The Platform Trend: <\/b>With a potential TikTok ban looming over the U.S., eMarketer<\/a><\/span> predicts a dip in social commerce as brands and audiences start turning their attentions elsewhere. So if your brand has a strong U.S. base of TikTok shoppers, it might be wise to get platforms like Instagram ready so you can fill in any gaps at a moment\u2019s notice.
The ROI Trend:<\/b> In our ongoing quest to find social ROI, we dug even deeper into what consumers really want from brands on social. Good news, we found their 3 favorite types of content: something new, something funny, and something inspiring. Do you have these in your content mix? Get more ideas in our Social Media Consumer Report<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n
1. The AI Trend<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n 2. The Platform Trend<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n 3. The ROI Trend<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n 4. Industry Trends<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> Interest was so high that from 2022 to 2023, topics on learning about AI increased by 550%, according to an analysis we conducted of over 15,500 news articles and blogs.<\/p>\n And social marketers have jumped on the bandwagon.<\/p>\n Organizations report that they\u2019re planning to double their use of AI across various activities\u2014even tripling or quadrupling it in some cases. <\/i>Different generations also have different levels of trust towards AI-generated content, according to our survey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen Z, for example, are more likely to claim they know what\u2019s real and what\u2019s created by AI better than other generations. They\u2019re also more likely to trust and engage with AI content. On the other hand, baby boomers are the opposite on all accounts.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Sample:<\/b><\/i> 4,420 respondents <\/i>AI is inevitable on social, and scaling back on its use now would be like reverting from computers to typewriters.<\/p>\n To thrive in this new environment, marketers and brands need to move beyond defining \u201creal\u201d and \u201cauthentic\u201d based on whether something was created exclusively by a human.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the most successful brands will redefine \u201cauthenticity.\u201d It\u2019s not about who (or what) creates your content anymore; it\u2019s about the brand experience your content creates for the customer. Dig deeper into our AI data Unveil new data and industry insights to skyrocket your social ROI in 2024. <\/span> But when your audience is everywhere, that\u2019s a tall order\u2014and the average social media user logs into about seven platforms<\/a><\/span> each month. Seven.<\/p>\n For brands, maintaining a presence on multiple networks is hard. In fact, it\u2019s such a challenge for organizations, it\u2019s emerged as the top ROI concern for social media. <\/span> So why does it take so much time and energy to be active\u2014and thrive\u2014on several networks?<\/p>\n For one, social content needs to be tailored to the unique audiences, lingo, trends, hashtags, word counts, and visual specs of each platform.<\/p>\n Also, platforms change constantly<\/i>. New user and advertising features are released so often that more than half of marketers say it\u2019s difficult to keep up. Take Twitter\/X, for example. The majority (60%) of organizations have a presence there, but only a third of them feel strongly that it benefits their business\u2014which might explain the 7% drop in brand use.<\/p>\n So organizations are more willing than even to say buh-bye to platforms and strategies that aren\u2019t meeting their definition of ROI. They\u2019re finally prioritizing their own platform-by-platform ROI scores and making business decisions accordingly.<\/p>\n <\/span> In 2024, strategic organizations will push back against unjustified expectations to be on every platform. They\u2019ll unlock their top-performing channels based on ROI, and focus their attention on those\u2014and only those. If they\u2019re really confident (and brave), they might even abandon one or two altogether.<\/b> See how they do it, and find all the advice (and confidence) you need to follow suit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> But consumers are saying it loud and clear. After staying in touch with family and friends, the top reason they use social media is to be entertained and to mentally unwind<\/b>, according to our Social Trends 2024 Survey.<\/p>\n You know what else they said? That they don\u2019t like it when brands are too focused on self-promotion.\u00a0<\/p>\n The problem is, brands seem to have other ideas: Almost half of marketers publish product or brand updates or news multiple times a week, according to our survey. That\u2019s a huge disconnect between what brands are posting and what people really want to see.\u00a0<\/p>\n And it gets worse.<\/p>\n While organizations are yammering about themselves, they also use engagement as the top metric to demonstrate ROI. <\/span> In 2024, brands that publish entertaining content on social will succeed in winning eyeballs, engagement, and (eventually) market share away from brands that keep on publishing the same old stuff.<\/b><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to overthink it either. \u201cEntertainment\u201d simply boils down to providing enjoyment, according to the Oxford English Dictionary\u2014that could be finding inspiration, getting excited, feeling moved, or learning something new.<\/p>\n Be your relatable person-self, not your super-serious-brand-self. After all, social media is not a place where you talk at someone. It\u2019s an interactive space where the exchange of value is a two-way street.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a strategy you can pivot to overnight (obvs). But if your old, promotion-heavy strategy isn\u2019t working as well as it used to, it\u2019s time to get back to the true strength of social media: building brand awareness, affinity, and long-term relationships with your audience through engaging, entertaining social content.\u2028<\/p>\n When it comes to content, follow your audience\u2019s lead Learn how to make your strategy too cool for school
Generative AI created a seismic shift when it broke into the mainstream in 2022 and sparked a whole range of emotions typically reserved for fellow humans.<\/p>\n
Generative AI may be a source of hope for busy professionals like you, but it\u2019s not without risks. Our survey revealed that audiences are not necessarily embracing AI and AI-generated content as much as social marketers are flocking to use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"62%](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fta4ffdi8h2om%2FW7odQfNAKe48SDGWA7Zv4%2F9aa1d857ccb1b3d8bdfeee260257e4a3%2FRectangle_119__1_.png&w=1920&q=75\"\/)
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Source:<\/i><\/b> Hootsuite Social Media Consumer 2024 Survey<\/p>\n![](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fta4ffdi8h2om%2F5C84fUQpVjoOCbrGE1UrJs%2Fddfc60df2cebf1149524c94d0edba669%2FRectangle_118.png&w=1920&q=75\"\/)
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<\/i>Source:<\/b><\/i> Hootsuite Social Media Consumer 2024 Survey <\/p>\n
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Does it feel right? Does it reinforce the brand? Does it work? Get those right and you can dismiss questions about whether a bot made it with a shrug.\u2028
Know your audience and how they feel about AI<\/b>
It\u2019s timeless advice for a reason. A deep understanding of your audience can help you gather insights on whether factors such as age, culture, geography, or interests have influence on their perception of AI.
