Navigating the Social Media Landscape: Trends and Insights for 2024 with Megan Shallow
Hello there! I'm Megan Shallow, the founder of BNL Media Consulting. We specialize in helping businesses engage with their communities both online and offline through a range of services, including social media management, email marketing, UGC creator management, and social media consulting.
With over 7 years of experience in the social media industry, I've gained valuable insights that I'm eager to share. That's why I founded BNL and launched my Social Media Academy last September. And today, I'm excited to share with you the top social trends to keep an eye on in 2024!
Here are the top 4 trends you'll want to pay attention to this year as you navigate your own social media marketing journey:
1. The AI Assistant:
As you've likely observed, artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly disrupted numerous aspects of various industries over the past year, and its impact continues into 2024. AI is increasingly utilized to support marketing departments and other areas, particularly in catalyzing the creative process.
AI can serve as a valuable ally in managing mundane or specialized tasks associated with social media, such as:
- Video editing
- Copywriting
- Graphic design
2. Platform Clean-Up
Increasingly, I've observed companies consolidating their efforts onto a select few social media platforms. Instead of spreading themselves thin across multiple channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, and others, brands are focusing on one or two platforms that yield the highest return on investment (ROI). This strategic shift not only saves considerable time and resources but also enhances results on chosen platforms compared to marginal improvements across several platforms.
3. The UGC Era
User-generated content (UGC) isn't a novel concept, but it's progressively emerging as a pivotal component of numerous brands' strategies. This is because UGC inherently fosters engagement facilitates connection with followers, and provides fresh content at minimal to no expense. Consider brands like Airbnb, which have achieved significant online growth by encouraging users to contribute content for a potential feature on their page.
UGC lends authenticity, genuineness, and credibility to your content to further resonate with your audience. This is exactly what you want to achieve from your social media platforms.
4. Decentralized Social Platforms
Consumers are demanding more control and privacy with their online data and presence, and companies are responding. Decentralized, (more) private platforms are becoming more commonplace, with many acting as replacements for existing platforms. For instance:
- Minds = Facebook and Instagram
- Mastodon = Twitter/X
- LBRY = YouTube
- Diaspora = Facebook
- Signal = WhatsApp and Messenger
While these platforms don't have the same market share as, say, Instagram or TikTok, they're still worth paying attention to. Depending on your brand and your target audience, it might be worth investing some time into building a presence on a few of these platforms. Bear in mind that they tend to be more focused on text and images, rather than the video trend we see on most other platforms. This can be an interesting challenge as you create your content strategy.
Make 2024 Your Year
As you can see, there are several notable shifts on the horizon for the social media landscape. From the dynamic evolution of AI in the workplace to the increasing prominence of user-generated content as a marketing strategy, now is the perfect time to explore new avenues for creativity in social media marketing.