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Every new year brings new changes that dominate social media and shape how our everyday lives, whether we notice it or not.

Being aware of these changes can make that much more of a difference in your strategy to grow as a Content Creator. And I suspect a lot of changes are to come this year.

Here are 10 social media trends that I’m predicting will take over the social media space in 2024.

Trend #1: New Search Engines On The Rise

I believe social platforms will be the main search engine for most, if not all, smartphone users.

Gone are the days when you go to Google with all your problems. Millennials, Gen Z and younger generations are setting the trend of going to social media platforms to ask questions, find products, do research and pretty much anything else.

First, we know that Google (the original search engine, if you will) owns YouTube, which has established itself as another reliable search engine. Plus, earlier this year we saw that Google and TikTok partnered up.

If you haven’t already, you will start seeing more Google and Wiki results in TikTok when searching for something. And I’m sure soon enough, more TikTok videos will appear on Google.

Higher quality and better-performing search engines are something that every platform is eager to improve, like Instagram, X and LinkedIn. Because of the extra effort going into better search engines, this leads me to my next prediction.

Trend #2: SEO will take over Hashtags

SEO is an intimidating strategy for so many people. However, I actually think with social media, it’s easier than ever before.

Originally, SEO was all about optimizing your website with backlinks, coding, keywords and all the things to hopefully rank higher on Google. Lately, it has simplified due to social media’s existence.

At first, the quickest way to find something on Instagram was to search a hashtag, but now people are searching phrases like “social media trends” and not “#socialmediatrends.”

I believe that as this behavior grows, hashtags will become less relevant and not as heavily emphasized for Content Creators to use.

This means that the Content Creators who take the time to adapt SEO in their content strategy will likely see a lot of traction on their profiles. And that’s regardless of how they’re using hashtags.

Trend #3: E-Commerce Takeover

There are a lot of things pushing for e-commerce to take over in 2024. And not just pushing e-commerce, but shifting our buying behavior as we know it today.

First, we have TikTok Shop coming out. It’s impossible to scroll on your FYP without seeing that little orange icon with a creator tagging a product.

Black Friday was huge on TikTok Shop, with brands like Tarte Cosmetics earning over 300,000 sales from their Black Friday promotions alone. Keep in mind that’s just the beginning of TikTok Shop.

We also saw Meta and Amazon officially partnering together. The partnership will put ads in both the Facebook and Instagram apps, lead users to Amazon and allow them to checkout without having to leave the app!

Even on YouTube, there are new features where creators can now tag products in their long-form videos. Whether it’s merch they own, physical products from their website, or even tagging another brand’s products.

With all of these changes, you better believe your feed will fill up with more Content Creators reviewing products, testing products or simply recommending products.

Trend #4: AI Is the New Norm

It’s no surprise that AI is bound to be a top trend in 2024… for better or for worse. That said, I think some of the new ways we’ll see it implemented in the creator space will be a happy surprise.

First of all, we have features like Dream Screen coming to YouTube, which is AI-generated videos for Shorts where you type in a prompt, and YouTube will make a Shorts video of that prompt using AI

Also coming out in 2024 is YouTube’s AI-Powered Insights. YouTube’s new AI tools will help you spark creative ideas and outlines of what you could be creating on your channel, based on data collected by the videos your audience is watching. This also includes sifting through your comments and finding questions followers have asked to turn into YouTube videos.

New AI Tools Across the Social Media

Across all of social media, we have new dubbing abilities and insane AI video editing.

VidIQ already has AI tools to help you come up with viral YouTube video title ideas.

Even Stan Store has Stanley, their AI bot to help you come up with paid product ideas.

This is just the beginning.

I can see more and more AI tools being made for creators to step up their content creation process or make it a million times easier. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if high-quality AI thumbnails became a thing or even complete AI Content Creators (like @lilmiquela for those who remember when she started popping off).

If you’re curious about how you can start implementing AI into your content creation process or business, you’ll definitely want to download this free guide from HubSpot.

HubSpot gathered data from over 1,300 global marketing, sales, service, and SEO professionals to figure out what the top AI Trends for Marketers were this past year and see key insights into the future of marketing with AI.

There’s a lot of good stuff in there that can help you integrate AI into your tech stack and social media strategy.

Trend #5: Creators Making Bank

Just from looking at the Forbes Top 50 Creators list, we know that creators can make some money!

The Influencer Marketing industry was expected to grow to approximately $21.1 Billion in 2023 alone. Now, Data Bridge Market Research expects the value of the influencer marketing platform market to reach $69.92 Billion by 2029.

But what will be the biggest trends for income in 2024?

First, I believe UGC will continue to rise. Brands are already seeing huge returns on investment in authentic videos created by everyday people instead of overly branded ads.

When it comes to brand collaborations, I believe brands will put more of their budget towards TikTok partnerships than ever before. In 2022 Instagram was still one of the highest platforms for influencer marketing but I think 2023 has been pivotal for TikTok.

Users spend 13 hours on Instagram, 27 hours on YouTube and 31 hours on TikTok.

