Hootsuite SocialTrends 2024 Report (ENG)

TRENDS
2024
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
All eyes on ROI 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.
The AI The Platform The ROI
Trend Trend Trend
With generative AI on the rise, Strapped for time and In the quest for social ROI,
Contents financial organizations toe the resources, organizations stop brands must turn to
line between efficiency and stretching themselves thin entertainment to boost
authenticity on social media. and double down on the the bottom line.
platforms that get results.
Page 5 Page 18 Page 29

AI Trend Platform Trend ROI Trend
Research Methods Overview of Hootsuite’s global

Social Trends 2024 Commercial Survey
This report is based on a commercial survey
of 4,281 marketers and a consumer survey of 4,281 respondents
4,508 consumers, conducted in August 2023.
118 countries
We conducted primary interviews with social
16 industries
marketing practitioners, leaders, observers,
and partners. 28% directors and above
Methodology And we ran a news analysis of 15,557 articles 62% managers and practitioners
from major social media reporting organiza-
Overview of Hootsuite’s global
tions, as well as a content analysis of 1 million
Social Media 2024 Consumer Survey
anonymized social posts from accounts
connected to Hootsuite. 4,508 respondents
Our primary data has been supplemented by 3 countries
secondary research from Pew Research Center,
Statista, Deloitte, Forbes, Insider Intelligence, 65% Gen Z and millennials
Forrester, LinkedIn, GlobalWebIndex, The CMO 26% Gen X and baby boomers
Survey, and others.
Note: 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 forces
TR
T
ER
EN
N
D
1D
brands to
1
redefine
authenticity
With generative AI on the rise, brands
1D
1
D
toe the line between efficiency and
N
N
E
E
R
R
authenticity on social media.
T
T
Social marketers warmly

welcome a new teammate
Generative AI created a seismic shift when it broke into the
mainstream in 2022 and sparked a whole range of emotions
typically reserved for fellow humans.
Interest was so high that from 2022 to 2023, topics on learning

about AI increased by 550%, according to an analysis we
conducted of over 15,500 news articles and blogs.
And social marketers have jumped on the bandwagon.
6
Since social media managers are typically a team of one

and often strapped for time, it’s no surprise the top motivation
to use AI is to reduce staff workload, with 61% of our survey
respondents selecting this option.
61%
of organizations
Organizations also report that they’re planning to double their
use of AI across various activities—even tripling or quadrupling say the #1 reason
they use AI for
it in some cases. In the coming year, we can expect to see the
biggest increase in AI use for revising text, editing images, and
providing customer service. social media
So is generative AI a source of hope for busy professionals
is to reduce
like you? The numbers seem to say so. But in the noble
quest to reduce your workload, are you at risk of alienating staff workload
your audience?
Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey
7
AI use will skyrocket in 2024

In the last 12/next 12 months, how has/will your organization use(d) AI to assist with social media activities?
+28% +29%
% change %
+44% This year
86% 85%
82%
+103%
Last year
75%
67% 66% +195%
59%
+260% +136%
57%
54% 52%
+318%
37% 46%
22%
20%
15%
11%
Edit and Produce ad Develop Completely Produce Edit Generate Use a chatbot
refine text text from new ideas revise and customer images images to respond to
scratch rewrite text support text messages
Sample: 4,278 respondents from scratch
Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey 8
62%
Audiences greet AI with hesitation
There’s good news, and there’s bad news.
First, the bad news. (Better to rip off the Band-Aid, right?) AI-generated
social posts get a lot of buzz, but the question of trust still casts a big
shadow.
of consumers say
No one’s a stranger to fake news anymore. And the idea of a machine
they are less likely
stringing words or mashing images together to be shared online makes to engage with and
some people uneasy, especially when trying to gauge what’s real and
what’s not on social. trust content if they
These sentiments line up with a 2022 study by the Pew Research know it was created
Center on the increased use of AI in daily life. The study found that
45% of US adults are equally concerned and excited about this, while
by an AI application
37% are more concerned than excited, and only 18% are more excited Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Consumer Survey
than concerned.
9
In other words, audiences are not necessarily Concerns over AI are

embracing AI and AI-generated content as much high among consumers
as social marketers are flocking to use it. Thinking about social media content generated by AI,
rate your agreement with the following statements
The good news? Not everyone distrusts AI equally.
Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Different age groups are forming different
relationships with AI-generated content. Knowing
exactly who your audience is on social will help you
develop an AI strategy that’s in line with their 66% 22% 12%
values and preferences.
It’s hard to tell what

information is real or fake
67% 20% 13%
It’s hard to tell what images are

real or fake/created using AI
Sample: 4,499 respondents

Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Consumer Survey
10
AI for the ages

