Anticipating the Future: 34 Forecasts for Social Media Marketing in 2024
Anticipating the Future: 34 Forecasts for Social Media Marketing in 2024
"Sociable" presents a fresh perspective into the significant advancements and trends in social media, provided by Andrew Hutchinson, an esteemed industry professional at Social Media Today.
Can you fathom that nearly four years have passed since the time we found ourselves confined within our homes, cautiously observing the outside world through our windows, simultaneously juggling our work responsibilities and assuming the roles of IT manager and teacher for our children?
I've got you covered. Annually, I share my predictions for the upcoming year, which have consistently shown an approximate 80% accuracy rate. For proof, simply refer to my predictions for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
What significant transformations await digital marketers in the upcoming year? Take a look at the anticipated developments on each platform, beginning with Facebook, the globally acclaimed social media platform with the highest number of active users.
More AI, more video
Meta has adopted strategies from TikTok by incorporating recommendations that encompass a wider variety of content. This means that user feeds are not limited to the Pages and individuals they explicitly follow. Furthermore, Meta's advanced recommendations AI has become remarkably adept at predicting user interests. As a result, Reels are expected to remain a prominent feature in user feeds. Consequently, marketers should prioritize the creation of captivating and entertaining content to increase the likelihood of reaching a larger audience of non-followers.
Additionally, it is important to mention that the reach of link posts has decreased throughout the year. This is due to Meta's shift away from news content and towards entertainment. This shift represents a significant trend where social platforms are prioritizing more captivating content over the traditional "social" focus. As a result, the significance of your direct Page and profile following is less important compared to the engagement you can generate with each post.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to have a deep appreciation for the possibilities offered by generative AI. As a result, we can anticipate an increase in the number of generative AI features being introduced on the popular blue app. The initial ventures in this field include generative AI backgrounds for posts and generative AI stickers. It is likely that Meta will further integrate AI-driven experiences into the Facebook platform, such as post prompts, AI-generated quizzes to enhance user interaction, and video creation tools.
Meta has launched new AI chatbots this year that are influenced by celebrities, and these chatbots are now accessible for interaction on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
Chatbots, which have been influenced by the sophisticated and captivating ChatGPT generative AI experience, have predominantly served as a primary method for incorporating this advancing technology into apps. However, I am skeptical about the efficacy of this particular approach.
Chatting with "Billie," a chatbot designed to emulate Kendall Jenner, may initially be intriguing. However, the novelty fades quickly, leaving only the functionality of the chatbot. This functionality undermines the purpose of incorporating celebrity influence.
Chatbots undoubtedly have potential in enhancing, and conceivably supplanting, current search and discovery methods, as well as aiding with various tasks. However, having them communicate using distinct celebrity voices appears needless and demonstrates a lack of understanding regarding their true worth.
Meta is eager to encourage more users to interact through their 3D avatars in their apps. The goal is to serve as a pathway for users to enter the metaverse, where, ideally, everyone will eventually engage as these digital avatars. This approach is supported by the increasing number of younger users who are already participating as digital characters in popular game worlds such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox.
Due to the widespread and regular use of this type of interaction among the younger generation, it is logical for Meta to embrace it by incorporating additional avatar choices into its applications. Although Meta is working on creating more lifelike avatar models, they are still far from being accessible to the public due to the complexity of advanced 3D scanning technology. Consequently, users can anticipate Meta's inclusion of more avatar engagement options on Facebook, such as new animated post choices, different types of stickers, and a greater emphasis on utilizing their 3D representation as their online identity.
Expect Meta to also explore opportunities to integrate users into more avatar/VR interactions by enabling the porting of your character from Facebook and Instagram into its VR worlds. This can be seen in action with its latest VR shooting game.
Meta's latest version of the Ray-Ban Stories glasses is receiving favorable feedback, and the demos of their new Quest 3 VR headsets, featuring complete passthrough, are equally impressive.
Posted by @oliverendingView on Threads.
