smm trends in 2024

11 April 2024

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The world of social media is continuously and rapidly evolving, and 2024 is expected to see the emergence of new trends and challenges for marketers and brands - from authenticity to hyper-personalization, from social commerce to in-depth data analysis using AI, and more. These trends will not only change how brands interact with their audience but will also help shape new SMM strategies to increase brand awareness and engagement, ultimately making businesses more effective

What are the SMM trends that will define how brands build their communication strategies and campaigns on social networks this year?

Use of AI in SMM (Artificial Intelligence)

In 2024, the use of artificial intelligence tools for personalizing user interactions and creating unique content will become increasingly active in SMM, allowing companies to meet business needs, enhance efficiency, and save resources. Marketers will gain new opportunities for engaging with audiences, automating routine tasks, and increasing profitability

Video сontent

Brands in 2024 will continue to focus on creating video content - short videos, including stories, reels, and TikTok-style content. Users respond to authenticity and the opportunity to see the human, possibly even «imperfect», side of brands. It's interesting for people to watch unscripted moments, backstage footage, and participate in live broadcasts. This content makes brands appear more «real» and honest in the eyes of the audience and is a powerful tool for building emotional connections

Interactive videos are also becoming popular. These videos, allowing viewers to vote, answer questions, choose scenarios, etc., have shown 70% more engagement compared to traditional formats

Selling videos have changed how target audiences interact with products online. By integrating e-commerce directly into video content, these formats offer a quick transition from viewing to purchasing, enhancing the user experience and increasing conversion rates

Statistics:

video on social media generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined

Ephemeral сontent

In 2024, one of the key trends in the SMM sphere is the predominant use of ephemeral content - Stories, live broadcasts, and polls that disappear after 24 hours on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok. This type of content is becoming increasingly popular as it provides more organic engagement with the audience, allows companies to highlight their uniqueness, and encourages users to stay constantly «in-touch» with the brand to not miss anything important and to stay updated with the company's current events

Social сommerce

Social commerce continues to evolve. Social networks, catching up to search engines, are becoming places to search for products/services, make purchases, and discover new brands. Facebook and Instagram are leaders among social commerce platforms, attracting millions of shoppers. Meanwhile, TikTok is showing the fastest growth among other platforms

Statistics:

approximately 85% of large enterprises and 84% of medium-sized companies already use social commerce platforms, and this number is expected to grow
64% of internet users in the USA discover new products through social networks
the average American spends $641 through social media platforms each year, and this amount is expected to increase to $938 by 2025

These data highlight the importance of social commerce as a strategic direction for brands in 2024 and demonstrate the need to integrate purchasing functions into social media to retain users and increase revenues

Personalization of content on social networks

The integration of data and artificial intelligence (AI) for tailoring content to user interests has already become the norm. Brands that apply hyper-personalization will be able to interact precisely with customers, providing relevant information at the right time and place

To enhance marketing effectiveness, it's important to develop content targeted at various segments of the audience, considering age, interests, behavior, preferences, situational factors, etc. AI and machine learning will help predict responses to diverse content - texts, videos, graphics. However, it is also crucial to maintain a balance between providing enough data for accurate personalization and respecting subscriber privacy

In 2024, hyper-personalization is not just a trend but a necessity. It's time to optimize content and targeting strategy to offer each subscriber a unique brand interaction experience

Influencers

In 2024, brands are increasingly recognizing the potential of nano- and micro-influencers, realizing that despite their smaller reach, they deliver high engagement and a loyal audience. Although the number of followers for these influencers ranges from 1,000 to 100,000, their impact on the audience in terms of quality of interaction surpasses that of mega-influencers

Partnering with nano- and micro-influencers allows brands to gain consumer trust. Subscribers perceive these influencers as like-minded individuals, enhancing the impact of their recommendations. Brands should choose influencers who have the right target audience for success and results of the promotion and focus on long-term relationships with influencers whose values align with their own and who genuinely like the product being showcased to the audience. Social media subscribers can quickly sense insincerity and falsehood, for instance, if a blogger advertises a product they do not use themselves. This can damage the reputation of both the blogger and the brand

