2024 Social Trend Watchlist

As brands begin to navigate the social landscape in 2024, it is important to acknowledge a few of the trends, innovations, and conversations that are emerging. Here are our top predictions heading into the New Year:

Sound On!

Audio is an increasingly essential element of content success on social. Brands are starting to explore owned and borrowed audio options outside of just royalty-free music, such as leveraging in-app voice filters, creating ASMR-style videos, stitching prompts, and even creator sounds. Incorporating audio memes has also been an effective alternative to music. In a recent study, 81% of Gen Z users  said they recognized viral or meme sounds vs 41% of the non-meme sounds. Brands should continue to ensure that their selection is on-trend, aligns with their brand’s voice, and is properly licensed.

“Let’s Go LIVE”
Livestreaming humanizes brands and cultural figures, strengthening connection with their audiences. Over 50% of live video viewers stream content via social platforms globally. Whether unboxing a product, hosting a Q&A, or making an announcement, livestreaming can be an effective way to drive real-time engagement. Consider how to best scale these activations; identifying who would be best suited to host the stream, the best platform to activate upon, and the messaging strategy while live.

Micro-Creators Bring Macro Results
Brands are beginning to explore partnering with micro-creators, as they tend to have more in-depth insight into specific industries, products, and technologies—their reach extends to very niche communities that are often hard to penetrate. In fact, 9 out of 10 users trust them as credible sources of information. In considering new partnerships, look closely at the engagement rate across their content to determine which creators are driving true impact. Also, brands should be mindful of sponsorship disclosures to be in accordance with the latest FTC guidelines.

Surfing the Socials
TikTok is becoming the leading search engine amongst Gen Z. From in-depth product reviews, to travel inspo and short-form tutorials/lessons, users are reliant on the platform for many of their day-to-day inquiries, news, and more. TikTok is also rapidly expanding their search capabilities, including video embedded search suggestions and partnering with Google and Wikipedia to help increase information accuracy. Additionally, Pinterest has had a resurgence amongst Gen Z users, growing to almost 500M users in 2023. As lifestyle content rises in popularity, users are returning to the platform for inspiration on fashion, beauty, décor, and more. Brands like IKEA have begun to explore ways to organically push their products into purchase consideration. Make pins more discoverable via enhancing usage of keywords and precise pin labeling, while also leaning into key seasonal and cultural moments.

The Age of AI
AI will be leveraged as a supporting tool, not a means to an end. In the age of authenticity, users hold brands accountable for producing original content and being transparent about how their personal data is informing product and content suggestions. With AI being a blossoming solution, it will be crucial for brands to carefully delegate its role within their social strategy. These technologies should be utilized to simplify back-end processes (project management, data analysis, etc.) versus being utilized to generate front-end content for user consumption (content production, copywriting, etc.).

Unexpected Duos
There has been a rise in branded partnerships that defy conventionality, keeping users guessing on social. In a recent collaboration between ELF x Twitch, these brands brought together the beauty and gaming community in an activation that put a spin on traditional Fortnite skins. When picking a brand partner, consider commonalities across the brands’ content, audiences, and voices to best execute the messaging and visualization of the activation.

To get the conversation started, consider these points:

• Is my client aware of the cultural and newsworthy conversation around their brand or product industry?

• Where does my client fall amongst its peers and what are some areas of growth to explore?

• Is there a demographic(s) the brand hasn’t reached yet? Does my client have a product or service that aligns to their interests?

• How can my client drive more in-platform purchase activity?

• Which creators align to my client’s brand values and may already be knowledgeable about the brand?