With all the New Year’s giddiness wearing off, digital marketers are back in the game, and their minds are full of unending questions with no answers in sight. One of these questions is about the social media marketing strategies of 2024.
After witnessing major changes in 2023, agencies are biting their nails and monitoring for any more alterations that can flip the whole arena.
Almost every digital marketing agency and brand is searching for this answer, but there are some visionaries who have already picked up their slack and are working to win this year. After studying the statistics and monitoring, there are some trends and concepts that are supposed to work well this year, and many big giants are betting their money on them.
Using the User-generated Content
Every company has a content bank that is yet to be uncovered. What? That’s user-generated content. It is basically the content your target audience or consumers make on your products, sharing their own experiences.
With perfection becoming old thinking, people are leaning more towards authentic and entertaining content, and this concept is going to win the game. People are no longer interested to hear what the brand has to say about itself. Instead, they want relatable content, something like behind-the-scenes and bloopers.
It’s not only an easier way but also a sustainable way to never get out of ideas.
AI integration
In 2024, if you are not using AI to create content, you will lose 50% of your time. After ChatGPT, new artificial intelligence technologies have emerged.
And people are using it to create all kinds of content. With these tools, the research time is reduced as all these answers and resources are available in one place.
Plus, with new trends coming up almost every month, it’s easier with these tools to generate ideas and integrate those new approaches into the digital marketing strategy.
More integration of SEO in social media
After the optimization of websites, digital marketers are walking towards social media optimization. And there’s a reason for that: for the last few years, people have started using social media as a search engine for all their queries.
That’s why these visionaries have to optimize their meta descriptions, captions, and hashtags for their social media post to get more visibility.
Instagram threads to play a major role
With the launch of Instagram Threads in May of 2023, everyone’s anticipating what this new medium will bring to the table.
The rapidly climbing number of users on this platform has even made people question if Threads will replace X (earlier known as Twitter). Even though it’s a relatively new space, many brands are targeting it to connect with their audience better. Moreover, the platform also shows the potential to rise even more in the future.
Rise of YouTube shorts
The arrival of TikTok leads to major changes in the digital domain. All the digital space, including YouTube and Instagram, created their own version of TikTok to outrank it.
However, YouTube still has the crown as the most used video platform. That’s why brands have to keep posting in the YouTube shorts section, as there’s much more to come in 2024.
Authentic brand image
When you open any of the social media sites, you will notice the amount of unfiltered and related content is taking up all the space. This simply means that in this uncertain world where, trust and connections have become superior to anything else. Brands need to have genuineness and solid proof that can showcase their authenticity.
People don’t want polished or high-quality content that’s only created for the sake of promotion. They want the real thing. So brands have to be themselves and showcase the fun side of the business that people can relate to. Influencer collaboration and user-generated content are some of the ways to establish a brand’s authority in a relevant way.
Tap into edutainment
When we talk about trends, one thing that’s shaking the social media networks is edutainment. Edutainment content is content that has the ability to entertain, engage and provide education at the same time.
This approach is becoming insanely popular among young users, and it’s helping people to understand and digest new things in an easy way. Edutainment content regarding finance, laws, jobs, taxes and much more has been created by professionals.
So, when people get to know that they are authentic, they take some time to listen to these experts and their advice to be aware of their rights and save themselves from any mistakes that they are committing.
Reaching out to small influencers
Gone are the days when more followers and likes meant more engagement. Times have changed, and micro and nano-influencers are ruling social media.
These influencers have a small niche of followers who have an interest in their content. Their community is more engaging than anyone else, and most of their followers interact with every single post of theirs.
That’s why brands are reaching out to these influencers, as it’s the best place to display their products to the people who are actually interested in buying them.
All-in-one photo trend
Dumping all the photos related to the same event or place in one post that started surfacing at the end of 2023 has become a full-blown trend in 2024. As many people walk towards social media detox, there aren’t many who like sharing that much about their lives.
When they do post, these people like to photo-dump all of their pictures in one post. It has made things easier for people as they don’t have to keep on posting continuously. Plus, this approach also works as a mode of storytelling where others can easily interact.
Integrating this concept is comparatively easier, especially for brands when they launch a new product line, as they portray every photo as different parts of the same story.
Final words
With social media placing itself at the top of the sales funnel, brands have to work in full force to get as many eyeballs as possible. Social media strategies keep changing year after year. Some brands hire agencies for social media optimization services, while others have their own marketing team to take care of this business. Regardless of the way they are taking it, one thing remains the same, i.e., none of them are even thinking about omitting this element from their digital marketing strategy. Meaning, it’s not going anywhere, so it’ll be smart to keep researching and altering the marketing strategy to keep up with the new and upcoming consumer profiles.
