Are you familiar with the latest social media trends? If not, you could be missing out.
Around 4.62 billion people around the world now use social media. That’s more than half of the global population. What’s more, the average time people spend on social media is gradually increasing, with most of us spending around 2 hours per day on our favorite apps today.
For companies, social media represents one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience. The right platforms ensure you can reach your customers wherever they are, increase brand awareness, and even form emotional connections.
However, to generate the best results, you need to understand how to leverage the current social media trends most likely to appeal to your target audience.
Here’s your complete guide to social media trends in 2024.
Let’s start by evaluating some of the most significant social media trends influencing all channels. These trends will apply regardless of whether you’re investing in Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Facebook.
1. The Rise Of Social Commerce
We’re all familiar with ecommerce, but now the new “big thing” is being able to buy all of the products you want straight from your social media feeds.
Social commerce involves buying and selling products directly through a social media platform, and it’s growing increasingly popular in recent years. According to some studies, social commerce will be worth $80 billion by 2025 in the US alone.
To capitalize on this trend, we’re seeing social media platforms introduce new shopping features. For instance, Instagram Shops and Checkout allow brands to offer direct purchasing options to customers, while Pinterest has its own shop tab for shopping via product pins.
Image Credit: https://techcrunch.com/
2. Short-Form Video Reigns Supreme
TikTok might have introduced the world to the power of short-form video, but now the rest of the social media market is catching up. Soon after TikTok began rising to power, Instagram introduced its new “Reels” feature. Facebook’s “Stories” option has become increasingly popular too.
The rising demand for more videos is no surprise. Studies show around 93% of brands access new customers because of social media videos. However, today’s chaotic customers don’t have time for lengthy content (outside of YouTube and Netflix).
On the other hand, over half of video viewers will watch content until the end if it’s less than a minute long. Consider upgrading your short-form video strategy this year. Check out how the Pet Scout Shop uses Reels to premier their new products:
3. The Creator Economy Matures
The “Creator” economy is having a moment this year. Already, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram all have their own versions of a “creator fund”. What’s more, reports on the creator economy show that more than 50 million people around the world now identify as creators.
The good news is the rising creator hub means excellent things for the future of influencer marketing. As creators become more commonplace, companies will have more opportunities to work with micro-influencers and content creators to reach their audience. With more and more companies working with creators, they are also turning to tools like Planoly to streamline their collaborations.
Platforms like TikTok even make it easier to find creators with a dedicated marketplace:
Image Credit: https://creatormarketplace.tiktok.com/
4. Transparency Continues To Thrive
Over 2020 and 2021, we’ve seen countless companies focus more heavily on transparency, accountability, and authenticity with their social media strategies. This is one of the major social media trends set to continue growing in 2024 and beyond.
Currently, the social media world is being overrun by a new generation of shoppers and followers, interested in connecting with brands that share their values. For instance, a study of Gen Z adults found 88% believe sustainability should be a standard business practice.
Sustainable, credible brands are leading the way for the future of social media success.
Image Credit: innocent
5. Memes Will Be Everywhere
Memes have been gradually making their way into the social media landscape for a while now. However, they’ve usually been reserved only for the most daring and playful brands. If the current social media trends are anything to go by, there’s a good chance this focus on memes will grow.
Memes have become the easiest way for brands to interact with a younger audience on a more playful level. They’re appearing in the form of gifts and video clips on Instagram, as well as on LinkedIn and countless other social channels.
Facebook continues to be the most accessible social media platform for people of all ages and backgrounds. Here are the social media trends influencing Facebook right now.
1. Facebook Livestream Shopping
Live video is one of the most engaging ways to connect with your audience and boost the authenticity of your brand. With Live video, you can show customers behind the scenes of your business processes, and even host Q&A events.
The most exciting trend for live-streaming right now is livestream shopping, which allows customers to essentially “bid” for items during a livestream event. This market is expected to reach a massive $480 billion value in China this year, and it’s starting to gain attention throughout the world.
Sephora already has “Facebook Live Fridays” for this purpose.
2. Facebook Stories Grow In Popularity
Facebook Stories are one of the newer video features on Facebook introduced to build on the phenomenal success of “Instagram Stories”. Although some companies weren’t sure about the service to begin with, it’s starting to gain a lot more popularity.
Studies show that customers connect more with brands that show the faces of the people behind the business, and Facebook Stories can be an excellent way to do this.
Companies are also starting to use Facebook Stories to create more engaging experiences for their customers, like Instacart did with its own trivia game event.
3. Personalized Ads Thrive
Customers are increasingly looking for more engaging, personalized experiences when interacting with brands – particularly on social media. Around 80% of customers now say they’re more likely to make a purchase when they believe the marketing efforts of a brand are tailored to their needs.
With Facebook ads growing increasingly more expensive, companies will need to take extra steps to make sure they’re using hyper-aware targeting strategies to “personalize” their campaigns. Leveraging dynamic content which changes based on what customers have already searched for on your website is an excellent start.
Nike does this particularly well.
