As we forge halfway through 2024, the digital landscape is rapidly changing. You don’t need a fortune teller to state the obvious, social media is the flavor of the season year, maybe decade. Indeed, the place has seen a seismic change over the years with new user behavior, consumer habits, and a new generation of social media users and spenders.

Research states that every 3 in 4 businesses are turning to social media to connect with their audiences by including social media trends in their marketing strategies to amplify their online presence. However, to catch up with this fast-paced medium, it is essential to stay updated with the immediate trends, and keep track of trending topics, audio, and formats that populate the feeds.

In this article, learn about the top 8 social media trends that are here to stay, that are driving the future of social media, audience behavioral patterns, and how your brand can fit in the mix.

Trend 1: Short-form video is still a hit and only growing stronger with a twist.

The average human attention span has been reduced to less than 6 seconds. TikTok, Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, these captivating concise clips resonate with the user, offering a quick entertaining way to consume media. Brands are using these bite-sized videos to keep their users engaged.

Wyzowl’s video marketing statistics report indicates that video marketing is the way to go:

• 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
• 96% of video marketers say video marketing has increased user understanding of their product or service.
• 91% say video marketing has helped them increase traffic.
• 89% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service.
• 79% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a software or app.

 

However, Long-form videos are seeing a resurgence. These videos allow brands to dive deeper into content which is for informational format, educational content, and tutorials. This type of content gives opportunity to the brands foster stronger meaningful relationships with the consumers. The long format also allows telling elaborate stories, BTS or more engaging content series which keep the audiences hooked.

Brand lesson: Keep the short format game going strong but have a strategy in place for the long format as well.

Trend 2: Social Commerce and M-Commerce

Social commerce integrates shopping features directly within the social media platforms allowing users to browse and shop without leaving the platform making it a seamless experience. Social media platforms have become the go-to online shopping destinations in 2024. Exciting features, like Instagram Shopping, Facebook Marketplace, and Pinterest Shopping, will gain greater popularity.

M-Commerce Market is forecast to reach $425 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 29.84% during 2020-2025. This means nearly half (42.9%) of all eCommerce purchases will be made via a mobile device.

As app usage continues to grow, it will be a major contributor to sales growth, especially with Millennials and GenZers holding massive spending power. These tech-savvy users can boost volume, as they’re more likely to do a wider share of shopping on their smartphones.

And that’s the reason why almost every social platform now has a “shop now” button.

Brand lesson: Slide in your CTA even on those engaging fun content pages.

Trend 3: SEO is important for your social media

Search Engine Optimization is crucial even for social media as it enhances visibility, optimizes profiles, helps in creating engaging content. The use of trending hashtags boosts visibility.

According to a study done by Forbes, Gen X, and millennials might have made “google” a verb, but Instagram is now the preferred search engine for Gen Z when seeking local results.

So here’s how you can optimize your marketing strategy and introduce social SEO to it:

• Do keyword research to find out what format you should use and what topics you should cover.
• Use keywords in the social media post caption.
• Start adding alt text to your social media images to improve accessibility.
• Do not forget to natively add keyword-optimized captions to your videos.
• Subtitles are an absolute must when it comes to any video format.

Brand lesson: Make Social signals and indexed content your new SEO best friend

Trend 4: Influencers and content creator economy with a twist

The Internet has rather become noisy or cluttered when it comes to brand space. Companies, small or big is trying to find their niche on social media.

This has made consumers extremely skeptical about brands that indulge in self-promotion. The quest for an alternate approach has compelled brands to appreciate the power of influencers. Consumers are looking out for authenticity and who’s better than an influencer, considered an expert in the field by their followers.

According to a Social Sprout study, 8 out of 10 social marketers describe influencer marketing as essential to their social strategies.

In the influencer marketing category, it’s the micro-influencers are going to see a rise in demand. Though their number of followers is not as big as the macro or celebrity influencers they make it up with their engagement rates and dedicated fan base.

