Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries, making it a top marketing tool for many luxury businesses seeking to reach and engage with existing and new audiences.
The different social media channels and platforms are constantly evolving and introducing new features, so social media strategies must be flexible to stay ahead of the curve.
These evolving social media features present an excellent opportunity for marketers to grow their audience and reach new potential customers. But how can luxury brands grow their social media presence, and what are the latest social media trends that marketers need to watch out for in 2023?
While social media strategies for 2022 focused on TikTok and social commerce, looking ahead to 2023, we can already see a shift in trends that luxury brands need to keep in mind.
Short-form videos and Tik Tok
A crucial element of social media strategies for 2023 will be short-form videos – Reels and TikTok. According to reports, short-form videos and Reels were amongst the most liked and viewed posts of 2022. Short-form videos have become a widespread phenomenon with younger audiences, which usually are the demographic that drives the latest social media trends. In 2023, we expect more businesses to understand the importance of short-form videos and embrace the premise of social content as entertainment rather than just advertising.
Authenticity
Aside from video content, authenticity is slowly becoming a critical success factor for social media platforms. In an era of overly edited images and videos, authenticity and real-time posts are requirements, not expectations. The perfect example of this is the growing popularity of TikTok and BeReal, which proves that audiences prefer real, relatable personalities and situations. This social media trend is slowly overcoming traditional filtered ‘Insta’ content.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years, creating exciting social media marketing opportunities for luxury brands of all sizes. This social media trend will become even more important in 2023.
Luxury businesses are now realising the unbeatable voice of influencers and want to make them a part of their social media marketing strategy. Influencer marketing helps luxury brands to generate leads, expand their reach, and engage with UHNWIs. The perfect influencer marketing strategy will be either a mix of micro and macro-influencers or focusing on smaller influencers only. The reason for this is the fact that macro-influencers have a vast number of followers but are more difficult to interact with, while micro-influencers have smaller audiences but a higher rate of engagement and will have a better return on investment, as long as they are suited to the relevant industry.
Interactivity
Engagement is the key to running a successful social media strategy. However, now the algorithms also want interaction. Platforms have created new ways for content creators and brands to connect with their followers. For example, the reaction stickers on Instagram, the Q&A on Stories and Reels, and the TikTok video stitching feature (this is a creation tool that allows you to combine the video you are creating with another video on TikTok). These exciting social media tools allow businesses to establish organic and real interaction with their followers, ensuring they feel heard and valued.
Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
Another big change we have seen in the social media sphere has been the integration of more highly developed virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies.
While WeChat started this trend years ago with virtual dressing rooms, the trend has officially reached Europe with the introduction of “Candy”.
After Louis Vuitton and Gucci first started playing with Non Fungible Tokens in the Metaverse, Italian luxury brand Prada landed the latest coup by integrating VR into their digital presence. “Candy” is the latest muse for the brand’s iconic perfume and comes with her own personality and surrounding pink universe.
“Candy is both a digital creation and a philosophy,” says her creator Nicolas Winding Refn.
Candy perfectly captures what luxury’s latest target group, the tech-oriented Gen-Z, is seeking. It is a level between digital and physical, perfection and relatability as well as omnichannel strategy. While the tangible aspect of luxury marketing will probably never disappear, the chances lying in combining it with VR and AI elements are endless and present some of the greatest social media opportunities of the coming years.Relevance is a luxury digital marketing agency that manages the social media accounts of some of the world’s most exciting luxurious brands. If you own a luxury brand and need a bespoke social media strategy to grow your audience, contact the social media marketing experts at Relevance today.