2023 flew by and towards the end of the year you can of course expect the new trends in social media from us for the coming year. This year we have seen many developments within the platforms regarding AI and social commerce, but will this continue next year? We certainly expect so! What else is going to happen next year? You can read it here.
Engagement
Sharing content with everyone, or just your friends?
Platforms are becoming more limited when it comes to tracking and targeting. What do they want you to do? Engage your audience within the platform itself. This way, more time is spent on the platform. Various new features are being rolled out for this purpose. Meta, for example, is developing a 'close friends' option. This already exists for Instagram Stories, but now it will also be possible to show feed posts only to the people you have selected within your 'close friends' group. Something you can use well to, for example, share the first news from your organization with your loyal customers. Or when a new promotion or offer comes online that you want to make available only to your loyal customers first.
Engagement shifts to DM
Another change that is clearly visible, and aligns with 'close friends', is that more and more social media users are sharing content with their friends and family via Direct Message. So do you see fewer likes and comments on your posts? Then also look at how many times your post has been shared. This is a statistic that platforms look at that is important to determine if you have strong content.
Meta has also noticed this and is cleverly responding with developments such as 'Click to Message' ads, the ability to create channels within the meta platforms, and offering businesses the ability to integrate payment options within WhatsApp.
Engagement remains an important metric
With the changes in tracking, the desire of platforms to keep users as long as possible, and the advent of shops, engagement is becoming increasingly important. Based on the audiences that interact with you, you can create strong, new audiences and adjust your strategy accordingly. They are your fans!
Entertain your audience
Want to create more organic reach? Then focus on entertaining your audience. Various studies among social media users show that they are on the platform to read news, connect with friends and family, get inspiration about new products and companies, and also to be entertained. Something that is not unknown, especially not with a channel like TikTok where so many videos are posted that mainly aim to entertain you as a user. The result? Users who stay longer on the platform and come back more often.
Content
Short form video becomes the norm
Also something that is not new but that more and more platforms are pushing: short form video. A movement within the different platforms that has been visible since the huge rise of TikTok. YouTube does this with shorts, which are being pushed more and more, Instagram and Facebook with reels, and Pinterest is joining in with idea pins.
Where you see the movement from long videos to short videos on the channels that have been around longer, TikTok is actually increasing the length of video uploads. Since this year, it is possible to upload videos of 10 minutes. But there is already talk of the possibility to upload videos that last even longer.
Why is short form video so popular? Because the attention span of users is getting shorter. You need to capture attention in the first 3 seconds of the video to ensure that a user keeps watching. So it's important that you know what they are looking for and what your audience likes to watch. That way, the piece of entertainment and engagement comes back.
Local visibility is encouraged
Did you think it was of little use to make your local business visible on social media platforms? Think again! In addition to optimizing your content for local terms and locations, TikTok is the first to come up with the 'Nearby' feed. This shows content from profiles that link locations where you are nearby. Instagram has also made 'maps' available in which all stories are made visible at a certain location.
Create content faster and easier with AI
With all the developments in AI, it is becoming easier to create new content with AI. Where you might have needed a studio to take photos of a product before, you can now use AI to generate different backgrounds. This way, you can test much more new content with your audience in a cost-effective and quick way.
Not only for images does it offer opportunities, you can also use it smartly and let it work for you to generate texts. Do you want to get started with Social SEO and need texts? ChatGPT can help you very well by writing texts that you can use with your products. And of course, don't forget the captions and headlines of your posts and ads! So in 2024, continue to work with AI to make your work much faster and easier.
Social media as a search engine
Social SEO/Social Search
Social search can no longer be ignored. Something we have also seen a major change in over the past year. Keywords are becoming increasingly important and content is being found in more ways if you incorporate the right terms. So map out how the audience ends up on your social channels and keep an eye on the trends. Don't just do keyword research for your website but also see which terms are used within social media. The search intent within a social media platform often differs from what someone types into Google.
The big difference between the two is that within Google someone already knows more specifically what he or she is looking for. Within social media, more inspiration is gained. Want to know more about Social Search and how you can respond to it? Then read our blog Social Search: social media as a search engine.
Social Commerce
Shops
This year, TikTok was the first to launch shops with the ability to pay directly within the platform. Although this is only available in America, it is expected to be made available in other countries in 2024. In the first month, there were already over 150 million users. Because these users do not leave the platform to complete the purchase, a different strategy will need to be applied, and you will need to work on Social Search and getting more and more engagement. Especially now that it is expected to be launched in other countries and also on other platforms. They can't stay behind, of course!
User Generated Content
Social commerce not only includes the shops on the platforms, but also the use of influencers, user generated content, and live shopping are ways of social commerce. In the past year, companies have seen a 59% increase in sales by using social media. This is partly due to the use of User Generated Content, which contributes to brand awareness and trust in a company.
Channels
Is X still suitable for your business?
A channel where a decline in the number of users is visible is X. Since the acquisition by Elon Musk, the platform has been changing rapidly. In the past year, various subscription forms for businesses have already emerged, and it is speculated that this will follow for personal accounts.
Additionally, more and more advertisers are leaving the platform. Why? Because they have no control over the type of messages they are displayed between. Furthermore, the tone on Twitter is more often negative, and companies do not want to be associated with that. Now you might think, "Then the CPMs will also drop, and I can buy my ads cheaper!" Unfortunately, this is not the case either; the CPMs are getting higher, making it less favorable to show your ad. In 2024, we expect an even greater decline in the number of users, especially when you have to pay to have a subscription, making it a less favorable platform to advertise on.
Pinterest becomes more interesting in your marketing mix
Pinterest is still underestimated by many companies. It is also often thought that it is becoming less popular. But the numbers show otherwise. In the past year, the number of users in the Netherlands has increased by 8%. Additionally, they have recently added the optimization to target your ads on 'outbound clicks'. Previously, you could only target a click on a pin. The campaigns you can set up are therefore of higher quality.
Furthermore, Pinterest is actively working on AI developments, it is possible to search for similar products with the Pinterest lens when you take or upload a photo, and they adjust the feed entirely to their users based on hair and skin type.
Social is indispensable in your online marketing strategy!
Are you still doubting whether social media is suitable for your business? Then we have the answer for you: yes! With social media, you reach a new audience and can build the trust to convert them with you.
Social may not contribute to the last step before conversion, but with various measurements, it can be much clearer what social media really contributes to you. Are you still hesitant to go big right away? Start small, in a specific region, and see what this does for your results.
Don't know where to start? Or do you want to know more about a certain trend for 2024 so that you are fully prepared? Then feel free to contact us.
