Navigating the Digital Wave: 2024 Social Media Trends

Welcome to social media in 2024, where trends change faster than the speed of light. From the integration of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) to the Threads versus X debacle, it’s easy to get lost in the chaos of it all. As we dive into 2024, the social media landscape is once again evolving. Here’s what we think the new year will bring: 

1. AI everywhere 

AI is quickly making an impact across almost every industry. When it comes to social, the various platforms are already utilizing AI to deliver personalized feeds, ensuring that users see only what they love and content that they will likely engage with. It is delivering opportunities to create and share content, changing the way we think about content creation and how we work with influencers. However, we need to be careful - even AI has its limits. There are still many ethical issues that need to be discussed that will affect its usage on social media. Complications will arise like deep fake content and doctored graphic photos that are made using generative AI. We need to incorporate AI into our social strategies while also navigating the challenges.  

2. The slight comeback of long-form content 

While short-form content has dominated social platforms in recent years, it’s possible that this will be the year that long-form videos make a comeback. While it’s likely that short-form content will still dominate most feeds, we won’t need to shy away from 60-second plus videos. With Instagram Reels and TikTok both increasing their max video length, there is potential for 2 to 5-minute videos to become more popular. As marketers, we need to keep an eye on the data and see what our audiences engage with, always delivering the best content in whatever form is most desired.   

3. The year of the “photo dump” 

The term “photo dump” refers to a series of photos uploaded in a carousel format that tends to be more casual – featuring a user’s cup of coffee, pet or OOTD. Users are slowly transitioning to sharing casual “photo dumps” on Instagram and TikTok, rather than one photo per post. This is also becoming increasingly popular due to the need and want for more authentic content and user-generated content. This trend could be a gold mine when it comes to content sourcing – and in return how brands position themselves and share photos as well.  

4. TikTok Shop domination 

TikTok Shop is completely altering how Gen Z and other TikTok users purchase products. It already is saving users a significant amount of time and effort, and it will likely become even more popular in the next few months. TikTok Shop eliminates the need for customers to move to another platform to complete the process of purchasing a product. The products are often in the $4-25 price range, fit for impulse purchases and often compulsive spending. While commerce has typically been a tough bridge for social platforms to cross (see Instagram’s “shop” tab, which they removed late last year), TikTok Shop seems to be off to a great start.   

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