2023 Social Predictions
More VR and AR on the Metaverse – Bruce Tissington, Paid Social Lead
With a drop in earnings, Meta is clearly pushing investment in the metaverse. The recent UK agency summit, which we attended, shone a light on how advertisers will be able to get involved, while the launch of a mass awareness campaign through Meta’s own radio and TV media buys demonstrates its desire to be at the forefront of the new age of virtual connectedness. In 2023, I think there will be a further push for VR/AR.
BeReal and paid advertising – Helena Taylor, Paid Social Lead
Launched in 2019, BeReal is a unique platform that sends users a notification every day at a different time. They are then given two minutes to capture themselves and the environment they are in. Users are then able to view the images of their friends on their feed.
BeReal now has 10 million daily users, with many celebrities also now using the platform. This popularity inevitably raises the question “when will the brand start to capitalise?”. In 2023, I predict we will see the introduction of paid advertising on this channel.
https://influencermarketinghub.com/bereal-stats/
Brand authenticity during tough economic times – Carla Nearchou, Senior Paid Social Strategist
“Brands need to be authentic even in the way that they aim to make profit, especially considering the recession which is on the rise” was one of the things mentioned on the Meta IAB upfronts 2022 call that we attended. Consumers are more likely to start weighing purchases on the basis of “must have” and “nice to have”, and brand affinity, underpinned by the perceived authenticity of the brand, is likely to play a vital role in that thought process.
It’s more important than ever for brands to build a robust identity for themselves that will facilitate trust and generate loyalty from their customers.
TikTok live shopping is set to grow – Alex Fisher, Senior Paid Social Strategist
Stats show users are 1.6x more likely to turn to TikTok for fashion inspiration and 1.3x for home decor, making TikTok the perfect platform for shopping! With live commerce being the key earner for the app in China, we anticipate this feature being rolled out for other regions presently, and in 2023 we believe live-stream shopping will become a popular feature on the app.
The rise of short-form video – Jane Wareing, Paid Social Strategist
Since the astronomical rise in TikTok’s popularity and its success with short-form vertical video as well as its powerful algorithm, we have seen other social media platforms begin to embrace this framework. Most notable is the introduction and promotion of reels in Instagram, specifically those that recently started appearing in the main feed from people and pages we don’t already follow.
In his recent interview for The Verge, Mark Zuckerberg explained that the next platform to see this will be Facebook. He commented: “What’s basically going to happen is that, over the next year or two, we’ll start showing more recommended content in the Feed”, with the plan eventually being 40% of the content in the Facebook Feed from people and pages we don’t follow.
This is something we’ve seen previously (think Snapchat’s success leading to ‘story’ placements across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and will continue to see with any new popular social platform or feature. Whether these borrowed features are successful or permanent is another story.
