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2023 Review of Social Media Trends There continues to be a and private communities wherein users are sharing in DMs or closed communities such as Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Messenger group chats, etc. as opposed to posting to their public-facing timelines. userbase shift to “Dark Social” The lack of safety and moderation tools provided by platforms means that end users are having a very poor experience. They are fed up with bots and dogpiling. People have found that it is safer to share an opinion in a community that knows them and doesn’t seek to misinterpret their intentions. If you happen to misspeak or try out a hot take to clarify your own thoughts on the matter, the people in your closed circle know you well enough to know your intentions and can challenge you without it escaping your sphere of influence and becoming a larger cancellation. This shift to Dark Social can frustrate marketers because there could be bumps in sales that current analytics tools may not be able to explain. Sharing within closed communities can lead to strong word-of-mouth gains for some. There has been with the advent of X Premium/Twitter Blue, Meta Verified and Ad Free options, and Snapchat+. This will continue across all platforms. movement towards paid subscriptions As For You Pages, timelines, and feeds become increasingly clogged with paid content placement, users might be willing to pay for an ad-free experience or for paid-exclusive premium features. ? The Death of Twitter/X There has been so much speculation about the big changes at leading to the death of the platform, but the situation has not been as dire as the “doom and gloomers” had initially forecasted. It is true that CEO Elon Musk’s behavior has been erratic, and there has not been good follow-through on publicly-stated plans, which has driven away brands and prompted advertisers to pull their funds from X and re-invest on other platforms. Twitter/X The changeover to the x.com domain broke back-end analytics so marketers and social media managers have been “flying blind” without access to the data they had previously relied upon to fine-tune their content strategies. There is ample publicly-available data to support claims that bot activity has increased on the platform and that users have not been spending as much time on the app or have abandoned it altogether. Additionally, X currently has no data security team. Giving X access to any form of payment information is ill-advised at this time. Threads, T2, Bluesky, Mastodon, etc. have not lived up to the promise of being a full . Twitter replacement The widely-anticipated launch of Threads has been viewed by some to be a failure due to the sharp drop in active users after an initially impressive uptake. The platform, at launch, lacked many basic features and had geographically-restricted access which put a damper on adoption rates. Mastodon has seen widespread adoption among tech workers, but non-tech consumers found the setup process to be too intimidating and complicated. Bluesky has struggled with individual users not being able to find their niche communities. ByteDance launched a fulfillment service called to compete with Amazon and Meta Commerce, but it struggled. TikTok Shops Software glitches in the rollout of TikTok Shops negatively impacted the small businesses that were early adopters leading to a poor experience for both sellers and buyers. This led sellers to send up the alarm in their communities prompting others to halt their plans to use the feature for direct sales. It was a huge stumble out of the starting gate and uptake has been slow ever since. TikTok broke trust with the creators they were relying on to make the launch of the tool a success, and they are struggling to recover. HarperCollins and WH Smith launched a test program in partnership with TikTok Shop UK in 2022 to allow users to order books directly from videos without leaving the app in an attempt to capitalize on the impact that has had on the sale of certain titles. Since the initial press coverage of the launch of this partnership, things have gone quiet, so the assumption is that publishers have still not been successful in using the platform’s commerce tools for direct-to-consumer fulfillment. On the flip side of that coin, record labels have been effectively using Meta Commerce to boost both physical and digital album sales. Booktok launches have been the biggest social media marketing success stories of 2023 Creator-led consumer goods Prime from Logan Paul, Skims from Kim Kardashian, and Feastibles from Mr. Beast were giant successes because of the trust that influencers have built up over time with their audiences. Similarly, in publishing, titles like by B. Dylan Hollis, a by Danny Freeman, by Mercury Stardust, the Trans Handy Ma’am, etc. have been topping bestseller lists. Baking Yesteryear Danny Loves Past Safe and Sound continues to be the most engaged-with form of content across all platforms. Live video Live video can have a huge barrier to entry for many would-be creators, but there are so many creative workarounds for people who prefer not to have their faces on camera. Creators have been using voice-over only, blocking their faces with large microphones, using sock puppets or paper cutouts of an avatar of themselves, etc., to avoid doing a full “face reveal” and protect their identities while still building audiences on social media through both streaming platforms and on short-form video platforms that have live video features. 