figurines will also be used more often on the Facebook platform. With the idea of using avatars as a form of digital identity, it could become a key part within the app.

Instagram Live Shopping
Although it hasn’t taken off on Instagram quite yet, it is a big hit on other platforms, which is why Instagram is investing a lot of time into perfecting this feature. If they succeed, it could become a big earner for the app and be a great way for brands to get closer to their target audience.

Twitter’s Subscription Push
Elon Musk has noted repeatedly that he wants to use a higher subscription count as a way to boost Twitter’s revenue. While there are still various ideas floating around this topic, the most likely outcome will be that Musk will look to charge business users a monthly fee in order to use the app. If the promise of improved analytical features and insights will be enough to entice them only time will show.

Improved AR Capture and Display Options on Pinterest
Pinterest already took several big steps into the future and will keep on pushing forward by perfecting their AR tools in 2023. The plan is to provide businesses with new and improved tools to easily capture their products in 3D and display them on the platform.

LinkedIn’s Bigger Focus on Audio
LinkedIn wants to be the perfect place to host professional audio events, which is why the company has been developing its audio rooms over the past year and expects to launch updates like audio rooms in groups, audio meet-ups among people’s connections and many more.

TikTok Pushes New Creator Payments
Creator payments are becoming increasingly important for the app, especially since there are issues with their current system. Which is why TikTok will be trying out new payment models in the new year in order to get its top stars paid.

Snapchat’s Avatar Fashion & Digital Items
The in-house Bitmoji avatars have moved further into the focus of Snapchat’s 2023 improvements and it will be all about new fashion partnerships, so that users can customize and personalize their Bitmoji avatars even more. With over one billion people having created their very own Bitmoji depiction, this part of Snapchat could be seen as one of the most significant, therefore it is not surprising that the app is constantly looking to perfect it.

These predictions and updates for 2023 aren’t the end of it of course. All the apps and platforms have many more plans for the new year and if you are interested in finding out what these are, you can read all of them here.

WIDER LAUNCH OF THE ‘SHUFFLES’ VISUAL COLLAGE APP

Back in August 2022 Pinterest started introducing their home-owned visual collage app called ‘Shuffles’. After the initial launch, the app was only available to selected users that had to be specifically invited. After this ‘testing phase’, that held on for multiple months, the collage app is now finally available to the public and can be downloaded in all app stores.

Shuffles being a collage app, means that users can layer photos over one another and spice them up with emojis, stickers, animations, fonts and music. It is a way to be creative and to create something artistic. At the same time, it is a great way to encourage higher discovery activity and a way for Pinterest, as well as brands on the platform, to reach a broader audience. The reason for this is simple: when a user creates a new collage they can use product images taken directly from Pinterest to create their collage. Later, if they decide to share their design through another app, like e.g. TikTok, the used product pictures still link back to Pinterest.

This way, the brand’s products can attract attention from people that haven’t been part of the target audience yet, and the newly interested potential client can easily find and shop the product as they simply have to click the link.

All in all, it can be a fun way to spread brand awareness and brands can also get busy with Shuffles, create fun collages with their own products and share them to other apps to amuse and inspire their audience.

LAUNCH OF FIRST IN-APP SHOPS

TikTok has become one of the main discovery platforms for younger generations in the past few years. They search for products and businesses directly within the app, therefore it makes sense for TikTok to have functioning in-app shops like its competitors to shorten the customer journey and improve the overall in-app experience.

Last year, TikTok launched in-app shops for the first time in the UK. Unfortunately, this launch was plagued with problems.

Now, in the beginning of November 2022 to be exact, TikTok took another try at launching their in-app shopping feature with selected US brands only.

As you can see in the example on the left, TikTok shops are part of the profile and can be viewed in a separate tab, just like saved or liked videos. In this tab, users can browse products and make direct purchases without having to leave the app to visit another website.

Or at least that’s is the wanted outcome. We will see how this new launch of in-app shops proceeds.

LAUNCH OF NEW AUDIENCE INSIGHT TOOLS

TikTok added a special treat just at the right time! With the addition of the new Audience Insights in TikTok Ads Manager, marketers and businesses now have the chance to dig deep into specific details about their audiences.

The available filters are:

• Age demographics – You can choose, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-55, 55+
• Gender splits
• Interest Categories – Including ‘Pets’, ‘Food and Beveridge’, ‘Games’ and other interests
• Video Interactions – Filter users by the videos that they watch on TikTok in different categories,
  including ‘Lifestyle’, ’Talents (including magic and dance), ‘Supernatural and Horror’ and more
• Creator Interactions – Which enables you to filter by TikTok users that have followed creators in
  different topic categories
• Hashtag Interactions – Select a hashtag to narrow down your audience to those who have
  engaged with that tag
• Device – You can also filter by device type, while TikTok also has additional filters for device price,
  based on estimates

These new insight options give you the perfect chance to gain deeper insight into your audiences and refine your approach to up your TikTok success even more.

