With the introduction of new platforms, the renaming of others and the usual chaos trending on TikTok, 2023 has certainly been an interesting year for social media. There was so much going on that it was often hard to keep track, but we’re bringing you a quick review of the year that should refresh your memory, as well as some predictions and tips to absolutely smash your social media strategy in 2024!
A Scary Start
The year got off to a good start, with Twitter implementing simple yet effective solutions to improve the user experience, Instagram promising to return to a stronger focus on photos and LinkedIn rolling out their idea to showcase newsletters users are subscribed to.
March hit, making way for a real horror story that took place on Instagram. When reviewing Reels they had posted recently, many users noticed there had been a dramatic drop in their reach and views. This came out of nowhere and seemed to be an issue for the majority of users. Naturally, marketers and creators were left baffled, concerned and discouraged by the mysterious drop, and instantly took to digging into the issue to see what could have potentially caused it. While no official statements were made from the platform, the most likely explanation is that Instagram was simply conducting algorithmic tests, changing its programming or another tactic to try and improve the user experience on the platform. The main effect of this is that people switched their tactics on Instagram, particularly when creating Reels, and many new trends developed from it. From rolling sounds to quick, low-effort clips, many of these trends are still prevalent on the platform today and are continuing to grow in popularity.
Bye Bye Birdie
Things didn’t calm down in the summer when it was announced that Twitter would be re-named and rebranded to X, a decision that has left many confused. Naturally, there was a flurry of memes about the change, from the name to the design of the logo.With the monthly users on the platform continuing to fall, it begs the question of whether the change was a smart decision.
The Age of AI
Throughout 2023, many platforms implemented AI in their own ways, making content creation that much easier. With AI chatbot personas from Meta, GenAI creator tools on YouTube and more, it seems like AI is the way forward, giving marketers more time to focus on tasks such as strategising and reviewing analytics.
A New Horizon
As we move into a new year, it’s the perfect opportunity to add some spice to your social media strategy. With various predictions flooding the web, it can be tricky to decide what to focus on, so we’ve put a short list together.
Long-Form Content Returning:
After 3 years of short-form TikToks, Reels and YouTube Shorts domineering social platforms, long-form content is making a resurgence. While short-form is still incredibly popular, pay attention to blogs, longer videos and detailed articles for a wonderful mixture across your socials.
Play into Nostalgia:
The word ‘core’ has been thrown around a lot over the past year, with trends like ‘cottagecore’ and ‘witchcore’ rising in popularity. One of the most popular, due to Gen Z’s love of 80s and 90s fashion, is ‘nostalgiacore’. Creating content your audience will find nostalgic is a great tactic to engage them and draw warm, comforting emotions.
SEO Taking Centre Stage:
With over half of Gen Z now using TikTok over Google to search, SEO on social platforms has never been so important. Research relevant hashtags for your niche, make sure your captions are clear and use text on video content to make the most of SEO on your social platforms.
More AI Integrations:
We’ve already touched on this, but AI isn’t slowing down in its uses. Social platforms are continuing to develop their own AI tools, and keeping up to date and making use of them is essential to make sure you’re not left behind.
Instagram is the Place to Be:
Instagram is still the hottest platform, with its use up for both Millennials and Gen Z. The platform is hugely aware of this and are making sure to focus their attention on these demographics. If your audience falls into this, be sure to pay extra attention to Instagram.
As we sail into 2024, it’s the time to reflect on the year we’ve left behind and learn from it. Remember that anything can become a trend on social media, so it might finally be time to pull that old idea off the shelf and give it a try this year. It may be the big break you’ve been looking for!
If you need a helping hand with your social media, be sure to get in touch. We’d love to help!