Social media has proven to be an excellent medium for ecommerce stores to get their message across and connect with their target audience. With more than 4.33 billion social media users worldwide, it has become critical for online business owners to have a killer social media strategy in place.
Now you must be wondering what goes into creating a winning social media strategy that converts. Simply put, a social media strategy is a comprehensive plan that includes everything you need to do on social media to achieve your goals.
As social media channels evolve and introduce the latest features, ecommerce store owners also need to adopt new social media trends to excel in 2023 and beyond.
If you're looking to fine-tune your social media online strategy in 2023, we have got you covered. In this post, we're going to highlight everything you need to know about social media trends.
10 Social Media Trends To Guide Your Online Strategy In 2023
1. Research Your Target Audience
There is no such thing as guesswork when it comes to social media marketing. Also, why should you rely on assumptions when you can access a wealth of data and social media tools to improve your strategy?
Much of what you need to know about your target customers is already accessible. Here, the key is to understand that not all social media platforms are created alike.
They're designed to attract different audiences. For instance, Facebook and YouTube are ideal channels for ads as both these platforms have a massive user base.
If you want to target Millenials and Gen Z, Tik Tok, and Instagram are the best possible options.
Women mainly use Pinterest to promote products, while LinkedIn is the perfect spot to market industry-specific content.
2. Go Live
The current pandemic has forced many businesses to take their operations online.
Instead of conducting face-to-face meetings, many businesses have already moved to Zoom and other virtual meeting solutions to prevent the spread of the virus.
That is why many social media channels have come up with live-streaming options enabling customers to interact with brands without leaving their homes.
Live streaming is this year's hottest social media trend that will continue to gain fame and must be an integral element of your social media strategy.
According to Sprout Social Index, more than 40% of online buyers want to interact with brands using live streaming.
3. Focus On The Social Media Metrics And KPIs That Matter
One thing that sets a successful social media strategy apart from an unsuccessful one is the former focus more on data and analytics.
No, we're not asking you to track vanity metrics as the key here is to focus on social media KPIs that actually matter for your business growth and success.
Here are a few metrics you must focus on to drive social media conversions:
Post Reach
Reach refers to the total number of unique users you get on your posts. This KPI helps you determine Whether or not your content is reaching your audience's feeds.
Clicks On Your Content
The click metric helps you figure out the total number of clicks you get on your post. With this metric, you can determine which type of content is converting the best and encouraging buyers to purchase.
User Engagement
You can track the engagement KPI to measure the willingness of your target customers to interact with your brand. To calculate this KPI, all you need to do is divide the total number of interactions by the total number of impressions.
4. Create Engaging Social Media Content
Your social media marketing strategy will significantly suffer if you don't have a good content plan in place.
The type of content you post on your social media platforms should be in line with your goals. Many brands prefer to stick to a certain content theme to maintain consistency. So you can also do the same.
Stories-style content isn't going anywhere in 2023. Such content is our personal favorite because it allows you to approach your target audience at a more personal level.
Similarly, you can also create short-form videos. These videos immediately grab the viewer's attention and drive high engagement rates.
5. Virtual Reality And Augmented Reality Will Take Over Social Platforms
VR and AR are new technological trends that are going to dominate the social media space in 2023.
Take an example of Facebook Horizon here.
Facebook used the Oculus VR platform to help users connect and also enjoy other fun activities.
AR has also gained immense popularity in recent years. Since you do not need any specialized equipment to experience AR except for a smartphone, it is a more preferred channel for social media marketers than virtual reality.
6. Timeliness Is Critical
Timeliness is the most critical factor when it comes to social media online strategy in 2023. Even if you have the best content in the world, all of your efforts will go down the drain if you publish it at the wrong time.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when we talk about the best time to post content on your social media pages. We'd recommend sticking to the time you're available for commenting on your posts as it will help you engage with your page visitors.
It's also essential to be there when your customers need you the most. Have a reliable and responsive social media team who's always available to clear your customer's doubts and answer their questions on time.
7. Keep Learning
Social media strategy building is an ongoing process, and you must always be ready to adapt your strategy as your business grows over time. That's impossible without analyzing your individual social media campaigns to see what's working and what isn't.
Besides making constant efforts to know your strengths and weaknesses, make sure you also keep an eye out on your competitors to see what's working best for them. If you offer the same product, you can adjust your strategies accordingly for better outcomes.
