Background

2022 was the first year after the pandemic that we could finally meet in person and shop in physical stores all over the world again. This definitely affected users’ behaviour on social media. Some of the new trends we saw included TikTok becoming the new big thing with it having more than 1 billion users (source), as people wanted to see more video content. Another trend was the use of Augmented reality (AR) and tech, however, businesses also struggled with high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) because of how the world was doing.

As the pandemic is nearly over, people are searching for communities to be a part of. So, when it comes to digital marketing, this means audiences are now looking for more interaction and connections with brands. They are also looking for brands to be more transparent and authentic on social media.

So, how can your brand adapt to the changing times of 2023 and keep on being relevant on social media, both organic and paid? In this article, we have listed below 4 of the most important takeaways of what your brand must be doing when it comes to implementing a social media strategy.

• Video content 
• Showcasing authenticity
• Going live
• Adapting content

Prioritize video content

Again, for this year, brands must prioritize their video content. This is for both paid and organic social media. Brands should also prioritize short-form video content as a way to capture their audience’s attention when they are scrolling on their social media feed. You want your videos to stand out from the crowd, so audiences can stop scrolling and interact with the post or ad. 

This is why TikTok is seeing great success with the engagement rate for its content. The same can be said for reels and stories on Instagram too.

Video content can be created at every stage of the marketing funnel, and there are no limits on how it should be done. As long as the formats correspond to the correct size for each social media platform, you can post nearly any type of video content imaginable. These include videos containing your brand values, logo or/and look and feel, or even more casual behind-the-scenes content. You can also film videos directly from your phone, which helps save time and resources. 

According to HubSpot data, short-form video content (such as TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts etc.) has the highest Return on Investment (ROI) (source).   

Be authentic

For you to build up your brand’s trust and credibility, you must be authentic in your posts and content on social media. Especially after the last 3 years, consumers are now searching for brands and businesses to buy from that feel real and genuine – something they can easily connect to and stand behind.

Imagine you are looking to buy skincare or health supplements online. You only see curated posts showcasing the brand’s products, but there is no one interacting with them. You also cannot find any testimonials, reviews, or how people use the product on the brand’s social media profile. Furthermore, there is zero information about the story behind the brand, its values, goals and where it is based. So, would you trust the company enough to buy from them? The simple fact is that most people probably won’t.

An easy way to showcase authenticity is by using user-generated content (UGC). As its name suggests, UGC is content (pictures, videos, testimonials etc.) created by individual people, and not the brand itself. UGC can be used in a variety of ways, such as in Instagram stories or posts showing customers reviewing a brand’s product or service. Brands can simply re-post or reuse UGC in their campaigns, drawing in more potential customers. As UGC is seen as impartial and non-affiliated with a brand, it appears more reliable and trustworthy to audiences.

A few benefits of UGC include being cost-efficient, saving time, helping to build a community and in the end potentially improving a brand’s overall revenue and performance.

Go live 

During the midst of the pandemic, everybody was stuck at home due to lockdowns. As a result, because people could not go to stores and shop, live streaming and live shopping blew up. This trend has persisted, and we are seeing growing interest from companies who are now making the move to go live on social media.

Live streaming can be used in all stages of the marketing funnel - from brand storytelling to purchases on the platform itself.

It is a great opportunity for brands that need to show products in more depth and detail. Live streaming also allows brands to answer any questions or concerns about products and services being sold directly and immediately. Moreover, it shortens the customer’s journey as they can avoid having to go to a physical store and buy directly online.

Live streaming can also make a brand appear more authentic to customers. This is because the purpose of live streaming is to showcase the brand in a more genuine manner. In fact, sometimes small mistakes can happen in live streaming! These small imperfections can make customers relate to the brand more or find even more value in it due to its demonstrated authenticity.

Live streaming also improves the performance of paid social media, as it provides more data regarding audience behaviour online. Any comments from audiences further give the brand a better understanding of what audiences feel about them.

A great example of this revolves around a skincare client of ours that live-streamed on Instagram with a discount code for their products. This code was only displayed to the people who saw the live stream, with the code disappearing the same night.

In the following four days, we saw a ROAS of +63, which was 1,025% higher than the month before in the same campaign and time period, because we collected more data for the algorithm from our different audiences. Among other things, we identified lookalikes of people who had interacted with the brand's IG profile as well as lookalikes of people who had bought in the last 30 days. We also implemented the retargeting of people who had added products to their baskets but had not made a purchase in the last 30 days.

Adapt your content to your audience 

Too many brands are creating content that is not targeted towards their audience. This results in low engagement rates, low CTR and low ROAS. What does it mean to create targeted content, and why does this matter to brands?

As a brand, it is difficult to change your audience’s actions on social platforms, their customer journey, or their level of engagement. Ultimately, you cannot force them to be interested in your brand. But you can adapt and create content that is relevant and targeted to a specific audience. This means the content makes them stop what they are doing and instead motivates them to engage and interact with your brand.

The first step is to recognize that it’s not a “One Size Fits All” type of deal. As your content needs to be targeted, it does matter what audience you create it for.

The next step is to do an analysis of audience behaviour and what is trending in regard to your niche or market. This ensures that you are the brand they interact and engage the most with.

If you are looking to build brand awareness in a younger audience than your initial ‘core audience’, you should also perform an analysis of what is trending. When it comes to capturing younger audiences, this can mean using reels on Instagram with ASMR, creating de-influencing, seasonal content, or getting started with TikToks. Basically, you want to get on platforms where younger audiences tend to congregate.  

You should also perform tests when it comes to content because you will never truly know if it is doing well without any form of data to back it up. If you are in doubt about which colour or format your audience is responding well with, conducting an A/B testing would be ideal.

As stated in this POV, the content you produce is so important, especially on social media. Your content should be updated and adapted regularly to follow any upcoming trends because consumer behaviour often changes. Certain trends can also be the result of external influences like how the world economy is doing, or what is going on in your market. Some trends are long-lasting, while others are shorter and more seasonal.

All in all, you can make it easier for your brand by creating a content strategy and planning what you post in advance. As content is a very effective way of growing your brand awareness and engaging with audiences, it is too important to not prioritize correctly.

Conclusion 

It's not too late to implement these tips for your company's social media strategy.

By being up to date with trends and news on social media, you can improve your performance on both organic and paid social media. You have to adapt to what your audience is looking for and what your competitors are doing – if you are not, your brand can’t survive the high competition, and this will show in your metrics.

Test out what works for your brand, find what works for you and what needs improving. This way, you can stay on top of your game when it comes to leveraging social media.

MediaGroup Worldwide stays on top of new trends by advising clients on what to do to stand out of the crowd. We want your brand to be the mover and shaker of the industry so you can perform better than your competitors.

Overall, the key to a great social media strategy is planning and strategizing, which is what we can help you with. Make sure to contact us at https://mediagroupww.com/en/contact/.