Break out the 🔮: Part 1
Social Media Predictions for 2024
Google and the Canadian government finally came to an agreement over the Online News Acts (Bill C-18)! The tech giant has agreed to make annual payments of approximately $100 million to news organizations. As for Meta, it continues to block news in Canada on Instagram and Facebook in protest over the bill. But this article in The Globe and Mail suggests Canada has reached out to Meta. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. 🤞
In today’s newsletter:
Break Out The 🔮: Part 1: Social Media Predictions for 2024
Social Snack: Maybe We Will; Maybe We Won’t (Leave X/Twitter)
One Margarita: The Song That My Spotify Unwrapped Missed
Break out the 🔮: Part 1
I can’t say I’m perfect at predicting social media trends in 2024, because, well, it is social media and honestly there is so much that is hard to predict (did anyone honestly see Threads coming, and Mark Zuckerberg getting a brand boost?!).
But I do like to watch trends. So, keep scrolling if you’d like to see some of my predictions for 2024. Part 2 will be published next week.
1/3 AI and Authenticity
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary released its word of the year: Authentic.
“A high-volume lookup most years, authentic saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media,” the company said in a blog post.
It seems only fitting that authenticity is such a popular word right now, as AI really takes hold. Use of AI is expected to explode in 2024 in terms of both new tools and how it’s integrated into social media platforms. For example, Meta recently teased that AI-powered editing tools are coming to Facebook and Instagram [source: The Verge].
But as AI becomes a greater influence, there is a risk that brands could lose some authenticity. And being authentic is a brand gold standard. It helps build trust, and a loyal online community.
👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: Let AI help you do the work (brainstorming, content ideas, first drafts), but don’t post anything exactly as is from AI. It will just look like you don’t care to spend the time to actually create something yourself. You’ll also lose any trust you’ve built up, because people will assume you aren’t confident as a brand, or as an individual in your area of expertise.
2/3 A Focus on Messaging
Several social media platforms are focused on optimizing messaging. Earlier this year, LinkedIn introduced direct messaging for Company Pages. Previously, you could only comment on a post or reach out to someone in the company via a personal profile.
Meta is reportedly focused on monetizing its private-messaging app, WhatsApp. There’s a great article in New York Magazine about this — How Meta is Monetizing the Decline of Facebook — and how brands are advertising on Facebook and Instagram to drive customers to chat with them on WhatsApp.
Instagram also continues to focus more energy on direct messaging. In an interview earlier this year on the 20VC podcast, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said most of the growth has been in DMs and Stories over the last five years. (read the full TSP newsletter).
“And if you look at how teens spend their time on Instagram, they spend more time in DMs than they do Stories, and they spend more time in Stories than they do in feed. Yet people think of Instagram as a feed, and it’s the third most important surface at best, maybe fourth now,” Mosseri said.
👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: As we all look for more authenticity in social media, messaging will likely become an even greater focus. Make sure you have it enabled on all of your platforms, and that you are answering DMs in a timely manner (and/or have an autoreply set up for off hours). Also, think of ways to encourage DMs, such as posting a poll on an Instagram Story.
3/3 Pay Up
Blame Elon Musk and his Twitter subscriptions for giving other social media CEOs the idea of having us pay to use social media. Because in 2023, there were more than a few ways we were asked to open our wallets. And I anticipate us seeing more of this in the future.
This year, Meta launched its Meta Verified program to both Creators and businesses (in select regions). What’s included: a verification badge, impersonation protection, account support (!!), and some other boost features.
Going ad free could also cost you. Facebook and Instagram launched a subscription in Europe for no ads. Meanwhile, Snapchat+ (which is also a subscription) is considering a new ad-free subscription tier, according to Social Media Today.
👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: If you manage social media for a business or organization, you may want to consider adding a budget line in 2024 for Meta Verified — not for the badge, but for the account support. Anyone who has ever had their Facebook Page hacked knows the pain of trying to recover it. The ad-free options are a personal choice.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of 2024 social media trends — next week!
🌶️ SOCIAL SNACK 🌶️
Maybe we will; maybe we won’t
There are lots of articles floating around about Elon Musk and the future of X/Twitter, after the Chief Twit told advertisers to ‘Go F— Themselves.’ As Disney, Walmart, Apple, and a number of other large corporations hit pause on their advertising, there are many other social media managers who are considering not even including the platform in their marketing strategy in 2024.
Social media management tool, Later, recently posted a poll on Twitter. I’m not surprised at the results, but I think it will be challenging trying to hold onto our handles while the accounts go inactive.
ICYMI
Instagram CEO says keyword search on Threads is now available to everyone [@mosseri]
Here are three Instagram updates you may have missed [@creators]
Snapchat introduces new advertising tool for businesses called ‘Snap Promote’ [Snapchat Blog]
Meta’s Threads to launch in Europe in app’s biggest expansion since debut [Wall Street Journal]
The best Internet moments of 2023 [Mashable]
🍹 One Margarita
I just watched my Spotify Unwrapped, and apparently I listened to 435 artists on the app this year. But there is one they missed.
In the summer, I had one TikTok hit on repeat: ‘One Margarita’ by That Chick Angel, CasaDi Music, & Steve Terrell.
Here’s the origin story of this viral hit: A preacher known as Sister Cindy was lecturing students about abstinence on the campus of Louisiana State University. In a video, she can be heard saying, “If you buy her one margarita, she will spread her legs.” (learn more: Wired).
On her podcast, Creator Angel Laketa Moore (aka, That Chick Angel) did a freestyle rap based on that clip, and the audio went viral, inspiring TikTok videos celebrating sexuality, instead of shaming women.
On a side note: Maybe we need a TikTok Unwrapped?