Welcome to the second half of the year! By now, key trends are clear, data is plentiful, and you have just enough time left before December 31 to lock in a game-changing, profit-driving social media strategy—the kind that can take 2023 from a so-so season to a resounding success.

Over the past several months, we’ve been monitoring social media trends, watching the data, and focusing our strategies on what’s really working right now. We’ve poured countless hours into building business-winning strategies for our clients—and now we’re sharing a few of our best insights with you.

Curious how you can maximize every online channel in Q3 and Q4? Take a look at the top 5 social media trends we’re watching (and leaning into!) right now:

Social media trend #1: Social search

According to a recent Hubspot survey, nearly 1 in 4 consumers ages 18 to 54 use social media to search for brands more often than they use traditional search engines. Even Google has admitted social media is impacting its popularity!

What does this mean for businesses that post on social media? The better optimized your posts are for search, the more visibility you’ll get. In other words, stop relying on hashtags to boost your content and start strategically incorporating keywords into your captions.

Social media trend #2: “Edutainment” content

In 2023, brands are increasingly turning to “edutainment” content—branded videos, posts, and sharable resources that are both entertaining and informational. Edutainment content is popular on social media because it effectively captures users’ attention and gives brands the opportunity to teach their audience something new while showcasing the value of what they offer.

Social media trend #3: Social media-driven customer service

The more businesses interact with their customers on social media, the greater the need for social media-driven customer service. Today, 40% of customers expect their go-to brands to offer customer service on their channel of choice. In other words, any social media platform you use for marketing, consider it ‌an extension of your customer service team, too!

We expect businesses will increasingly receive customer service requests via direct message and comments on social media. That’s why in 2023 and beyond, it will become even more important to have a customer service plan in place that covers morethan just email, live chat, and phone calls.

Trend #4: Social media selling.

Remember last year when Instagram rolled out in-app purchases, allowing brands to sell their products directly to followers—without leaving the app? That innovation has sparked a revolution in easy, seamless social media selling.

We’re watching as more businesses optimize their social media profiles to make selling their products and services easier than ever. Even if these businesses aren’t leveraging in-app purchases, they’re making an effort to reduce the number of clicks it takes to go from a compelling post, to a landing page, to completing a purchase or booking a service. And they’re seriously boosting sales in the process!

Trend #5: Platform-focused content.

The last trend we’re watching is one we’ve been hoping to see for a long time: Out with copy-and-pasted content across every platform, and in with content designed specifically for its channel.

Each social media platform uses its own algorithms to give users the best content. That’s why the same post or picture performs differently on LinkedIn than on Facebook or Twitter. Knowing this, in the second half of this year, we expect even more businesses will tailor their content to the platform it will land on—maximizing their budget and their impact with each post.

Social media is changing. But we’ll make sure your brand is never left behind!

When it comes to digital marketing, keeping up with the latest developments can feel like a full time job. Algorithms change monthly, trends come and go, and what worked yesterday isn’t guaranteed to work tomorrow. That’s why our team stays on top of social media—so you can focus on what you do best. To learn more about our powerful tools and ROI-driving services, Chat with our team.