January 4, 2024
New social platforms and AI advancements are set to transform how we use social media. 2024 will be the year we see the lines between reality and AI blurred and the push for transparency receiving greater support than ever – while the desire for greater authenticity from brands and their stakeholders will drive higher user engagement.
AI
A whole host of AI programs devised by OpenAI and major corporations will change how we work in the coming year, and its presence on social will be hard to miss.
Despite being strongly advised not to, brands are likely to lean on AI for copy production in bulk and for quick posting. This is likely to dilute messages and remove any personality – but where time can be saved there’s money to be made. The impacts could do more harm than good – setting yourself apart has never been harder and leaning on an AI system which has only learned a bit about itself so far, is not likely to produce sustainable results as far as diverse and engaging content is concerned.
Visual content will be produced in a different way – with AI visual creation tools evolving all the time, quicker solutions to production alongside AI generative ‘ideas’ are fostering a new type of content to digest. Platforms such as TikTok will see competition increase by way of AI generated content that aims to disguise itself as real, or content creators demonstrating the intelligence of AI by way of prompts and its output.
New platforms
The degeneration of X and the uprising of Threads is likely to cause a stir this year. The unpredictable yet resistant X is seeing brands leave in droves – but the user base, despite overall decline, retains a purpose and this may make some advertisers think twice before leaving – or even consider some to return.
Threads is still in its infancy, but its gradual growth from Instagram sideshow to standalone platform has led to increased usage and an evolution in its capabilities. If Meta is to continue its expansion, Threads needs lift off this year.
It’s also worth keeping an eye on BlueSky – with just over 2 million users and lots of plans for this coming year to grow itself, could this be the new platform to send shockwaves through social media? Trust and transparency at its forefront – will it stand by its principles or will the lure of commercial input lead it down a path away from its original intention?
Thought-leadership
By way of B2B, companies are expected to lean on their key stakeholders to influence customers to invest in them. As authenticity and trust is at the heart of all B2B campaigns, trusted sources with a more personable approach are expected to win out when it comes to generating leads – as opposed to brands pushing content out via their own channels.
How this stands to work remains to be seen. Key stakeholders in many businesses struggle for time to be active on social themselves – so the question may be how brands utilise them for filming, podcasting and hosting of webinars to develop more personable relationships.
Lengthy landing pages and form fills are a common medium for lead gathering, but with shorter attention spans and social platforms trying to prevent users from leaving platforms to download content (see LinkedIn’s lead generation forms as a prime example) is going more personable and off-brand going to be a game-changer?
Lots to look out for – and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Happy New Year!
If you’re looking to get some social activity off the ground year but don’t know where to start – reach out to us, we can help you get on the right track.