Social Media Marketing That Works in 2024
I’m a little late to the party, it’s almost February but we have been mega busy, in a good way.
We all know that social media is a fast-paced space, and keeping up with trends and evolving algorithms is key to driving consistent success, which is why it is important to look ahead and keep on top of predictions from leading social media experts as to what the future might hold for social media marketing throughout 2024.
So, let’s take a closer look at some upcoming trends and think about how you might incorporate them into your social strategy to drive bigger and better results for you and your team.
1. Authenticity is Everything
This might seem surprising given the increasing number of AI influencers who are being used by top brands across a variety of sectors, but users are being much more selective when it comes to curating their feeds, and authenticity really matters.
The reality is that social media users are now much more aware that feeds are often edited and curated to present an image that isn’t real or at least doesn’t represent the whole picture. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that raw and honest content is consistently performing well and drawing high levels of engagement in the form of likes, comments and shares.
Everything you post on social media should reflect the values of your brand, and I recommend sharing a combination of promotional and authentic non-promotional content in order to keep your audience engaged and enthused about your brand. There are countless ways to do this, including sharing sneak peeks that give your audience a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes.
It’s also important not to forget the social element of social media, as consumers still ultimately want to feel as though they are engaging with real people online. One of the simplest ways to ensure that you are creating an approachable and friendly image on social media is to remain responsive to questions and queries. Additionally, you can also share user-generated content as a way to create a sense of community around your brand and encourage authentic customer testimonials and reviews in the process.
2. Social Media and Customer Service
Whilst we’re on the topic of audience interactivity, it can greatly enhance the overall customer experience with your brand if you provide responsive customer service via social media.
Now, it is important to emphasise that this can quickly start to feel overwhelming, which is why it is imperative to only offer customer support via social media if you have the bandwidth to deal with increased interactions of this kind.
AI can be an extremely useful tool to have on your side here, as it can automate some of the more repetitive tasks and even create copy that can be personalised by your team so that it fully reflects your brand voice.
3. Social Media Influencers Aren’t Going Anywhere
Working with social media influencers and creators can be genuinely beneficial for businesses of all sizes. Social media creators are becoming far more discerning when it comes to partnering with brands and businesses, so it is important to put together a detailed strategy if this is a tactic you ultimately choose to pursue in 2024.
It is imperative to only partner with influencers with shared values in order to remain authentic. So, one of the best ways to form authentic partnerships is to work with influencers who already use your products or services. To do this, I recommend employing a social listening strategy, which will help you to connect with fans of your brand even if they aren’t tagging you.
4. Don’t Be Afraid of Variety
Social media platforms support a number of different types of content, so don’t be afraid to experiment to see what works for your brand and your audience. Video content has been performing consistently well for a while now, largely because social media algorithms were pushing videos out to audiences more frequently than they were pushing other types of content.
But let’s not forget that algorithms change – often. In fact, this is something that has been clearly seen on Instagram over the last 12 months. At the beginning of 2023, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, stated that he believed that the team had been over-focused on video, which led to static posts making a comeback and restoring a better sense of balance between still images and video.
As each social platform is slightly different, it may be worth customising your content in ways that ensure your posts feel authentic to the heart of each platform. Importantly, this doesn’t mean that you need to create totally unique posts for each one of your target platforms. Instead, I recommend repurposing content, such as shortening a long form blog post into bite size pieces of information for an Instagram Reel or Story.
5. Social Media and AI
We’ve already touched on AI here, but its potential really cannot be overstated, provided that you are using it responsibly and mindfully. Audiences are already starting to recognise language that is clearly AI generated, so it is vital to ensure that AI doesn’t negatively impact the trust your audience has in your brand.
Adjusting and making considered edits to AI generated copy is a must because this is the only way to guarantee that everything you share sounds like your band. Additionally, whilst AI can be used to great effect for generating responses to customer queries, adjustments should be made to ensure they are fully personalised, sound as though they have been written by a human, and authentically reflect the heart and soul of your brand.
6. Social Media and Search
Given that TikTok can instantly deliver ultra-specific videos that contain bite sized pieces of information to a query, it should come as no real surprise that 51% of Gen Z prefer to use TikTok as their primary search engine.
As increasing numbers of social media users are treating social platforms as search engines, it is important to fully optimise your content to ensure it is easily discoverable. So, make sure that you’re consistently doing keyword research and optimising your titles, captions and hashtags with the terms and phrases that will help you to connect with your target audience.