Decide which tasks to keep on your plate, and which to delegate<\/b>
AI makes a great assistant\u2014but you still have to run the show. It\u2019s up to you to delegate which aspects of the job AI can support, and which aspects need a more delicate hand (and nuanced brain, tbh).
Create AI policies and best practices for social media<\/b>
Make sure your team and organization are aligned in how you use AI. If you have rules and regulations in place, potential nightmares like angry customers and unapproved posts can be avoided.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Get the full report<\/a><\/span> \u2192<\/p>\n
01. Education Trends<\/a><\/span>
02. Government Trends<\/a><\/span>
03. Financial Services Trends<\/a><\/span>
04. Healthcare Trends<\/a><\/span>
05. Nonprofit Trends<\/a><\/span>
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Be where your audience is, they said.<\/p>\n![](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fta4ffdi8h2om%2F1iqruVKBp2N4XJiRLVVRNp%2F12a8ab55e172ab574395f434771f8958%2FRectangle_118__1_.png&w=1920&q=75\"\/)
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Sample:<\/b><\/i> 4,281 respondents
<\/i>Source:<\/b><\/i> Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey<\/i> <\/p>\n
Today, instead of trying to do everything, everywhere, all at once, and letting time, money, resources, and results fall by the wayside (the historical norm), organizations are actually doing something about it\u2014using ROI to figure out their next moves.<\/p>\n![](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fta4ffdi8h2om%2F2iqWlCOKyVzqPN1r7gHv4y%2F4367c2ed3aea8d262904cb878cf40bf5%2FRectangle_118__6_.png&w=1920&q=75\"\/)
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Samples:<\/i><\/b> 3,891 respondents (2024) and 9,422 respondents (2023)
<\/i>Sources:<\/i><\/b> Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey and Hootsuite Social Trends 2023 Survey<\/i>
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Because mastering a few key platforms is surely better than being so-so at many.
Run a social media audit for platform intel
<\/b>This will help you identify your hero platforms\u2014and your duds\u2014so you can make informed decisions about how to approach your social strategy moving forward. Get started with our Social Media Audit Guide<\/a><\/span>.
Put your platforms in an ROI showdown<\/b>
Calculate the ROI<\/a><\/span> of every platform you use and weigh them against each other. Find a channel that\u2019s lagging behind? Even if it generates a positive ROI, it may not be worth the investment if there\u2019s greater potential for growth with your other platforms.
Master the art of (proper) cross-posting<\/b>
We don\u2019t recommend the copy-and-paste method of cross-posting, but there are<\/i> ways to do it right. The top rule is to align your content with the norms, best practices, and formats of each platform. Check out this strategy guide<\/a><\/span> for some cross-posting pro tips.<\/p>\n
Before you quit reading, we get it. Entertainment can be an intimidating word, especially if you work in a \u201cserious\u201d organization (let alone a regulated industry). Can you even connect entertainment to something quantifiable, like ROI?\u00a0<\/p>\n
How can you demonstrate ROI through engagement metrics when you\u2019re giving the audience exactly what they <\/b>don\u2019t<\/b><\/i> want to engage with?<\/b>
It\u2019s no surprise then that over two-thirds of social marketers report being concerned about the ROI of their social activities. When brands measure success in ways that don\u2019t add up, ROI will be hard to come by.![](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fta4ffdi8h2om%2F2N5cVcSG4qTNc2g2lzYKcm%2F292a70f03ac5825378f93be6d084ec68%2FRectangle_118__10_.png&w=1920&q=75\"\/)
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Sample: <\/b><\/i>4,268 respondents
<\/i>Source:<\/b><\/i> Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey<\/i>
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<\/b>Don\u2019t assume you know what your followers want to see. Grab the opportunity to ask them what they want through polls and Q&As. You can also run experiments with new content types or tone of voice. Once you see results, start tweaking future posts and keep testing and iterating as you go.\u2028
Let social be the long game<\/b>
Don\u2019t rush into \u201csmashing those goals.\u201d Social is best for building brand equity, which takes time. Don\u2019t revert to your old, self-promotion-y ways either. No one likes a hard sell, and letting them flock to you will be so much more effective in the long run.
Make social relationships the foundation of your ROI
<\/b>Measure how far engagements go beyond social and across your larger business goals. This gives your social media efforts a higher purpose and makes them rooted in customer value and authentic relationships.<\/p>\n
Lay down the law for your 2024 social strategy
Read the report for a strategy you can bank on
Give your 2024 social strategy a boost(er)
Build a social strategy that keeps on giving
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