In the last few years, we have seen a change in how companies promote their products/services through social media channels.
And as the popularity of social media continues to rise — more than 4.48bn people were using social media worldwide in 2021 — brands are now gearing up for the latest social media trends they need to leverage in 2024.
While new social media trends and features might feel everlasting, they also provide you with an opportunity to engage with your target audience differently.
So, what’s in store for 2024? Fortunately, most of the social media features you expect to witness this year are already here. However, in this blog, we have listed the top ten social media trends you must pay attention to and follow in 2024.
Short-form videos are here to stay
Short-form videos have gained massive popularity, thanks to Instagram Reels and TikTok.
Video content is not only an engaging way of storytelling, but it is also a key growth hack:
- Pinterest reported a year-on-year increase of nearly 240% for pins with organic video in 2020-2021.
- Tweets consisting of videos generate 10 times more engagement as opposed to those without videos.
- Videos posted on Instagram receive more engagement in contrast to other formats.
In 2021 alone, we have seen creators and brands use video content to connect with the target audience on a much-rooted level, highlight products, and create awareness about things they believe in.
This year, we will likely see many new creative content and trends emerge- whether comprehensive tutorials or creative editing transitions.
There’ll be more focus on influencer marketing
Though this trend is not new, creative influencers will remain crucial for social media marketing strategy.
The coronavirus pandemic undoubtedly contributed to the growth of ‘unfiltered’ content and influencers like micro-influencers or nano-influencers. Several people trusted influencers over brands during the crisis, so it is important to explore influencer marketing in 2024.
Many creators have seen immense growth within one or two years- they have simply discovered their most-loved niche and focused on it.
Take, for instance, Kat Norton, a lady who created her Instagram handle in Sep 2020 and now has more than 500k followers.
However, it is significant to onboard influencers that align with your brand’s vision and product/service. That will include influencers who have potentially lesser but engaged audiences and influencers who have expertise in a niche that aligns with your brand.
So, avoid wasting money bringing the most popular celebrity or model to convey your message. Focus on influencers in 2024 instead.
TikTok marketing will continue to dominate
TikTok has undoubtedly experienced faster growth. The term ‘TikTok,’ in fact, witnessed a 61% YoY rise in mentions during 2021, with the app having over 3Bn worldwide downloads.
Hence, considering such rapid growth, TikTok marketing shouldn’t be avoided in 2024.
TikTok provides unique opportunities for brands to engage with their customers directly, and popular brands like Starface and The Washington Post have pivoted to the app to tap new audiences.
Moreover, the popularity of TikTok has also encouraged other major social media channels, including YouTube and Instagram, to try new content formats. For instance, Instagram introduced its own TikTok lookalike feature known as Reels.
And with nearly 60% of the TikTok users being Gen Z’s, we expect more brands to let loose and try the app to reach a wider market in 2024.
For example, Duolingo’s TikTok content is extremely different from its content across other online platforms. That, eventually, has led to millions of views and hundreds of comments consistently.
Addressing mental health issues
People’s increased dependence on social media channels during COVID times has led to a newly-grown awareness about the negative impact of excessive social media use on mental health. It can lead to people feeling exhausted, drained, and manipulated.
In fact, we even noticed a rise in brands and creators talking about setting digital limitations, self-care, and taking ample breaks. And in 2024, we predict more conversations around the relationship an individual shares with social platforms and its aftereffects.
Even YouTube has joined the bandwagon and removed the dislike counts on its videos from the public eye (though the dislike button remains). While dislike counts aren’t a metric for conversion rate, making them private tries to lower harassment.
Though it’s a great step in the correct direction, we are curious to know how other social platforms come up with ways to deal with digital burnout in 2024.
Augmented Reality will be consumers’ preferred choice when testing products
Augmented Reality has been out and about for a couple of years, and it is becoming increasingly prevalent for companies to utilize AR to allow consumers to try out products before the purchase.
AR has shown positive results for a brand’s bottom line too. It, in fact, can enhance the CTR (Click-Through-Rates) to purchase decisions by more than 33%.
There has been major growth in engagement with Augmented Reality in the past two years, with more than 200mn Snapchat users engaging with AR each day.
If you believe that Augmented Reality fits your social media marketing tactic, you can use Snapchat to try it. The social media platform reaches a massive audience base in the US, so it is a good chance to bring your products before a huge audience.
As such, the trend will continue to linger around and will only keep growing.
There will be a rise in social selling demands
In the past couple of years, social media channels have worked very hard to offer a native shopping experience to allow users to buy products without leaving their websites.
For instance, consider Shoppable Stories on Instagram that lets you purchase by tapping on the product sticker or tag directly in the app.
Meanwhile, other platforms have worked on their native advertising strategy to ensure that the users get a smooth shopping experience. For example, TikTok developed an advertising content format known as Spark Ads to boost their organic content profile.