Thinking about social media content generated by AI,
rate your agreement with the following statements
Generation Z Millennials Generation X Baby boomers

Generation Z Millennials Generation X Baby boomers
Take Gen Z, for example. They’re more likely to If I know something 20%
If I know something
claim they know what’s real and what’s created is created byby
is created anan
AIAI 22%
application, I am less
application, I am less 28%
by AI than other generations. They’re also more likely to engage with it
likely to engage with it 33%
likely to trust and engage with AI content. On
the other hand, baby boomers are the opposite 21%
If I Ifknow something
I know something is
on all accounts: less confident in their ability to is written byby
written ananAIAI 22%
tell if something is created by AI, and less likely
application,
application, I amI am less
less 27%
likely to trust it
likely to trust it 33%
to trust and engage with it if it is.
So if you have a younger community on social, 17%

It’s hard to tell
It’s hard what
to tell what
19%
you may have an easier time experimenting images areare
images real oror
real
fake/created
fake/created using
using AIAI 22%
with AI. But if your audience is older, it’s best
21%
to tread carefully for now.
14%
It’s It’s
hard toto
hard tell
tell
what information
15%
what information
is real or fake 20%
is real or fake
19%
Response = =
Response Strongly Agree
Strongly agree
Sample: 4,420 respondents (filtered to those who strongly agree)

11
Authenticity 🤝 AI
It’s inevitable: AI will become ubiquitous In 2024, the most successful brands will
on social. And it’s completely fair for social redefine “authenticity.” It’s not about who
marketers to use a tool that makes their life (or what) creates your content anymore;
easier. Scaling back on its use now would be it’s about the brand experience your content
like reverting from computers to typewriters. creates for the customer.
To thrive in this new environment, marketers Does it feel right? Does it reinforce the brand?
and brands need to move beyond defining Does it work? Get those right and you can
“real” and “authentic” based on whether dismiss questions about whether a bot made
something was created exclusively by a human. it with a shrug.
Like it or not we’re all cyborgs now, at least at
work. Whether we’re using AI as a brainstorm-
ing partner, letting it finish our sentences for
us, pretending it doesn’t exist, or (more likely)
a mix of the above, this genie is out of the bottle.
12
Croda discovers the

art and science of AI
Driven by its purpose to use “Smart science to “If we’re not using AI, other companies will,”
improve lives,™” Croda combines its knowledge, says Sidi. “This is going to be the next big
passion, and entrepreneurial spirit to create, thing—and we have to evolve with this
The trend make, and sell specialty ingredients that are transformative technology to stay competitive
in action relied on by industries and consumers around in the evolving business landscape.”
the world. Its social media audience is mostly
Sidi set out to champion AI within the company.
scientists and chemists—a community that
It’s now used not only for social media and
values innovation and is open to exploring
marketing, but also for sales, product
emerging technologies like AI.
development, and more.
So when ChatGPT became widely available
With marketers who are primarily chemists and
in 2022, Ashley Sidi, digital marketing lead
no internal design team, creating professional-
at Croda, immediately saw an opportunity.
looking social images has been a challenge for
Croda. This is one aspect of the job Sidi plans to
delegate to AI.
13
“Basic design elements, like making sure that To make sure Croda is set up for success, Sidi
text isn’t running off to the corner, resizing collaborated with IT and other teams within the
images, color consistency: It sounds like little organization to put AI policies in place. Now the
things, but it really does make your brand look company has clear guidelines for securely using
professional,” she says. “I think AI is going to AI across different departments.
help quite a bit in the design space.”
The marketing team also has an approvals
In addition to creating consistency and improv- process in place so every bit of AI content is
ing the quality of social media images, Croda’s fact-checked and greenlit before it’s posted
marketing team also uses AI for brainstorming on social—a priority among their fact-loving,
content ideas and drafting social media captions. data-driven community.
Think of it as having a personal virtual assistant. If you use

