Instagram is changing!? 2024 Social Media Predictions and Trends
Twenty-twenty-three was quite the year. There were a lot of changes in the social world, with new technologies, new platforms, and a whole lot more. Our favourite post of the year is our predictions, so let’s get right into our Social Media predictions for 2024.
If you’d prefer to watch rather than read, no sweat:
Prediction #1: Increase in Higher-Quality Videos
Visually, as Reels continue to be saturated, an immediate way to stand out is through higher-quality visuals. What this looks like is a decrease in just the phone-taken b-roll content with “check the caption” in the video. This has become overly saturated since it’s been a great tactic for maximizing views, and it’s phasing out just as the “pointing and dancing” era of the 2020s/2021s is losing steam. This increase in higher-quality videos could also result in longer-form videos because it’s hard to squeeze real value and content in such a limited space.
What this means for you: If you are an expert in your field, this is your time to show up and stand out with high-quality footage of you speaking directly to your audience. It’ll put you ahead of those too shy to create content or those whose expertise isn’t as deep as yours.
Pro tip: You can use the rear-facing camera on your phone to immediately level up your content. That, along with natural light, will put you in a good place with your quality. To level up even more, consider adding a mic (lapel or standing), a DSLR camera and lights - everything we use is in our Amazon storefront.
Prediction #2: Increase in Automation and AI Adoption
So much has changed ever since ChatGPT was first introduced to the larger market in 2021. In 2023, Ascend2 discovered that 50% of brands have adopted marketing automation tools for Social Media management. We’re seeing this real shift in using AI tools to work smarter and not harder; brands have understood this for a long time but we see business owners and creators leveraging this to increase efficiency in their workflow, create better content and drive real sales.
Sales + Engagement Automation
Manychat: One automation tool that became a huge part of our workflow, and we credit with elevating our engagement and building our email list is Manychat. You can use Manychat to boost engagement by creating engaging caption prompts and driving users to your DMs for more personalized interactions. Check out Manychat and use code "HIGHSEASON" for a free month of their Pro plan.
Content Creation + Copywriting
Hubspot reports 48% of marketers are already using AI for content creation.
Canva is a great example of a tool that is providing real AI solutions to help simplify content creation through their Magic Studio, which allows you to create visuals based on text prompts which is generative AI, add motion, enhance blurry images, write captions and documents, and more.
Planoly, which is a Social Media management tool we’ve shared in the past, also integrated AI into copywriting. Head over to this link and use our code "highseason30" (all lowercase) for 30% off all annual subscriptions.
Generative AI in general. We’ve already arrived at an era where people are starting to work with AI tools to generate images comfortably. We see this trend increasing, so much so that it will become a real track to replacing stock images because some of these images are getting very realistic, especially with software from platforms like Midjourney.
ChatGPT will continue to thrive here as it provides support for content creation, including ideation and creation. Check out our video on how to use ChatGPT for marketing below.
Meta AI Experiences. We recently talked about all the AI features Meta is releasing that has begun rolling out in the video below, including generative AI features and assistants. They’ve also updated their Rayban glasses to include Meta AI features which are in Beta - but it tells you the direction things are going.
YouTube AI. YouTube also announced a ton of AI features they are releasing, including AI-generated photo and video backgrounds, AI video topic suggestions, and music search.
What this means for you: When trends and new features arise, take time out to test them to understand how they work and whether or not they can make your workflow easier or create new opportunities for you to interact with your audience.
Prediction #3: Increase in Mixed Media on Instagram
We did a major breakdown on how most users are seeing a decline in Reels views and why, coupled with an increase in Stories and DMs from Instagram in the video below. To avoid being redundant, we’ll direct you there - but overall we see a reduction in relying on just Reels content and more diversity coming to the feed.
Prediction #4: Rise in Nano Influencer Partnerships
We noticed the term “UGC Creator” became popular recently, which is bizarre as it’s not really a thing. In 2019, we called them “nano-influencers”, and they’re creators with a smaller platform, typically under 10,000 followers is the usual consensus. UGC was always more customer-focused, meaning it was content generated by users - not someone looking to turn it into a business.
