In the ever-evolving world of social media, 2024 is expected to be a pivotal year where seasoned social media marketers are setting the stage for a new era of precision and efficiency. As we delve into the insights provided by Hootsuite’s comprehensive report, it becomes clear that social media trends are steering towards a more strategic and performance-driven approach. In this article, we’ll explore three key trends that are reshaping the social media landscape in 2024.
Trend 1: AI Redefining Authenticity
The integration of generative AI into social media practices has been a game-changer since 2022. As organizations strive to streamline their operations, 61% of survey respondents highlight reducing staff workload as the primary motivation for incorporating AI. However, the acceptance of AI-generated content varies among audiences. While younger generations, such as Gen Z, are more open to engaging with AI content, there’s a significant portion of the audience, particularly older demographics, that remains skeptical.
The key takeaway is that authenticity is no longer solely defined by human creation. In 2024, successful brands will redefine authenticity based on the experience their content creates for the customer. The challenge lies in striking a balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and ensuring that the content resonates with the audience’s values and preferences.
Three tips to ace this trend:
Know Your Audience and Their Perception of AI
- Gain a deep understanding of your social media audience beyond basic demographics.
- Explore factors such as location, language, interests, challenges, stage of life, and buying habits.
- Use these insights to tailor content to audience preferences and assess their views on AI.
Delegate Tasks Thoughtfully and Preserve Trust
- Leverage AI as an assistant but retain control over critical aspects of social media management.
- Decide which tasks AI can handle and which require a human touch to maintain audience trust.
- Avoid misleading audiences by presenting AI-generated content as human-generated to uphold brand integrity.
Establish Clear AI Policies and Best Practices
- Create organizational policies for AI usage on social media.
- Collaborate with IT and Legal departments to address security and legal considerations.
- Define the scope of AI’s role, develop an AI style guide, and share guidelines with content creators to ensure consistency.
Trend 2: Strategic Platform Commitments
With the proliferation of social media platforms, organizations are facing the challenge of maintaining a meaningful presence across multiple channels. The top concern for social media ROI is the time and budget investment required to manage a presence on various platforms. Social marketers are recognizing the need to tailor content for each platform, considering the diverse audiences, trends, and communication styles.
Also Read: Paytm To Cut Down Jobs Because Of The Advent AI
In 2024, successful organizations will prioritize platforms based on their ROI, acknowledging that not all platforms are equal in terms of delivering business value. The shift towards strategic platform commitments allows marketers to focus on mastering a few key platforms, fostering deeper connections with their audiences.
congratulations @CricketAus have some mithai mate 😉 pic.twitter.com/B51JtdDfm2
— Swiggy (@Swiggy) December 19, 2023
Three tips to ace this trend:
Conduct a Comprehensive Social Media Audit
- Uncover engagement patterns, high-performing content formats, and successful posts through an audit.
- Identify hero platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok) based on performance.
- Use the audit to assess the effectiveness of each platform and consider scaling back or shutting down underperforming ones.
Perform an ROI Showdown Among Platforms
- Evaluate the Return on Investment (ROI) for each social media platform individually.
- Compare ROI scores across platforms to prioritize efforts and investments on the most profitable channels.
- Use the insights to make informed decisions about resource allocation and platform optimization.
Master Proper Cross-Posting Techniques
- Acknowledge that traditional copy-and-paste cross-posting is insufficient in today’s landscape.
- Align content with the norms, best practices, and formats of each platform for effective cross-posting.
- Tailor content to suit the goals, visual and copy specifications, and audience interactions specific to each platform, ensuring that content resonates and engages effectively.
Trend 3: Entertainment as the ROI Engine
Consumers are vocal about their desire for entertainment on social media, with 34% expressing displeasure when brands focus too heavily on self-promotion. Despite this, a significant number of brands continue to prioritize self-promotional content, leading to concerns about ROI. Engagement metrics, the top measure of ROI, become challenging to demonstrate when content doesn’t align with audience preferences.
In 2024, brands that prioritize entertaining content will emerge as winners in terms of audience engagement and, eventually, market share. This shift requires a departure from conventional ROI metrics and a focus on building brand awareness, affinity, and long-term relationships through engaging and entertaining social content.
Three tips to ace this trend:
Prioritize Audience Input for Content Strategy
- Avoid assumptions about audience preferences; leverage the interactive nature of social media to directly ask followers what they want.
- Utilize polls, Q&As, and experiments to gather input on content types, tone, and categories.
- Analyze underperforming posts to identify common issues, adjust future content accordingly, and continuously test and iterate.
Embrace Social as a Long-Term Brand-Building Tool
- Allow time and space for experimentation and refinement of winning tactics on social media.
- Focus on building brand equity rather than rushing to achieve short-term goals.
- Maintain authenticity and warmth in self-promotion, emphasizing a human experience to connect with the audience.
Align Social Relationships with Business Goals
- Track engagement metrics beyond social platforms to measure the impact on larger business objectives.
- Evaluate the influence of viral posts on social share of voice and assess the correlation between social engagement and web traffic or event sign-ups.
- Ensure that social media efforts have a higher purpose by connecting with business goals and maintaining a focus on customer value and authentic relationships.
Our Verdict
As we navigate the social media landscape in 2024 as brands, the trends highlighted in Hootsuite’s report underscore the importance of strategic decision-making in all stages of content creation. AI integration, platform usage, and utilization of entertainment are reshaping the way brands and agencies approach social media. Success lies in understanding and adapting to the evolving expectations of audiences while aligning content strategies with the unique goals and values of each brand. In this era of efficiency, social marketers must stay agile, continuously reassess their strategies, and embrace the transformative power of social media trends in 2024.
