What’s Emerging and What Should Brands Be Doing About it?

Last year, we published, “13 Social Media & Influencer Marketing Trends to Look For Now,” many of which are still relevant for 2023. So, what new trends are emerging now, and what’s changing? Most importantly, what should brands be doing about it?

1. Social Media is More Deeply Intertwined with Life, as People Share Everything

2. Moving Even More Toward Everything Video

In our 2022 guide, we noted that video is increasing in relevance and importance, leaving other formats less likely to be noticed. As platforms adapt, they’re converging on video, specifically on-the-go storytelling. Sprout Social predicts that businesses will put more money behind video production.

PPCexpo states the video is, “The single most important content marketing strategy today.” Both video and authenticity continue to grow in importance. Social Media management platform Later notes video content is already shifting towards casual, off-the-cuff storytelling. “Even video editing is becoming more about telling a story, like using multiple apps to create clever edits.”

The Takeaway: Allocate sufficient budget to video production and select influencers with proven ability to create engaging videos. Also consider innovative use of your influencer video content with Kingfluencers “Influencer TV Spot,” a new exclusive advertising format that we launched last year, to take storytelling to a whole new level.

3. Performance Marketing Grows in Importance, as Brands Focus on KPIs

4. IM Content Gains More Ground

According to a study from eMarketer, “Influencer marketing spend is projected to grow 23.4% in 2023 and 15.9% in 2024.” But we don’t expect IM expenditures to be restricted to traditional campaigns.

Instead, IM content will continue to spill over into other domains and serve as the basis for performance marketing campaigns. Brands will use the power of that content to convey their value, get attention, and further capitalize on their IM investments.

Larisa said, “We’ll see more influencers, more content, more platform changes. Integration of influencers into traditional marketing activities will continue, for example PR events, capsule launches, product co-creation, TV advertising. There is a lot of room for creativity, and we’ll see even more unusual collaborations, viral campaigns, and clever integrations.”

Influencer marketing will also continue to expand beyond consumer products, impacting B2B purchase decisions and integrating the influence of corporate leaders. We expect B2B influencer marketing to take off, but it needs the requisite tools and processes. It can be time-consuming and difficult to find B2B influencers, making the support of agencies that much more vital. (And yes, Kingfluencers is already part of this take off!)

The Takeaway: Allocate funds for IM as an integral part of your marketing efforts. Yoeri Callebaut, Kingfluencers CEO, advises, “Take the time needed to strategize, plan, and allocate budgets. IM can’t be an afterthought at which you throw leftover budget. It’s important for brands to have a diversified and smart approach to social media and constantly reinvent how they communicate, spending more time on content to stand out. The storytelling train is moving fast. You need to get on now and come with brand stories, characters, and room for influencers to be creative.”

5. Social Media Platforms & Creators Continue to Innovate… Beyond TikTok

Platforms have long been accused of copying one another, which we expect to continue. However, some innovative channels are still emerging and growing as they target unique niches, such as Twitch.

The Takeaway: While it’s important to stay informed of the latest platform innovations, brands must move toward a community-centric approach. Focus on your target community and build an approach that includes which platforms to use to reach them. Think beyond Meta (Instagram) and  TikTok and include other platforms like Twitch (especially for men), Pinterest (especially for women), and YouTube. Kingfluencers will continue to help you stay informed with our new upcoming study coming out mid-March with insights into digital influence on Swiss consumer behaviors like inspiration searches, purchase decision-making, and platform usage.

6. TikTok Remains a Driver, as Platforms Strive to be More Entertaining and Engaging

Fohr thinks, “TikTok will stay as a cultural engine, as the platform matures, creators could bring their communities elsewhere.” The agency and platform provider has seen reports of slower follower growth and fewer views on creator content, which means new opportunities for YouTubers, bloggers, newsletters, or live streaming.

TikTok has been banned in government agencies due to cybersecurity risks in several US states. Fear of TikTok bans persist, but restrictions are likely to remain limited to government agencies or individual corporations.