2024 Social Media Trends Forecast The future of is still bright. text-based “micro-blogging” platforms The launch of Threads in the EU will be a big boost to the platform. The addition of accessibility features and a continuous improvement of user experience will be big determining factors in userbase growth over time. Given how unpredictable the CEO of X is and the somewhat dire forecasts for the future of the platform’s revenue sources, shifting away from investing too much energy into growing your audience on X makes sense. Elon Musk’s behavior Text-based micro-blogging platforms still lead image-based platforms in driving traffic to “owned media” sites due to robust support of links. Even when links are de-emphasized by the algorithm, users still see better traffic statistics from text-based platforms like X and Facebook than from short-form video platforms and image-based platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. The major challenge for brands on social media will continue to be moving towards using platforms for instead of strictly for raising brand awareness. conversion This is why we’re seeing so many commerce tools come online and why companies like Meta have shifted their focus away from communities with huge layoffs in the Facebook Groups teams. Social media, however, is not a storefront. It was built for having conversations and sharing ideas, not for making purchases, so it’s trying to be something it’s not and was never intended to be in service of market pressures. Expert Matt Navarro thinks TikTok will have an easier time trying to become Amazon than Amazon will have trying to become TikTok but having an existing logistics infrastructure in place may mean his prediction is incorrect. has been gaining a lot of traction in Asia on all platforms that support live video (mostly Instagram and TikTok), but there is still low market penetration in the US. Live Shopping Multi-level marketing schemes were early adopters of live shopping in the US when Facebook Live came online in 2016, so that may have left US consumers with a poor impression of social commerce. Amazon is trying to tap into social commerce by partnering with Meta and Snapchat to add  features to their e-commerce platform that mimic social media platforms. These changes are geared towards bringing more live shopping to the Amazon app. Similarly, LinkInBio is implementing tools that will facilitate direct sales. Expect TikTok Shops to continue to be pushed heavily in the For You Page algorithm, and watch for ByteDance’s foray into publishing as they’re expected to launch their own imprint and begin direct book sales on the app. is coming to multiple platforms utilizing location data to customize your feed in real-time. Nearby Feed This was one of the main strengths of Snapchat circa 2018, but expect data privacy challenges to slow integration into more platforms. - Influencer marketing has outpaced ad spend and will continue to take a larger share of advertising budgets, but still, only 4% of creators make six figures. The Creator Economy New subscription tools on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X are trying to give content creators more ways to charge for access, but many still rely on third-party platforms such as Patreon, Substack, OnlyFans, and others such as Five.Me. Many content creators will likely try to diversify their income streams through publishing contracts and product launches in 2024. is the Wild West. Short Form Video Monetization YouTube has suffered three straight quarters of ad revenue declines (NOT LOSSES, just declining growth). Per analysis from Logically Answered, this is largely an effect of YouTube Shorts not being able to be monetized as effectively as long-form video and a shift towards short-form video taking away market share from long-form content. YouTube continues to be the most stable platform for creators to monetize their output. The TikTok Creator Fund did not live up to its promise and is being replaced with The Creativity Program. Monetization on the Reels Play program is still invitation-only, and creators have very little insight into the analytics behind their payouts, but this program is expected to expand, and Meta should bring more reporting features online in the future. will allow creators to automate and streamline processes like copywriting so they’re able to publish content more frequently. AI-powered large language model tools Generative AI tools are making some tasks that used to require the involvement of highly-skilled specialists more accessible to everyone, which could lead to an overall increase in output (and also an intensification of the squeeze on creators to do more and more with a finite time resource). Spammers will be early adopters and everyone else will be feeling the pressure to develop new skills like writing effective AI prompts and researching what the best options are amid the rapidly expanding suite of new tools. More bulk-created content will lead to a higher signal-to-noise ratio for thoughtful, long-form content to break through. Expect less overall reach on public posts across all platforms due to cluttered feeds. Improvements in will continue to drive customer service successes via social. Designing conversations will be a needed skill for digital marketers to learn. chatbots Generative AI images and video are improving at a rapid rate, with new tools expected to be released to the public in 2024. Tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, and Meta, are continuing to make huge investments in artificial intelligence. , but there are liability concerns surrounding the copyrights on the contents of the datasets that these machine-learning tools have been trained on. Expect more landmark lawsuits to be filed and the public to begin making  calls for an increase in the transparency of where training datasets have originated. For AI tools to be useful, users must be able to trust their output which requires high quality input. Platform integration of AI-driven tools will be a big growth sector Malicious making the rounds on social media will continue to be a big problem