The current state of social media

It’s hard to believe that, not so long ago, Instagram was purely a photo-based platform, Twitter (now 'X') was limited to 140 characters and Myspace was topping the charts when it came to social platforms.

In the last decade, the world of social media has transformed, exploded, and catapulted to new (and at times frightening) heights. In 2023, social media has become vital when devising a brand strategy, with 66% of business leaders citing social as a key platform for building brand reputation, equity and loyalty. In today’s age of decreasing consumer attention spans, businesses are having to pull out all the stops to drive awareness of their brands.

So, what does the current social media landscape mean for businesses? How can your brand navigate today’s social minefield and win online?

There are lots of questions that need to be considered. For example, should your brand implement an omni-social strategy, or just focus on one or a selection of key channels? Will Threads, X's new rival, rip up the rule book and reinvent the social wheel? Is BeReal’s authentic approach to content the new normal for social media? And is YouTube, a platform specifically designed for high production value, still number one in a world now enamoured with snackable content? Let's take a closer look.

Threads – the rival to end ‘X’?

Launched in July 2023, the Threads app looked set to be Zuckerberg’s savvy solution to Twitter amidst the chaos of Elon Musk’s takeover and botched ‘X’ rebrand. However, after high sign-ups in the first 24 hours (over 30 million), helped in part by the seamless transition enabled by simply importing your Instagram information, Threads saw a sharp 79% drop in August, with 10.3 million daily active users spending just 3 minutes a day on the app (compared to X’s 200 million daily active users spending 31 minutes on average per day on the app).

The answer for this sharp decline most likely lies in Threads’ half-baked approach to social media: Where are the hashtags? The trending topics? The discovery pages? The features that join people together in conversation and create community? What Threads brought in hype, it lacked in nuance, and has instead left people wondering what the benefit of adding yet another app to their growing list of social spaces is.

BeReal are keeping it real

Platforms need a hook, something to set them apart from the competition. BeReal delivers just that. A social media app that isn’t all about polished photos and showcasing your best moments, BeReal’s USP is focused on the opposite: sharing your authentic self with your closest friends.

It’s not for everyone. In fact, BeReal heavily skews towards Gen Z, who favour a more authentic approach to content sharing and delight in its unique gamification aspect. Users eagerly anticipate notifications once a day, where they get a 2-minute time window to take a photo using their front and back cameras to share with their friends. The app is built around spontaneity, realism, and an unfiltered approach – but only time will tell if the platform proves beneficial for brands. Right now, BeReal doesn’t offer paid advertising options, but this hasn't stopped some businesses promoting themselves on the platform. Chipotle shared a limited time offer with their followers, one of the first brands to implement a marketing campaign on the platform.

Long-form content is still in fashion

So, what about other social platforms in 2023? YouTube’s tactical 2020 release of Shorts in India following the country’s ban on TikTok meant that the platform kept hot on the heels of the ever-changing social media scenery. YouTube’s VP of Product Management describes Shorts as “a new way to express yourself in 15 seconds or less”, competition for the now global behemoth TikTok.

YouTube is still number one when it comes to longer-form video content, however, and businesses aren’t sleeping on it, with 62% of businesses today implementing YouTube in social outreach campaigns. New features such as the YouTube Community tab enables businesses to introduce two-way communication on the platform and drive a more enriched experience for their customers. With this, and the advantage of its SEO rankings and paid targeting opportunities (26% of consumers say they discover products via YouTube ads), the platform is still one your business should be considering in 2023.

Mighty Meta continues to lead

Of course, the Gargantua that is Meta remains the one to beat. With 2.9 billion global active users in 2023, it’s no wonder that Meta platforms are still most used by social media marketers (67%), owing to it accounting for 71.64% of all web traffic referral from social. Instagram could also be about to make more significant waves for businesses in the social sphere, with 29% of social media marketers planning to invest the most in the visually inspiring platform over any other this year.

So, what does the current social media landscape mean for you the 96% of business leaders who intend to continue investing in omni-channel paid and organic social outreach? Well, short-form video can be lauded for its present-day triumph, but long-form content isn’t going anywhere, with live videos, streaming and UGC popular formats to focus on right now. To win on social today, you need to play smart. Find out where your target audience are and tailor your content to their needs. Check what your competitors are doing on social and how you can differentiate from them. Focus on platforms where brand exposure and ROI returns are highest. And most importantly, keep up to date with what's going on. While establishing a steadfast strategy on the staple giants of social media are going to earn your brand the most exposure right now, who knows how quickly that could change with the new wave of generations increasingly demanding more from their social media experience. Watch this space!

The future is social and we can help!

If you’re looking to amplify your social offering, then we’d love the opportunity to chat about how we can help bolster your current strategy. Check out our 2023 Social Commerce report to give you a flavour of what we have to offer, and if you’re interested, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.