Although commercially available AR glasses may not be accessible until the future (Meta plans to release its AR glasses to the public in 2027), the progressing technology is advancing steadily. As a result, Meta will focus more on the next phase of digital accompaniment over the next 12 months. This will be achieved through early testers and real-world testing, which will demonstrate the functionality of Meta's advanced AR glasses. This collaboration with Ray-Ban will serve as a natural progression in showcasing the capabilities of Meta's upcoming AR glasses.
Next year, anticipate the unveiling of Meta's fully AR-enabled glasses. Additionally, the newest iteration of the device, allowing users to live-stream to Meta's apps, will gain significant traction among streamers, further boosting its popularity. Prepare yourself for a plethora of impressive demonstrations showcasing the potential of Meta's AR glasses. The company aims to generate excitement by highlighting how their AR and VR experiences can elevate your real-world encounters.
Private messaging groups are becoming increasingly popular as the new form of social media. More and more people are opting to share their latest updates privately rather than making public posts.
To ensure its ad business continues to thrive, Meta plans to introduce a variety of new advertising options that cater to messaging. This comes after the success of their "Click To Message Ads", which have gained significant importance for many users.
To effectively engage with customers, it is essential to take messaging into consideration. Additionally, Meta will be enhancing its business messaging tools to leverage the widespread use of WhatsApp in emerging markets. While this may not result in a significant increase in messaging commerce akin to WeChat, it will facilitate more direct interactions with brands through messaging apps. Meta's upcoming custom AI chatbot features will enable brands to develop their own conversational AI bots using Meta's tools.
Instagram, similar to its larger counterpart, has witnessed significant growth in user engagement by incorporating additional AI recommendations into its main feed. This change has not pleased everyone, but it has undoubtedly led to a noteworthy increase in the app's usage duration.
Consequently, users can anticipate encountering an even greater number of AI-driven highlights during their Instagram experience, along with novel generative AI creation tools that cater to this emerging trend.
Instagram is currently testing different AI stickers and image editing tools, as well as features like message summaries and AI suggestions for direct message replies. I believe that Instagram will continue to prioritize visual content and introduce more generative AI creation tools in the future. It is possible that collaborative AI images will be introduced, allowing friends to contribute and create unique digital collages. Additionally, there might also be in-stream visual editing tools that enable users to add generated elements to specific sections of their photos.
Additionally, similar to Facebook, there will be an expansion of avatars on Instagram. The platform is currently in the process of experimenting with different avatar stickers. Furthermore, considering the potential of the metaverse, the increased engagement of people through their avatars will greatly benefit Meta's overarching strategic goals.
Threads, although not currently significant enough to warrant its own separate section, deserves one due to its increasing importance. In the past few weeks, Threads has gained momentum, especially with the Israel-Hamas conflict exposing X's flawed methods in moderation, verification, and other areas.
It was inevitable.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has voiced his dissatisfaction with how social platforms collaborated with government officials in the past to handle global events such as the COVID pandemic. Musk believed that the severity of the pandemic was exaggerated and not entirely essential. Consequently, it was only a matter of time before Elon's personal standpoint impacted another significant news event. His perception of bias in mainstream media now shapes how X approaches the same matter.
Can Threads emerge as a credible competitor to X?
I anticipate Threads will experience further growth and potentially reach the same level of user numbers as X by next year's midpoint. While this doesn't guarantee surpassing X, it will solidify its position within the broader social media ecosystem, making it a more desirable option for marketing teams to consider.
And then, once it reaches that level, the ads will come.
AR shopping activations
Snap had the potential to excel in AR activations in real life, such as displaying AR content in stores. This would allow customers to visualize how an item would look on them or collect and use virtual 3D versions of real-world products within the app. However, Snap had to abandon its ARES initiative due to financial constraints. As a result, I anticipate that Instagram may seize this opportunity by offering their own in-store AR integrations. This would enable brands to enhance their product experiences through the app.
X (formerly known as “Twitter”)
Elon’s plan
I understand Elon Musk's overall plan for X and see the potential for it to be successful with additional time and resources. However, I am doubtful that X will have enough of these resources, resulting in a fast-paced and limited execution of Musk's vision for the "everything app". One specific area of concern is subscriptions, which could potentially solve the platform's problems with bots and contribute to X's income.
