As we wind up 2022 and look towards 2023, our Social & Influence Director Hannah Mahony and Innovation Lead Peter Gasston summarise their top social and digital technology trends for the year ahead 🔮
🥰 The interest graph is replacing the social graph
Social feeds are following the lead of TikTok by recommending more content you like than content from friends. Meta moved Instagram Follows and Facebook Friends & Family to secondary tabs.
🧑🤝🧑 Sharing is moving to groups and communities
Conversations and interactions happen less publicly and more in group chats and shared interest communities, from WhatsApp Communities and Messenger Community Chats to growing popularity of Discord and Reddit.
🌐 Social SEO is increasing in importance
The algorithms of social platforms change faster than the UK’s weather, and AI content indicators are becoming more sophisticated. TikTok increased its character limit to 2,000 to make content more indexable.
🤳 Creators are gaining improved toolkits
Editing and creation tools such as TikTok’s new editor and Effect House AR studio, and SnapChat’s Director Mode, are rapidly gaining new features and powers as social platforms compete in an ‘arms race’ to attract top creators.
🤖 AI plays an increasing role in content creation
AI generation services like GPT-3, DALL-E, and Midjourney are being built into creator tools to empower creativity. Canva’s Text-to-Image and Magic Write and the Lensa app are prime examples.
🛍️ More creators are becoming social sellers
Direct-on-platform commerce such as TikTok Shop and YouTube Shorts Shopping is becoming a more prevalent and trusted form of e-commerce. Brands seek affiliates through marketplaces as diverse as Klarna and Walmart.
💯 ‘Web3’ focuses on value, not technology
Brands and platforms are phasing out the technical jargon of blockchain and NFT and talking about the services they provide. Reddit Vault, Instagram digital collectibles, and Nike .swoosh are all NFT-based but barely mention it.
🎮 Swapping ‘the metaverse’ for long-term engagement
Brands are choosing to build relationships with customers through gaming partnerships (such as Depop + The Sims) and social experiences (like Nike, Spotify, and Gucci on Roblox) over the ‘metaverse’ PR hype angle.
🏠 AR becomes more connected to place
The home turns into a 3D canvas through room scanning and mixed reality headsets like Quest Pro, while maps and landmark scans from Google, Niantic, and Snapchat expand AR to the outside world.
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