“In my opinion, other platforms now see the entertainment approach is working, and are launching more features to make the platform both more entertaining and more engaging. Impacted by TikTok’s success, platforms are striving to create community feelings and engagement, stimulating interactions with features such as chat, video calls, groups, and audio rooms. These are big factors that make people stick to the platform, contributing to the success of social media,” said Yoeri.

“Sparking connections between people over what they find,” is among Instagram’s priorities in 2023, alongside inspiring creativity, and discovering new things.

The Takeaway: TikTok remains a vital channel to connect with consumers, and don’t disregard the opportunities for engagement elsewhere. Entertaining content is great, but people stay when they can connect and interact in a community.

7. Focus on User Generated Content (UGC)

8. Scrutiny & Oversight of Platforms + Influencer Guidelines

Recent events at Twitter have unleashed many questions and increased scrutiny. Specifically, how do platforms really operate? How fragile are they? What impact do they have on democracy?

Social media is becoming a topic of geopolitical interest, amid growing concerns about the power and instability of platforms. We’ll likely see increasing demand for more oversight and regulation.

Greg notes that Twitter could become more interested in the creator economy to generate new revenues. While some brands have reduced their Twitter marketing spend, the platform still provides great opportunities. For example, Shakira sang about her ex Gérard Pique’s new girlfriend, “You traded a Rolex for a Casio.” Casio responded and has been having great fun on Twitter.

9. Brands Will Hire Influencers to Run Their Accounts & Work Onsite

10. In-Store Influencers

Based on their global consumer study, the Qualtrics XM Institute has declared 2023, “the year businesses rediscover the human connection.” “But in the rush to digitize everything, and drive operational efficiency, many companies left their humanity behind. And now, they’re paying the price as consumers demand deeper, more human connections with the companies they buy from.”

Influencers can play a part in building more human connection. As published by Trend Hunter, “Brands are inviting influencers to their brick-and-mortar retail locations for more interactive and engaging partnerships. These collaborations are often realized as consumer-facing marketing resources, or a way for the brand to help influencers supercharge their social media content.”

Consumers are increasingly looking at influencers for insights into different products or services, as they are often shown in the moment or in use. Both, brand and influencers, ensure through in-store creator events to provide real, authentic experiences instead of putting the purchase decision in focus. 

11. Need to Compete with AI (Artificial Intelligence)

The Takeaway: Influencers will have to compete with AI in creating content. Brands should carefully vet influencers – especially writers – so you can be certain the content they’re creating is unique. Real people are needed for real human connection. But also consider including some fun, fascinating AI-generated imagery as a complement to your authentically human campaigns.

12. Preventing Burnout & Improving Mental Health Will Be Priorities

Soon, But Not Now:

Live Commerce

Live commerce is gaining ground worldwide, although it’s not yet common in DACH. The Drum reports a recent shift in understanding and engagement of live shopping in Europe.

Many platforms offer their own shopping features – with social commerce, brands can handle the entire customer journey within one platform – from the initial inspiration to the purchase of a product. This gives social commerce an advantage that traditional online commerce cannot offer and also increases the impulse of purchases. According to the Swiss Mail Order Association, which brings together more than 320 online retailers generating around 50% of Swiss B2C online sales, manufacturers and brands are investing heavily in their online format to increase sales and improve the customer experience.

Although the topic is still very young in Switzerland, it will become increasingly relevant and also be used more and more. 

Metaverse and Web 3.0

Fastcompany says: “In 2023, the Metaverse is likely to grow exponentially, becoming more immersive and more expansive. With advances in technology, we are likely to see more realistic avatars—the figures that represent you in the Metaverse—that allow for more complex interactions in virtual worlds.”