Image Credit: Nike
As the world’s second largest search engine, and one of the most visited sites overall, YouTube has phenomenal potential for growing brands. Here are the current social media trends to stay on top of if you’re advertising on YouTube.
1. Live Streaming
Live streaming is slowly taking over as the ultimate way to consume long-form content. As people look for more meaningful ways to interact with companies and form emotional connections online, demand for live streaming will only continue to grow. One approach that bring interactivity to streams is through features such as real-time chat, voice, or video, powered by communication platforms.
There are a number of ways companies can get involved with live streaming today. You can give your customers immediate access to events, or answer questions in a Q&A session. It’s a good idea to test your webcam and any other streaming equipment you plan on using before going live. The best way to get the top results from your live streams, is to make sure you generate excitement for the event long before you’re set to go live, like the Plumber Parts channel:
2. More Organized Content
Like most social media channels, YouTube is in a constant state of evolution, introducing new features to support creators and users alike. For instance, recently, YouTube introduced “chapters”, which allow creators to segment their videos into sections.
These chapters allow customers to skip through to the part of the video most relevant to them, ensuring they get the most value from each piece of content. You can also set up “automatic” chapters.
YouTube has also introduced various other tools like “Premiers” for helping with promoting content before its officially released. Taking advantage of these new features for organized content is likely to be a big trend this year.
YouTube hasn’t always been the best channel for companies looking to engage with their community. However, as live-streaming and similar content types become more common, this is beginning to change. In the past, the only way to really engage with your audience as a content creator was to respond to their comments.
Now, there’s a new “Community” tab, where you can post polls to gather information about your audience, or even ask questions like “Which video should we make next”. There’s a good chance focus on community experiences will continue to grow more significant going forward, as YouTube continues to encourage connections between creators and viewers.
Here’s a great example of how Looper used the “Community” tab on their YouTube channel.
The ultimate social media platform for B2B brands, LinkedIn helps professionals to build their thought leadership, and enhance their image. Here are some of the social media trends you’ll need to know if you want to thrive on LinkedIn.
1. LinkedIn Events
Though LinkedIn Events first debuted in 2020, they’ve only recently begun to gain more attention in 2021 and 2022. Ideal as a way for companies to connect with their audience in a world where in-person events are becoming less common, LinkedIn Events have a lot of benefits.
With LinkedIn Events, you can easily connect with a wide range of targeted people you want to attend your webinar or conference, automatically. You can also filter through people you want to invite based on a person’s geography, current company employment, and industry.
Not only does LinkedIn Events help you to connect with your professional B2B audience, it can also strengthen your professional brand, because you can show other people which events you’ve attended. You can even minimize the work that goes into your events today with “audio events”.
2. LinkedIn Polls
Another feature which has been evident on LinkedIn for some time is polls, however, the popularity of this capability has only begun to grow in recent years. Polls have emerged as an excellent way for companies to collect valuable information about their audience.
Check out this example from Bob Low:
Polls give companies a way to identify pain points and challenges, so they can design more effective products, services, and content for their target audience.
You can even use your polls to collect information to use in your next whitepaper, eBook, or blog posts.
Aside from giving you access to useful information; LinkedIn polls offer an excellent way to start conversations with contacts and generate engagement for your brand.
3. LinkedIn Live
Added as a feature to LinkedIn in December 2021, LinkedIn Live is the B2B platform’s approach to the rising trend of live, authentic video streaming. Already, a number of companies have begun using this technology to start reaching their audience in new and engaging ways.
For instance, Vimeo, the popular video hosting and sharing company, created a weekly show called “Working Lunch,” which involves experts sitting down and talking about relevant topics in the industry.
Watch Video: Vimeo
These kinds of “Live events” can be an excellent way to generate excitement for your brand in the B2B world. They’re also a chance to generate more emotional connections with your customers, through authentic, “raw” video.
Instagram is one of the more rapidly growing social media platforms on the web today, so there are a number of emerging trends to be aware of. Alongside a continued high demand for Instagram video stories, Reels, and carousels, here are some social media trends 2024 users will notice:
1. Instagram Shopping
Social shopping is a major trend influencing a number of platforms. Instagram is one of the primary platforms driving this trend, helping customers to purchase more of the products they love as soon as they see them.
The Instagram Shopping feature in Stories rolled out in 2019 and allows companies to place shopping bag icons on any product or service they’re promoting. However, Instagram has continued to introduce new versions of shopping tools since.
Instagram users can now interact with “shoppable posts” in Stories, the main Instagram feed, the Discover page, and more. Since around 81% of people start their buyer journey on Instagram, it makes sense to leverage this feature.
2. The Rise Of The Link Sticker
Stickers are a major feature on Instagram, and one of the most popular components of Instagram Stories. Part of what makes stickers so compelling, is their ability to add extra functionality to your Instagram posts. One of the most powerful new tools is the Instagram link sticker.
The link sticker replaces the “swipe up” option on Instagram Stories which used to allow customers to swipe up on their phones to visit a website page and see a product. This feature was extremely popular, as it allowed companies to build on the single link they were previously allowed in their Instagram bios.