it in this manner, it will be effective. However, it’s important
to sprinkle in the real stuff. Maintaining a healthy balance
between technology and authenticity is key.
Ashley Sidi
Digital Marketing Lead, Croda
14
1 Know your audience

and how they feel about AI
It’s timeless advice for a reason: Know your audience.
A deep understanding of who your audience is on social will be

essential for using AI in the right ways this year.
Don’t stop at basic demographics. Who are they? What do they
Recommendations
like? How do they feel about what they see on social media?
Other data points you can learn about your audience include:
Location Interests Stage of life

Language Challenges Buying habits
These can help you gather insights on whether other factors

such as culture, geography, or interests have influence on their
perception of AI. As a bonus, you’ll also be able to fine-tune the
rest of your content to their likes and needs.
PRO Master your target market on

TIP social media with our in-depth guide
15
2 Decide which tasks

to keep on your plate to
help build relationships
Delegate tasks
with this cheat sheet
AI makes a great assistant—but you still have to run the show.

It’s up to you to delegate which aspects of the job AI can support,
and which aspects need a more delicate hand (and nuanced brain,
tbh). After all, your audience’s trust is on the line.
As AI gets more sophisticated, it may become tempting to pass

Use the bots Keep it human
off AI work as yours. But remember: Social relationships are built
on trust. Leading audiences to believe that the content they’re Brainstorming ideas Creating a content
strategy for social
interacting with is human when it’s not is a quick way to break Organizing your
that trust. Not to mention, it could create serious damage for a thoughts Editing and refining
brand if it’s ever brought to light. captions
Giving content
suggestions Ensuring images and
(And if any of you thought to yourselves just now, “But they’ll
posts are up to brand
never know,” you just made Owly really, really sad.) Writing first drafts
standards
for captions
PRO Play around with social media AI Interacting in the
TIP Suggesting images
that’s seriously easy to use comments section
Instantly generate captions and get post ideas—
fast—for every network with OwlyWriter AI
16
3 Create AI policies and best

practices for social media
Step-by-step guide
to creating an AI policy
Step 1: Loop in the wider organization
Nothing’s worse than an employee going rogue and
Get IT’s input to identify security issues
posting their AI-generated “masterpiece” on the company
Instagram account. Or a befuddled customer raging in your Ask for Legal’s advice on the use of images on various platforms
DMs because your tone-deaf chatbot “handled” the issue.
Determine whether you’re allowed to feed proprietary data into the
But if you have rules and regulations in place to guide program or use AI’s help with confidential information
your organization’s use of AI, these potential nightmares
Step 2: Define AI’s scope in your work
can be avoided.
Will you limit its role to idea generation and brainstorming for now?
Making sure your team and organization are aligned will
Will you use it for writing and generating images?
help you use AI safely and effectively.
Will you use it to interact with customers?
Step 3: Create an AI style guide for social

Include notes for tone of voice and photography or illustration styles
Add tips for effective prompts
Share with all internal and external content creators so your social
content is consistent across all channels
17
Strategic
TR
T
brands
ER
EN
N
D
D
2
2
commit to their
champion
platforms
2
2
D
D
Strapped for time and resources,
N
N
E
E
R
R
organizations stop stretching themselves
T
T
thin and double down on the social
platforms that get results.
The multi-platform Orgs fear the ROI impact

predicament of being on so many platforms
Which of the following issues do you think contribute to your organization’s
concern about return on investment for social media activities?
Be where your audience is, they said.
But when your audience is everywhere, that’s a tall order— Time or budget investment
to maintain a presence on 52%
and the average social media user logs into about seven multiple social platforms
platforms each month. Seven. Uncertainty about the

