Conquered your social strategy? Hoostsuite highlights 2024 trends

This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

I was wrong about social medial trends—especially about short videos! Social media has been reconstructing itself around us as we remain engulfed and engaged in content, but here is what we have been missing (or should know) based on the Hootsuite report on 2024 social media trends.   They captured the top 16 trends, and there is so much to love about their recap. While we move boldly into a new AI world, there is a healthy mix of nostalgia sprinkled in as we revisit channels and tactics we thought we left behind.

The list is long, so here are some quick takeaways I think are interesting are around longer form, search moving to social channels and evergreen content (and photos!) that are making a comeback:

1. Shift to Longer Videos: I stand corrected! Contrary to recent years dominated by short-form video, platforms are now expanding their video length limits, and users are responding positively to this longer content (2-5 minutes). Whether using education or tutorial-driven narratives, Instagram Reels and TikTok are leading the way by testing and implementing extended time limits for their video content
2. Move to Private Interactions: More engagement is taking place in DMs rather than public feeds, focusing more than ever on the personal interaction that builds customer satisfaction (likely over time). I am keen to look into what the article points out– Instagram has introduced Notes and Broadcast Channels to expand engagement.  Kudos to you and your team if you’ve already made this shift!
3. Rise of “Dark Social”: This is a new one for me. With more conversations happening in private, tracking engagement and analyzing audience data becomes challenging. Dark social encompasses any interactions outside of public feeds, including shares through messaging apps and DMs. Hootsuite suggests that direct outreach might be next-up for many out there.
4. Content That Answers Questions: I love this one, and I have had many a smart brand leader alert me to the benefit of expanding SEO capacity. The time has arrived. Social media is becoming a place for users to find answers to specific questions, similar to search engines. This shift has led to a new emphasis on “social SEO,” where brands create content that is not only entertaining but also informative, addressing common questions or concerns that audiences might typically search for online
5. Increase in Social Media as a Customer Service Tool: From firsthand knowledge, Hootsuite captures this perfectly. Brands are now expected to provide faster and more personalized customer support directly through social media channels. Many companies are equipping their social teams with tools for monitoring and responding to customer inquiries across various platforms, and it is a trend that will continue to meet the customer where they post.

There are so many GREAT “to-dos” this article references, I encourage you to read the entire article.

For now, I’m going to prep some pics for my Instagram comeback photo-dump; brush-up on my Telegram skills; and send a few humble emails to friends letting them know “they were right” about longer-form content. And maybe YouTube Shorts. Enjoy the article if you haven’t seen and please drop your own opinions into the mix.