How to Drive Growth on Social Media in 2023

As the year draws to a close, Power Digital’s social department has been tracking trends and strategies set to dominate feeds after the ball drops on NYE. Going into January, cost-effectiveness and prioritizing profitable growth are priorities for most brands (cue all the recession talk). 

When it comes to paid social, a down-market typically has some advertisers dial down on budgets. Advertisers that stay the course will reap the rewards as advertising typically becomes cheaper and more effective during an economic slowdown.

Paid social aside, brand marketing organizations should look to organic activities for revenue growth. Yes, we said that. The digital customer journey is sprawling and doesn’t begin or end in a direct response ad served neatly from the product catalog. Many of your competitors will pull back during a down-market. If you keep building your social activities thoughtfully, you’ll not only maintain or win over market share and audiences but prop your brand up for success post-recession. Here’s how:

TikTok as a Revenue Engine

Last call for brands to go vertical – the time is now to adapt to an all-Reels and all-TikTok strategy. Why? Analyzing Black Friday/Cyber Monday data derived from Power Digital’s proprietary platform, nova, TikTok’s CPMs stood at -53% lower than the Meta CPM, while brands increased spend by +170% YoY. For some industries, like fashion and beauty, sales conversions on TikTok are up to six times higher compared to other industries.

Others are noticing the selling power of a TikTok feed, too. So expect more mobile e-comm platforms to mimic the TikTok scroll format. For example, Amazon’s testing a TikTok-style feed called Inspire. Start thinking about how to incorporate the endless video scroll into your social (and sales) strategy.

How to get started with TikTok? Consistency drives followers and ultimately, sales. Build a content calendar and stick to a regular cadence. Work with quality creators that align with your brand and the lifestyle of your audience. You don’t need to shell out big bucks for TikTok stars, either. Sometimes the best ROI comes from thoughtful partnerships with smaller creators that live and breathe your brand.

Inspire Community Building

Think building community on social media is just about replying to DMs and liking comments? That’s important, but it’s time to look beyond interactions to take a more strategic approach. Creator partnerships are a part of this too as it fuels valuable exchange between your followers. A well-rounded community activation strategy is proactive and based on a value-exchange: think Facebook Groups, Close Friends activations for your most loyal followers, leveraging (and rewarding) user-generated content, to name a few.

Optimize Social E-Commerce Journeys

Continue to optimize social e-commerce journeys, especially when attracting and retaining younger audiences. Gen Z is the savviest demographic on social media. They know how to find the products they want and how to buy them at the best price. Especially with buy now/pay later options like Afterpay or Klarna, Gen Z are quick to impulse-buy products after seeing them on TikTok. A question to ask yourself: what are you doing to make social shopping frictionless? Here are a few strategies to consider: 

• If you offer buy now/pay later options, make sure to communicate about them prominently both on organic and paid content, as well as on your site.
• Amazon Prime has set the expectation for speedy shipping and free returns. Upgrade your shipping policies to match Amazon’s as closely as possible.
• Consider making your products available to buy directly on social platforms like Instagram and Tik tok. Both are investing in end-to-end commerce to match the growing need for seamless transactions.

Finally, if you’re looking for support with your organic or paid social marketing, send us a note. With hundreds of brands on our roster (and serving 60+ brands on all things TikTok), we know a thing or two about driving brand recognition and revenue growth on social.