for free and fair elections and for prominent public figures’ reputation management. deepfakes AI avatar technology continues to improve and will allow more creators to begin using live video anonymously. Expect more augmented reality to infiltrate digital commerce sites like Warby Parker’s virtual try-on. Trends such as the “make it more” image prompts will continue to make waves on social networks. in Europe and elsewhere have had a big impact on platforms and will continue to be a major focus. Regulatory challenges Privacy concerns and data security compliance will need major investments from US-based entities if they want to continue to operate in jurisdictions that are investing in passing laws to protect their citizens’ rights. Rapid-Fire Platform Predictions for 2024: will continue to add functionality. Adding in-app scheduling will be a game-changer. An API is coming, which will mean third-party app integrations including off-platform scheduling. Improvements in accessibility tools like Alt Text and Voice Messaging have already made the app much more usable and this trend will continue. The addition of translations will be a big step forward. Threads doesn’t have much of an identity currently. It hasn’t distinguished itself with any unique features. Threads will try to woo back advertisers. There will be more focus on video on X and a shift toward payment systems, transaction management, and banking. There has been no indication that there will be new data security hiring. The prediction is that X usage will continue to flag, and the company will be less and less profitable in future. X will keep its focus on online commerce and expanding messaging services but will face more regulatory challenges in multiple jurisdictions. Keep an eye on The Creativity Program and improvements in search features as the platform continues to challenge Google as an information source. TikTok ’s universal inbox will be a model for all other platforms that are trying to capitalize on the shift to dark social. WhatsApp will continue to grow its user base and reap the benefits of the expanded features they’ve rolled out in recent years. They are planning to add AI-integrated features. LinkedIn is still hurting financially from the failure to launch of the Metaverse, but their Ad-Free subscription has seen decent uptake and their investments in messaging and acquisition of WhatsApp are paying off. Facebook is too noisy with bot activity and poorly targeted ads which is driving users away. Whether or not they have more to offer in 2024 than continuing to clone the popular features of other apps is yet to be seen. Instagram ’s robust content moderation has continued to serve it well in terms of attracting and retaining advertisers. It’s a place where brands feel safe, but the modes of moderation have had  the effect of stifling creativity. We’ve all seen the creators trying to have a serious conversation about certain topics who’ve had to dance around the issue by using euphemistic language to avoid de-monetization. This creates a poorer experience for the audience and hopefully YouTube will be able to build some nuance into their automated content moderation tools with improvements from machine learning tools. YouTube has put a huge investment into its augmented reality virtual try-on tool, but it’s not quite ready for primetime yet. Pinterest

Social Media Trends: 
2023 Review & 2024 Forecasting

The Metaverse received extreme hype in 2021 due to Facebook changing its name to Meta and the sudden explosion of NFTs. We saw platforms selling land for millions upon millions of dollars which have seen valuations plummet. Now we are in a place to see how Metaverse Platforms will appeal to the mass population and not just teenagers. We are seeing a shift in how people will shop similar to when Shopify made it easy for anyone to open an e-commerce store. We made a list of 10 platforms that will lead these changes and allow us to shop in a more immersive environment. LORR The Bespoke Metaverse is a simple solution for small to medium-sized luxury and bespoke brands to enter the next revolution of E-commerce. LORR provides an accessible means for small to medium-sized bespoke luxury retailers to create brand awareness and a shopping presence in the metaverse. LORR is a 3D hyper-realistic world with the most coveted fashion districts, where social and shopping collide. Currently, LORR is offering storefronts in the LORR metaverse as well as design services to help build out the virtual stores. Users will discover luxury brands that understand the importance of putting the fun back into online shopping through engaging storytelling. LORR will serve as the bridge for retailers and customers into web 3 by providing a user-friendly metaverse retail platform centered around putting the fun back into online shopping through storytelling. LORR is the destination you want your coveted address to be in within the metaverse. When you think of Madison Ave and New York City, you think of LORR. If you have the opportunity, you want to be there, if that fits the ethos of your brand. Similarly, when you think of the Decentraland and Sandbox kind of platforms, you can be in all of them, but you definitely want to have an address in LORR. So, we are the Madison Ave of the metaverse, and where we distinguish ourselves is that we're steeped in storytelling. Mozverse Mozverse seeks to be the AWS for the Metaverse. They provide clients with their own technology ecosystem to control the Brand Experience regardless of their skill level with blockchain technology. Mozverse is a more robust platform for this reason, as the platform offers a wider number of features beyond minting and sales. When it comes to functionality, Mozverse has the most capability for artists and developers, with a wide range of possibilities. For purchasers, the