In 2024, we will likely see more companies introducing social selling in their social media strategy to reach their target audience, whether/wherever they are ready to purchase. If your audience prefers to buy your products through Instagram, why let them down?
Consumers will look for short-form or ‘snackable content’
Back in 2020, we witnessed a rise in the use of Instagram Reels and TikTok, massive engagement on the Stories content posted on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook and brands developing other ‘snackable’ content to raise awareness about their products.
As people’s attention span on social media continues to lower, with more of them scrolling their feeds endlessly when bored, don’t expect the snackable pieces of content to wear out anytime soon.
Live videos will transform the social media game
With several social media professionals asking to concentrate on video content marketing for some time now, using social media live streaming will undoubtedly garner more popularity in 2024.
Companies are now checking out live video streaming frequently to better connect with the audience for real-time conversations.
The popularity that live video streams have gained has surprisingly even exceeded demands for video content.
Currently, live video streams are being broadcasted on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter because nearly 82% of people prefer to attend live videos through social media platforms.
Besides, there has been a rise in getting renowned personalities and celebrities on live video chat by several brands, thus creating an opportunity for the audience to connect with their most-loved role models or celebrities.
Impromptu live video chats are an incredible way to grab your target customer’s attention and make significant announcements, especially when companies’ chances of appearing on people’s feeds have been restricted because of algorithm changes.
Increasing demand for social media chatbots
When we talk of communicating with a brand’s customer support department, nobody likes wasting their effort and time on general computerized communications. That’s exactly where the thought of chatbots may cross the minds of people.
Fortunately, chatbot communications in 2024 will not waste people’s effort or time but bring faster resolutions to them. The AI-driven chatbots can accurately understand your concerns and queries and provide you with the best solution within seconds.
And how can that benefit you? Well, several brands are unable to offer 24×7 customer support. So, if you are stuck with a product order placed on such a brand website that lacks the human touch to help you, it may get more irritating/frustrating.
However, when AI-driven chatbots are integrated with social media webpages of varied brands, there is less dependence upon humans, and customers can get solutions to their concerns anytime.
In fact, it is expected that the cost savings for businesses from using chatbot conversations will likely rise to more than $8Bn yearly in 2024.
As it is a bonus or add-on feature for brands and customers, much focus is being given to the AI-powered chatbots of late, which further helps to enhance business-customer relationships.
Local targeting will become more prevalent
Local targeting will be more prevalent this year and will be that way for years to come. Local brands are now trying to better connect with the target audience by using geotagging in their social posts.
For instance, Instagram already lets its users search stories and posts in their close vicinity. Besides, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter promotions help businesses target their audience from a particular place using their IP address.
If you’re a startup or small-scale business, you must connect with the local audience to gain popularity and create brand awareness before targeting farther-away audiences.
Due to increased online competition, it’s difficult for small-scale businesses or startups to compete against renowned brands, specifically when they are just starting.
Local targeting will help connect with people and receive maximum ROI in such situations. Furthermore, it lets you deal with a particular audience by developing personalized content that aligns with their needs, which big brands fail to do sometimes.
How can you capitalize on the 2024 Social Media Trends?
So now that we have discussed the top ten trends for social media you will likely witness in 2024, let’s take a recap on the steps you should consider to leverage the aforementioned trends and improve your social media marketing strategy.
- Use video content whenever you can. People like video content these days, especially the live streams, which feel authentic. Test the live video streaming channels such as Facebook Live or IGTV to check how well they perform.
- Develop relatable content. Do not be scared to display a distinct side of your brand. Talk about your brand’s bigger purpose or mission, highlight customer feedback or stories. Go beyond the product/service you offer to develop a deeper bond with people.
- Try using a conversational tone. Develop social media post captions as if you’re talking to some friend. You will, of course, want to stick with your brand’s true voice; however, don’t forget to play around with the way you converse with the audience via social platforms.
- Incorporate design elements in snackable content. Try gifs, memes, fun infographics, quick quizzes, short videos, etc., to know how you may attract audience attention even if they are scrolling rapidly on their feeds.
- Focus on quality over quantity. There is no need to publish content only once per day. People look for quality and not quantity. Hence, consider setting up a proper schedule to post content regularly but do not overpost. Use the analytics result to find out the right sequence for your brand.
Lastly, consider checking unexpected or new social media channels to reach a new audience.
Final Thoughts on Social Media Trends in 2024
Social media is a broad sphere that’s constantly evolving.
And while it could be overwhelming after a new trend emerges or a feature rolls out, it lets you experiment and analyze what works for your target audience and brand objective.
So, whether it is leveraging TikTok marketing or trying short-form videos, we are tapping these ten social media trends as the ones you should watch out for in 2024.
However, as a social media marketer, you should always research trends, consumer behaviors online, and your brand’s social media information to understand which strategy or trend would work or how you can navigate unprecedented online situations.