Influencer marketing can be a slippery slope for brands and marketers, here is what NOT TO DO while making your strategy:

• Wrong influencer selection
• Stifling your influencer’s voice
• Unclear, hazy objectives
• One-size-fits-all approach

Brand lesson: Create your niche by selecting the right niched influencer for your brand.

 Trend 5: Personalized Customer Care

Customers are now choosing to communicate with brands just like they interact with their friends and family on social media. These blurred boundaries have paved the way for brands to grow and build themselves in a solid way in 2024 and forward.

A study by Social Sport revealed that 70% of consumers expect brands to provide personalized responses to customer service needs and 63% agree their loyalty to a brand is significantly impacted by the quality of customer service they receive on social media. Hence, a strong social media customer service strategy is vital to earning and keeping customers.

Social Media Customer Care is the new face of CRM. Ways to include it in your strategy are:

• Set up dedicated handles for customer service
• Monitor your mentions on all social media platforms
• Respond live, promptness connects customers
• Personalised messaging is important

Brand lesson: Implement this into your strategy by setting up a personalized customer service messaging protocol for your social media accounts

 Trend 6: AI Generated Content

AI-generated content is making waves on social media and is becoming a game changer. As we step into the future, AI will definitely be used to generate text, images, and videos at scale, allowing brands to ramp up content production. AI-generated content is enabling marketers to create content quickly and efficiently, saving time and resources while keeping relevance intact.

Several tools have emerged that can help marketers create content for social media. Here’s just a quick breakdown of the most famous ones:

• Chat GPT is a natural language processing tool that can be used to generate social media copy.
• Synthesia is a video creation tool that uses AI to create personalized videos at scale.
• Lexica is a tool that can be used to generate images using natural language descriptions.

However, many share concerns that AI-generated content lacks creativity and authenticity. There is a potential for errors, biases, and ethical concerns.

Hence, for social media marketers, it is important to balance the usage of AI-generated content and use these tools effectively and ethically.

Brand lesson: Use AI-generated content creatively with firm authenticity.

Trend 7: YouTube is here to stay

While the short-form video format dominates, YouTube in India has the largest audience with at least 462 million active users which is about 38.4% of the adult reach rate. Its global reach is unparalleled with 2 billion users worldwide including one in three baby boomers.

YouTube offers Content Variety and Depth by hosting an array of content types like tutorials, vlogs, BTS, documentaries, and series. It’s also the second-largest search engine after Google. So, SEO-optimized video content can enhance SERPs, traffic, and engagement.

You want to ensure each video provides value, is accessible, and has a powerful keyword-driven title and eye-catching thumbnail. Use a tool like VidIQ to figure out how people search for answers on YouTube and then study thumbnails that immediately grab your attention.

Brand lesson: The best way to start is with FAQs, chances are if consumers are asking, others are googling it too.

Trend 8: AR-generated content will only grow from here

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience in which a real-world environment is enhanced with computer-generated visual elements, sounds, and other stimuli.

In 2024, social media has been taken over by augmented reality (AR). Brands are eagerly embracing the technology to offer captivating and immersive experiences to their audiences.

With the advancement in AR filters and lenses, users can now virtually try on products, change their appearance, and transform their surroundings.

Hence, there is a surge in AR-powered storytelling, enabling brands to boost social media engagement through narratives that leave a lasting impression.

Applications of AR-Generated Content in Social Media Marketing

• Social media filters: Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat offer AR filters that users can apply to their photos and videos. Brands can create custom filters to promote products and engage users.
• Interactive Campaigns: Brands can develop AR campaigns that encourage user participation, such as scavenger hunts or virtual product launches.
• Virtual Try-Ons: Beauty, fashion, and eyewear brands can use AR to let users virtually try on products, improving the online shopping experience.
• AR Games: Brands can create AR-based games to entertain and engage their audience, often leading to higher brand recall and engagement.
• Location-Based AR: AR experiences that are tied to specific locations can enhance in-store experiences or provide unique outdoor marketing opportunities.

Brand Lesson: Put on you’re game with AR-generated content before you are left out.

Some Final Thoughts

There are numerous trends to follow and hop on but be careful, it’s very easy to get lost in them. Pick the ones that work best for you and your clients.