Global SMM Trends 2024: Forecasts and Opportunities
The world of social media is rapidly evolving, demanding businesses to stay updated and revamp their representation strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
Semrush, a company specializing in digital marketing tools and market analysis, has identified five global SMM trends for 2024.
The company’s representatives consulted with leading social media experts, industry insiders, and marketing gurus to determine the key directions that will shape the future landscape of social media.
Here are the global SMM trends for 2024.
User-Generated Content and User Trust
The authenticity of content is now a crucial factor for achieving long-term success on social media. Building a strong emotional connection with your audience is paramount, as it enhances engagement levels and fosters trust in your business. To establish long-lasting relationships with customers, share unique and relatable stories from your consumers – people are more inclined to trust other users over brands themselves. Audiences want to hear information firsthand – from real people interacting with products to company employees.
Consumers are weary of the constant stream of advertisements and well-known influencers, so in 2024, companies will focus on user-generated content (UGC) created directly by users.
What to focus on?
1. Authentic Reviews and Recommendations: Encourage customers to share their personal experiences and impressions of your product through videos or stories. These genuine testimonials help build trust and engagement.
2. Shift from Aggressive Marketing: Move away from aggressive marketing tactics and traditional advertisements. Focus on natural promotion by creating a friendly community on social media, engaging with your audience, and utilizing SEO and email marketing.
3. Hiring Skilled Creators: Employ creators who excel at communicating on social media, telling captivating stories based on personal experiences, fostering trust, and maintaining a warm connection with the community.
4. Utilize UGC on TikTok: Share user-generated content on TikTok. Videos remain the most engaging form of content, and TikTok is known for its authentic, unedited, and inspiring content that gets reposted and commented on frequently.
5. Quality Over Popularity: Prioritize quality over popularity. Users prefer products supported by personal stories and positive reviews rather than those that are heavily advertised.
The Golden Age of Content Creators
The number of followers, which has been considered one of the main indicators of success on social media over the past decade, is gradually taking a back seat. Today, it is crucial for companies to build and maintain a loyal community around their brand, breaking down barriers and becoming “one of the people” among their audience. Every social media account should not only sell and inform but also become a warm and cozy space where users can freely exchange opinions and feel valued by the company.
To achieve this, companies should:
1. Create a welcoming space: Transform social media accounts into warm and inviting spaces where users feel comfortable sharing their opinions and experiences.
2. Behind-the-scenes content: Share videos showcasing office life to humanize the brand and make it more relatable.
3. Employee Interviews: Conduct interviews with staff members to give a face to the brand and create a personal connection with the audience.
4. Interactive Engagement: Organize contests, promotions, and interactive activities to keep the audience engaged and involved.
5. Provide valuable content: Offer useful and informative content that provides real value to followers, such as tips, insights, and educational material.
By focusing on these aspects, businesses can foster a strong, loyal community where users feel important and connected to the company. This shift from merely counting followers to nurturing meaningful interactions will be key to long-term success in social media marketing.
New demands are emerging for creators and influencers who represent products. Content creators must be able to analyze and understand the needs and priorities of their audience to speak their language and resonate with their emotions effectively. Influencers who share a similar lifestyle with their audience and connect on a social level will have a significant advantage in promoting products.
Furthermore, content from company employees and directors will be equally valued. Audiences need to see that they are being heard and understood on the other end of the line, with prompt responses to their feedback and requests for product improvements.
What to focus on?
Long-Term Relationships with Creators: Establish enduring partnerships with diverse creators who have their unique styles and can resonate with different segments of your audience.
Show the Human Side of Your Business: Share behind-the-scenes content and personal stories from your team to humanize your brand and build deeper connections with your audience.
Avoid Comparisons with Other Brands: Focus on your unique strengths and share authentic user stories. Localize user-generated content (UGC) to make it more relevant and relatable to your audience.
Community Engagement: Actively work with your community, encouraging discussions, likes, and reposts. Foster a welcoming environment where users feel comfortable engaging with your brand and each other.
