Expected Social Media Marketing Trends for 2024 – Hey Stranger

While 2023 is slowly coming to an end, many of us are already sitting down to plan the upcoming year. Crafting a robust marketing strategy is undoubtedly on our agenda and being up to date with social media trends could be our secret weapon. 💪

Paying attention to social media trends can be the key to unlocking more reach, engagement, and building a strong community. While I am not suggesting that simply following all those trends is the best recipe, it is still highly recommended to be aware of what might be hot or not on social media in 2024.

Let’s have a look at those expectations together and explore the potential trends that could shape the social media landscape in the coming year. 🚀

1. Embrace the era of authenticity:

The times of perfectly created ads and polished brand videos are over, at least when it comes to platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Your customers crave authenticity – the real, unfiltered version of your brand, showcasing its essence and values.

Authenticity is about sharing genuine and unscripted moments, revealing the human side behind your brand. By including this trend into your market direction, you will be able to increase your followers’ trust and appear more approachable. Posting content that is honest and emotional will also allow you to connect with your audience on a much deeper level and as a result increase both engagement as well as leads.

One of my favorite brands I follow personally is SET Active. The SET Active team loves to show their behind the scenes content and it simply is so refreshing and honest. By giving some real insights into their work and also showing if something goes wrong, they were able to grow a huge community and increase their brand awareness and growth.

2. Master the marketing mix:

Videos and Reels will continue to steal the spotlight in 2024 and brace yourself for a surprising twist – longer videos are expected to trend on both Instagram and TikTok. 🎬 The platforms have extended their maximum video length recently, signaling a shift in viewer preferences.

On the other hand, we shouldn’t take photo posts completely off the table. With TikTok introducing their photo feature and a strong trend for ‘photo dump posts’ on Instagram throughout 2023, I recommend to also consider keeping this kind of visual in our marketing toolbox.

And of course we can still see a strong trend for TikTok in 2024. Especially if your brand is aiming to reach a Gen Z audience, it is highly recommended to come up with a fitting strategy for this platform. While the numbers of TikTok users are even higher in the US and Asia, we can also observe a constant growth of user numbers in Europe.

3. Unlock the power of UGC:

You wonder what is UGC? It’s the secret sauce for a dynamic online presence! 🥫UGC, or user-generated content, is the real star of the show – content crafted by your customers, not your brand.

We can already see a strong trend for UGC in the past years, and it’s definitely here to stay. People want to see how things really look like and they prefer to hear it from other customers, whom they often trust more than the brand itself. Therefore, I highly encourage you to work on a strategy of how to invite customers to share about your brand and to make the most out of this trend. 🤳

Especially in the beauty and skincare sector we can see how UGC can positively influence customer behaviors.

4. Navigate social media as a search engine:

More and more young adults have been using social media like a search engine. This is why SEO is getting even more important for your social media strategy and is expected to be much more crucial than Hashtags in 2024.

A research from Hootsuite showed that the social media posts which relied heavily on great SEO manage to have a higher engagement rate (30% increase).

In order to answer your TA’s questions on social media, it is highly recommended to utilize SEO and keyword research when building your content calendar.

I’ve noticed a significant shift in my own behavior. Previously, I’d turn to Google or Google Maps when searching for restaurants or travel destinations. However, nowadays, I find my inspiration on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Wondering why? These platforms provide a window into the real experiences and thoughts of fellow customers and travelers.Their content is often much more authentic and allows me to experience their recommendation and feedback in a much more visual way. Long story short, I highly encourage you to include keyword research and SEO when working on your social media content direction.

5. Don’t forget about video captions:

Picture this: You’re on your daily commute and you decide to catch up on some videos. But, oops, no headphones! Well, you’re not alone. Many people, including myself, prefer watching videos without sound to avoid disturbing others or, let’s be honest, because putting in AirPods seems like too much effort. 🫠 Guess what? This trend is set to surge even more in 2024. So, keep an eye out for a booming demand for video captions across various social media platforms.

6. AI will be your best friend in 2024:

But don’t worry, AI tools like Chat GPT are not here to steal your job! It is definitely not advisable to just repost what Chat GPT is feeding you. Instead, it’s your new assistant, ready to make your life much easier in the world of marketing.

Excited about these upcoming social media trends for 2024? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to reach out to me any time or leave a comment below to further discuss this topic~

Also, you have probably noticed that I didn’t cover Influencer marketing at all! Don’t worry, KOL marketing isn’t going anywhere in 2024. But because there are many specific trends that go along with influencer marketing, I am planning to share them with you in my next article – stay tuned! 🚀✨