Mozverse consulting team can assist with any challenges with the Web3 development process and finding the Web3 solution to meet your specifications. HELIX A decentralized, high-fidelity metaverse platform built around the core pillars of immersive graphics, true digital ownership, and player-owned economy. Parallel City will be divided into land plots and offered for sale to players. Landowners are able to stake their land to earn rewards and earn tokens by selling or leasing their land to other players. Land can be used to develop business, although the primary focus of HELIX is selling land rather than selling storefronts. EMPERIA A team of 3D/VR expert developers, fashion and art industry veterans, and branding executives, creating highly-differentiated bespoke virtual worlds tailored for premium art and luxury fashion. Providing an ultra-realistic 3D view of products through a seamless E-commerce integration into the retailer’s web2 website. Emperia helps brands create metaverse and website-embedded stores through its own SaaS platform, which provides retailers with full creative control over merchandise placement and space decor, and thus maintains those virtual stores for the long-run. ByondXR A retail-tech startup that offers a metaverse strategy service to enable retailers to develop brand awareness in the metaverse. While ByondXR does not offer a metaverse platform, they help retailers create an immersive virtual commerce platform for brands and retailers to transform digital e-commerce and merchandising experiences. That is, retailers can integrate ByondXR’s personalized virtual store with their existing e-commerce platform and backend systems. Furthermore, retailers can select their merchandising (physical products or digital assets using NFT) and place it in the virtual store to bring shoppers on a new engaging immersive journey. Lastly, ByondXR guides retailers with choosing the right metaverse to transition their web-based store into, such as Meta Horizon Worlds, Fortnite Creative, Roblox, Sandbox, or Decentrland. TheMall Expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, the TheMall will feature 100 floors and 100 million square feet of space for retailers to set up shop in the metaverse. TheMall will use low-code developer tools to make it easy to create a store that is easily modifiable to accommodate their business’s ongoing needs. modify it after it has been created. On the customer’s end, TheMall will employ AI algorithms to deliver a personalized shopping experience. Users can complete transactions using credit cards via Stripe or using cryptocurrencies via Bitpay. TheMall is a direct competitor of LORR with respect to retailers that are not concerned with creating a sense of exclusivity surrounding their brand and shopping experience. SuperWorld A virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain provides 100x100 meter plots of land mapped onto the real world. The plots of virtual real estate are available to collect as NFTs. Users can buy or sell properties and create opportunities to monetize their land in the Metaverse. While SuperWorld is not a direct competitor of LORR as they are not focusing on meta-commerce, LORR Destinations resemble SuperWorld’s real-world-inspired virtual world. Voxels A user-owned virtual world where players can buy land, build on it, and customize their avatar with wearable NFTs. Land NFTs provide their owners control over their land within the cryptovoxels metaverse. The land can be transformed into art galleries, nightclubs, conference areas, games, and storefronts. Obsess An E-commerce platform attempting to create an online shopping interface that is a visual, interactive, social, and engaging experience. Their goal is to enable brands to create immersive virtual stores on their own websites and on metaverse platforms, such as Roblox, Fortnite Creative, and Oculus Meta Quest VR headset, similar to ByondXR. Earth 2 Earth 2 is ideated as a metaverse representing second earth, where real-world geolocations on a sectioned map correspond to user-generated digital virtual environments. Before users contribute to the development of virtual environments, Earth 2 will begin as a pristine, untouched, and uninhabited virtual version of Earth. This is purposefully done in order to ensure that users design, create, build and own virtual environments using the technology developed by the Earth 2 Team. These virtual environments produce digital assets, that can be owned, bought, and sold, and - in the near future - deeply customized. Naturally, such a virtual environment may produce meta-commerce stores, although it is not certain how the Earth 2 Team will steer resources toward elevating brand awareness within the Earth 2 metaverse. Therefore, while Earth 2 has the potential to become a leading metaverse project, it is an indirect competitor of LORR, as storefronts are not being sold, nor are retailers currently encouraged to develop their brand within the Earth 2 metaverse. Metafluence An idea for an influencer-centric ecosystem to drive brand awareness and better audience engagement in the metaverse. The main focus of Metafluence is to offer a web3 influencer marketing solution in the metaverse. Influencer homes are the main architectural elements of the city and will serve as personalized spaces in the metaverse, sold as land plots. One of the use cases of these influence homes could be meta shops, which will enable influencers to sell physical or digital products (NFTs) of their beloved brands (i.e., sponsorship deals). Brands will have access to features such as influencer discovery, influencer analytics, campaign performance, and keyword monitoring. Beyond these features, it is unclear how Metafluence will offer a metacommerce solution for brands and retailers.

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