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The good old days of jumping on bandwagons and desperately trying to outrun trends on social media are numbered. Social marketers have come of age—and with their hard-won wisdom comes a renewed focus on performance and less patience for folly. As platforms continue raining new tools, features, and algorithm updates on us all, social marketers are learning to take a deep breath and ignore the noise.In 2024, ROI will take center stage on social as smart organizations finally close in on their top-performing tactics. From singling out hero platforms and perfecting their content mix to boosting their team’s capabilities with AI, the marketers and brands who set the pace this year will do so with a new level of precision and efficiency. There’s no time to waste on efforts that yield no results—no matter how sentimental we might feel looking behind us. (Love you forever, blue bird.) From here on, it’s full speed ahead—and that’s why we may be looking at social media’s most pivotal year yet.Let’s go.All eyes on ROI
ContentsThe AI TrendWith generative AI on the rise, financial organizations toe the line between efficiency and authenticity on social media. Page 5The ROI TrendIn the quest for social ROI, brands must turn to entertainment to boost the bottom line. Page 29The Platform Trend Strapped for time and resources, organizations stop stretching themselves thin and double down on the platforms that get results.Page 18
Research MethodsThis report is based on a commercial survey of 4,281 marketers and a consumer survey of 4,508 consumers, conducted in August 2023. We conducted primary interviews with social marketing practitioners, leaders, observers, and partners. And we ran a news analysis of 15,557 articles from major social media reporting organiza-tions, as well as a content analysis of 1 million anonymized social posts from accounts connected to Hootsuite. Our primary data has been supplemented by secondary research from Pew Research Center, Statista, Deloitte, Forbes, Insider Intelligence, Forrester, LinkedIn, GlobalWebIndex, The CMO Survey, and others.MethodologyOverview of Hootsuite’s global Social Trends 2024 Commercial Survey4,281 respondents 118 countries16 industries28% directors and above62% managers and practitionersOverview of Hootsuite’s global Social Media 2024 Consumer Survey4,508 respondents3 countries65% Gen Z and millennials26% Gen X and baby boomersNote: Commercial survey respondents were from 118 countries, with the most common being the US (n = 2,709), Canada (n = 377), the UK (n = 267), India (n = 114), and Australia (n = 67).AI TrendPlatform TrendROI Trend
With generative AI on the rise, brands toe the line between efficiency and authenticity on social media.TREND 1TREND 1TREND 1TREND 1AI forces brands to redefine authenticity
Social marketers warmly welcome a new teammateGenerative AI created...
