Hootsuite unveils top social media marketing trends for 2023

Hootsuite has today launched its seventh annual Social Trends Report, providing a deep dive into the industry behaviours guiding brands’ marketing and social strategies this year.

The report showed social marketers are experiencing a defining moment in history for the industry. After decades of advocating for social to have a seat at the boardroom table, social marketers are getting more agency over their work, and social media marketing has matured as a profession.

Hootsuite chief marketing officer, Maggie Lower said: “Social media has never played a more central role in businesses. As businesses continue to look for ways to future-proof operations and connect with today’s tech-savvy customers, social media and digital marketing will inevitably play a part in nearly every business strategy.

“In 2023, businesses that take a social-first approach to their brand and customer care strategy will be the ones to reap the benefits. Stronger brand reputation, greater customer interaction, trust and loyalty – now and in the future – depends on it.”

Leveraging surveys from over 10,600 marketers and primary interviews with dozens of social marketing practitioners, leaders, observers and partners, the platform found some key highlights.

Some of the top insights for marketers to consider in the year to come uncovered by Hootsuite included:

● Big brands are investing less in influencer marketing, opening the door for small businesses to engage top creators (at lower price points)
● Social’s newfound exposure in the C-suite opens it up to new levels of scrutiny – with differing opinions on what ROI looks like among social marketers and senior leaders
● Recycling content becomes a thing of the past; marketers stop chasing new features and start getting more strategic, creating more creative, unique content for fewer platforms
● Social commerce loses traction with platform pull back, but is only a loss to those that follow suit; marketers with the patience to hold on see new opportunities to gain a competitive edge
● Google, who? Social search optimisation emerges as a make-or-break skill for marketers
● The return to brick-and-mortar shopping makes businesses lose focus on digital customer service – opening the door for chatbot adopters to gain a massive advantage
● Marketers don’t feel equipped for digital customer service, and the implications of unanswered DMs are further reaching than one might think

Hootsuite chief executive officer, Tom Keiser commented: “In a year marked by global economic and social upheaval, brands and organisations are looking for tools to help navigate their business through the noise to connect with their customers — and with even more urgency as we all become more digital and connected.

“With the launch of our 2023 Trends Report, we’re proud to provide our insights, recommendations and tangible recommendations to help organisations not only successfully navigate the digital wilderness, but also adapt to new buyer trends, find new ways to support their customers, and identify new paths for growth.”