As we come to the end of the year, we’re jumping on the bandwagon and taking a look back at 2023! Looking at the key trends and themes from the past 12 months helps us be in the best position to prepare effectively for the next year. We will have a better idea of what trends will persist that we need to work with, and any potential opportunities and challenges that might also pop up.

There’s no doubt 2023 was a big year for communicators. Here’s a quick wrap-up of four big themes we saw in professional communications this year.

1. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning

By far the trend that made the biggest splash in 2023 was the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. While AI has been around for a while, this year saw an influx of useful tools that every person can use for generation of text, imagery, video, and music. Some of those tools include ChatGPT, Google Bard, Canva’s AI suite, Dall-E, and many more. 

As these AI tools started to be adopted the limitations quickly became clear. They’re not perfect by any means, but they provide an opportunity for improved productivity and creativity. Check out episode 21 of our Less Chatter, More Matter podcast, where we shared six ways to stay relevant with AI tools in communication.

2. Hybrid working becomes ‘official’

This year, post-pandemic madness, we’ve seen many workforces officially settle into hybrid ways of working. Businesses started implementing policies that required their employees to be in the office a certain number of days per week.

As a result, communicators had to rethink internal communication strategies, channels, and content. The bandaid fixes that were rolled out during the pandemic required a review - what was fit for purpose two years ago may not be working as well now.

One of the challenges with hybrid working has been the proximity bias - essentially, it means you’re more likely to get opportunities or be promoted if you’re seen more frequently by your leader. So there’s been extra consideration for equitable access to leaders, and how communication channels and practices can play a part in that. 

3. Crisis communication more valuable

This year has seen more businesses become victims of cyber attacks, and experience technology failures. For example, back in March, Latitude Financial experienced a data breach that impacted over 14 million people across Australia and New Zealand. 

Just recently, DP World Australia, Australia’s largest operator of shipping ports had to close their Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle operations temporarily as a result of a breach, impacting supply chains and income. We also saw Optus’s nation-wide outage, which left all their customers offline for up to 24 hours.

These breaches and technology failures demonstrated how critical it is to have effective crisis communication preparedness and capability, to help manage reputation damage during these events. We hope we’ll see more investment of time and resources in crisis communication planning and capability building in 2024.

4. Social media chaos!

If you work with social media channels, 2023 would have been a frustrating experience! Amongst the ongoing changes to algorithms and rules around advertising, there were significant changes and issues with key platforms.

As a result of the leadership of X (formerly Twitter) removing several safeguarding and moderation mechanisms, several big corporates reduced or completely pulled their advertising - and their accounts - from the platform. These companies include Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Apple, IBM, Unliver, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Wells Fargo, LinkedIn, Dell, and Mars. 

It paved the way, however, for Meta to launch its rival platform, Threads, in July. Threads made a big splash when it launched, but is struggling to attract and retain users. X still gets about 100 times more web traffic than Threads worldwide and has 11 times more monthly active users of its mobile apps in the US.

TikTok’s management was brought before a US Congressional hearing due to concerns about data safety, as TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. Countries like the US and Canada are concerned about sensitive user data being made available to the Chinese government, and use of the platform to spread misinformation. We haven’t seen a complete ban on TikTok this year (outside of India), but many governments around the world have banned the app on official devices (eg, staff work-issued mobile phones).

It has certainly been a big year in communication! While 2024 is anyone’s guess, we can see some of these key trends continuing in the new year. 

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