Listen and Ask for Feedback: Regularly seek input from your audience about the type of content they want to see and listen to their feedback. Use their suggestions to refine your content strategy and meet their needs better.
Generative AI – An Innovative Tool for Marketers
As history shows, every technological breakthrough always brings concerns. The professional community of designers, artists, and copywriters is alarmed that neural networks might take away jobs from specialists. However, experts interviewed by Semrush are optimistic – artificial intelligence cannot think creatively or develop unique ideas, struggles with understanding emotions and context, and clients continue to value human interaction and natural texts. Neural networks do not possess the intuition needed to interpret data, but they can become indispensable assistants, boosting the productivity of marketing departments.
«Artificial intelligence tools can be a breakthrough for marketers. They can accelerate the brainstorming process with data-driven suggestions, optimize content for specific channels, and help automate the repurposing of content across various platforms.»
Artificial intelligence has already revolutionized workflows for SMM managers, making them more productive by generating simple texts and post templates, while providing users with an excellent selection of content based on universal experiences. One of the most significant achievements has been personalized advertising, where AI is used for machine learning and image recognition, allowing for more effective targeting and user recommendations, thereby increasing conversions. AI also facilitates flexible social media management through chatbots, post suggestions based on viewing history, quick text translations, and visual content generation.
Content creation will undergo a major evolution in 2024, and the first half of the year will demonstrate how marketers can most effectively leverage AI capabilities. With neural networks, content creation will become faster, leaving marketers more time for strategic planning. In other words, marketers will remain the creative minds, while AI acts as the eloquent developer. Short briefs will turn into full-fledged articles, and voice commands will become works of art. The era of mass content production on social media is approaching, and platforms will continue to enhance AI features. The experimental period will transition into full integration and implementation of neural networks in everyday work.
What to focus on?
1. Monitor AI Applications and Updates: Keep an eye on the assortment of AI applications, new ChatGPT plugins, and updates from tools like Midjourney and DALLE-3.
2. Leverage AI Tools for Routine Tasks: Use AI tools to handle routine tasks, plan posts, and monitor social media metrics efficiently.
3. Ensure Brand Consistency: Utilize neural networks to create content texts, but make sure the results align with your brand’s tone of voice.
4. Regularly Review and Adapt Strategy: Continuously review and adapt your social media strategy based on AI-generated analytics combined with the experience and intuition of your marketing team.
5. Maintain a Human Touch: Always preserve a human approach to content and oversee the process to ensure authenticity and connection with your audience.
TikTok and LinkedIn at the Pinnacle of Social Media
Experts interviewed by Semrush believe that TikTok and LinkedIn will dominate social media in 2024. However, competition among platforms remains intense – Threads by Meta (recognized as extremist and banned) continues to attract new users. YouTube also keeps pace, offering new features to its users.
TikTok continues to develop new features and tools for creators, advertisers, and regular users. In 2024, it will focus on e-commerce, generative AI, and search optimization, maintaining its reign as the king of short-form video platforms.
At the beginning of 2024, TikTok showcased the highest engagement and user retention rates. The social network continues to be a unique promotion tool for brands that effectively utilize short videos, blending advertising integrations with personal stories, a careful approach to community building, and TikTok trends.
LinkedIn has become an essential tool for business development, connecting professionals across various fields. The platform’s user base has grown to millions of specialists from diverse sectors, making it a treasure trove for finding unique talent. According to Semrush experts, in 2024, companies will encourage CEOs and leading specialists to engage directly with potential business partners and clients on the platform, strengthening meaningful connections and maintaining professional contacts.
What to focus on?
- Establish long-term partnerships with TikTok creators: build enduring relationships with content creators on TikTok to leverage their influence and creativity for your brand.
- Share User-Generated Content (UGC) on TikTok: utilize TikTok for UGC, as videos remain the most engaging form of content. The platform thrives on authentic, inspiring videos that users love to repost and comment on.
- Explore Opportunities on Threads: pay attention to Threads, which plans to attract new influencers to create unique content. This platform is a good channel for reaching a new audience.