accuracy of campaign
success metrics
35%
For brands, maintaining a presence on just one social Uncertainty about
network is hard enough, let alone many. And maintaining
the attribution of
campaign success
34%
is the baseline. Doing it well is a whole other story. Unsatisfactory connection
between social metrics
and business metrics
33%
In fact, this is such a challenge for organizations, it’s
31%
Uncertainty about the
emerged as the top ROI concern for social media—even social media strategy
trumping issues that have to do with measuring success
(some of social’s most talked-about struggles). Rising costs 25%
High costs 19%
18%
Unsatisfactory short-term
impact for campaigns
14%
Unsatisfactory longer-term Sample: 4,281 respondents
impact for campaigns Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey
19
Most social marketers could talk your ear off are enough to make social marketers’ heads
58%
about why it takes so much time and energy spin. No wonder 66% of them say they have too
to be active—and thrive—on several social much to do, according to our 2023 Social Media
media networks. Management Career Survey.
One of the biggest factors: How important it’s Social marketers are responsible for developing
become to tailor social content to each network. strategies, creating content, tracking analytics,
(Cross-posting just doesn’t cut it anymore, sadly.) executing ads, responding to comments,
Different channels have different audiences, scheduling posts, and sooooooo much more— of marketers say
lingo, trends, and hashtags, not to mention word
counts and image specs. Brand posts that
and that’s before considering that each of those
tasks have to get done for multiple channels.
the pace at which
mimic the content and formats of individual
It’s also before taking into account the constant
networks release
new user and
platforms make for a better user experience—
platform changes that social pros are expected to
and less annoyed customers.
stay on top of. Today, networks release new user
Users also have different reasons for being on and advertising features so often that more than advertising features
each platform—Facebook for connecting with half (58%) of marketers say it’s difficult to keep up.
makes it hard to
friends and family, TikTok for being entertained,
Instagram for exploring interests, and Twitter/X
The good news? Social marketers aren’t the
only ones who feel the pressures of having to
keep up
for getting news and event updates, for example.
deal with multiple platforms. Company leaders Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey
The differences between platforms—and the are finally starting to clue in, recognizing the
amount of work it takes to cater to them all— impact this is having on their business.
20
Brands are most confident in

Platform priorities are shifting LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp
How confident are you that each of the following social platforms
Historically, when organizations felt iffy about how a delivers a positive return on investment for your organization?
Confident Not Confident
platform was contributing to their social and business Confident
Confident Not
NotConfident
Confident
goals, they didn’t do much about it. LinkedIn

LinkedIn 70%
70% 30%
30%
LinkedIn 70% 30%
Instagram
Instagram 68%
68% 32%
32%
Social marketers would overextend themselves trying to do
Instagram 68% 32%
WhatsApp
WhatsApp 66%
66% 34%
34%
everything, everywhere, all at once, and drain time, money,
and resources while they were at it. This was all too common, WhatsApp
Facebook
Facebook 62%
62% 66%38%
38% 34%
and yet, nothing would ever change. (Red flag alert!) Even BeReal
BeReal 60%
60% 40%
40%
Facebook 62% 38%
though this resulted in lousy content, poor social media YouTube
YouTube 52%
52% 48%
48%
performance, and burnt out staff, it was still considered less BeReal
TikTok
TikTok 50%
50% 60% 50%
50% 40%
of a risk than scaling back on platform efforts. So they Snapchat
Snapchat 45%
45% 55%
55%
YouTube 52% 48%
(foolishly) stuck it out. Reddit
Reddit 43%
43% 57%
57%
TikTok
Pinterest
Pinterest 36%
36%
50% 64%
64%
50%
But now, organizations are starting to stray from this way of
30%
30% 70%
70%
thinking. Instead, they’re acknowledging the problems and Twitter/X
Twitter/X
Snapchat 45% 55%

taking steps to turn things around. Our data reveals that Threads
Threads 16%
16% 84%
84%
Reddit 43% 57%
they’re getting serious about understanding which platforms
work for them and which ones don’t—and ROI confidence 36% 64%