According to our Q3 2023 Sprout Pulse Survey of 307 US-based social marketers, 81% of social marketers say influencer marketing is an essential part of their strategy. This has been a part of our strategy for every client and the value is more undeniable as time goes on. While larger influencers come with bigger fees, in this economy, we see more relationships based on free product exchanges and smaller budgets directed to nano-influencers.
Nano and micro-influencers (under 100,000 followers) have long been the categories for more authenticity and a higher trust factor for brands, as they typically get higher engagement and are more niched down.
What this means for you: If you are looking to increase your reach, creator partnerships are one of the best ways. It’s a strategy we’ve used to drive significant reach and follower growth for clients over the last five-ish years; you just have to make sure you’re partnering with the right creator. If you’re a creator, make sure that you continue to engage with brands you love, buy their products and talk about them. We always pay attention to people creating content and they’re usually the first ones we go to. Take a look at the video below on how to secure brand partnerships, even with a smaller following.
Prediction #5: Increased Threads Adoption
Instagram Threads came in hot and fast but they weren’t all the way ready, which Meta has admitted. Since that launch, they’ve added a ton of new features to help connect more users and make things feel less random. As they look to increase adoption, we see them making more serious integrations between Threads and other platforms, and we’re already seeing this with Threads showing up in Facebook and Instagram feeds.
They introduced a write API that will allow for publishing from third-party apps. This makes it easier for an overall distribution workflow which would increase adoption. Right now it's pretty manual — this change will see Threads turn into a marketer's platform, as every social platform ultimately does. If you’re someone who likes writing rather than being in a video, this is still a fantastic platform as there aren’t ads and it’s all organic.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Insights comes by the end of 2024 to make this a real marketing channel. We also expect to see Threads show up differently and in new ways across all Meta platforms, along with ads appearing by the end of the year.
Prediction #6: Linkedin Dominates B2B Social
LinkedIn has been putting in work. If you are in a service-based business, you really need to get on LinkedIn! LinkedIn is being called the new Facebook. We see these status updates with personal anecdotes like you would see on Facebook (or even Twitter), literal selfies sometimes, and then educational tips provided in long-form content; LinkedIn is becoming a place to build up the Know, Like and Trust factors. 65% of B2B marketers claim they will increase their LinkedIn usage next year, too.
What this means for you: Start at least cross-posting and repurposing content to LinkedIn. They recently updated their algorithm to focus on posts that share "knowledge and advice" (because all the personal stuff was getting a bit out of hand), which means this is where AI like ChatGPT can help out. You can take a video script, newsletter, blog, or long-form caption of yours and convert those into LinkedIn posts so you can share your expertise and start showing up in the algorithm in front of potential clients.
Quick Ones
SEO
The importance of SEO will continue to increase on social platforms. We’ve said this over the last couple of years, and it continues to trend in this direction as more people go to search for answers while they’re on social platforms. This means that you need to ensure your content answers key questions from your target audience and that you are including the right keywords in your content. SEO is more important than hashtags at this point, so don’t slip on this real opportunity for discovery.
Social Commerce
This space continues to evolve every year, US social commerce sales will surpass $100 billion by 2025 according to Insider Intelligence, thanks to rising adoption from Gen Zs.
TikTok Shops are making real noise - although they are running into issues with counterfeit products being sold.
More trustworthy brands though like Pinterest and Meta are making it easier and easier to shop natively — Meta + Amazon.
What this means for you: If you’re a product-based business, make sure you’re setting up shop on these platforms to make it easier for people to buy from you, and that you are tagging your products. Definitely do NOT sleep on Pinterest, it is the place where people go with a plan to be inspired to make something or buy something - capitalize on it.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts is already growing rapidly, and a lot of the content is re-uploads which are already helping to drive growth and help with monetization for creators. We get a ton of views from Shorts, we see an increased adoption here as third-party schedulers introduced cross-platform publishing at the end of this year, including Planoly.
What this means for you: If you aren’t on the #2 biggest search engine in the world, you’re missing out. That’s where the REAL SEO is; start cross-posting your Reels content and keep an eye on the space.
That’s it for our 2024 Social Media predictions! Did we miss anything? Do you agree or disagree with any of these? Have a safe and abundant new year ✨
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