The end of the year is almost in sight, and while we take some time to reflect on the whirlwind that has been 2023, now seems like the perfect opportunity to put together our predictions on the social media trends for 2024.
With social media channels constantly changing and evolving, it is important that we create new ways of reaching our audiences. Increased competition on social media means that you really have to stand out from the crowd, utilising your marketing budget in the best way possible. Here are some key social media trends to look out for in 2024 to help you increase your brand visibility and engagement with your audience:
Authenticity is key
You are probably sick of hearing the word ‘authenticity’ by now, but it really shouldn’t be dismissed. With so many overly-edited images and videos on social media, you need to find a way to connect and engage with your audience. Think about posting in real-time, and creating content that customers can resonate with. TikTok is definitely here to stay, so if you haven’t jumped on that bandwagon, you really should. It is all about creating content that is relatable, and giving your brand a personality.
Utilise micro-influencers
Influencer marketing has been on the rise for a number of years now, and we really feel this is going to be more important than ever in 2024. With more and more people shopping from the comfort of their sofa, partnering with influencers is the way forward. Although influencers are now asking for higher prices when promoting a brand, partnering with smaller influencers within your particular niche can be far more effective. Yes, their audiences will be smaller, but their engagement will be a lot higher. If you have the budget to collaborate with several micro-influencers at lower costs, this can help generate a positive return on your investment.
Customer service social accounts
Many businesses are now choosing to use social media as their main customer service channel. It is important to have a direct line of communication with your customers, allowing potential issues to be resolved in a timely manner. Rather than having a phone line where people have to wait for half an hour to be answered, it may be time to consider social media as another channel of communication. Of course you do have to be careful and make sure all your channels are monitored regularly, but there has been some really positive PR this year when brands have helped customers out in a positive, public way.
Personalised advertising
Paid advertising is set to rise again in 2024 as more businesses are realising the benefits of running paid ads on social media. With the rising trends focusing on videos and graphic content, Instagram is becoming the favoured channel for paid advertising, alongside YouTube. Again, paid social media advertising is becoming more and more popular so you will have to get creative with your ads. Standing out from the crowd is important, and user-generated content is becoming more popular (particularly when it focuses on FOMO marketing!).
AI for social listening
This blog wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the huge trend for 2023… AI. Even LinkedIn is introducing in-app AI post writing and comment suggestion tools, so this really is a trend you need to start using. Now we aren’t saying go crazy with AI, particularly when it comes to SEO as Google will always favour original content over AI-generated content. However, combining machine learning with social listening can give you incredible customer insights and general market data. It has never been easier to work out what your customers want to hear from you!
Use of social messaging apps as marketing channels
Social messaging apps are no longer solely for communications, they are becoming quite powerful marketing tools. 2024 will be all about brands using social messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to send product updates and promotional messages to customers. With the ability to integrate chatbots and automated responses, businesses will be able to engage with their customers around the clock.
Rise of social media as a shopping platform
You only have to pop on Instagram to see just how popular social media platforms are becoming as shopping outlets. Users can easily shop directly from posts, read reviews and even explore product catalogs without having to leave the platform. With features like Linktree that allows you to create a single webpage that houses all the important links you want to share, shopping has never been easier on social media.
Augmented reality
Filters are becoming more and more popular on social media channels, as they help to enhance real-life visual content to make you stand out on social media. We aren’t just talking about the cool sunglasses trend though. Facebook and Instagram are using AR to help improve the shopping experience, mainly giving customers the chance to try on products using cameras on their smartphones.
Increased awareness of data privacy
In an era when data breaches are happening all the time, consumers are more conscious than ever about how much personal data to hand over to businesses. This awareness extends to social media too, as these platforms are some of the worst for harvesting data. It is becoming more and more important for brands to be transparent about what data they collect and how this is stored. Robust data security measures are incredibly important, and in order to improve trust with customers this needs to be clearly communicated across all social media platforms.
Tight-knit communities
With so many customers and businesses on social media these days, many users are finding this difficult and are looking to communicate in other ways. There are lots of small communities popping up where like-minded people with similar interests are sharing their thoughts and content freely. Facebook Groups are on the rise, and LinkedIn is being used more to connect business owners. You can use this to your advantage by niching down your content to a smaller audience, offering valuable content that they can connect with. While the size of your audience will be smaller, the conversion rate should be much higher.
So there you have it, some of our predicted social media trends for 2024. We would love to hear your thoughts on where social media will take us in the next year, we will have our ears closely to the ground for any new channels or opportunities that may arise. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates!
