What a year it’s been. Many of our content marketing predictions for 2022 did indeed come true. The number of people listening to podcasts jumped significantly to 454.7 million (approx) and Augmented Reality (AR) took the world by storm. Go us! The AR market is expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 40.9% from 2022 to 2030 – so watch this space. But what should we look out for in the year ahead? Join us for 5 content marketing predictions for 2023 you didn’t hear anywhere else.
#1 The Year of Creators
Finding talent online isn’t new. Love Yourself and Baby singer Justin Beiber, for instance, was discovered by talent manager Scooter Braun after posting cover song videos on his YouTube channel back in 2008. But this was somewhat of an accident as Braun was actually searching for videos from a different singer. Today, people are actively encouraged to post online in a bid to be discovered, which partly explains why 2023 will be the year of creators.
Let’s delve into this further. Back in late October, a new international music discovery format known as StemDrop launched on TikTok. Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Republic Records, Samsung and one of the greatest songwriting teams in history, led by 5x Grammy Award winner, Max Martin, teamed up. They created an avenue for artists to showcase their talents on a global scale. 60-seconds of a brand-new single dropped on TikTok, allowing the community to access the ‘stems’ of the song (individual components such as drums, bass guitar, vocal parts etc) and create, record and share their own unique versions. New versions of the song were curated weekly and released to the official StemDrop TikTok channel. This video alone received over 81.5K views, with Cowell describing his StemDrop initiative as the ‘missing link for aspiring stars’.
And it seems creators from all industries and backgrounds are hugely valuable to social sites like TikTok, with the platform’s Creator Marketplace offering access to over 100K creators. But why are creators so valuable and why do we think they’ll be in the spotlight throughout 2023?
Let’s check out a quick case study
When Benefit Cosmetics wanted to draw attention to their brand-new Brow Microfilling Pen, they used the TikTok Creator Marketplace to build a shortlist of 22 Gen Z and Millennial creators they could work with to help generate excitement and user-generated content. The creators took part in the Benefit Brow Challenge which involved posting a ‘brow dance’ to a unique soundtrack released by Benefit. This generated 3,500+ hours of views and 1.4 million impressions off of just 4.5 minutes of creator content. And Benefit Cosmetics aren’t the only ones cashing in on creators. Head to other branded channels such as Boots UK to see how beauty collaborators (most likely from the Creator Marketplace) are used to promote products.
Top Tip: By using tools to find the right creators for your brand, you can tap into a much larger consumer base and create a more dominant social presence. Always work with people who share your ethos and have relevant content already posted on their site. This will help you to appear authentic and genuine – not like you’re just doing it for the hits (even if you are).
#2 Not the Metaverse
Our second prediction for 2023 is that the Metaverse will be a huge flop. Controversial, we know. But let’s look at the stats. As of October 2022, Meta has spent a whopping $36 billion building the Metaverse – you know, that virtual land they want us to ditch our actual lives for and live in as avatars. Sigh. But what have they got to show for it?
Well, $10 billion Metaverse department losses were reported in 2021. And a $3.67 billion loss was posted for the third quarter of 2022, with losses predicted to deepen in 2023. The company’s Q3 2022 earnings released on October 26 2022, revealed the biggest-ever quarterly losses for Reality Labs from earnings dating back to the fourth quarter of 2020, with Meta shaping up to beat its 2021 losses.
According to reports, Meta mastermind Zuckerberg is completely unphased stating:
I think that our work here is going to be of historical importance and create the foundation for an entirely new way that we will interact with each other and blend technology into our lives as well as the foundation for the long term of our business.
Do we agree? No. While one survey found that 57% were looking forward to ‘seeing things they wouldn’t normally experience’ and 51% wanted to ‘escape reality,’ others have described it as a ‘late capitalist technocratic nightmare.’ And we’re inclined to agree. Sorry Zucks! After all, just how much time can the average person spend wearing an AR headset?
And do the majority of us really want to pay for land we will never physically own?
Top Tip: Building virtual reality and augmented reality experiences for your brand is a good idea if it enriches the overall experience for the end user. Many brands, for example, have created avatars to help transform ads and promotions into more meaningful narratives. This can be hugely successful, with Lil Miquela who featured in a Calvin Klein campaign, now boasting 2.9 million followers on Instagram alone. But if you’re investing huge sums of money just to be part of the Metaverse, it might be worth holding fire.