NEW OVERVIEW OF AD TOOLS

In 2022 LinkedIn experienced record levels of engagement, which subsequently led to a rise in revenue of 37%. According to these statistics, Andrew Hutchinson from SocialMediaToday sees this as a good sign to consider including marketing campaigns on LinkedIn in 2023 into your marketing strategy.

So that marketers and businesses can dive deeper into the land of LinkedIn marketing, the platform has published an overview of its various ad options, as well as a downloadable guide to LinkedIn ads. Including:

• The basics of every type of LinkedIn promotion
• Specific details on ad requirements
• How to use each ad format
• A handy one-pager on the best ad types for different objectives
• An overview of LinkedIn video specs

UNDERSTANDING HOW DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE THE APP

Instagram wanted to know how different communities, specifically historically marginalized communities, experience the app. In order to improve their products, they have prioritized research to better understand the concerns and complaints raised by these communities over the span of the last two years, but without knowing people’s race or ethnicity, they are limited in their ability to make any meaningful changes, as per Instagram.

Which is why Instagram started an optional survey in the US this year, in which people were asked about certain demographic information about themselves, such as race and ethnicity.

This questionnaire might seem too personal and maybe even intrusive to some people, which is why “Instagram will only have access to aggregated information, which means we can’t connect people or their Instagram accounts to their individual responses.”

The results of the survey weren’t analyzed by Instagram itself either. The results that were gained through a survey hosted on YouGov, an international research group that encrypts all the received data, were send to and analyzed by multiple institutions such as Texas Southern University, University of Central Florida, Northeastern University and Osis labs.

Each of these institutions send their aggregated analysis to Instagram.

The question is: How will Instagram use this information?

As per Instagram „this information will allow us to better understand how our technology may impact different groups, and if there are changes we can make to promote fairness.”

Additionally, Instagram is convinced that this information might help them to better understand the different experiences people, that are part of a minority, might have on the platform and in the long run might even have an impact on how Instagram will rank content in the future.

EDEKA | YOUTUBE

Every month the YouTube “Ads Leaderboard” selects the Top 5 commercial videos for Germany. This of course isn’t done manually but is completed by an algorithm that takes into consideration the number of paid and organic views as well as viewer retention.

For the month November of 2022 the algorithm selected this short Edeka spot as its Number 2 (unfortunately we are not able to show the Samsung ad that was selected as Number 1 as the video isn’t available at this time).

We think that Edeka did an amazing job with this commercial as it is using multiple relevant topics like the upcoming holiday season, the impact of (travel) influencers / bloggers and when you listen closely, you notice that the background song is perfectly describing the situation as well and rounds up the experience that is this video.

ALDI SÜD | TIKTOK

Aldi Süd is performing amazingly on TikTok, which is why Adil Sbai, a W&V employee, picked them as the TikTok brand of the month in November 2022. And we absolutely understand why because their content is educational and hilarious!

They seem to have it all: easy-to-follow-through recipes including their groceries, tips and tricks on how to be an even better cook and most importantly, funny videos.

With over 170k people following the account, almost 3 million likes and almost every video having six-digit views, this brand definitely knows how to entertain its audience and is having fun with it as well.

L‘ORÉAL | META

The Metaverse is coming, and as other brands already started experimenting with their possibilities in the virtual reality (think back to Heineken’s first virtual beer), the L’Oréal Group now entered the race to establish themselves within the metaverse.

L’Oréal announced a new, multi-brand beauty partnership with Ready Player Me, the leading cross-game avatar platform for the metaverse. The reason for L’Oréal to enter the fictional universe is to reach consumers better with new products and services.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt to stay up-to-date with current trends and as the metaverse is continuously pushing forward, the L’Oréal Group surely didn’t waste their time in creating amazing makeup and hairstyle looks for the avatar creation on Ready Player Me that can be used on more than 4,000 platforms and apps worldwide.

MILRAM | PINTEREST

Milram took it upon itself to win over the Pinterest world, and so far, they are doing an amazing job!

With eye-catching visuals and easy-to-understand recipes they have build a rather impressive following of 1.5 thousand people and get over 2 million views per month.

By posting their content religiously, they never disappoint their followers and give them new and delicious recipes to try for themselves, while of course including their own products into the making of those yummy treats.