5 must know social media trends for 2024

Social media is fast-paced and ever-evolving, with frequent algorithm changes, updates to social media channels and new content trends.

We know it can be challenging to keep up to date with what’s trending on social media to leverage engagement. But worry not! We've gathered our predictions and compiled a list of 5 social media trends for 2024.

Learn how to make the most of social media trends and discover what it means for your social media strategy.

LinkedIn’s surge in popularity

Celebrating its 20th birthday last year, LinkedIn has a staggering 1 billion users worldwide. Catering to a business transaction-minded audience, the platform excels in facilitating B2B networking, professional promotions, and thought leadership.

LinkedIn is becoming increasingly popular after seeing a 22% increase in engagement in 2022 and a 55% increase year-on-year in premium subscriptions.

Even newsletters on LinkedIn have tripled year-on-year. Newsletters are a great way to build your company’s brand. It allows you to share market insights or company news positioning your brand as a leader in your industry. It’s also a great way to turn followers into subscribers.

A more recent social media trend for 2024 is the rise in collaborative articles. LinkedIn publishes a topic and invites relevant recognised experts to contribute their insights and perspectives to the article. The collaborative article is typically split into multiple sections. You can add your input to all of them or just one section. After contributing to multiple articles, you will earn a top voice badge from LinkedIn. This is a great way to position yourself as an expert in your industry, adding credibility to both your personal brand and your company.? We provide this service to our clients too!

Both newsletters and collaborative articles are one of LinkedIn's fastest traffic drivers.? They serve as effective tactics to drive sales, increase traffic, generate brand awareness and please the LinkedIn algorithm.

LinkedIn is currently a free platform but rumour has it that the free version will be limited further, allowing only 10 connection requests a month. This is something to look out for as popularity in LinkedIn Premium continues to surge.

Social media platforms will be used as search engines

We have already seen a rise in this social media marketing trend with people turning to social media apps, such as TikTok, to find answers. According to Google, around 40% of Gen Z prefers to use TikTok and Instagram for search over Google. SEO on social media is definitely a social media trend to look out for in 2024.

TikTok is way ahead of the game as it is already competing to be a search engine with its blue clickable comments.

What is a blue clickable comment on TikTok? A blue clickable comment allows users on TikTok to find relevant content on search pages. Essentially, a blue clickable comment is another way of finding videos of interest that are related to the content you are watching. It also provides easy access to trending topics.

How can I make a blue-clickable comment? You cannot turn a comment blue yourself. Instead, TikTok’s algorithm turns a comment into a blue clickable link if they identify it as relevant to the video or if it’s a popular and commonly searched phrase. So, if you’re trying to make a blue search comment, make sure you’re mentioning a trending topic or a keyword.

Another way social media apps are transforming into search engines is through their search bar functionality. Most social media apps allow users to search for a specific question, word or phrase, and the algorithm will then display a list of relevant content.

Especially on social media search bars, as it automatically displays suggested searches, showcasing either trending topics or content related to what you've just watched. The TikTok search page also includes a 'you may like' section, serving as another strategy to keep users engaged on the app for longer.

We recommend if you haven’t already, to make sure you have a strategy around SEO on social media. This is a growing social media trend in 2024 so don’t miss out. We also recommend that your brand and business is discoverable on social media through the use of keywords and phrases. Talk to our social media expert team to understand more about what this means for your business.

Tip: SEO on social media is tracked by keywords and phrases in captions, hashtags, alt text and captions within videos.

A rise in collaborative content

We have already discussed the rise in collaborative articles on LinkedIn, but this deserves a section of its own. Whilst LinkedIn encourages business leaders and experts to collaborate and share insights, Instagram is focusing on B2C content.

The surge in polls continues to be a social media trend in 2024, with Instagram testing polls in comments. This allows you to create a video with a comment taken from another one of your reels, providing a great opportunity to build connections with your followers. It also provides an opportunity to engage with your community, making them feel heard and appreciated.

TikTok already has a similar function which is popular amongst users, and now TikTok has introduced a new feature called Fan Spotlight. This feature allows you to add fan videos to your profile page. You can only add five at a time and the fan content will only be showcased for a limited amount of time.

Collaborative content also aligns with another trend - a shift towards transparency and authenticity. Fan spotlights and comment videos offer brands a way to be authentic and transparent.

A shift in social media strategy

In 2024, we anticipate a shift in businesses' social media strategy as companies aim to maximise ROI on social media.

Whilst a company may have a presence on multiple social media channels, they may only choose to focus on one or two in 2024 to utilise resources effectively. Maintaining consistency across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and Threads can be challenging and a stretch of resources.

Don’t be afraid to ditch any social media channels that aren't gaining desired results or meeting your social media ROI goals.? Which social media channels you focus on in 2024 should align with your social media ROI objectives and target audience.

Whether your social media ROI goals are related to brand awareness, website traffic, sales or engagement, consider your business type. For example, if you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn should be a primary focus in 2024. Assess where your audience is most active, and let that guide your social media strategy.

A focus on gaining a user’s attention

Brands have been chasing engagement on social media platforms for a quite some time. But as this trend continues, a new social media trend for 2024 emerges - retention rates.

Both engagement and retention rates depend on capturing someone’s attention on social media. Brands have been competing for people’s attention for a while now because the longer you can retain someone’s focus, the more likely they are to engage. This, in turn, increases your engagement rate, benefiting from the algorithm as your content is perceived as interesting and high quality, prompting LinkedIn to showcase it to a broader audience.

Soon, we may witness a shift towards retention rates. Instagram has recently introduced new statistics for Reels, revealing the average watch time and audience retention—informing you of how long you've managed to capture someone’s attention. It will be interesting to see how this social media trend for 2024 shifts to other platforms and other types of content, not just video.

To stay ahead of this social media marketing trend, start thinking and planning in 2024 about how you can hold someone’s attention for a longer period.

At Dragonfly PR, we are specialists in public relations, marketing, social media, SEO and digital services. If you need support navigating the world of social media in 2024, reach out to our PR and Social Media team today. We adopt a multi-channel approach, combining social media with PR activities to maximise ROI.

Schedule a call with our team to discuss your requirements, and let us customise a PR and marketing package tailored to your needs.