As we begin what promises to be another tumultuous and unpredictable year, here at DNAsix we thought we'd get out a crystal ball and come up with our predictions for 2023. Here goes!
1) We’re witnessing the slow death of ‘social’ media. Instead it should just be viewed as exactly what it is - just plain media. Whilst we don't expect any of the channels to disappear any time soon, the social element is the part being killed off by algorithms.
2) The ability to create decent content will be the biggest challenge for all organisations. Most though won’t have either the skill or the budget to create the levels of interesting, engaging, relevant and frequent content that the algorithms demand.
3) Paid media will continue to become more and more important as it’ll be the only realistic way to reach new/existing audiences. In a way, this is back to the future as in the pre digital age, advertising was always an essential part of any sales strategy.
4) There needs to be a dialogue around business support plus assumptions that it should always be free. If there’s very little spare Government cash to go around, businesses need to invest in their own future - even if this is just a few pounds a month.
5) LinkedIn may well move into the space vacated by Musk’s Twitter. Microsoft (LinkedIn's owner) will no doubt have been watching the soap opera caused by Elon't takeover of the struggling site and may make subtle adjustments to their offering.
6) TikTok will continue to grow and become the entertainment channel of choice for large swathes of the population across the globe. Note the use of 'entertainment channel' rather than 'social media'.
7) Personal branding will continue to become an essential part of any communications strategy. People have always been the most valuable asset in any organisation and there is a growing realisation that their brand can be successfully harnessed.
8) Sustainability and ESG will become increasingly part of every organisation’s daily operations. No matter whether you're a micro SME or large corporation, the impact you make on the environment will now make a difference to your ultimate profitability.
Our advice to anyone running a business this year or looking to make a difference to their communications would be (1) to keep innovating in everything you do (2) educate yourself and your team about news ways of working and (3) relate to your stakeholder audiences.