At Kingfluencers, we expect the metaverse to grow significantly  in 2023 both on the side of brands and users presence – although perhaps not at the speed sources like Fast Company predict just yet. In Switzerland and DACH, we assume that it might still take a little while and foresee the boom rather as of 2024-2025 for a number of reasons such as complexity for people to get involved in areas like NFTs (requiring NFT wallets etc) and general access to the Metaverse with multiple ‘Metaverses’ like Sandbox existing without any of them being the true leading one. We do believe that in the next 2 years clearer dominance of certain Metaverses will become apparent, which will help adoption as people and brands will know where to go – Metaverse-wise. Furthermore in order for Metaverse to become more popular and gain traction, access to Metaverse and Web 3.0 should be simplified and potential users need easily accessible guides and information or education concerning how to participate – from buying NFT’s to generation avatars and being ‘on the Verse’. Once how to gain access is more clear or simplified consumers and brands are likely to find their way to the world of web 3.0 a lot faster and the exponential boom can begin (much like it happened with social media in general). 

The real trend we expect is that specialized  stakeholders  in this industry such as web 3.0 developers but also some leading frontrunner brands outside the web 3.0 technology zone will make access to the Metaverse and Web 3.0 easier or more attractive in order to stimulate adoption. This will be done for example by simplifying systems and procedures related to access and ownership of digital assets, so that  more people will find their way to it without much ‘technology hassle’. Some of this will require real ‘reengineering’ of certain systems and processes related to these fields. Forward looking companies and brands will continue to invest in innovation in all areas as well as NFTs throughout the year and with good reasons.  

Supporting Your 2023

If you have any more questions about the emerging trends listed or would like to chat about other trends on the horizon, feel free to contact us right away. 

Kingfluencers can help you to initiate and integrate the trends into your marketing strategy, be it general marketing trends, social media management, influencer marketing, TikTok, or even a TV spot.

Author: Yoeri Callebaut, Kingfluencers AG

In early 2023, we published, “13 Social Media & Influencer Marketing Trends to Look For Now.” We’re looking back at 2023 to see some examples of these trends… and one where we got it wrong.

1. Social media platforms are experimenting

Users have been wanting more authenticity in social media, and the hot new app BeReal is meeting that demand. BeReal has been downloaded millions of times, held the No. 1 position in the App Store, and received interest from investors.

2. Social Media Platforms Emerge to Target Increasingly Smaller Niches

Our second trend is the one we admit we got wrong. Some influencers are focusing on increasingly smaller niches, making nano-influencers effective partners for brands to connect with their target audiences. We did also see platforms, such as BeReal, grow and expand, but that app was founded in 2023 and while it has a unique appeal, it’s not targeting a small niche.

However, 2023 didn’t see the emergence of any entirely new platforms targeting a small niche, so we acknowledge that this prediction was inaccurate

3. Digitalization of everything, including growth VR/AR & metaverse

We wrote about emerging retail trends, some of which fuse the physical and digital. With the inclusion of social commerce and even AR, brands aren’t selling to distinct, separate audiences with isolated tactics. New retail involves connecting with your audience in innovative ways and merging the point of inspiration with the point of purchase.

According to Accenture, 39% of consumers have had a consultation in a virtual or augmented reality environment on topics from health and wellness to DIY projects.

4. More love for nano and micro-influencers

Lauchmetrics found that micro- and nano-influencers made up the most Media Impact Value (MIV) in beauty. At Kingfluencers, we added 98 new nano influencers in 2023 into our creators’ community. Kingfluencers has run numerous successful campaigns with micro- and nano-influencers.

One highlight was Vacherin Fribourgeois. We ran a campaign to build awareness and create a sense of belonging to a community through the “Instants Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP.” Our concept encouraged influencers to talk about their different traditions while eating fondue and the secret ingredients they use to make it an even better experience. Over 3 weeks, 5 micro and 1 mid-tier influencers made a total of 69 posts on Instagram and Facebook. Total impressions were 232K, 60% higher than forecast, with over 1.239K interactions and a total engagement rate of 4.81%.

5. Creator content will become more widespread

The domain of influencers continues to expand beyond social media platforms. Kingfluencers was part of the opening night of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF). We welcomed the biggest Swiss content creators on the ZFF Green Carpet, including two of last year’s Swiss Influencer Award winners: Adrian Vogt and Brian Havarie.

