Marketing Trends & Updates - Spring 2023

Instagram & Facebook:

Meta announced a new paid verification subscription service called Meta Verified - they are offering a slow roll out and a waitlist is available (yep, I'm on it! I'll report back on my experience). For $11.99 a month on the web and $14.99 a month on iOS, users on Instagram and Facebook will be able to submit their government ID and get a blue verification badge, customer support, impersonation protection, and more. Businesses are not currently eligible to apply for Meta Verified and as of now users will not be able to change their profile name, username, date of birth, or profile photo without going through the application process again.

TikTok:

The US government has asked TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell to a U.S. based company or face a nationwide ban, citing National Security concerns. Many U.S. based companies can't acquire TikTok, even if they want to, because of Anti-Trust policies.The app is already banned on many college campuses and on all government-issued devices. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before Congress this week. The UK appears to following suit.

Twitter:

Have you been on Twitter lately? Yeah, me neither. It seems like a big dumpster fire. The blue badge prioritization has been a disaster, the API stopped working, Elon Musk fired an employee over his declining Tweet views, and journalist/press requests are receiving an auto reply ... of "💩." Literally. I fact-checked this.

There is a "rumor" that Meta (Facebook) is looking at plans to launch a new social media app in an attempt to displace (an already declining) Twitter.

Influencers:

Many brands are moving away from working with social media influencers and looking at Student Athletes (after the NIL policy updates) and Micro-Influencers OR "De-Influencers." There is ... a lot ... to unpack here, so reach out directly if you are looking for more info.

Direct Mail:

Direct mail is making a comeback in 2023, and marketers agree that Snail Mail continues to show consistent results when it comes to sales conversions and ROI. Despite the prevelance of digital technologies, consumers still trust, prefer, and are more responsive to physical copies of their mail, especially personalized ones

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