If you want to know which social media trends will be big in 2024, you don’t need a psychic. Data is all that’s required.
The future can be more clearly seen when performance and consumer preference data are combined. We are not discussing which TikTok videos will become viral soon. Here, we’ll go over the factors influencing audience behavior patterns and how your brand fits into that picture.
This article delves into the latest social media trends that are shaping the future of social media, drawing on insights from industry professionals and the data that powers the social realm.
- Everything is video, but now it’s long-form!
Every year, a list of social media trends will include the prevalence of video, especially short-form video.
We all know that short-form videos are great for connecting with viewers and gaining new followers. Indeed, most users rank it as the in-feed content category that captivates them the most.
In a surprising turn of events, nevertheless, long-form video has recently experienced a revival.
As of late, TikTok has begun testing 30-minute uploads, continuing its push for lengthier movies that began with 10-minute clips. In fact, it is beginning to promote YouTube-style horizontal videos.
These long-form experiments are warranted, as the site reports that users spend more than 50% of their time on TikTok watching videos with a duration of one minute or more.
As a brand, you should know that short-form video is an essential component of any effective social media strategy. However, consider ways to incorporate narratives of varying lengths within your material.
- Keep an eye on (and take advantage of) the growing field of social commerce.
I think we can all relate to the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend and have even made a purchase based on something we saw on TikTok or another social media site.
However, social commerce is here to stay, so keep an eye on it and factor it into your strategy. It is being promoted by platforms such as TikTok. In late 2023, TikTok Shop was formally launched in the US. Plus, they’re now looking for methods to streamline that in-app purchasing experience even more.
Try selling on social media if you haven’t already. People on social media are eager to buy. Find out if your brand would be a good fit for TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, and give them another way to shop.
- “Brand personality” has given way to less serious, more whimsical material.
The current “edgy” brand trend of trying out lighthearted material is overshadowing the “edgy” brand voice.
Every time, brands have come up with innovative ways to blend in with meme culture and the Internet’s voice. More and more brands are trying new things with their voice and visual content in this regard.
For example, LinkedIn’s Threads feature human voices discussing a wide variety of subjects, from the inspirational to the charming, and everything in between.
The message for brands is to consider ways in which they might be more lighthearted on social media. Doing this in a manner that deviates from the voice and tone of your brand is not necessary. How could you modify existing meme styles and trends to complement your brand’s messaging?
- Transparency and providing behind-the-scenes content
More and more, consumers want firms to be honest about how they make money on social media in response to the growing need for genuine content.
However, a fascinating change has occurred. Not long ago, discussing social media trends would have been incomplete without mentioning how important it was for brands to speak out—or be shamed. However, in 2023, the Index found that just 25% of consumers said that the most influential businesses on social media shared their beliefs by addressing important issues and breaking news.
Additionally, the Index discovered that customers see a lack of transparency regarding corporate processes and beliefs as the second most significant issue with firms’ social media presence.
What this means to me is that brands are expected to regularly demonstrate their principles and transparency, even if speaking out used to be a differentiating factor. Consumers are more concerned about labor practices, diversity, investor relations, supplier chain, firm leadership, and environmental responsibilities.
Seek ways to be more open and honest about your company, its goods, and its processes. You can begin with something as basic as making behind-the-scenes videos showing your workplace, the items being created, the individuals responsible for making them, and your principles around sustainability. Always be prepared to back up your claims with evidence.
And be prepared to lead with the correct resources when questions emerge that your brand must answer. With the use of social listening, you can anticipate what people are talking about, get a head start on solving problems, and figure out what needs fixing before it even starts.
- Search engine optimization isn’t only for websites; it’s also critical for social media.
The search engine potential of social media sites should not be disregarded. Nearly 40% of millennials and Gen Zers used TikTok instead of Google in 2022.
The importance of making your content discoverable in feeds and search results is more than ever before because of this.
Optimize your social media material in the same way you would your blog posts or website pages for search engine optimization. To make your posts and profile as discoverable as possible, include relevant keywords in the alt text, caption, and hashtags.
- Genuine content is shared more widely
Brands that feature genuine voices, from creators to employees, stand out from those that don’t, as we’ve seen with the meteoric rise of creator culture. Because this is the new social media era, it is critical for brands to understand that this trend will not go away.
Artificial intelligence is the sole factor fueling this demand for greater authenticity. Genuine interactions on social media will be in high demand. That personal aspect is so vital and will remain so even in 2024. AI is great and can help us go places faster, but it really lacks the human touch.
