2023 has already seen lots of exciting social media trends emerge. Here, you can discover the top 5 social media trends that are set to continue throughout the rest of the year and beyond.

Over 4 billion people worldwide use social media (Statista). This is half of the global population, which is crazy to even think about. But what are the most popular social media platforms at the moment in terms of sheer user count? Here's a closer look:

Facebook: 2.96 billion

Whatsapp: 2 billion

Instagram: 2 billion

WeChat: 1.26 billion

TikTok: 1 billion

Despite being ranked 5th, TikTok is actually the hottest social media platform in 2023. If you're yet to make a TikTok account, now is the time to do it.

With that said, let's progress to the main topic of discussion: the 5 top trends on social media that you need to know about. These trends are incredibly exciting, so make sure to engage with them, whether you're a casual user or an aspiring influencer.

Live Streaming

live streaming is an insanely popular social media trend. From Instagram to TikTok, millions of users go live every single day to broadcast to their followers. During live streams, people generally do entertaining things, such as Q&As or dances. Recently, it's also become popular to share your screen with followers and play online gambling games, such as online slots. Because there's such a wide-variety of online slot games to choose from in 2023, such as sports-themed and movie-themed slots, it helps to keep audiences entertained for hours on end. Plus, people love to watch influencers gamble with real money, as it's incredibly fun to watch (especially when they win big).

For example, over recent years, Drake has taken part in live streams where he plays games like online roulette. There was even a viral moment in 2023 when his card was declined during the live stream, which spawned tons of social media memes as a result.

Short-Form Videos

These days, people have short attention spans. Therefore, it's hardly surprising that short-form videos, such as YouTube shorts, continue to skyrocket in popularity. This is a trend that's going to stick around for sure. Make no doubt about it, the days of overly long videos that are difficult to digest are over. Instead, it's all about short, snappy, and easy-to-watch videos, which is ultimately why TikTok is experiencing insane levels of growth.

Brand Collaborations

All of your favorite social media influencers are currently doing brand collaborations. The main reason for this is because brand collaborations are a more reliable revenue stream for them compared to traditional social media ads. What this means is that (for better or worse) you can expect to keep seeing the people you follow advertise different brand products to you in their content.

Social Media Selling

Facebook and TikTok are fast-becoming Ecommerce platforms. For example, the TikTok Shop allows brands and creators to sell products directly through TikTok — and people are loving it. Pretty soon, it's highly likely that Twitter and other popular platforms will start to join in this trend to drive profitability.

#NoFilter Selfies

#NoFilter selfies continue to be a big trend on social media, especially amongst big influencers and celebrities. Usually, when a notable influencer drops a #NoFilter or #NoMakeup selfie, it goes viral and is great for them to keep boosting followers and engagement.