The social media industry keeps giving — and there is largely expected to be more in the coming years.

To stay ahead of other brands, you need to know the latest trends to follow. These developments influence how people connect and interact with various companies online.

In this post, we will look at ten different trends that represent the future of social media marketing. You'll get to learn all the tricks that matter.

The 10 Trends to Look Out for

Here are the trends that you shouldn’t miss.

SEO and Social Channels

SEOs are a gold mine not just for your website, but for social media too.

I recently had a discussion with my cousin because I wanted holiday ideas. Guess what? She pulled up TikTok and showed me the searched location hashtags for vacation.

Gone are the days when Google was supreme. Nowadays, social media takes a good chunk of the search engine workload. Studies show that since 2022, up to 40% of Gen Z preferred TikTok over Google for information searches.

This makes optimizing your social media content for more visibility and reach a no-brainer in 2024.

Use the right keywords and hashtags within your web pages, blogs, profiles, captions, and social media posts. And watch the marketing magic unfold.

Social Commerce Resurgence

Social media commerce is not a fleeting trend, it is here to stay!

Platforms like TikTok have launched online shops and keep researching ways to make their in-app shopping effortless. Elements like live streaming and live shopping events, aid instant purchasing options. This naturally provides an easy way for consumers to connect with brands online.

So if you've not given selling on social a good go, you should put more work in. Opening a shop on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok may just be the right fit to further elevate your business.

Short and Long-Form Video Trends

You've heard the popular saying “Video is king.” And this largely refers to short-form video content on social media. However these days, long-form videos have gained momentum and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Naturally short-form video is one of the best ways to interact with your consumers and reach new audiences. It is the most engaging type of in-feed content because of the average user's attention span. But long-form videos with good storytelling and brand narratives have started to gain more hold online.

Platforms like TikTok and even Instagram have started using longer videos. From 30-second posts, TikTok now does one to 10-minute videos, and up to 30-minute uploads.

Results show that more users are spending more time on these platforms watching longer-form content and this should be capitalized upon. You still need short-form video as your core social media strategy, but adding long-form storytelling into your content can also be a game-changer for your brand.

Quirky and fun content is key

Having a playful twist to your content is one of the better ways to communicate your brand personality.

Brands know this, and they invest in creative ways to add fun meme content and other cultural trends in a way that fits their voice. But the icing on the cake tends to be doing this in a quirky way, to stand out amongst other online competitors.

Take LinkedIn’s Threads for instance, it now uses memes to explore relatable and hilarious topics that are endearing to consumers. You see posts that say "coming back from a Zoom meeting be like:" and see several fun images of Slack and a coffee attached.

Don't worry about how being playful can fit in your brand — it works. You only have to do this in a way that doesn't deny your brand’s voice and tone. There are many trends and meme formats you could adapt to fit your brand’s content.

Authentic Creator and Influencer Marketing

The creator and influencer’s world still runs social media marketing in 2024 — brands just take the credit for it.

In this age of constant running ads and influencer content, authenticity is the great divider. When influencers and creators lend their authentic, human opinions and experiences to brands, they provide that genuine consumer connection.

Platforms like TikTok indicate the shift towards more real and unfiltered content from influencers. This trend is one to bookmark, as users will always move towards more genuine and relatable content.

Also, longer-term partnerships between influencers and brands are proving to be more effective in the social market. So if you haven't already, invest in your creator and influencer marketing partnerships — or you will surely lose out.

Social Media and AI

You're probably tired of hearing about AI at this point. It's everywhere! In our latest phones, in our web browsers, and even our social media apps.

Whatever your opinions on the matter, AI is here to stay, and you with it. So as a brand, using AI-powered social media marketing tools and platforms is a must for your evolution.

AI can already help monitor social media for mentions of brands or products and use such information in consumer insights. AI can also benefit your brand by creating more personalized experiences for your consumers within social media. Let's not also forget AI’s role in optimizing and automating social media campaigns. So you cannot ignore this trend.

Brand Transparency

The growing desire for authentic content from consumers makes brand transparency a huge boost for commerce growth.

As more brands are being held accountable and spoken towards online, it is important to have an open brand voice for your audience. Now speaking out is no longer enough to set you apart, you must show transparency in committing to your brand values.

Now more than ever, consumers are more interested in diversity, labor practices, company leadership, and good environmental practices.

You need to look for opportunities to provide more transparency about your brand. You can start by offering behind-the-scenes content and expressing sustainability values. The important thing is to be honest in your approach.

Personalized Customer Care

An average customer care experience doesn't cut it anymore. Modern consumers want to be seen, heard, understood, and catered to — as quickly as possible.

They require a personalized response to their customer service needs and stick with brands that offer this.

As a brand, you should focus on integrating your personalized customer service model within social media platforms. You can use live chats, chatbots, and direct messaging to provide instant and more personalized support for your consumers.

Using AR

AR technology helps users to experience a digitally modified real world. This is achieved through combining additional layers of digital information to our physical surroundings. Snapchat AR lenses are a good example of such technology, and they can be useful in promoting different products.

Brands now use AR to promote their products in new and unique ways. For example, some furniture businesses use AR to show customers what a piece of furniture would look like in their surroundings. This takes consumer experience up a notch and is certainly a trend that is being monitored for success.

Privacy and Security

Cyber threats aren’t going anywhere —- and so are consumers’ worries about them.

Mainstream AI adoption has made it even more easy to get scammed on the internet market. That's why brands who continue to come up with privacy and security measures will undeniably keep their consumers.

Invest in maintaining brand security and privacy on social media platforms. You can do this by updating your security policies and using more authenticated payment options.

Conclusion

Use these social media trends to join the leading brands and businesses online. You can’t always know what works before it does, but you can look at the successful trends to build a stronger strategy that sets you up for success!