However, X is putting too much pressure and moving too quickly. In order to persuade people to make a payment, there needs to be a valuable offering for them to invest in. While enforcing a small fee may result in more people signing up, the majority of individuals currently see no incentive to spend money on an app that they have always been able to use for free.
In order for this strategy to be successful, X would have to be considered an indispensable service. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of X's 253 million users, it simply is not, particularly when there are numerous competing apps that are easily accessible and do not require payment.
With additional time for development and a greater range of offerings in response to user demands, this could potentially become a feasible option in the future. However, in its current state, X's attempt to compensate for lost ad revenue through subscription is bound to be unsuccessful. Despite this, I anticipate that X will continue its efforts before reevaluating its subscription strategy around the middle of next year.
“Everything app”
The main crux of Elon’s “everything app” vision revolves around in-app payments, and enabling more forms of shopping, banking, funds transfers, etc., all at low cost.
Content must be
In theory, this concept has potential and Musk, having previously worked with PayPal, may have valuable insights. However, obtaining the necessary approvals and licenses will be a time-consuming process, possibly taking years. It is unlikely that X will be able to facilitate payments on the scale Musk envisions anytime soon.
Musk's continuous criticism of important financial institutions and governments may hinder his progress in this regard. Additionally, X currently operates with significantly fewer staff, resulting in a heavy workload for a relatively small number of individuals responsible for development.
X has made errors not only in the area of verification, where users were able to purchase a blue tick, but also by revoking blue ticks from profiles that were previously verified.
This action has immediately diminished the value of the X Premium product. Instead of paying $8 to possibly be perceived as an influential individual on the app, users are now merely paying to be seen as someone who is using X for a fee.
The X Premium package offers several captivating add-on features such as editing, extended post length, and longer video uploads. However, since approximately 80% of X users do not engage in any form of content creation within the app, the value of the X Premium offering becomes negligible for the majority. Essentially, Elon's personal grievances have rendered the option inconsequential for a significant portion of its potential market.
I believe X will eventually re-evaluate its verification program and aim to enhance it to regain prestige and value. However, the current business offering, priced at $1,000 per month, is not feasible for 95% of brands and is becoming less attractive as X loses relevance. To address this, X will need to reconsider its overall approach, going beyond introducing new price tiers and reducing ad exposure for users who pay.
X may not be performing well as a social app, but it continues to dominate in terms of average downloads as a news app. Therefore, anticipate X's efforts to prioritize real-time news content by introducing dedicated feeds and highlights. This will facilitate better engagement of users with ongoing discussions and trends.
X has consistently struggled with the inability to keep up with rapidly developing news stories unless users are following the appropriate individuals and profiles within the app. To resolve this issue, X should consider highlighting noteworthy trends at the top of the app, previously occupied by Fleets, or incorporating additional trending news highlights within the primary "For You" feed.
Additionally, users should anticipate witnessing an increased emphasis on X's presentation of live streams and Spaces, as these features are currently challenging to stumble upon in real-time.
Anticipate witnessing X's reexamination of such concepts in its broadened approach to news and events, which may also involve X's pursuit of additional exclusive video content partnerships to integrate into the app.
Twitter failed to solve this problem, but there is hope that the new X team can devise a more effective method to unify everything. This potential solution could retain sports fans within the app and prevent them from switching to a different platform.
X's creator ad revenue share program has been a major innovation, allowing creators to earn money for their most engaging posts within the app. This initiative acknowledges the importance of compensating creators, as all platforms recognize that rewarding them is crucial to retaining their presence. Unlike previous Twitter management, X has succeeded in finding fair ways to turn this into a reality.
This has been observed on Snapchat, as well as other applications, where content creators ultimately become dissatisfied with the platform due to perceived unfairness in the system. It is likely that X will be the next platform to encounter this issue as it strives to enhance and optimize its revenue sharing model to better align with its own objectives. Consequently, more creators may redirect their attention to alternative platforms due to their discontentment with the alterations made to the process.
And I suspect that at least some of those impacted will be among Elon’s most vocal supporters.