- Utilize YouTube’s Expanding Features: take advantage of YouTube’s ongoing development of new features, from vertical short videos to podcasts, to diversify your content and engage with your audience in multiple ways.
- Update and Focus on Your LinkedIn Profile: pay attention to Threads, which plans to attract new influencers to create unique content. This platform is a good channel for reaching a new audience.
- Utilize YouTube’s Expanding Features: take advantage of YouTube’s ongoing development of new features, from vertical short videos to podcasts, to diversify your content and engage with your audience in multiple ways.
- Update and Focus on Your LinkedIn Profile: refresh your company’s LinkedIn profile and give it more attention. LinkedIn is essential for business development, professional networking, and connecting with industry leaders.
Metrics Remain a Tool for Success
At the dawn of the social media era, success was measured by the number of followers. However, for brands today, audience engagement is far more critical. Experts have highlighted key aspects of using metrics in 2024, emphasizing the importance of A/B testing to optimize websites, landing pages, targeted advertising campaigns, and social media efforts. Testing helps determine what works best, explore new ways to interact with the audience, and expand growth opportunities.
«If you have the opportunity, don't forget about testing strategies. I recommend investing 20% of your budget in new research and 80% in tried-and-true methods.»
Interaction with the community and increasing loyalty remain the core values. Regardless of marketing investments, the relevance of content to the audience cannot be measured accurately, as it is pertinent to the current moment in time. It is essential not to forget about feedback and to openly ask users what content they expect and where they heard about the brand. In 2024, social media algorithms will favor content that encourages the audience to comment, discuss, like, and share personal experiences.
This trend reiterates the importance of transparency – customers should participate in product discussions, share their experiences, and thus help form a community around the brand. This involvement boosts brand loyalty and expands reach. Therefore, key metrics will be reach and impressions. The more people see and share content, the more its reach grows, increasing the brand’s visibility.
What to focus on?
- Balance A/B Testing with a 20/80 Approach: allocate 20% of your budget to test new approaches and trends, while dedicating 80% to proven and reliable strategies.
- Leverage authentic user-generated content: encourage and utilize genuine content created by users. Authentic content naturally engages the audience, prompting comments and participation in discussions, which is key to strengthening the connection between them and your brand.
- Collaborate with video content creators: partner with video content creators to leverage the power of short-form videos. Today’s leading platforms prioritize short videos, and optimizing these for new devices such as AR/VR will be critical for success in 2024.
- Encourage engagement through real content: focus on creating truthful, user-generated content that resonates with your audience. This type of content is more likely to generate engagement and discussions, fostering a deeper connection with your brand.
- Optimize videos for new devices: stay ahead by optimizing video content for emerging technologies like AR/VR. This will ensure your content is accessible and engaging on the latest devices, keeping you at the forefront of technological advancements.
Conclusions
Emphasize Authentic Engagement:
Genuine user-generated content is essential for natural audience engagement. This type of content fosters comments and discussions, strengthening the connection between brands and their communities.Balance Innovation and Reliability:
Implement a 20/80 budget strategy, with 20% allocated to testing new trends and approaches, and 80% dedicated to proven strategies. This balance ensures innovation while maintaining reliability.Leverage Video Content:
Collaborate with video content creators and optimize short-form videos for new devices such as AR/VR. This approach aligns with current trends and prepares brands for future technological advancements.Foster Direct Community Interaction:
Engage directly with your audience through feedback and active participation. Encourage customers to share their experiences and involve them in product discussions, building transparency and trust.Utilize A/B Testing for Optimization:
Regularly conduct A/B testing to refine websites, landing pages, advertising campaigns, and social media strategies. This continuous optimization helps identify the most effective methods and expand growth opportunities.Prioritize Transparency and Feedback:
Maintain transparency by involving customers in discussions and valuing their feedback. This approach helps build a loyal community and enhances brand loyalty.Adapt Content Based on Analytics:
Regularly review and adapt your social media strategies based on AI-generated analytics combined with the experience and intuition of your marketing team. This ensures your content remains relevant and effective.
