Social Media in 2024 — Firebelly Predicts
The online world moves fast and 2023 was a blur in the social media landscape.
The team members here at Firebelly Marketing spend a LOT of time on EVERY social platform and we love sharing what our predictions are for the year ahead.
We’ve collected the predictions of all our team members, and are presenting you with the trends we think will shape social media in 2024!
Seven 2024 Social Media Trends
According to Firebelly Marketing
Highly-produced content is great… but it’s not everything
Is there any point in hiring a film crew anymore? Well, yes. But Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube shorts teach us that authentic content with limited production value performs better than glitzy, polished offerings.
Why? Because followers relate to it better. User-generated content is a massive business these days and we don’t see this changing.
Marketing is evolving, and highly-produced videos may impress your clients but won’t always equate to higher ROI. The algorithm decides all… and overly-produced content won't get you to the top.
Sales funnels are getting longer
Perhaps it’s a result of the internet’s maturation, but social media marketing has become more complex, and people need more social proof before making online purchases.
It used to be that someone would click on your Facebook Ad, be sent to your landing page, and press ‘buy’ without researching the product elsewhere. These days, there is not a product in the world that you can not find reviews for.
Buyers are not just interested in reviews (because they know reviews are easily bought). They are looking to build trust. That trust is best built on social media, where consumers have multi-year relationships with brands and creators who influence their buying decisions.
From social to email, an omnichannel approach is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s a requirement. A landing page alone, without any social proof, is a wasted investment.
Customers need to meet and get to know brands online before they press that ‘buy’ button. This means that brands must be present on the platforms their customers are on and work hard to be relatable and authentic.
Instagram’s evolution continues
Not even the Kardashians could stop this. For better or worse, Instagram is still largely video-focused. However, we are seeing a comeback of carousels. Reels now dominate the platform as the feed prefers to show short-form videos over static image content.
And we don’t expect this to change. Over 200 billion Reels are played on Meta’s platforms daily. Their primary goal is keeping users engaged, so there’s no going back. Gone are the days of brands being able to build presences on Instagram with only static images.
Private chat groups→ the ultimate lead gen tool?
Make no mistake: making money on social media is STILL about personal connections. And platforms like Meta have cracked the formula with Facebook Groups. These virtual town halls are free to join but often require admin approval. The result? Sales.
Well over 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups, and half of ALL users are in more than 5. And this trend shows no signs of stopping.
This makes sense, as Groups focus on specific topics. Many people who do not engage in typical social media activities like sharing their lives or connecting with friends or family will be active members of these niche groups.
These online meeting areas are similar to uber-popular subReddits, except for one huge difference: users are not anonymous. This has greatly reduced trolling and spamming and has elevated the flow of information that users find useful.
Facebook groups are an excellent way to build trust and engage an audience.
Keep an eye on AI
Is that image even real? Users ask that question regularly, as countless generative AI tools have flooded the market. ChatGPT and Midjourney are perhaps the most famous, but the market is obscenely competitive.
There are approx. 57,000 AI companies right now, and that number is expected to grow significantly. As a result, the technology should advance quickly.
Instead of being afraid, social media marketers are encouraged to play with these tools. And the online battlefield is changing. The best copywriters are no longer ‘natural writers.’ Anyone with access to ChatGPT can use the software to write engaging sales copy that converts.
Our take: be optimistic about the technology and learn how to use it. From social media to search engines to video production, those who experiment the most will be handsomely rewarded in 2024.
X will remain relevant
Although 2023 has been a turbulent year for Twitter - or - X (sorry, we didn’t mean to deadname it), it also solidified its place as THE destination for inflammatory conversations. And we’re not just talking about Elon’s account.
Despite major brands like Disney pulling their ad spend from the platform, we predict that X will escape this firestorm. Although the stock price fell and average daily users flatlined, countless industries use X as their primary messaging showcase.
So don’t worry about the threat posed by Meta’s Threads (although all brands should maintain a presence there); we predict X will survive Meta’s encroachment on its territory in 2024.
If Elon’s taught us nothing else, being polarizing is how you attract a loyal audience. X’s users might be limited compared to other platforms, but they spend a TON of time Tweeting (should we say ‘Xing’?).
TikTok stays on top
Still, with the most monthly active users, ByteDance’s world-changing app isn’t slowing down. It’s so successful that Instagram has been remodeled to mimic it in every legally possible way.
No matter the industry, your marketing efforts should incorporate TikTok in a big way. Viral videos can be made on the cheap and the app’s demographic isn’t limited to just Gen Z and Millennials. Everyone’s on there now.
YouTube could lose even more ground to TikTok in 2024 as widescreen videos are rolled out in greater numbers across the user base. While YouTube still has more monthly active users, that could change very soon.
Let us Social your Media in 2024
These trends are subject to… reality. But we’ve launched more than a few highly successful campaigns and are confident about our predictions.
If you have questions about these predictions or want to take your brand’s social media to the next level, drop us a line.
We’d love to help your content blow up in 2024.