8. Create Purpose-Driven Social Media Campaigns
People like to interact with brands that pitch in global issues. Covid-19 is one of the biggest examples. Ecommerce stores that came forward to facilitate their customers in the pandemic have managed to earn a reputation over stores that didn't adapt their strategies accordingly.
So it's a good idea to launch purpose-driven social media campaigns that address any specific concern. Whether it's about helping out a community or dealing with any emergency situation, people want their favorite brands to take timely action and spread positivity in some manner.
9. Be Authentic And Transparent
Modern consumers are well-informed and clever. They want brands to be real about their offers. That's why maintaining authenticity and transparency is paramount in today's competitive business environment.
Social media is an ideal place to build credibility and trust. Own up to your mistake on social media if you committed any. Similarly, always go the extra mile to turn an unhappy customer into a satisfied one.
10. Leverage Social Commerce
Research suggests that social media impacts the user experience of more than 71% 0f customers.
With more and more social media tools and features available to improve customer experience, it is becoming easier for ecommerce stores to drive engagement and increase conversions.
Instagram's product tag feature and easy checkout have enabled businesses to provide a better user experience.
Essentials Of Creating A Winning Social Media Strategy For 2023
Because of the popularity of social media channels, many brands are incorporating social media trends into their online strategy in 2023.
Businesses use these platforms to increase brand awareness, improve engagement, and boost sales.
As far as the selection of social media platforms is concerned, it depends on the type of product you're dealing with and the audience you want to target for those products.
For example, if you sell fashion products online, you may consider Instagram or Pinterest for your social media efforts as they are inclined more towards visual content.
Similarly, if your product or service revolves around the latest trends, Twitter can be your safest bid. Today, you can also find many social media tools that will help you streamline your journey and get the most of your social media strategy.
We have already discussed some of the hottest social media trends for ecommerce stores in 2023. After knowing the best trends, the next step is to create a foolproof social media strategy that helps you better engage with your audience.
Here are a few essentials you must consider pouring into your social media funnel for the best results:
Strategy Formulation
Creating a result-driven social media strategy is no joke. Before you even think about creating and publishing anything on your social media accounts, make sure you find answers to these basic questions.
What are your goals and objectives?
What do you want to achieve from your social media marketing strategy?
Do you want to increase brand awareness or use your social media accounts to drive traffic or conversions?
As mentioned above, different businesses use social media for different purposes. Without knowing your goals, it would be hard for you to maintain focus. So make sure you know your goals before you start building a social media online strategy in 2023.
Which social media channels are best for your business?
Again, the selection of social media channels depends on your individual needs. Some businesses prefer Instagram as it enables them to share personalized stories and engage with their audience with interactive visual content.
Businesses that want to expand their reach and build professional networks prefer LinkedIn to establish connections.
Businesses with tight budgets choose platforms like Tik Tok and WeChat to connect with their prospects. While you can have a presence on all prominent social media channels, it is better to focus on a few platforms that bring more value to the table.
What type of content should you post on your social media channels for maximum engagement?
Having a strong social media content strategy is critical for your business's success and growth.
What kind of content will engage your customers better? Is it videos/images, or will they prefer educational or entertaining content? Create marketing personas to determine the preferences of your target audience and develop your strategy accordingly.
Plan And Publish
Social media marketing is all about maintaining a consistent presence on social media. Since social media provides ecommerce businesses with an opportunity to widen their reach, it is essential to plan well before publishing anything on your social media accounts. Here are some social media calendar templates you can use as your guide.
Engagement
The biggest benefit of using social media for marketing is that it enables ecommerce store owners to become more social. It allows them to create an online community that comments on their posts. Also, they can share their opinions about your brand on other people's pages and posts.
As your social media following increases, your brand will become the talk of the town. So you will want to track your progress and conversions. There are many specialized social media listening and engagement tools available online that you can use to analyze your performance.
Analytics
Marketing and analytics go hand in hand. Whether you're adding more content to your social media profiles or making efforts to engage your customers, you will want to know how your social media strategy performs in real time.
All social media platforms come with an in-built feature to help store owners track their progress over time. However, to get more detailed information, you may want to invest in paid social media analytics tools to monitor your progress.
Advertising
Once you have successfully established your social media repo, it's time to leverage paid advertising to scale your overall social media marketing efforts.
For this, you have to create buyer personas to segment markets based on demographics (age/gender/location/buying preferences).
If you're not confident about your social media advertising skills, it is a good idea to hire a social media advertising manager. An expert social media advertiser will help you choose the best social media advertising tools to automate and optimize your social media ads.
Ricky Hayes
Trisha Ballesteros