Because users spend more time on TikTok, it only makes sense to invest adspend there. YouTube comes in a close second, or even equal to TikTok because YouTube videos are evergreen and have a little bit of a longer shelf life than TikTok videos.

So, I can see brands increasing their budgets to pay TikTok and YouTube Creators even more than ever before.

Outside of brand collabs, I believe we’ll also see a rise in social media platforms giving creators more monetary incentives to post consistently. There will be even more tools than the recent ones we’ve seen like Live Shopping, Product Tagging, Affiliate Marketing and Milestone Bonuses.

I have a feeling all platforms will release new incentives to encourage Content Creators to stick with their platform.

And any news that benefits us Creators is good news.

Trend #6: YouTube Shorts Blowup

I think YouTube Shorts has been a dark horse in the short-form video competition.

We all know TikTok is the main short-form platform. Shortly after TikTok blew up, Instagram came in hard with Reels and other drastic changes to Instagram as a whole.

Then there was YouTube. Nothing changed dramatically at all.

They know long-form is their thing and they stuck to that, but they still implemented YouTube Shorts for the creators who wanted to upload short-form content.

And that’s what makes YouTube a brilliant platform.

The drastic changes on Instagram made a lot of users very unhappy.

With YouTube, however, their slow and gradual implementation of Shorts made it easier to digest and accept for YouTubers. It was easier to test it out and create a YouTube Shorts strategy without it negatively impacting your channel as a whole.

Since YouTube spent the last couple of years introducing us to Shorts, I think 2024 is where it’s going to take off.

We already see so many Creators blowing up on Shorts (we’re talking 0 to 500,000 subscribers) in such a short amount of time (no pun intended).

Trend #7: POV Content

This one is my biggest gamble of a prediction. I think we might see a rise in POV (point of view) content. Why?

We’re seeing a rise in new video-capturing equipment like:

• Meta’s iteration of its Ray-Ban Stories glasses which are seeing positive reviews
• Meta’s new Quest 3 VR headsets, which include a new way to capture your POV while using their headsets
• The Insta360 Go 3 camera which can easily clip to your shirt and film whatever you do, wherever you go, while you’re hands-free

With all these new cameras and equipment coming out, it will be easier than ever for Creators to simply throw on their glasses or clip on their Go 3 and film their day.

Things are certainly heading in that direction, so if it doesn’t pick up in 2024, I suspect it will in 2025.

Trend #8: Content Simplifications

Content Creators have been on a high lately!

They’re poppin’ off, buzzing around, rising and grinding, all trying to one-up each other with the craziest idea and most epic video.

While I think the industry will continue to grow in complexities, I think there will be a segment of Content Creators that shift to focus on simplification.

Simple Content Funnels

One of the ways we’ll see Creators focusing on simplification is with their content funnels.

For example, as you know, I recently announced that I’m leaving Instagram so I can focus 100% of my energy on YouTube. I went from posting to Instagram, YouTube and TikTok down to just YouTube.

I simply want to master the area that I love the most.

There’s a misconception that Content Creators have to be everywhere to stay relevant and find success. While that’s certainly possible, it’s not necessary. And I think people will start realizing that more and more in 2024.

Consumer Burnout

Also, by the time the holiday season comes around next year, I feel we, as a society, might have consumer burnout.

With the rise in e-commerce, it’s going to feel like we’re constantly being sold to and encouraged to have more things.

Thus, I think there will be a huge segment of Creators focusing on eco-friendly content. 

Whether that be with people de-influencing people from buying products or with content focusing on making the most of what you have and being content with that.

Trend #9: Small Creators, It’s Your Time

When scrolling on TikTok or YouTube, I believe you will get more small Creators recommended to you.

Lately, I’ve noticed that every two TikTok videos or so, I’ll get a video from a Small Creator with only a couple of likes on it. TikTok is giving that video a chance to go viral.

The same goes for YouTube. I’m getting a lot of Small Creators recommended to me on the homepage.

New Creators who are just getting started in 2024 will have a great chance at growing and making social media their full-time thing.

Some users like this change, while others don’t. Regardless of the debate out there, if you’re a smaller Creator this is great news for you! It is your time to shine!

Trend #10: TikTok Comes Out On Top

When it comes to short-form content, TikTok will continue as the leader. Trends will still start on TikTok and Creators will continue to move those trends to other platforms.

There might be a spike in TikTok drama with more threats of banning the app around Q3 of 2024 since that is when every politician will be campaigning for your vote. So, there might be a “ban scare,” but I’m positive TikTok will still be thriving by the time 2025 comes around.

We may see new apps come in and potentially challenge apps like Instagram, Threads, X or TikTok. Similar to how BeReal made a great come-up in 2022. But just like then, TikTok will hold its ground as the leader.

However, I have a feeling a new app will come out to take over all of the social media. But we’ll have to wait for 2025 to see what is.

Your 2024

What do you think about these trends and my predictions?

Am I right? Am I wrong? Did I miss anything?

Let me know your predictions for 2024 and what you’re looking forward to most as you pursue your Content Creator journey in the new year.

Follow your joy!