This Month: Social Media Trends to Watch in 2023, Shoppable YouTube Ads and more!
As November draws to a close and the weather grows ever colder, Canadians brace themselves for the start of winter. The calendar says winter doesn’t truly begin until closer to the end of December, but we know better than that.
Fortunately, November also brought some fun things with it - like the shopping season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday coincided with American Thanksgiving (just because we celebrated in October doesn’t mean we don’t love a sale).
As we all start to prepare for the holiday season, there are new trends to discover, updates to our favourite web platforms and new insights on shopping and eCommerce trends to learn.
As always, we’ve put together five highlights from the world of digital marketing to keep you up-to-date on all the pre-holiday, almost-year-end hustle and bustle. From the social media trends to watch next year to holiday retail predictions, here’s what happened this month in marketing.
How to Turn Customer Feedback Into Amazing Social Media Posts for Your Clients
When it comes to buying a new product or checking out a new service, few things have more impact than online reviews. People trust online reviews to tell them what’s worth their money and what they shouldn’t bother with.
For the younger generation, what social media users have to say about a brand or business is a top factor in how they feel about it themselves and strongly influences their own likelihood of spending their time and money on it. In fact, over 80% of Gen Z shoppers say they'll buy from brands after reading social media reviews.
For this reason, Sendible has put together a helpful guide on how brands can leverage their online reviews to create social media posts that will impress clients and influence conversions.
Their guide advises brands on:
- Why promoting positive customer reviews on social media matters
- How reviews work on different platforms
- How to promote reviews and customer testimonials on social media
- How to encourage customers to leave reviews
If you’re interested in learning more about turning online reviews into great social media posts, check out the link above!
The 11 Most Important Social Media Trends for 2023
Few things have the ability to change and shift quite as quickly as the trends on social media. What was cool and funny last week might not be by the time the following week—or even the following day—rolls around.
As the new year approaches, Hootsuite marketers have been looking ahead at what they predict will be the most important social media trends of 2023.
- TikTok will take over the world
In part due to a number of new features and updates the app has made this year, Hootsuite predicate that the popularity of the social media video platform TikTok will continue to rise.
In the previous year, Hootsuite predicted that TikTok would become one of the most important social platforms, and their predictions were certainly spot on. - The only new app that will matter will be BeReal
BeReal offers a unique selling point to a market saturated with social platforms. Instead of the selective, curated content we see elsewhere, BeReal prompts users to capture whatever they happen to be doing at the moment, offering a unique and unfiltered look into users' lives.
Hootsuite recommends brands get themselves an account and get familiar with the way the platform works. - You will still have to make Reels
When it comes to social platforms, Instagram might be behind YouTube and Facebook, but it’s still one of the most popular platforms around the world. Thanks to its 1.5 billion daily active users, Instagram continues to keep a strong hold on a market that’s now rife with competition.
While TikTok and YouTube shorts are contending for the attention of short-form video viewers, Instagram Reels manages to add millions of users every month.
…and more.
Discover the rest of Hootsuite’s social media predictions by following the above link!
How to Run Shoppable Ads in YouTube Shorts
It was only a little while ago that shoppable TikTok ads officially launched in the US, but now YouTube is following in their footsteps. This option will allow brands to feature shoppable ads within YouTube Shorts.
Shorts are YouTube’s answer to the popularity of Instagram Reels and TikTok, both of which are popular options for short-form video creators.
Platforms such as Instagram have seen a ton of success with social shopping features, which give users a convenient and easy way to purchase the items they see on the app.
For brands that want to take advantage of shoppable YouTube short ads, the folks at the Social Media Examiner have put together a helpful step-by-step guide that tells you just how to do it.
Learn more about shoppable YouTube ads and how to make your own shoppable shorts at the link above.
10 Steps to Prepare Your Ecommerce Site for Holiday Shopping
The holiday shopping season is around the corner, and for businesses, that means just three things: sales, sales, sales. However, in the last few years, we’ve seen a sharp rise in the popularity of eCommerce and online shopping, which means some retailers may have had to pivot from their usual holiday strategy.
While almost everyone has seen that having an online shop is essential these days, it’s now more crucial than ever to ensure your eCommerce shop is ready and prepared to handle holiday shopping.
To guarantee you’re not losing out on essential revenue because of slow loading times and unresponsive pages, check out the link above to see TechWyse’s guide to preparing your eCommerce site for holiday shopping above.
The Holiday Clues in October Retail Sales
Do you ever get the feeling that the holiday season just isn’t the same today as it was when you were a kid? Well, it’s not just you, and the unfortunate truth is it’s not just a feeling; it’s reality. Inflation has caused the price of just about everything to skyrocket, and it seems like retailers are going to be feeling the effects this holiday season.
Using data gathered from the response to Halloween and shopping throughout the month of October, Retail Dive is predicting that consumers may not turn out for the shopping season as they once would have.
While numbers are still up from the year before, it may just be the inflation boosting the numbers. People are still shopping, but they’re being more mindful of their budget and watching their wallets closely (where’s Santa when you need him?)
If businesses want to capture their consumers' attention (and cash), Retail Dive suggests that, more than ever, people will be looking for deals and promotions to help them feel they’re getting their money’s worth.
Read the full report on the above link.
Wrap Up
The holidays are soon to be upon us, and then we’ll be looking into a new year of marketing trends, updates, and changes to all our latest platforms. Before we get to all that, let’s go over our highlights from this month in marketing.
This blog went over Sendible’s guide for leveraging online reviews for social media. A brand's reviews are one of its greatest assets, and this guide offers a helpful look into the best ways to promote those reviews on social media.
Then we went over Hootsuite’s predictions for the next big trends in social media. What is or isn’t considered trendy on social is a fickle creature to predict, but marketers at Hootsuite have crunched the numbers and let us know where to focus our marketing efforts in 2023.
Next, we learned how to run shoppable ads on YouTube shorts. This newly introduced feature is YouTube’s response to TikTok’s shoppable ads and allows users to purchase directly through the platform.
After that, we went over the essential ways to prepare your eCommerce website for holiday shopping. The holiday season is one of the most important times for retailers, with some businesses generating roughly 70% of their annual revenue just in these few months.
For this reason, it’s vital to ensure your online shop can handle the increased traffic.
Finally, we went over Retail Dive’s predictions for this year's holiday season. Using data gathered from shopping throughout October, marketers have taken a look ahead and made some predictions about what businesses can expect from the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Any questions, comments, or concerns? We’d love to hear your feedback!
We’ll be back next month with five new articles for you. In the meantime, if you’re looking to learn more, please check out our existing blogs that cover various digital marketing topics!
