With 72% of U.S. adults actively utilizing social media platforms, the undeniable influence of these networks in the digital realm is clear. Investing in social media and establishing a robust online presence is essential for engaging with audiences interested in your offerings.However, the social media landscape is perpetually evolving, necessitating a keen awareness of emerging trends to capitalize on them effectively. What are the latest social media trends for 2024?Here are 18 essential trends to watch:
Production of short-form, authentic videos
Utilizing social media platforms for market research
Creation of “edutainment” content
Development of a genuine brand image
Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in social content
Deinfluencing and promoting products authentically
Selling products via social media
Investing in YouTube Shorts
Leveraging user-generated content
Following video trends on TikTok
Migrating to decentralized social media networks
Updating social media policies
Combining multiple photos into a single post
Generating shareable content
Embracing the philosophy “people and planet over profits”
Employing interactive ads to enhance engagement
Collaborating with nano and micro-influencers
Focus on community building over follower count
Continue reading to delve deeper into these social media trends!
Let’s begin with the trend of creating short-form, authentic videos. Short-form video content has surged in popularity over the last few years, thanks to its ease of consumption and the rise of platforms like TikTok.As of 2024, this trend remains unchanged. Short videos will continue to dominate social media, serving as a crucial format for engaging with audiences.The only change? Authenticity.We’ll delve further into this when discussing deinfluencing and brand image, but authenticity is poised to be a significant trend for 2024. Users are increasingly fatigued by “staged” and “fake” content, seeking genuine content that resonates with them.When planning your content for 2024, consider creating short-form videos for various platforms. Focus on content that can be effectively conveyed in a 1-2 minute video.In addition, think about how to authentically present your brand to your audience. Avoid being overly salesy or adopting a persona that doesn’t align with your brand identity.Continuing our exploration of social media marketing trends, let’s discuss using social media platforms for research. In today’s digital age, many people rely on search engines to find information; however, social media is also a valuable source of information.Consider this scenario: If you’re looking for a broccoli cheddar soup recipe, you might search on Google and find recipe options in the search results.
On social media platforms, however, the process is more straightforward. Searching for broccoli cheddar soup recipes on Instagram, for instance, yields a plethora of videos and photos of recipes that you can quickly review.
As a result, social media platforms are becoming a preferred destination for finding recipes, products, and more. This means you need to optimize your content to ensure it’s discoverable on social media.To capitalize on this social marketing trend, optimize your profile for social search engines. One effective method is to target keywords in your posts, using them in the captions to increase visibility in relevant searches.For example, if you’re posting a broccoli cheddar soup recipe, you might target the keyword “broccoli cheddar soup recipe” to enhance its discoverability. Utilizing hashtags with relevant keywords on platforms like Instagram can also help your content appear in relevant search results.One of the latest trends in social media is “edutainment” content. Edutainment involves informative and educational content presented in an entertaining and engaging manner, often through scenarios or skits.Edutainment is gaining popularity on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. This type of content appeals to users because it helps them learn new information in an easily digestible way.
Imagine you want to learn about opening a high-yield savings (HYS) account. You could read articles online, but that might feel dull (especially if you’re not interested in finance).Now imagine someone creates a quick, one-minute reel featuring two characters discussing opening a HYS account. This video would provide entertainment and make the subject more engaging.Edutainment is the new frontier for sharing crucial industry information with your audience.To leverage this new social media trend, create a list of topics you can post about on social media to educate your audience. Once you have a list, think of creative ways to present the information to your followers.The most common formats for edutainment posts are skits and scenarios, but you can take any approach to present your information in an entertaining and educational manner.As previously mentioned, authenticity is a central theme in current social media trends. With so many content creators, there’s a surge in fake content aimed at gaining views — and users are tired of it.This is why authentic brand imaging is a key trend in social media marketing. People want to see a real brand that represents itself genuinely without trying to be something it’s not for the sake of views or being “trendy.” This trend is relatively straightforward to follow: Just be yourself. Your company has a brand and a brand voice, so adhere to it when creating content. Don’t deviate from your branding — embrace and showcase it in your content.
Whether your brand is humorous and whimsical or direct and serious, let that reflect in your content.Your brand doesn’t need to conform to a specific style to appeal to people — you’ll appeal to them by being your authentic self.Another emerging social media trend is harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for social content. AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing AI, are revolutionizing the world, generating information within seconds.These tools are attractive for 2024 as they can help businesses generate information faster and save time.What will businesses use AI for in their social media strategy?
Generating social media content captions: AI tools can assist with creating captions for your content, especially when you’re struggling for creative ideas.
Creating headlines: Crafting an eye-catching headline that draws people in can be challenging — AI tools can provide ideas.
Generating text-based posts: AI tools can create text posts for you to share on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Capitalizing on this latest social media trend is simple — use an AI tool to assist with generating components of your social media strategy. Microsoft Bing AI is a great free option that offers more creative responses.Enter what you want the tool to do and select from the responses! You can then modify them to fit your brand voice and style.One of the biggest trends in social media marketing is deinfluencing. As platforms like TikTok gained popularity, more people created content and became influencers in their niche. As these influencers gained popularity, they received sponsored content opportunities to promote products to their audience.With so many creators promoting products to their social media followers, it created an environment of overconsumption and excessive consumerism on social media.As a result, the trend of deinfluencing — advising people on what not to buy — emerged. This trend began within the beauty community but has now expanded to other niches and groups online.While there are debates about whether deinfluencing is actually influencing (since you’re influencing people not to buy something), it’s continuing to trend into 2024.Since deinfluencing involves advising people on what not to buy, it can be challenging for businesses to participate in this trend. However, what you can do is focus on promoting your products authentically.Many people will deinfluence a product because it underdelivers or doesn’t function as intended. That’s why it’s crucial to present your products authentically — you set the right expectations for your audience when you’re honest about what your product does.Keep in mind,
