Social Media Trends 2024
1. Growth and Changes on Existing Social Media Platforms
2. Short and Long Form Videos
3. The Rise of Ephemeral Content on Social Media
4. Next Super App
5. SEO on Social Media > Hashtags
6. The Rise of AI-Generated Content
7. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
8. Social Media Advertising and Targeting
9. Social Commerce on the Rise
10. Social Media Automation
11. What social platforms should you be active on?
Growth and Changes on Existing Social Media Platforms
We'll dive deeper into each social media platform and their updates for 2024 and beyond later. But for now, here's a quick overview:
Video content will become paramount to brands', creators', and businesses' success on all social media platforms in 2024 and beyond. With the rise of AI, each platform will begin to implement AI features into its apps, and some are already doing this. Stay tuned to find out what platforms are already using AI!
Short and Long Form Videos
As mentioned in the section above, video is taking over social media and will continue to lead, providing success for all accounts.
Longer-form videos (2-5 minutes) are making a big comeback. Short-form videos like Instagram reels and TikTok, for example, will continue to be the most engaging content. Apps' algorithms favor Reels and heavily prioritize this type of content.
Video captions are paramount to short and long-form videos.
The Rise of Ephemeral Content on Social Media
What is Ephemeral content? It is also known as 24-hour content, which includes stories, live videos, and polls that disappear after 24 hours.
This trend will only accelerate in 2024. Since people know the content will disappear, it encourages more authentic connections.
For businesses, ephemeral content is a chance to highlight your brand's personality and build buzz informally.
Consider leveraging this trend in 2024 to forge deeper connections with your followers and keep them returning for more.
Next Super App
Telegram Messenger, known as Telegram, is a "cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging service. It was originally launched for iOS in August 2013 and Android in October 2013." Telegram is positioned to become one of the next super apps with over 800 million monthly active users by "enabling third-party developers to create mini-apps within its platform through a strategic alliance with The Open Network (TON) Foundation and Tencent, WeChat's parent company."
SEO on Social Media > Hashtags
Social media platforms will become the hottest new search engine and even more powerful than hashtags. In 2024 and beyond, social media channels represent the biggest threat to traditional search engines like Google.
The Rise of AI-Generated Content
AI-generated content is a growing trend in social media marketing, and all platforms are shifting their focus to AI in the coming years.
Don't worry; it won't take your job; it will just make it easier and help you and your business get better results faster.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
What is the difference between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?
AR enhances real-life visual content and alters how it looks, for example, face filters. Facebook and Instagram have improved the shopping experience for their users with AR.
VR is a "fully simulated environment that immerses users in a computer-generated environment, a 3D world, replacing the awareness of the real-world environment." The VR trend is not as fast-moving as AR, and user adoption is slow but steady. YouTube is already experimenting with virtual reality; stay tuned for more information!
Social Media Advertising and Targeting
Ten social media advertising trends:
- Brand Authenticity
- Ad-Free Paid Subscription Models
- The Rise and Rise of Generative AI
- More Advertisers Using AR and VR
- Search Advertising on Social Media Trend
- Continued Growth in Conversational Advertising
- Widespread Adoption of Social Commerce Tools
- Short-Form Video Ads
- User-Generated Content
- Nano-Influencers and Micro-Influencers
Social Commerce on the Rise
Social commerce will grow as other channels experiment with shopping features and offer businesses new sales venues. However, many social media users remain skeptical about purchasing on social media platforms.
If not already, Facebook Shops and Instagram Storefront/Shop will become one of the most used features on the platform.
Social Media Automation
Social media automation is KEY in 2024 and beyond; it frees up a social media manager's time.
In 2024, the top platforms will make it even EASIER to automate and optimize your social media presence:
- Scheduling
- Monitoring
- Content Curation
- Community Engagement
What Social Media Platforms Should You Be Active On?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to what platforms you should be on. You don't need to be on every platform to be successful on social media. Consider looking at your ROI and what's essential to your business to determine your best platform(s).
Next, we'll dive deeper into each social media trend in the next series of our Social Media Trends for 2024 by our Social Media/Account Associate, Steph Alberto. Be sure to follow #MCGStrategic!
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