HubSpot has released its 2023 State of Social Media Report which explores how brands are building community online and leveraging social media for business growth – featuring new data from 1200+ global marketers and insights from the Brandwatch Consumer Research platform.
The report investigates how social media is now the go-to place for people to find information and how they engage with others, shop, and seek out customer support. Its findings also showed that for Gen Z, social media has even replaced search engines.
HubSpot surveyed 1,283 social media marketers around the globe about the biggest trends they’re seeing, their goals, challenges, and strategies in 2023. They also conducted research among 600+ U.S. consumers about their social media trends. HubSpot market research analyst Maxwell Iskiev performed the data collection and analysis.
The biggest change social media marketers have seen in the past year is the growing importance of building active social communities. In 2023, marketers are prioritizing growing their social media communities over other strategies. Consumer data aligns with this brand trend; one in five social media users joined or participated in an online community in the last three months.
Some of the most notable stats from the report are below:
• 90% of social media marketers say building an active online community is critical to success in 2023.
• Instagram and Facebook are tied for the platform that is most effective for building an active community on social media.
• 80% of social media marketers say consumers buy products directly within social apps more often than on brand websites or through third-party resellers.
• 1 in 5+ Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X social media users bought a product directly in a social media app in the past three months.
• 84% of social media marketers say social media will become consumers’ preferred channel for customer service in 2023.
• 89% of social media marketers say social search is important to their overall social strategy.
The full report can be seen here.
See also: Digital News Report 2023: More Aussies now pay for online news