Social Media Trends

Navigating Social Media Trends in 2024: Key Trends and Strategic Approaches for Success

In the fast-paced world of social media, keeping abreast of the latest social media trends and strategies is crucial for any brand looking to stay competitive. The Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 report offers invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of social media marketing. This comprehensive guide delves into the key trends shaping the industry in 2024, from the increasing focus on ROI and the rise of generative AI to strategic choices in platform usage. Join us as we explore these trends and their implications, providing you with actionable strategies to enhance your social media marketing efforts in the year ahead.

1. ROI-Focused Strategies

In 2024, social media marketers are prioritizing ROI and efficiency, moving away from efforts that yield no results. Organizations are expected to concentrate on top-performing tactics, hero platforms, and team capabilities, including the use of AI. This shift reflects a more strategic and data-driven approach to social media marketing, where organizations are focusing on activities that deliver tangible business outcomes.

The platforms that drive the most ROI confidence aren’t necessarily the most widely used, and vice versa. Take WhatsApp, for example. Only 14% of organizations have a presence on the instant messaging app, but almost two-thirds of them feel strongly that it benefits their business. So there aren’t too many who use it, but those who do, feel they get a lot out of it.

Conversely, the majority of brands are on Twitter/X, but only 30% think it drives value— which is a 23% decrease from last year and might explain the platform’s 7% drop in brand use.

So we have some speculations about Twitter/X, but why are brands shifting their strategies away from Pinterest (down 11%) and WhatsApp (down an eye-popping 18%)? They didn’t tell us—and these numbers don’t dovetail neatly with overall ROI confidence for these platforms. What we do know is that whatever their reasons, organiza- tions are more willing than ever to say buh-bye to platforms and strategies that aren’t meeting their definition of ROI. They’re finally prioritizing their own platform-by-platform ROI scores and making business decisions accordingly.

2. Generative AI's Growing Influence

Generative AI is increasingly being used to streamline content creation and customer service, with 61% of organizations using AI to reduce staff workload. However, there are concerns about audience trust and engagement with AI-generated content, and different age groups have varying levels of acceptance. As AI becomes more prevalent in social media marketing, organizations will need to navigate the balance between efficiency and authenticity to maintain audience trust.

In 2024, the most successful brands will redefine “authenticity.” It’s not about who (or what) creates your content anymore; it’s about the brand experience your content creates for the customer. Does it feel right? Does it reinforce the brand? Does it work? Get those right and you can dismiss questions about whether a bot made it with a shrug.

3. Strategic Platform Focus

With stretched resources, organizations are prioritizing platforms that yield the best results. This strategic approach helps in focusing efforts and resources more effectively. The report suggests a concentrated presence on platforms that align with the organization’s goals and audience engagement patterns.

In 2024, strategic organizations will push back against unjustified expectations to do everything on every platform. They’ll unlock their top-performing channels based on ROI, and focus their attention on those—and only those. If they’re really confident (and brave), they might even abandon one or two altogether.

This will give social marketers more time with the platforms that make the cut—time to understand their audiences, experiment with content to see what resonates, stay on top of trends and algorithms, and get up to speed with all the features. Because mastering a few key platforms is surely better than being so-so at many.

4.Entertainment as a Key Engagement Strategy

The crowd has spoken: They want to be entertained. Engagement remains a priority in the crowded social media space. Brands are leveraging entertaining content to capture attention and drive ROI. This approach aligns with consumer preferences, with a significant portion favoring brands that provide enjoyable and relatable content on social platforms.

In 2024, brands that publish entertaining content on social will succeed in winning eyeballs, engagement, and (eventually) market share away from brands that keep on publishing the same old stuff.

You don’t need to overthink it: 56% of consumers think that brands should be more relatable on social, according to our Social Trends 2024 Consumer Survey.

The report is based on a commercial survey of 4,281 marketers and a consumer survey of 4,508 consumers, conducted in August 2023. It also includes primary interviews with social marketing practitioners, leaders, observers, and partners, as well as a news analysis of 15,557 articles from major social media reporting organizations and a content analysis of 1 million anonymized social posts from accounts connected to Hootsuite. The data and insights from the report provide a comprehensive understanding of the social media landscape in 2024. By focusing on ROI, navigating the rise of generative AI, and strategically selecting social media platforms, organizations can adapt to the evolving social media trends and drive impactful marketing strategies. As we navigate the dynamic world of social media in 2024, the insights from the Hootsuite Social Trends Report are invaluable for shaping effective strategies. Recognizing these trends and adapting to them is key to success.

As an award-winning social media agency, Braveheart stands ready to assist businesses in achieving their social media goals. With our expertise and understanding of these evolving trends, we can help your brand thrive in the complex landscape of social media marketing this year and beyond.