Break out the 🔮: Part 2

Social Media Predictions for 2024

Dec 11, 2023

IJBOL. Barbiecore. Saying goodbye to the Twitter bird. Seeing Mark Zuckerberg celebrated for Threads… 2023 was a weird one. Want a look back? Join me for a free (and fun!) Social Media Recap on Dec. 14th. We’ll talk about Gen Z, the biggest internet trends of 2023, and what the social media platforms got up to.

Hope to see you there!

Graphic promoting a Dec. 14th webinar - Social Media Recap. It includes a photo of the speaker.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER

Break Out The 🔮: Part 2: Social Media Predictions for 2024
2024 (Gen Z) Trends: Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest Weigh In
Challenge Cat-ccepted: The Taylor Swift-Benjamin Button Challenge 😻

January Look-ahead dates for January 2024

Break out the 🔮: Part 2

As I said last week, 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.

But here are three more trends to keep an eye out for in 2024…

1/3 The Future of X/Twitter

Telling your paying customers to “Go F— Yourself” does not bode well for the bottom line. So, 2024 might be a rough one for Chief Twit Elon Musk. And as Musk continues to act chaotically, it will be interesting to see if X CEO Linda Yaccarino hangs around, or becomes an ex-CEO.

As for all of us users, we’re going to have to decide whether to stay or go, once and for all. Major advertisers are leaving basically because of the antisemitism on the platform, and Musk’s endorsement of it. Also, Musk is also allowing a convicted conspiracy theorist to return.

👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: Staying on Twitter means risking being associated with the negative elements on the platform (including Musk). But you also have to protect your brand and can’t just delete your account — because if you do, your Twitter handle will be released to the community for someone else to grab. I recommend keeping the account for now, but limiting posts.

2/3 Ads and Longer TikToks

TikTok creator @cocomocoe recently shared that she had received a message on the platform letting her know that she is now able to upload 30-minute videos. That’s MUCH higher than the current 10-minute limit. And some are predicting that’s because TikTok wants to compete with YouTube and be able to add ads into videos like its chief competitor.

Either way, there are a lot more ads on TikTok now than there have ever been. And some content creators say this is the typical cycle of life for social media channels: At the beginning, platforms want to encourage people to use it so they make it easier for organic content to go “viral.” But over time, they sell more ads and the user experience gets worse.

👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: So, how can you break through? Well, trying 30-minute videos (if the option is available) might help. But TikTok also gave us a clue in their 2024 Trends Report, saying “Brands that will see most success will regularly pique global curiosities, flip traditional story arcs, and deepen trust with their audiences.” Consider whether the investment will pay off.

3/3 Breaking News

News media had a really difficult 2023. Not only did Twitter become a more problematic place for sharing content, but in Canada, Meta decided to ban news sharing on Facebook and Instagram in protest of a bill that would see the company pay media to share content.

So, where did the news go?

Some news outlets have turned to Reddit, and are finding some success there. But there are also some challenges (such as ‘snark Reddit’), according to this Washington Post article.
People are also increasingly turning to TikTok for news. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that “U.S. adults who say they regularly get their news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023.”
Meanwhile, NPR in the U.S. recently reported that leaving Twitter had almost no impact on their website traffic. The news organization stopped posting last summer after it was labelled “U.S. state-affiliated media.”
As for whether Meta will lift its news ban in Canada, we can only keep our fingers crossed.

👉 WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: If you work in news, I’m sure you’re exploring all options. And if not, Reddit and TikTok seem to be worth investigating. As for those of us reading the news, that’s a personal choice. But I will say that over the last year, I feel that TikTok has replaced Twitter as the place where breaking news goes first.

🧁 SOCIAL SNACK 🧁

2024 Trends: Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest weigh in

Here are some of the biggest trends to watch for in 2024 according to some of the top social media platforms:

INSTAGRAM on Gen Z and Social Media — “When asked how they use their Instagram to get closer to someone, the top ways were: liking someone’s story, sending reels or memes in DMs, and liking a post on their feed.”

Read the full report: 2024 Instagram Trend Talk

TIKTOK Predicts ‘Creative Bravery’ — “Breaking through on TikTok means shifting from occasional displays of Creative Bravery to infusing it into their daily behavior and strategies. Brands that will see most success will regularly pique global curiosities, flip traditional story arcs, and deepen trust with their audiences.”

Read the full report: TikTok What’s Next 2024 Trend Report

PINTEREST Predicts… That in 2024, Gen Z will be into badminton, embrace grandpacore, go all in on ‘small aquarium designs’ and combat sports. These are just a few trends to watch for in 2024.

Read the full report: PinterestPredicts