The link sticker is a slightly simpler option to bring the same cross-platform promotion functionality to your Instagram stories. Though the sticker was initially only available for accounts with over 10,000 followers, it became accessible for everyone in October 2021.
3. Cause Marketing And Relatable Influencers
While filters and less “authentic” content have been issues for Instagram in the past, there’s a growing trend towards more genuine posts and videos on the platform. Today’s consumers want to connect with companies on a deeper level, through less-edited content and live video.
Part of taking advantage of this trend will be working for more authentic, relatable “micro-influencers” to help promote your business. We’re also seeing a significant number of companies working with influencers on “cause marketing” campaigns.
This essentially involves working on campaigns relevant to events happening in the world which matter to your target audience. There are many opportunities and awareness days throughout the year that influencers and businesses can collaborate. For instance, countless companies have taken to Instagram to show their support for Ukraine in 2022:
Image Credit: The Body Shop
Twitter is still one of the most popular tools for social media marketing on the web today, particularly for brands that regularly share updates and news with their audience. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the monetizable daily active users on Twitter grew by 13%. Here are some social media trends on Twitter to be aware of in 2024.
1. Live Shopping On Twitter
Twitter is one of the major platforms in the social media world today generating attention for the idea of “live shopping”. The Live Shopping feature allows companies to add a video stream to their Twitter profile, where customers can watch and shop for various products.
While watching a Live Shopping Stream, customers can check out shoppable banners and shop tabs on the top of the Live event page, and toggle back and forth between the shop and the live stream. You can even continue to watch a live stream through an in-app browser.
Though the feature is still extremely new, it could be an essential step in the future of social shopping features. The first live shopping test was conducted with Walmart in 2022.
2. Twitter Communities
Community interactions and engagement are becoming an increasingly important part of many social media brand strategies. Twitter Communities were created to give people a dedicated space where they could have discussions and connect with like-minded people.
The Communities feature on Twitter is likely to become an important tool for brands trying to gain deeper insights into their audience. Here, you’ll be able to check in on information about the current pain points and aspirations your customers have at any moment.
Communities may make it easier for brands in a range of industries to segment their audience and create more relevant ad campaigns.
3. Twitter Spaces
The rise of “audio experiences” in the social media world is still in its early stages. Introduced as a way to accompany the video experiences offered by Twitter today, Twitter “Spaces” is all about live conversations with your community.
With a “Space” companies can essentially set up a live environment where members of their team and community can have conversations in real-time, over audio. Spaces are particularly useful for grabbing audience attention because broadcasts appear at the top of the timeline for your followers.
Though it remains to be seen whether audio experiences will take off as much as some people predicted during the pandemic, these environments could have a lot of value. Spaces are a great way to gain audience feedback, have Q&A sessions, and build engagement.
While Pinterest might not gain as much attention as some other social media channels on this list, it still has incredible potential to offer leading brands. Around 83% of Pinterest users make purchases based on the content they see on Pinterest. Here are some of the trends worth keeping track of if you’re using Pinterest in 2024.
1. Increased Video Use
For most people, Pinterest is commonly seen as a place for sharing pictures, infographics, and written content. However, as demand for video content continues to accelerate, we’re seeing an increase in the number of video-based posts. This trend has led many content creators to seek out motion graphics resources to enhance their videos.
Already, companies like Fenty Beauty are taking full advantage of the video functionality to engage with their brand through how-to content:
Image Credits: Fenty Beauty
Pinterest recently purchased a video creation and editing platform named Vochi, so there’s a good chance the company will be introducing even more video options going forward.
2. Idea Pins
Idea pins are one of the most recently added new features on Pinterest. An evolution of “Story Pins,” launched in 2020, Idea Pins allow creators to share long-lasting ideas rather than short-term stories. With an Idea pin, you can record and edit up to 20 pages of content.
As an added benefit, Idea pins also offer access to a wider range of video features, including music selections, ghost mode transitioning tools for beforend-after shots, and voice-over recording.
Idea pins offer an excellent way for companies to create all kinds of interactive videos, with features like topic tagging and detail pages when you need to share ingredients and instructions.
Users can even browse through Idea pins based on specific tags and filters, which gives companies yet another way to engage with their audience.
3. More Opportunities For Creators
As mentioned above, the Creator economy is a significant trend taking over a lot of social media landscapes today. This is particularly evident on Pinterest, where creators commonly go to share their ideas for recipes, home improvements, and more.
The Creators Hub, created by Pinterest will offer users in the market more opportunities to work with brands on an influencer-style level. Pinterest also introduced a range of new and improved publishing tools, and fun features, to help creators engage their audience.
The increased focus on creators in the Pinterest landscape should help influencers on the platform to access new opportunities for monetization. It also means brands will be able to more easily find people to work with.
Finishing Thoughts
Social media is a dynamic, ever-changing environment, inspired and influenced by the people using each distinctive platform. As you can see from the current social media trends mentioned above, there are some major patterns emerging in many social platforms, such as an increasing demand for social commerce, and a higher focus on video.
However, as always, each individual channel also has its unique nuances to consider. It’s important to make sure you keep on top of the trends most relevant to your audience, on the platforms your customers use most.
