Greek philosopher Heraclitus once proclaimed that, “Change is the only constant in life.” If he were alive today, Heraclitus might very well have been speaking about social media.

In less than 15 years, the social media landscape for businesses went from the chaotic, “Wild, Wild West,” where nobody knew what they were doing, to a finely tuned, well-oiled marketing machine. And in that time, one thing has remained constant throughout the social networks: change.

Where Facebook once ruled the virtual land, networks like LinkedIn and TikTok are now threatening its reign, offering brands more organic reach and value. New platforms, like BeReal and Clubhouse, have joined the conversation by adding features that other platforms don’t have. And let’s not forget the customer service aspect of social media, where businesses – and customers – can utilize the platforms in ways they’ve never done before.

Since it’s a new year, let’s look at the four trends promo pros should be mindful of for 2023.

1. LinkedIn Loosens Up

In its 21st year, LinkedIn – the buttoned-up platform that has always had a formal feel to it – has evolved from the stuffy, professional network we all knew it as, to a playful, less formal place where brands can unwind and infuse personality into their posts. By tapping into the human element and showing off those behind-the-scenes, businesses are seeing far more organic engagement from posts depicting the lighter side of work than ones promoting their products and services.

Mitch Silver, VP of marketing and sales at Printable (asi/299458), has taken advantage of LinkedIn’s algorithm by ensuring the corporate page is rife with fun content that includes both employees and merch. And to back that up, Silver also uses his personal LinkedIn page to show off the power of promo.

The team at Printable creates lots of fun, short videos for their LinkedIn page.

Bottom line: Take off that tie and join the LinkedIn party!

2. TikTok Continues To Grow

For a podcast on social media trends for 2020, I vehemently shot down the idea that TikTok would be a viable social media platform in the promo industry. Boy, was I wrong!

Three years later, not only am I admitting to that mistake, but I’m imploring those in the promo industry: If you have the time and resources, get your business on TikTok!

The platform boasts the most robust studio of all the networks and allows you to create short-form video content that rocks. Best of all, you can easily repost content created on TikTok in other networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Reels and LinkedIn. In fact, many content creators in this industry get more traction from TikTok videos outside of the network, which is what makes it so valuable.

Javier Melendez of Walker-Clay (asi/354530) reposted a video on LinkedIn that he created in TikTok.

Bottom line: Don’t miss the TikTok juggernaut!

3. Keyword Search & SEO Are Crucial

With more and more users relying on social media platforms to do brand searches, optimizing your posts with keywords has never been more important. This means that if you want your content to get discovered, you should take the time to craft messaging that matters.

Come up with a list of keywords you want your brand associated with and create content around them. Make sure to proof your copy to avoid typos and misspellings, and utilize hashtags, especially on networks like Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

And if you’re still unsure why this matters, go into any social network and type in your business’s name in the search bar and see what comes up. This should be a good starting point for your social SEO.  

Bottom line: Words matter.

4. Video Continues to Dominate

TikTok. Instagram Reels. YouTube’s Shorts. Facebook Live. Stories.

No matter where you are on social media, you’re bound to see video, and that’s not going to change. In fact, according to a study by Cisco, 82% of global internet traffic is already video content, so if you’re not creating video, you’re missing out.

And for those who think video content is costly in both time and money, know this: You can do everything you need right from your smartphone.

Bottom line: No more excuses! It’s time your business started doing video.