Pinterest
helps them decide.
Twitter/X 30% 70%
Threads 16% 84%
21
The platforms that drive the most ROI confidence Conversely, the majority of brands are on these numbers don’t dovetail neatly with overall
aren’t necessarily the most widely used, and vice Twitter/X, but only 30% think it drives value— ROI confidence for these platforms. What we do
versa. Take WhatsApp, for example. Only 14% of which is a 23% decrease from last year and might know is that whatever their reasons, organiza-
organizations have a presence on the instant explain the platform’s 7% drop in brand use. tions are more willing than ever to say buh-bye
messaging app, but almost two-thirds of them to platforms and strategies that aren’t meeting
So we have some speculations about Twitter/X,
feel strongly that it benefits their business. So their definition of ROI. They’re finally prioritizing
but why are brands shifting their strategies away
there aren’t too many who use it, but those who their own platform-by-platform ROI scores and
from Pinterest (down 11%) and WhatsApp (down
do, feel they get a lot out of it. making business decisions accordingly.
an eye-popping 18%)? They didn’t tell us—and
Most orgs have a presence on

Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Which social media platforms does your organization currently use?
91% 86% 80% 66% 62% 29% 19% 16% 14% 5% 4% 1%

22
No value, no point:
Brands leave some of
the social platform giants
Change in platform use for businesses from 2022 to 2023 Zeroing in on the platforms that work
+16% It’s easy to fall into a pattern of following social In 2024, strategic organizations will push
media industry norms. But industry norms don’t back against unjustified expectations to do
+5% consider the unique goals, growth strategies, everything on every platform. They’ll unlock
KPIs, and customers of your organization. their top-performing channels based on ROI,
+1% That’s why it’s so important to take a step and focus their attention on those—and only
back, challenge your own assumptions about those. If they’re really confident (and brave),
+0%
the platforms you’re on, and think about they might even abandon one or two
what’s best for your business. altogether.
+0%
The key is being able to defy distractions that This will give social marketers more time with the
-1% prevent you from making smart decisions about platforms that make the cut—time to understand
your channels. Keeping up with what your their audiences, experiment with content to see
-7% competitors are doing and experimenting with what resonates, stay on top of trends and
shiny new features or entirely new platforms is algorithms, and get up to speed with all the
-11% an essential part of a social marketer’s job, but features. Because mastering a few key platforms
not at the expense of driving real business value is surely better than being so-so at many.
-18% from social.
Samples: 3,891 respondents (2024), 9,422 respondents (2023)
Sources: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey, Hootsuite Social Trends 2023 Survey
23
iShares by BlackRock embraces

millennial and Gen Z platforms
If you’re trying to reach a brand new audience, It also gave them insights into what types of
you can start by chucking your business-as- content would resonate. Knowing that everyday
usual efforts out the window. “financial speak” would sound like gibberish to
The trend Keen to capture a new generation of potential

(and totally bore) this young audience, they
landed on clear, jargon-free messaging with
in action investors, exchange-traded fund (ETF) company
bold headline-driven visuals.
iShares by BlackRock did just that—and made
research their first priority (as it should be). And it worked. By leaning into the platforms
that were relevant to their audience—and
To kick off the development of their new social
strategically dodging the ones that weren’t,
and content strategies, they took a deep dive
like Facebook—iShares by BlackRock met their
into the demographics, interests, behaviors,
objectives of awareness (acquainting this new
and financial literacy of millennial and Gen Z
audience with their brand and product) and
investors. And that analysis helped identify the
education (shedding light on the benefits of
best platforms to reach them—Instagram,
ETFs). Their content was so engaging and
Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and TikTok.
impactful they even received a congratulatory
note from LinkedIn. #Goals!
24
The Harvard Graduate School of Education