As Fabian Plüss, our Co-Founder said, “We’re proud to see that the work of content creators is also recognized and respected by the ZFF. This shows that the festival has a diverse perspective on video productions of all kinds and thus welcomes the creators’ scene.”

For Pro Juventute, we organized a campaign against cybermobbing in which three TikTokers, including Kris G, shared their tips on how to deal with offensive comments and messages. The reach of the campaign expanded beyond social media, as it was also featured in an article on Watson.

6. Creator economy will boom as content becomes currency

Video is dominating

Video is one of the most important formats on social media. PPCexpo states it is, “The single most important content marketing strategy today.” Video has revolutionized marketing across all channels. Landing page videos are able to increase conversion rates by 80%. 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with their social network, and over 80% of businesses say video generates a good marketing ROI. The number of digital video viewers is expected to reach 3.48 billion in 2023. With video content dominating, YouTube is now the second most popular website in the world.

Short-form videos are also an excellent tactic for informing and connecting with your audience, such as the Pro Juventute campaign against cybermobbing. Pro Juventute offers children and young people a confidential telephone line to talk about their concerns, as well as helpful tips on its website 147.ch. Six influencers, including Kris G, talked about their own experiences with mental illnesses in a total of 6 TikTok videos. Impressions were more than 866k with a reach of more than 598k, achieving a 26.7% engagement rate and 45.13% growth in followers. The campaign was also featured in an article on Watson.

7. Influencers face increasing pressure to innovate

TikTok released its Year on TikTok 2022 which included many innovations, such as a song set to Tariq’s, aka Corn Kid, enthusiastic description of his tasty snack. Among the breakthrough stars, “#SpaceTok opens up to a new dimension, thanks to European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who takes us on out-of-this-world adventures.”

Qualtrics spoke to more than 33,000 consumers in 29 countries to find out what businesses need to do to win their loyalty. The answer? Act more human.

Uster, the third largest city in canton Zürich, worked with Kingfluencers to emphasize the human impacts of littering. The campaign targeted young audiences to reduce littering in Uster and around Lake Greifensee. Comedy influencers communicated to their audience that littering is not cool under any circumstances. The curated content was very appealing to the audience, as shown by the immensely high engagement rate and the large quantity of positive comments. 3 macro influencers on Instagram and TikTok published a total of 12 posts (videos and stories) + 2 additional pieces of content. The interaction rate was 7.1%, and the engagement rate was 30.9%.

As influencers innovate, they must continue to be relatable and authentic. These attributes are what drive high levels of engagement. To their community members, an influencer can feel like part of their friendship circle. Partnering with influencers is a powerful tool for brands to build trust and connect to consumers, delivering exactly what consumers want – acting more human, and helping fuel growth.

8. Long-term partnerships between brands & influencers

9. Heightened awareness of the risks of social media

Social media has had tremendous impacts that have reverberated throughout the year. We examined the complex issues around combating misinformation. Individual responsibility is vital. Stopping the spread of misinformation at scale is problematic. Algorithms haven’t proven effective at differentiating between criticism and advocacy.

As awareness of the potential downsides of social media increases, we’ve also seen a focus on the risks of toxic beauty standards. Governments have taken steps to combat toxic beauty ideals, while brands have actively promoted healthy attitudes toward beauty.

Unfortunately, no one is safe from fake followers, which can reduce your credibility on social media. Our article describes how to recognize them, how to remove them, and, above all, how to avoid them. Businesses of all kinds are aware of the many risks they’re facing. A PWC survey shows that more than 95% of businesses expect to face a crisis within the next two years. All of these issues reinforce the importance of crisis management, including ensuring your influencers know your contingency plans if things go wrong. While social media can be the source of a crisis, fortunately, it can also be a vital tool in managing one.

10. All about Gen Z

Author: Yoeri Callebaut, Kingfluencers AG