Bankruptcy warning mid year
It is uncertain how severe the situation may become, considering Elon’s previous warnings. However, the decline in ad revenue, struggling subscriptions and other projects, coupled with the substantial debt incurred from Elon’s takeover, lead me to believe that X will issue a bankruptcy warning within the next seven months. Even though Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino have tried to present a positive outlook for the app’s performance, external analyses suggest otherwise. Additionally, as Threads continues to gain popularity and attract influential users, along with Elon's inclination to share controversial and divisive opinions (which is likely to intensify as he aligns himself further with right-wing candidates in the U.S. Presidential race), it seems unlikely that X will be able to reverse its declining ad revenue, which is its primary source of income.
Is it probable? I doubt it, considering that X still holds significant influence at this point. However, it must generate substantial profits within a short period of time, or it will experience a decline.
Elon, until now, has not demonstrated a inclination to deviate from his initial course, which may ultimately lead to the app's downfall.
IRL connection
Pinterest, like Instagram's ARES project and Snapchat, has the potential to capitalize on in-store integrations. By bridging the platform with real-world experiences, Pinterest can further establish itself as a crucial destination for product discovery and shopping. Collaborating with retail stores directly offers an opportunity to enhance its presence while also providing retailers with affordable augmented reality (AR) integrations to elevate the shopping experience.
AR try on advances
Along the same line, Pinterest will continue to advance its AR Try On elements, in order to further enhance its in-app experience.
Pinterest has already introduced make-up try-on tools and is currently exploring the use of advanced LiDAR technology found in newer mobile devices to enhance its home décor product offerings. This innovative approach allows for more accurate mapping of scenes and spaces, ensuring an optimal fit and scale for users.
Anticipate Pinterest's ongoing integration of augmented reality (AR) features, particularly clothing try-on tools that closely mimic real-life fittings. With its commendable track record in this area, Pinterest has the potential to become the trailblazer in AR innovation for retail.
Pinterest has refrained from joining the generative AI trend, remaining focused on its core mission. However, as the demand for conversational AI search tools grows, I anticipate that Pinterest will also incorporate such tools within its app to enhance in-app discovery.
There may be potential conflict arising from the fact that Pinterest's CEO, Bill Ready, is a former Google executive. This could lead to the app leaning towards integrating Google’s AI tools in the future rather than immediately signing an agreement with Microsoft and OpenAI.
Aside from technical complexities, I believe that Pinterest will introduce a novel form of generative AI search next year. Additionally, they will offer a tool that allows users to generate AI visualizations of desired outfits. Subsequently, Pinterest's system will identify corresponding real product matches based on the generated visualization.
A potential groundbreaking feature could be a virtual wardrobe tool that allows users to scan their clothing items, assisting Pinterest in fine-tuning its recommendation algorithms based on individual preferences. While Pinterest Lens partially accomplishes this, creating a more specialized process for scanning favorite items may further enhance user engagement and personalized discovery aligned with their interests.
Pinterest should enhance its capability to create 3D objects seamlessly within users' feeds, thereby offering a more comprehensive understanding of products. While it has initiated this feature for 3D home décor Pins, there is a need to further simplify and improve accuracy in this process through its catalog feed ingestion tools.
The greater the number of 3D items Pinterest possesses in its database, the greater the variety of ways it can showcase them, including through AR try-on and other display formats. As AR glasses become available, Pinterest will require this capability to stay abreast of the future of online shopping.
Shifting AI focus
LinkedIn already utilizes a certain level of this functionality, but I anticipate it will further integrate recommendations and alignments using a systematic comprehension of your network, experience, engagement, and so on. Consequently, LinkedIn will intensify its focus on AI, but consumer AI tools will likely decrease while backend enhancements increase, aiming to augment discovery and engagement.
Virtual events and video streams
Which is a key concern for LinkedIn’s increasing video content ecosystem.
Meta has already paved the way in this regard, and LinkedIn has the chance to considerably enhance user engagement, particularly as more individuals turn to it for real-time professional interactions after transitioning from X.
Enhanced mapping of career pathways
LinkedIn is uniquely equipped to showcase career paths and opportunities due to its extensive professional database. The platform has made efforts in the past to develop tools that assist university students in charting their career paths and aid professionals in visualizing potential career trajectories based on individuals with comparable experience.