untangles Threads
When it comes to enticing users to join a new But that didn’t scare Wesby away. Looking
network, Meta cracked the code with Threads. at HGSE’s Threads metrics, she noticed that
although engagement wasn’t rising, it was
The app’s integration with Instagram made creat-
still there. And new followers were still trickling
ing an account absolutely seamless. It’s why Maya
in. “For those reasons, we’re still active on the
Wesby, social media manager at the Harvard
platform today,” she says.
Graduate School of Education (HGSE), knew
the platform was a good fit for her organization. What’s changed is the strategy. She posts
content to Threads less frequently than she
Threads was
“Instagram has been a strong channel for us, so
[Threads] was a natural way to reach a community
used to—maybe once or twice a week—allowing a natural
we already had,” Wesby says. “And they were all
her to devote more time to the school’s more
popular channels. And she continues to monitor
way to reach
a community
jumping on board.”
the platform to keep tabs on the HGSE commu-
At first, HGSE was relatively active on the nity and other educational institutions, so if an
platform and getting lots of engagement. opportunity pops up, she’ll be ready to join the we already had.
But once the initial excitement of the app wore conversation.
off, Wesby noticed a hard dip in interactions—
Maya
which isn’t surprising when you consider the
That’s a pro move, and it proves that you don’t Wesby
always have to make rash decisions when your
70% drop in Threads’ daily active users just Social Media Manager
social media outcomes change. You just have Harvard Graduate School of Education
weeks after its launch.
to pivot when and where it makes sense.
25
1 Run a social media

audit for platform intel
What’s happening across all your social An audit should also help single out the
platforms? A social media audit will tell platforms that may be doing more harm
you. It’ll uncover your most engaging than good (in other words, eating up a lot
posts, your highest-performing content of your time but not giving you results that
Recommendations
formats, and other patterns that’ll help make it worthwhile). If you find any major
you decide how to approach your social flops, it may be time to scale back on
strategy moving forward. those channels or even shut down those
accounts. But these decisions shouldn’t be
Crushing it on Facebook, Instagram,
made lightly—be sure to share your find-
LinkedIn, and TikTok? Consider these your
ings with key players in your organization
hero platforms, and pour all your efforts
so you can make the call together.
into them. That means spending the
majority of your time (and budget) on Get a step-by-step walk-through of
those platforms—researching, experiment- the easiest audit process with our
ing with content, doing social listening, Social Media Audit Guide
and engaging with your audience.
26
2 Put your platforms

in an ROI showdown
You’ve probably calculated the ROI of your informed decisions about your platforms, these
social media activities before. (If not, you really, numbers don’t mean much until you weigh
really should.) It’s important to know how you’re them against each other.
doing on social overall.
For example, say you’re active on five different
But to figure out if each of your platforms is platforms, and you find that you have a positive
worth the effort you’re putting in, you need to ROI (anything above zero) for all of them. That’s
do this exercise for—you guessed it—every great—if you’re looking at your channels
platform. And yes, that means more math, but individually. But if you place your ROI scores
we’ve got you: Bypass spreadsheets and side-by-side, and one platform has a much
manual calculations with our ROI calculator. lower ROI than the rest (even though it’s still
positive), that can be telling. The channel that’s
Once you’ve determined your ROI for each of
lagging behind may not warrant as much of an
your platforms, you’ll have a clear picture of
investment because there’s greater potential
which channels were profitable, and which
for growth with the other four.
ones weren’t. But when you’re trying to make
27
3 Master the art of

(proper) cross-posting
We know what you’re thinking. Didn’t we say The top rule for cross-posting is to align your Discover how to plan a cross-platform campaign
that cross-posting just doesn’t cut it anymore? content with the norms, best practices, and in this strategy guide. (Hint: All these great tips
formats of each platform. All your posts can be can be applied to non-campaign cross-platform
Well, let’s be clear: When we encourage social
based on the same idea, promote the same posting too.)
marketers not to cross-post, we’re referring to
campaign, or have a similar look and feel. But
the copy-and-paste method (reusing the same
to boost your chances of strong engagement,
post on every platform without making any
each platform should dictate your goals,
changes). Sure, it’s a fast and easy way to feed
formats, visual and copy specs, and the way
the insatiable content beast—but it also leaves
you speak to and interact with your audience.
a lot of potential on the table.
Moral of the story: If you’ve pinpointed your
That said, there are ways to do cross-posting
champion platforms with the intention of
right. And when you have content or campaigns
improving your social media outcomes, the
that can resonate across all your channels, you
work can’t stop there. Now, your content
absolutely should capitalize on that.
must do the heavy lifting, and tailoring it to
each platform is the first step to doing your
new social strategy justice.
28
TR
T
ER
EN
N
Entertainment
D
D
3
3
fuels the social
ROI engine
In the quest for social ROI, brands
3
3
must turn to entertainment to
D
D
N
N
boost the bottom line.
E
E
R
R
T
T
The crowd has spoken: Audiences give too much

