LIVE WEBINAR: What consumers want from influencer marketing
Luke McCarthy
April 29, 2024
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Social media continues to evolve and change. It’s adapted to meet the radical changes triggered by the pandemic – connecting people with companies in fresh and original ways. It’s an invaluable tool for communication and shared knowledge, and it’s become an indispensable part of global culture.
On the personal front, social media has allowed people to experiment with digital tools and platforms, and to discover innovative ways to tell stories and share experiences.
On the marketing front, it’s become a powerful ally, helping companies to keep up with consumer trends, connect with audiences, build brand awareness, and drive growth.
In 2023, we’ve seen TikTok continue its meteoric rise, an even stronger move towards authentic and genuine content, more careful sharing of personal information, and the growth of more intimate groups and communities.
In this piece, we look back at some of the biggest trends of 2023 and then turn our faces forward to predict what lies ahead in 2024.
LinkedIn has seen impressive growth in 2023, rapidly becoming one of the most powerful networking platforms on the social media landscape. LinkedIn has become, as the headline of this press release dryly said, ‘cool now’. The platform’s content sharing has increased by 41% in 2022 and the company has reported an increase of 5% in revenue.
This social platform is steadily moving away from the perception that it’s just there for job hunting and networking. People are actively engaging, talking, selling, communicating, and influencing on LinkedIn, and as the platform continues to introduce new features and new ways of building personal and business brands, people continue to use it in new and inventive ways.
It’s definitely one to watch for 2024.
People want immediacy and accessibility, and they love a brand that can give them instant gratification. Which is why social commerce has grown wings over the past year. People love being able to buy and sell products directly through social media platforms, and this is reflected in how committed social platforms are to empowering buyers and sellers.
The statistics show that the number of consumers buying from social networks continues to grow – Thailand, India, UAE, China, Columbia, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and the US are the top 10 countries benefiting from this trend.
Social commerce will remain a thriving trend in 2024.
The Barbie movie, Lavender Sharpie, Barbenheimer, Taylor Swift – these are just some of the huge trends that hit social media in 2023, and which were hijacked by brands keen to clamber aboard the popularity train.
Many brands tagged on to huge trends to drive their own momentum and growth, often using very clever tactics to make their brand stand out amidst the noise. This is very likely going to remain a popular trend moving forward into 2024.
Twitter’s rebrand to X has left marketers wary and users uncertain. While many have continued to use the platform as they already have established identities and followers, there’s a lot of upheaval and uncertainty. The name change is also only one of the problems that’s arisen over the course of the year.
X has removed the feature to report misinformation and the blocking feature, both designed to reduce fake news and personal risk. Right now, it looks like X is on rocky shores with spend down by 60% year-on-year.
Yes, Insta and TikTok are still solid social platforms that people love, use, and enjoy. A recent LinkedIn poll found that Instagram remained the most popular platform in 2023 (42%) followed by LinkedIn (30%), and TikTok (24%), while X is down to 5%.
Another poll found that TikTok is actually more popular than any of the other social kids on the block, but this was according to a much younger audience. Which tells us what we all already knew – audience dictates the popularity, with younger users preferring TikTok. However, across all audiences and age groups, Insta, LinkedIn, and TikTok remained in the lead, while X and Facebook lurked sadly in the background.
Continuing on its growth in 2022, short-form stayed the course in 2023. Quick-fire videos with engaging content captured consumer attention, and social media platforms paid attention. Facebook Stories and Instagram Reels both capitalise on this feature, and it’s very likely that they’ll introduce new and interesting ways for brands and users to leverage short-form video even more effectively in 2024.
In 2020, more than 50 million people around the world identified as creators on social media. Since then, the creator economy has grown significantly – there are now more than 207 million creators across the world. Professional and amateur creators are using social media very effectively, and they provide brands with an incredible opportunity to connect with the right audiences in an authentic way.
Over the past year, creators have formed creative partnerships with brands to deliver exciting campaigns that have reached new audiences and allowed for both brands and creators to grow successfully.
(You can check out some of the most successful partnerships here.)
The content narrative for the past few years has been short, short, short. Content has to be short, sharp, and snappy to capture elusive consumer attention. This isn’t going to change – short-form content is still a strong way for brands to connect with consumers – but long-form is getting back on its feet.
People are enjoying deep, researched, and interesting content that they can learn from. It’s inspiring and engaging. Content that takes readers on a journey is more likely to build brand credibility, improve search engine rankings, and increase user engagement.
Use short-form to capture attention and long-form to hold it. This is an exciting opportunity for brands and creators to collaborate on rich content in 2024.
According to the Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey, artificial intelligence (AI) is going to increase exponentially in 2024. The survey found that there’s likely to be a 260% increase in the use of AI for image editing in 2024, and that many organisations are aiming to quadruple their use of AI across different activities.
However, AI does come with a warning. People don’t trust the content produced by AI – nor should they – and there remains a wariness around its authenticity and validity.
What does that mean for brands and creators? That they should use AI, but with transparency, and prove that content is based on hard facts and not invented statistics. Use AI to enhance content generation and improve speed to market, but within reason and with a clear eye on authenticity and trust.
Influencers are smart when it comes to product placement and the latest trend is no different. They talk about their outfit or their makeup, but they don’t talk about where they got the outfit from or what brand of makeup they’re using. This triggers curiosity – consumers want to know where that skirt comes from or what brand made that foundation, and so they ask in the comments, and the influencer links in their bio.
Boom, that right there is the power of brand placement leveraging consumer curiosity to drive engagement and sales. This form of influencer product placement marketing is far less invasive and salesy than traditional routes, and is often far more effective.
The past three years have been back to back crazy, busy, challenging, and complicated. While users are engaging on social media platforms, they’re not there to be sold to or influenced, they’re there to unwind and relax. Can’t sleep at 1am? Social media. Had a bad day and need to laugh? Social media.
In 2024, the trend towards zen is going to increase as people seek out platforms, brands, and creators that help them stay calm, focused, and happy. Brands need to dial back on the sales and the hype, and instead focus on entertaining, inspiring, and engaging content.
TikTok has seen a move towards more authentic content created by users who talk to their audience as if they’re having a chat with their best friend. Users are loving the real feel of someone sitting and chatting to them while wearing a face mask, hair in curlers, and lounging on the sofa in pyjamas.
Simimoonlight is a case in point. Her casual and relaxed approach to online conversations has garnered her a huge following.
@simimoonlight Replying to @Lauren ♬ original sound – simi
Vamp is here to help your brand build connections with audiences, influencers and creators in the right way. We understand the trends and how these can shape your campaigns and strategies. We also know how to forge relationships with creators in a way that delivers return on investment, value, growth, and audience engagement.
We can help you build an influencer marketing strategy, discover the benefits of social media for your unique business, create relevant and engaging user-generated content, listen to social media effectively, and create social content with influence.
Get started with Vamp to get ahead in 2024
