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businesses continue to look for ways to future-proof operations and connect with today ’ s tech-savvy customers , social media and digital marketing will inevitably play a part in nearly every business strategy ,” said Maggie Lower , Chief Marketing Officer , Hootsuite .

“ In 2023 , businesses that take a social-first approach to their brand and customer care strategy will be the ones to reap the benefits . Stronger brand reputation , greater customer interaction , trust and loyalty – now and in the future – depends on it .”

Leveraging surveys from over 10,600 marketers and primary interviews with dozens of social marketing practitioners , leaders , observers and partners , Hootsuite found compelling insights spanning the social ecosystem . Here are the top insights for marketers to consider in the year to come :

At the time 2022 ’ s Social Trends Report was released ; pandemic restrictions were starting to ease and markets were booming – a positive turn of events that had many feeling optimistic for the future . However , looking ahead into 2023 , a looming recession , rising inflation , declining consumer spending and workforce reductions across major business sectors have made decisionmaking precarious for businesses of all sizes . Despite this uncertainty , Hootsuite ’ s report shows that there is good news on the horizon .

Social marketers are experiencing a defining moment in history for the industry . After decades of advocating for social to have a seat at the boardroom table , it ’ s finally happening – social marketers are getting more agency over their work and social media marketing has matured as a profession .

“ Social media has never played a more central role to businesses . As

• Big brands are investing less in influencer marketing , opening the door for small businesses to engage top creators ( at lower price points !).

• Social ’ s newfound exposure in the C-suite opens it up to new levels of scrutiny – with differing opinions on what ROI looks like among social marketers and senior leaders .

• Recycling content becomes a thing of the past ; marketers stop chasing new features and start getting more strategic , creating more creative , unique content for fewer platforms .

• Social commerce loses traction with platform pullback but is only a loss to those that follow suit ; marketers with the patience to hold on see new opportunities to gain a competitive edge .

• Social search optimisation emerges as a make-or-break skill for marketers .

• The return to brick-and-mortar shopping makes businesses lose focus on digital customer service – opening the door for chatbot adopters to gain a massive advantage .

• Marketers don ’ t feel equipped for digital customer service and the implications of unanswered DMs are further reaching than one might think . �