#3 Outsourcing Content to Agencies will Increase
Next up on our predictions list is outsourcing. Global spending on outsourcing could hit $731 billion in 2023, with many businesses feeling confident to work with agencies once again post covid. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 46% plan to increase their content creation spending in 2023, with 47% of marketers hoping to hire or contract a dedicated content creator. Content has and continues to be a great marketing tool, helping businesses to create strong relationships with consumers. Outsourcing to an agency frees up time for other day-to-day tasks, promotes professionalism and ensures your branding remains strong and consistent.
Top Tip: We advise you to choose your agency carefully and to work with people like us (shameless promotion) who care about your identity and listen to your goals. It’s hard for us to comment and seem authentic here. But on a genuine note, take time choosing your agency carefully as the right match will shine through in your campaigns.
#4 A New Social Media Network Will Rise Up
Not every social media channel lands in the spotlight and stays in the spotlight – we’re looking at you TikTok. There have been many social channels that have tried and failed with both Ello and Clubhouse failing to get off the ground. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see another successful social media rise up. In fact, aren’t we overdue a new contender?
People are looking for less ads and more authenticity. So in-the-moment focused channel BeReal could be a real contender for 2023. Created in France in 2019, it sends you daily notifications at random times, asking you to take two photos at once: one with your front camera and one with your back camera. You have two minutes to take a pic of whatever you’re doing at that current time. Well that’s the authenticity box ticked as no-one will have time to get changed or put on a full face of makeup in two minutes, surely?
While this might seem a little random and intense, there’s certainly demand for this kind of content. How do we know? Well, TikTok doesn’t mess around. They know the stats and as a result have launched a BeReal-inspired feature which encourages people to ‘capture a 10-second video or static photo to easily share what you’re up to.’ And it’s the ‘authenticity’ of this that’s promoted on their site. While this is sure to have those of us with spaghetti covered t-shirts cringing in horror, it does have a certain appeal to those looking for a fun, witty and fast-paced social tool.
Other sites On Our Radar in 2023
We are seeing a lot of social media sites rising up. And instead of the one size fits all (or doesn’t) platforms like Facebook, these all have their own niches and target audiences. For example, Valence is a social network built to connect Black professionals. Elpha is a social network for women looking to build their careers. And Academia is a platform for academics and researchers to share academic research. We will be going through the new platforms in more detail soon!
Top Tip: Don’t feel like you need to be the first to jump on every and any social media site. Yes, you can create buzz around your brand by doing something new. But that also comes with a risk as the site may flop. If a new channel is released, make sure it will appeal to your audience before spending time on it. Remember, another channel will require additional resources like content, design and photography. Also your time!
#5 Turn up the Volume on Social Audio
Downloads of social audio app Clubhouse might have dropped by 80% in just three short months, but don’t let that throw you off the social audio trend. In the scheme of things, social media is still relatively new and there have been many failures and successes over the years. MySpace died a death but YouTube remains hugely popular. Similarly TikTok is the new and improved Vine. So could 2023 be the year of real-time audio via a social media platform?
There are many social audio projects still bubbling away. For example, Spotify Greenroom has rebranded to Spotify Live. LinkedIn, Reddit and Telegram are all actively working on audio platforms and features and Gamer platform, Discord, just launched a Clubhouse clone called Stage Channels, which is set to rival Slack in the workplace. Furthermore, social podcasting app Callin received over $12 million in funding next year and proudly offers a host of live rooms and trending shows.
We are seeing content trends moving towards voice search and readers enjoying the new “listen now” option to digest our blogs. This is largely because people are multi tasking content and education. They listen while driving, commuting, travelling, cooking or doing household chores. Here at Contentworks we often have a podcast on in the background.
Top Tip: Social audio could prove to be a valuable tool. This is because it gives marketers the chance to learn more about their audience and to find out what they value. Interacting with an audience in real-time also allows for a more authentic and genuine connection. Learn about the preferences of your clients and gain ideas of how to build upon and improve your content.
So there you have it, our 2023 content marketing predictions. What do you think will trend in the year ahead? Tweet us @_contentworks with your thoughts. Need to outsource to an expert content marketing agency in 2023? Meet your new Creative Content Marketing Agency