With the rapid advancement of AI, there is a substantial opportunity for LinkedIn to enhance its career guidance tools by incorporating AI chat prompts. This would assist users who are uncertain about which job aligns best with their skills and interests, as well as those unsure about the next steps to take in order to achieve greater fulfillment. By utilizing LinkedIn's extensive database, a tool could be developed to cross-reference users' skills and experience with millions of other LinkedIn professionals, providing insights on how individuals in similar positions have progressed in their careers.
LinkedIn’s database could also serve as a source of additional prompts within the app to enhance candidates' job prospects. In addition to its current feature of suggesting relevant LinkedIn Learning courses and conducting skill assessments tailored to specific roles, LinkedIn can take it a step further by assisting users in enhancing their skills on a weekly basis and optimizing their profiles with regular tips.
LinkedIn has the potential to enhance user engagement by introducing incentives such as badges that reflect a user's proactive approach to skill updates and participation in relevant discussions within the app. The app has already experienced positive results with the introduction of "Top Voice" badges associated with Collaborative Article contributions. LinkedIn can further incentivize and promote in-app engagement, benefiting both the app and its users.
LinkedIn plans to enhance its ID verification process to tackle bots and enhance user trust. This involves granting a greater number of users the option to authenticate their government ID and verify their profiles directly within the app.
LinkedIn aims to have all its members validate at least one aspect of their professional identity, leading to the verification of 100 million user profiles by 2025. This target has the potential to increase trust in LinkedIn's listings and enhance in-app engagement.
LinkedIn is aiming to enhance creator motivation within the app. As a part of this, LinkedIn will be more closely aligning creator rewards with career incentives such as opportunities for promotion.
How will it do that?
By providing in-app drivers to get people, say, showcasing their expertise in key areas of development.
TikTok
In-stream shopping
TikTok's in-stream shopping features have faced challenges in Western markets despite their success in China and other Asian regions. Additionally, these efforts are expected to be further impacted by the implementation of laws in Indonesia, which prohibit the sale of goods in social apps to safeguard local businesses from global competition.
Considering this, the prospects for TikTok's efforts to transform user habits regarding in-app shopping and product discovery seem unfavorable. However, this is not the end of their endeavors.
In China, TikTok's domestic counterpart has already expanded into various forms of commerce, such as food delivery and local services. This expansion is facilitated by its content feed, which showcases videos from local users and businesses.
In 2024, TikTok will prioritize the incorporation of food delivery and local business listings to expand user engagement. This will be done through the "Nearby" stream and discovery surfaces within the app. By introducing one impactful commerce offering, TikTok aims to kickstart a wider shift towards in-stream shopping. Although direct retail listings haven't been successful, these alternative options may pave the way for new opportunities.
TikTok AI
TikTok has already begun experimenting with generative AI tools, including text-to-video translation tools and AI profile images.
Expect TikTok to increase its focus on AI in the coming year. This will involve incorporating text-to-video tools, allowing users to share completely AI-generated video clips. Additionally, TikTok plans to expand its ongoing AI chatbot experiment, which is currently being tested in select markets.
TikTok's advantage lies in its ability to transform the experience into something valuable and enjoyable. This is primarily because it has successfully implemented this approach in China before introducing it to Western users. With its potential advancements in generative AI, TikTok is likely to surpass its social media competitors, elevating the app's value even further.
Additionally, TikTok's Chinese platform has introduced new regulations mandating real-name authentication for all virtual humans or digital avatars. While the prevalence of entirely digital characters on TikTok remains limited, the emergence of the NPC trend showcases individuals imitating robotic behavior.
It seems that could be short-lived, with actual robots potentially taking over, and becoming stars in their own right.
Another element to watch in the app.
The CFIUS review of the app has faced ongoing delays due to political and regulatory challenges, despite persistent concerns from security officials about the app's safety and accessibility to American user data. Ultimately, the fate of TikTok in the U.S. hinges on the delicate state of U.S.-China relations. Unless there is a significant escalation in aggressive behavior towards the U.S. from the CCP, TikTok is unlikely to be banned.