Make more genuinely owned content and reach out to producers. The content that does the best for Flywire is always the one that features our workers,” says Mackowitz. Showing the faces behind the payments has been a huge success for us! Truthfulness will skyrocket in the year 2024.
Consider humorous blogs, videos showcasing staff who aren’t afraid of the camera, or a “meet the team” series. Unleash your imagination!
- Increasing importance of creators and influencers in the economy
We are only posting in the realm of creators and influencers today. Creators and influencers in this age of authenticity bring a genuine, personable perspective to the social media feed. And their role on brand accounts will grow in significance for audience engagement. Out of 307 marketers in the US surveyed in Q3 by Sprout Pulse, 80% of social marketers said that influencer marketing was crucial to their social strategy.
That more genuine, uncensored content is becoming popular is shown by TikTok’s ongoing domination. Users are more drawn to content that feels authentic and relatable; thus, this trend is expected to continue. Creators and influencers with the ability to tell engaging tales and establish genuine connections with their audiences will find more and more brand endorsement opportunities.
The rise of influencers and creators, together with the genuine voices they offer, will most certainly continue to be a social media trend for quite some time. If you haven’t already, you should begin launching your influencer and creator marketing program and collaborations immediately.
The human-centric approach to social media places a strong emphasis on human creativity and connection when it comes to producing brand messages, which is in keeping with this trend.
A separate platform for managing creators and influencers should be considered; in fact, more than half of brands have already done so.
- Teams in charge of marketing and customer service frequently employ AI… and keep a careful eye on it!
As we go through this year and beyond, one of the most prominent social media trends will be the utilization of AI to simplify processes.
The 2023 Social IndexTM reports that more than 80% of marketers are already seeing the beneficial effects of AI in their job. Maybe you’re one of those people. Additionally, AI is expected to have an even greater impact in marketing and customer service, going beyond just automating content creation and responses.
We may anticipate a more profound incorporation of AI in tailoring user experiences in 2024. Artificial intelligence (AI) can sift through user data and generate better targeted ads, more responsive chatbots for customer care, and more personalized content recommendations. Because AI is getting better at understanding and mimicking human-like interactions and creativity, content production is becoming more efficient, which is in line with this trend.
However, we anticipate that this trend will take on a rather different appearance this year. Even though AI has been around for a while, there has been a recent uptick in discussions around AI ethics and how to use it properly.
To take advantage of the benefits that AI may provide, firms who were first hesitant to employ AI tools will now establish standards of tight adherence and oversight.
Embrace AI-powered content development and customer care to reach new heights. Make sure your team and brand are protected by developing an AI use policy and always using AI in an ethical and responsible manner.
- Customers prefer individualized service
Customers’ expectations for how businesses handle their social media accounts have only grown. The Index found that 70% of consumers now anticipate individualized responses to their customer service inquiries, in addition to the more traditional expectation of rapid responses.
Companies that don’t put customer service first will surely lag as 76% of customers notice and appreciate it when businesses do.
Keep yourself abreast of developments in customer care. Evaluate your current level of responsiveness and consider ways to increase the scope of your social customer service initiatives.
Most companies in the Index (75%) plan to have their marketing and customer service departments work together on social customer care. If this is your situation as well, keep in mind that enabling all teams involved to communicate and collaborate is the key to solid customer care. Discuss and reach a consensus on social voice and tone, response best practices, the use of canned responses, the modifications to the chat bot, and anything else that both teams may need.
- Everyone, not just marketers, needs social data.
That social data is solely useful for marketing and social media is one of the most widespread misconceptions about social media. The opposite is true: social media data can educate and enhance your entire business, touching every department and team along the way. This includes product development, customer service, public relations, and more.
The Index found that 76 percent of marketers think that other divisions benefit from their team’s social insights. You can count on this trend continuing. Businesses would surely lag the competition if they don’t incorporate social media into their overall strategy.
In addition, digging into the numbers is a great approach to spot social media trends in your own content.
If social teams can effectively share data with other divisions, their usage of data will expand beyond their own team as they develop.
Conclusion
New platforms, content formats, or popular TikTok sounds can appear at any moment. Really, they frequently shock us in a way that makes us want to just stop what we’re doing and shoot this content.
Now is the time to examine the broader social media marketing trends so that we can construct a more robust approach that guarantees our success. This will ensure you success this Spring and for the whole year to come!
SwaysEast offers a suite of smart digital marketing tools to help brands create innovative solutions and experience their very own AI digital marketing success stories. Book a FREE APPOINTMENT today.
