Get in Touch with the 2024 Social Media Fads

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Memes are a never-ending cycle of funny, informative, or entertaining gags that have been appearing on the internet since their conception. Long before the internet we called memes “tropes” as in literary or story-telling devices that were overdone or overused to the extreme. They are fads. You may be against the mainstream idea of entertainment, but when you are marketing yourself or your business, you must keep these short bursts of popularity in mind, it is the basis for social media marketing in 2024.

The “social” part of social media is what we do collectively in a society, there is no getting around that. When we look at the popular memes and trends on apps like TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, etc. What do we see? Here are a few social media trends that have risen to stardom just this year alone:

Kabin Crew – The Spark

Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club

AI Recreations of Famous Singers

The rise of AI is going to play an important part of this insight, as social media has been absolutely flooded with artificially created content, which is leading to a rise of engagement with authentic content because people are now skeptical of everything they see on the internet.

One of the few bastions left is blogging, thankfully, because it becomes obvious that a human is not typing out the page’s words. AI does this strange compiling and then aggregates the information, so it starts to sound the same no matter who is entering the prompt.

We are going to go over some of the most popular strategies on the internet, and most of these will take some investment to do properly, but overall, it will create evergreen content for all your social media platforms. These are the social media marketing trends so far in 2024.

A content creator editing a video on his phone and tablet with a ring light for their social media.

Short-Form Vertical Videos

Remember when smartphones first came out and everyone and their mother criticized people for filming in portrait mode? Our laziness overtook humans, and people created an artform from vertical videos. It is impossible to use any social media site without having a tab or section specifically for vertical short-form videos usually recorded on peoples’ phones.

Some marketers have started calling this social media trend the “TikTokification” of the internet. Facebook and Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, the entire platform of Snapchat, and the use of stories on sites like Twitch, LinkedIn, and so many other websites have created an ocean of vertical short-form video content. It is here to stay whether we like it or not. This authentic style of filming, where you just use the phone in your hand, has led to another curious outcome, the falling out of highly produced videos.

Gone are the days of using extreme camera shots, 3D special effects, and highly edited videos (just kidding, they are still there but not performing as well in 2024). There has been an absurd rise in authentic sit-down-and-talk videos where people are just talking to the camera like they would to a friend.

Businesses have been using a mixture of trending sounds to advertise themselves, as short-form video content has had the rules on copyrights lightened. Platforms have bought the rights to use the music on the platform rather than individual creators buying the rights themselves. Here are some examples of local Cleveland businesses who are using short-form video content to advertise themselves:

https://www.instagram.com/thebrewkettle/reels/

https://www.tiktok.com/@cleclothingco

https://www.facebook.com/Luvabellawinery/reels/

https://www.instagram.com/meltbargrilled/reels/

A hiker posting a video they just made to social media.

Local Influencer Collaboration

“Influencer” is a derogatory term nowadays, but it did start with a cool idea. People being famous, but not well-known, if that makes any sense. Today, influencers are people with large social media followings who live their lives and people follow their adventure. In mid-2023, and now in 2024, we have a new species lurking in the shadows, the “micro-influencer”.

A quite common strategy for local Cleveland businesses, or anywhere for that matter, is to invite influencers to an event and treat them with complimentary gifts, food, or experiences in exchange for social media coverage. This is not new, but we have gone from news stations doing in-depth coverage on a business to small local social media stars just ranting about how good the food is at a restaurant, or how much fun a local bar can be.

Organization with influencers can be tricky, but if you want to invite them to a free dinner at your restaurant or offer them a behind-the-scenes tour of your facility, it can be a win-win for both your business and the influencer. Have ChatGPT write up a small agreement about sharing rights to post and use the videos or pictures and agree on a gift card or free meal to compliment them for their time.

There are tons of strategies to reach a local social media influencer, but you cannot beat the old-fashioned method of messaging them and asking what their rates are or offer them something to entice them into your business. The worst thing that can happen is they say no or do not respond, you lose nothing. Write out a simple message inviting an influencer in a note-taking application and spend the afternoon reaching out to a couple of influencers. Micro-influencers are much more likely to visit you and create content for you. These types of influencers have a much smaller, but far more intimate, audience. Their fans are dedicated and are much more likely to trust such a small unbiased voice on the internet.

Here are a couple local and micro social media influencers in the Cleveland area:

https://www.instagram.com/clewithkids/

https://www.instagram.com/cravecle

https://www.instagram.com/the.p.league

https://x.com/ColleenWelsch

Am iPhone displaying social media applications.

Social Commerce and Shoppable Posts

Last up, we wanted to go over shoppable posts, and we are sure you have seen these popping up all over every social media site on the planet. The largest abusers of this tool, by far, are Facebook and TikTok. These social media sites have actual dedicated pages that you can browse and purchase things.

Facebook has Marketplace and TikTok has the Shop tab. These are like an integrated Amazon or eBay account. Marketplace offers local people selling stuff with auctions and bids, and the TikTok Shop has fluctuating prices from stores being sold through the app as a third party. Much like eBay and Amazon you purchase the product through either Facebook or TikTok.

Beyond selling these tangible items the creators who push these products are often given commission. Most social media sites have a commission-based avenue, and some have creator funds to pay the creators for making content about items for sale, or for the ads their channels show. Instagram has these bubbles that pop up in the app over a picture with the product and takes you directly to the website. TikTok provides a link to the shop, and Facebook incorporates posts into your feed as though they were naturally a part of your experience.

Social media sites will often have you sign up to get commission or sell things on their commerce platforms, and few have any specific requirements outside of being a brand or business account. Selling items directly from your social media accounts is a wonderful way to boost sales, visibility, and return on investment for building your social media campaigns (because it is free to make an account and upload stuff).

If your business sells tangible products, then selling them through your social media sites should absolutely be a part of your marketing strategy. The rise of ecommerce embedded into applications is one of the largest trends in social media ever created.

That is One for the Facebooks

Remember, these trends might fade away as we progress through 2024, and current trends will undoubtedly pop up as we head into 2025. For now, you will want to hop on these trends as they can set your business up for success as the fads change and evolve. Here is a recap of the social media trends of 2024 so far:

  1. Short-Form Vertical Video
  2. Local Influencer Collaboration
  3. Shoppable Posts and eCommerce

Using these strategies, you can hope to see an increase in followers and sales. Short-form videos take time to produce, influencers cost money to entice, and shoppable posts only take up the time needed to link to your store.

Keep these things in mind as you explore the social media marketing landscape of today.

Acclaim offers complete packages with social media management, so if you ever have questions on the social media landscape just give us a call anytime.