Talent acquisition leaders know the importance of social media in recruitment. With the landscape constantly in flux, Cielo partnered with Sprout Social to highlight social media trends you can expect in 2023 – and how they can support you in developing a shining hiring strategy:

Facebook will secretly become young and cool again

With the pandemic forcing students to interact with their classmates solely online, students had to create new ways of interacting with peers that allow for separation from their personal pages/personas. Enter the rise in Facebook groups. They’re an easy, private way to communicate with many people, making them perfect for segmenting your social media presence. Groups will continue to thrive, even as campus attendance increases, mainly because they’re easily hidden from the eyes of who made Facebook uncool to start with (mum and dad) – making Facebook groups a must-have for your early talent campaign.

It’s an AR world on Instagram

Augmented reality (AR) will rule on Instagram with clever, creative enhancements to a candidate’s digital identity and an employer’s highlight of shared work environments. As AR graphics trend and become the new standard, they’ll also become a new way to search and serve employer brand content. Imagine branded AR content being a part of virtual hiring events and interviews! This will be the ultimate bridge between the physical and digital worlds.

Big changes for Twitter on the horizon

By the end of 2023, Twitter ambitiously wants to add 100 million daily users to the site – about a 50% growth from where it is now. Twitter has admitted there’s not a sign-up problem; it’s monetizable daily active users where there hasn’t been exponential growth over the last several years. With the recent acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, there have been major changes that may lead to turbulent times ahead for the once-prominent social space. Some of the largest ad companies have pulled spending from the platform, and there have been discussions of changing the verification process which would require users to pay to keep their coveted blue checkmarks. One thing is for certain, for better or worse, Twitter as we know it is going to change.

No personal branding on LinkedIn? Need not apply

Personal branding isn’t a new concept, but in the age of influencer marketing the approach has come to the forefront, even in an employer branding context. But what about employee branding? To put it simply, your personal branding is your reputation whether you’re aware of that messaging or not. However, it’s becoming more important to be intentional about who you brand yourself to be, particularly on LinkedIn. What sort of culture are you creating for your employees in the workplace? Do you have initiatives in place which encourage diversity and inclusion? If you’re not creating content to address those questions in one of the most competitive employment markets in recent history, the chance is that you’re not setting yourself apart among the talent force. If you’re an employer and not deploying marketing to separate yourself from the noise, the chance is that you’re not attracting talent effectively. LinkedIn’s platform interface has shifted more to a traditional social media platform, with an endless scroll of content. It’ll soon become a requirement to leverage content marketing practices to remain relevant.

Evolving perspective on influencer marketing on TikTok

With over a billion videos viewed every day, TikTok is a social media powerhouse. Influencers and brands have flocked to this ever-growing platform, which has 1.3 billion active users. Influencer marketing is the most effective form of marketing on TikTok since influencers can build trust with their followers and are more likely to recommend brands with confidence. Additionally, brands have a 93% higher engagement rate when they partner with creators. Influencers are ranked from mega (1 million-plus follower), macro (500,000-plus followers), mid-tier (50,000-plus followers), and micro (10,000-plus followers), each with a different marketing strategy so brands can choose which tier of influencer best fits their objectives. Influencer marketing is likely to play a larger role in the future as TikTok is producing new stars every day, allowing brands with smaller budgets to increase their audiences.

Is it even 2023 if it isn’t authentic?

In 2023 we’ll begin to see more authentic and user-generated content (UGC). Corporate stock imagery will be a thing of the past and the only way to interact or create brand awareness successfully with audiences will be through real content.

Being real and creating authentic content can forge a deeper connection with customers, encouraging brand loyalty and taking the bond past sales. Down to earth campaigns will take precedent and audiences will have a deeper understanding of the brand as transparency is the new influence.

Can you hear me now?

Much like the rise of authentic imagery and video, in 2023 we’ll continue to see the rise of user-generated audio and sounds. Remarkably popular on TikTok, these UGC sounds will become more pervasive on Instagram Reels and Snapchat, fueling viral content creation. We’ll also see a rise in recording artists creating audio bites of their soundtracks for use in viral campaigns – ala Taylor Swift with “Nothing New” and Simple Plan with “I’m Just a Kid.”

The ultimate shopping experience

During the pandemic, shopping on social media platforms blew up in popularity and will continue to do so. Instagram Shops provides an immersive and native storefront experience and creates an opportunity for businesses to showcase their brand stories and products. As features evolve, direct conversations between businesses and consumers are further enabled and third-party checkouts are being eliminated. Now that Facebook and Instagram are permanent shopping fixtures, other platforms, like TikTok, are jumping in too. In the U.S., social commerce increased by 25.2% and is projected to exceed over 100 million shoppers by 2023.

We need MORE video and we need it now

Video continues its exponential growth. With the huge rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok, people will continue to consume and demand more bite-size video content from brands and creators.

Brands will have to look to the way they hire and structure their teams to make sure they’re prioritizing the quality and time of video content creation. In 2023, video consumption will not slow down and brands that aren’t prioritizing this format or spending time building an audience on TikTok will fall behind.

So long are the days of over-stylized videos. Consumers will want shorter, trendier and real videos from brands.

Now that you have some more insight into what’s coming, it’s time to start evaluating how you’re using social media to support your talent attraction strategy. Not sure where to start? Working with an external strategic partner can help you get the most out of these valuable channels – and make the right hires for your business.


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