We are always watching to see how people are using social media and what trends are emerging to better help our clients cut through the digital noise. The good news is social media is still the place to be. With nearly 70% of the U.S. population actively using social media, it remains an effective way to connect with new people and engage with clients. The bad news, it is saturated with content, so you need to work harder to stand out.
Overall Trends
Users have become selective in what content they will engage with. There was a drop overall with interactions on social media platforms (except with outlier LinkedIn). That means you must work harder to stand out and grab your audience’s attention.
We see a trend leaning towards more personalized, quality content being effective rather than quantity of posts. Hopefully you aren’t just posting for the sake of posting, but it is time to be more intentional about your content.
We see a mix of informative and entertaining content performing well. That means you should try to educate on your area of expertise, but also share some personal content. Especially in this age of AI, people want to get to know YOU. It helps to use real images of yourself and your team and record video updates rather than just using stock photos. And if you are putting content out on social media, a small ad budget to boost that content goes a LONG way. We encourage our clients to spend on social advertising in order to maximize their reach.
And remember to engage with OTHER people’s content. It isn’t supposed to be used to only spit out your content. Be social!
Facebook Trends
Facebook is still the place to be since it still has the most active users – over 3 billionI – despite median interactions dropping 80% YoY.ii Plus, 33% of adults in the U.S. get their news from Facebook, meaning the platform is still considered a go-to source for up-to-date, relevant information. Scary, but show up where there is an available audience! With an average reach rate of 2.60%, that’s a significant number of users potentially seeing your content. Does that reach rate seem low? If you aren’t advertising, your page’s rate is likely lower than that. Advertising will put you ahead of the average.
Facebook users want simple and easy-to-read content. While we all know video and graphics are popular, surprisingly, status-type (a.k.a. text) posts perform well also, bringing in the highest number of median social media interactions on Facebook.
Facebook is a great place to make sure you are showing the real you with photos of you and videos you record. Don’t overthink it and just record!
Instagram Trends
Instagram is the third most popular social network worldwide with 2 billion monthly active users. Dropping less than Facebook, Instagram median interactions are down 16% percent from Jan ’23 to Sept ’24. However, this social media channel still manages to come out on top by having the second-highest median number of interactions per month (after TikTok) and has a higher reach rate (4.00% on average) than its fellow Meta companion.
It’s no surprise that reels are still Instagram’s most popular content. Reels outperform all other content types even though they are now generating fewer median social media post interactions than they did a year ago. However, carousels (posts with multiple images) are better for engagement.iii
LinkedIn Trends
The B2B powerhouse continues to see growth. Median interactions on LinkedIn have increased by 76% in the past year. This makes LinkedIn an exception to the rule as all other social platforms have seen a decline in engagements.
Keep an eye out for videos. Throughout most of last year, LinkedIn tested short-form videos on the platform and launched them in the Fall.iv Platforms tend to push content from new features so now is the time to take advantage and focus on videos for LinkedIn.
Don’t forget to use some of the LinkedIn features already available to you. Have you posted articles or newsletters? Posting native documents on LinkedIn has promise for more engagement rather than linking back to the article on your website. Also try some polls and posts with multiple images.
X Trends
X is only the 12th most popular social network worldwide (as of April 2024)v but still has some value. It remains a go-to source for breaking news and immediate reactions. When looking at metrics, keep in mind the platform has become more private about user information so the data we have access to about the platform is ‘cloudy’ at best.
Text-only and graphic-based posts do well here. Remember to keep it quick and relevant. X is best for on-the-go and in-the-now news. This is the one platform that quantity can still matter because the feed moves quickly.
YouTube Trends
YouTube is the 2nd most popular social network worldwide as of April 2024, by number of monthly active users. And 26% of adults in the U.S. get their news regularly from YouTube.
As a video-centric platform, YouTube might not be as easy to cater to, but it is definitely worth it. Here you can refresh and repurpose the short-form video content you’ve used on other platforms, and experiment with longer video content.