Statistics:

on average, nano-influencers (1,000 - 10,000 subscribers) have the highest engagement level at 7.2%, while micro-influencers (10,000 - 100,000 subscribers) have an engagement rate of about 3.5%. This is significantly higher compared to mega-influencers (over 1 million subscribers), who have an engagement rate of only about 1.2%
studies show that 82% of marketers consider their campaigns with influencers to be «effective» or «very effective». Moreover, brands that have invested in marketing with nano- and micro-influencers report an increase in return on investment (ROI) of 30-40% compared to the previous year
67% of companies plan to increase their budgets for influence marketing in 2024, indicating recognition of the effectiveness of this approach

In 2024, companies and brands will need to adjust their social media presence strategies, prioritizing sincerity and humanity in interactions with consumers. Partnering with nano- and micro-influencers interested in your brand can lead to positive results, returning marketing to the origins of social networks, where true value lies in genuine relationships and a strong community

User-Generated Content (UGC)

The trend of using UGC in SMM promotion is still relevant and continues to gain momentum. With UGC, brands can increase brand awareness, engagement, and trust in their products and services. Honesty, interactivity, sincerity, and creating a specific community of consumers directly affect achieving the best results in the dynamically changing world of social networks

Statistics:

68% of consumers are more likely to feel a connection with brands when they see UGC that reflects their personal values. Additionally, 78% of people share content related to brands to maintain relationships with others, and 69% believe such interaction contributes to society. This emphasizes how important it is for brands to create and share content that not only attracts attention but also allows consumers to express their personal stories and values
companies using UGC on their websites have noticed a 20% increase in repeat visitors, and the overall time spent by visitors on sites with UGC has increased by 90%. Interestingly, brands sharing UGC on Twitter see a 20% increase in new visitors compared to organic search. It is also reported that using UGC in advertisements can increase the click-through rate (CTR) by five times
consumers trust real customer reviews and are inclined to make purchase decisions based on recommendations from other users. For example, Toyota noticed a 440% increase in engagement with Facebook ads using UGC compared to ads without UGC
brands like Glossier demonstrate best practices in engagement and communication with the community. They actively interact with the audience across all platforms, especially on social media, and conduct much of their customer support work directly through social media

Thus, brands that find unique and effective ways to communicate with the audience through UGC can confidently expect to increase effectiveness on social networks, enhance trust and loyalty among customers, and boost conversions and interest

Authenticity

In the digital age, authenticity is also a trend in SMM. Modern consumers look for brands that offer not only quality products or services but also an emotional component and alignment with their values and beliefs. Authentic content - live reviews, stories from the brand's life, or backstage - helps build trusting relationships with the audience

Transparency and openness in communication are also gaining new importance. Customers expect brands to be honest about everything, from where raw materials and products are sourced to their impact on the environment. An active stance by companies on social issues and sustainability matters helps strengthen trust and loyalty from consumers

It's important to understand that in 2024, authenticity and genuineness become not just a fashionable trend but a necessary condition for successful interaction with the audience on social networks. Brands that learn to speak the same language as their subscribers, using principles of openness, will not only increase the level of interest but also strengthen their market position, building long-term relationships with consumers

SEO and SMM Promotion

In 2024, SEO promotion in social networks continues to gain popularity. According to studies, brands are increasingly aware of the importance of presence in various social media, but they still do not fully understand how to implement an effective strategy on each platform. On average, social network users visit 7 platforms monthly, posing a challenge for brands to efficiently distribute resources and time to maintain an active presence across all platforms

Adapting content to the linguistic features, trends, hashtags, word limits, and visual characteristics of each platform becomes increasingly important. Social networks are turning into new search engines where users search for products, goods, or services, make purchases, and do not leave the app. In this context, SEO promotion plays an important role, and brands are advised to optimize their content to increase visibility in ranking algorithms. Algorithms consider factors such as content relevance, engagement level, and author authority, making content optimization for search engines and social networks equally important

In 2024, brands will strive not just for nominal presence on all platforms but to build effective strategies for each one and achieve the greatest efficiency where the best results are observed

Trends come and go, but marketing strategy is always essential. Make your SMM work for the long haul

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In Summary

In 2024, SMM stands at the threshold of new opportunities. Trends such as authenticity, hyper-personalization, the use of AI for data analysis, and social commerce will be key for successful marketing on social networks and achieving the best results. For brands and marketers, it is important not only to keep up with these trends but also to actively adapt and implement them in their strategies to remain relevant to their audience, increase loyalty, and boost conversions, ultimately achieving business goals. Investing in understanding and applying these trends will allow brands not only to survive in the competitive struggle but also to grow, gaining advantages in the short and long term

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