There are different levels to this situation, and a significant increase in tensions would potentially result in the United States imposing a ban on TikTok. However, even a minor incident, such as finding another spy balloon from the Chinese Communist Party in American airspace, could disrupt the equilibrium and compel the White House to take measures against the application. Although I doubt they genuinely desire to do so.
But that could change very quickly, with U.S.-China relations maintaining an ever-delicate balance.
Snapchat
Snapchat+ has surpassed X Premium and Meta's paid verification program to become the most successful social media subscription offering with over 5 million paying subscribers.
Snap has achieved success in this area by offering intriguing and beneficial features that resonate with its main user group. This triumph has paved the way for Snap to establish a completely new source of income, indicating that Snap will further prioritize this endeavor in the future.
Indeed, the majority of Snapchat+ enhancements have been relatively simple in terms of development. However, Snapchat's advantage lies in its deep comprehension of its audience, allowing it to consistently introduce features that Snap users will be eager to experiment with.
DM advertising products are evolving due to the increasing shift of social media engagement towards messaging platforms. Consequently, app developers are not only prioritizing the improvement of their direct messaging features but also exploring innovative avenues to generate revenue from DMs and facilitate brand collaboration.
Snap's direct messages (DM's) serve as the fundamental means of connection, making it challenging to monetize them. However, as Snap strives to uncover fresh revenue prospects, anticipate the introduction of new advertising choices that will enhance direct interaction between users and businesses within the application. Take Meta, for instance, which has experienced promising outcomes with its "Click to Message" ads. Snap will be exploring comparable alternatives that align with the growing trend of DM usage.
Snap's inbox holds immense potential for marketers due to its high engagement and resonance, making it the most valuable in-app real estate. It is important to pay attention to what Snap introduces in this regard.
Snap has been the driving force behind nearly every augmented reality (AR) trend in the last decade. To maintain its established position, Snap probably needs to introduce its own line of AR glasses. When Snap became the first social app to release camera-equipped sunglasses, it generated a lot of excitement. However, interest in Spectacles has gradually declined, and it will likely face even more competition from Meta's superior Ray Ban Stories models.
Can Snap really launch its own commercial AR glasses? They have been conducting tests with creators for over a year, and although they appear somewhat bulky, it indicates that a fully AR-enabled version from Snap might be released in the near future.
Snap has the potential to outpace Apple and Meta in terms of being the first to enter the market. In 2024, I anticipate Snap releasing an initial version of AR-enabled Spectacles, initially targeting a smaller, specialized market. Despite this, I believe Snap will triumph over its bigger rivals in this field.
Snap is set to seamlessly integrate its Bitmoji avatars into the metaverse, capitalizing on people's familiarity with these digital representations. This integration will allow Snap to enhance and evolve its 3D Bitmoji characters, expanding their usage to promote products, facilitate communication, and ultimately serve as virtual representations of users in games, social platforms, and more.
Is it possible for the metaverse to become a reality rather than just a trend? This question is at the core of the bet, rather than the sole relevance of Bitmoji. However, it is worth noting that Snap is cleverly securing additional brand sponsorships for Bitmoji items. Could this potentially make Snap an attractive takeover target?
Snap could be viewed as a potential takeover target due to its challenging financial position and the significant staff reductions it has made throughout the year. However, it should be noted that this is a speculative statement without substantial supporting evidence.
Additionally, Meta could leverage Snap's expertise in augmented reality for the development of its future AR glasses. Acquiring another platform would also greatly enhance Meta's social media empire, although there may be concerns from regulators regarding this partnership.
While Snap predicts a revival in growth by 2024, CEO Evan Spiegel remains optimistic. However, with the imminent arrival of his fourth son, it is reasonable to assume that he would appreciate reduced stress and more leisure time.
Perhaps, Snap could potentially be released in 2024, causing a noteworthy disruption in the realm of social media. There is an air of speculation surrounding this possibility, but it seems as though some changes may be on the horizon for Snap, given the hurdles it has faced in recent years.
Predicting the future of the social media landscape is a challenging task, as it is constantly evolving. However, I have compiled my informed speculations on the potential developments of various apps in the year 2024 to assist you in strategizing for the upcoming phase.