They want to be entertained self-promotion a thumbs down
Thinking about the organizations/brands you follow on social media,
Before you quit reading, we get it. Entertainment can be which of the following has a negative impact on how you view them?
an intimidating word, especially if you work in a “serious”

organization (let alone a regulated industry). Can you even Too focused on self-promotion 34%
connect entertainment to something quantifiable, like ROI?
Low-quality content 32%
But here’s the thing: Consumers are saying it loud and clear.
After staying in touch with family and friends, the top reason Poor engagement with public
they use social media is to be entertained and to mentally comments or direct messages 27%
unwind, according to our Social Trends 2024 Survey.
Slow responses to public
comments or direct messages 26%
And you know what else they said? That they don’t like it
when brands are too focused on self-promotion. In fact, 34%
None of the above 26%
say it’s a major turn-off in how they perceive brands on social.
Difficult to find on
social platforms 16%
The brand
is looking
Infrequent posts 14%
goooooood.
Absence from
social platforms 14%
30
The problem is, brands seem to have other ideas. While almost half of organizations are yammer- It’s no surprise, then, that 68% of social marketers
ing about themselves, 69% say engagement is report being concerned about the ROI of their
It turns out, 48% of marketers publish product
the top metric they use to demonstrate ROI. social activities. When brands measure success
or brand updates or news multiple times a
in ways that don’t add up, ROI will be hard to
week, according to our survey. That’s a huge How can you demonstrate ROI through
come by.
disconnect between what brands are posting engagement metrics when you’re giving the
and what people really want to see. audience exactly what they don’t want to
engage with?
And it gets worse.
Social ROI remains a big concern for marketers

How concerned are you personally about the return on investment for social media activities?
8% 24% 28% 27% 13%
Not at all Somewhat Concerned Very Extremely

concerned concerned concerned concerned

31
2% Survey-based brand awareness
51% 2% Pipeline
Impressions/
Brands cling
Views 3% Share of voice
69%
to engagement to Engagement 3% Sentiment
demonstrate ROI Time spent

4% on site/app
Which metrics does your organization most commonly use to
demonstrate the return on investment of its social activities? 49% 14%
(Select up to three.)
Followers
Sales/Revenue
21%
Leads
43%
Clicks/Traffic

32
Let entertainment lead the way to ROI
56%
Which takes us back to entertainment. What does that actually mean? Let’s get
back to basics and bust open the dictionary.
In 2024, brands that publish entertaining
“Entertainment” simply boils down to
content on social will succeed in winning
“providing enjoyment”—and that can mean
eyeballs, engagement, and (eventually)
a lot of different things.
market share away from brands that keep
on publishing the same old stuff. Humor is enjoyable for sure. But so is finding
inspiration, getting excited, feeling moved, or
of consumers think
This isn’t a strategy you can pivot to overnight—
especially if you’ve been measuring ROI through
learning something new. Surely you can think that brands should
be more relatable
of something enjoyable you could provide to
metrics that aren’t aligned with your initiatives.
your audience. (If you’re stumped, these post
But if that strategy isn’t working as well as it
used to, it’s time for you to get back to the true
ideas are a great spot to begin.) on social media
strength of social media: building brand You don’t need to overthink it: 56% of consumers Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Consumer Survey
awareness, affinity, and long-term relationships think that brands should be more relatable on
with your audience through engaging, social, according to our Social Trends 2024
entertaining social content. Consumer Survey.
33
So in the words of everyone’s favorite cliché, Give what they want, take what you need
just be yourself—but your person-self, not your
all-important-super-serious-brand-self. After Brands can’t keep talking about themselves, This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sell or promote
all, social media is not a place where you talk then hope to keep their audiences engaged. on social at all either. It’s just about realigning
at someone. It’s an interactive space where That’s a surefire way to flop. They should instead your priorities and reevaluating your content so
the exchange of value is a two-way street. be thinking about what their followers want. you can better serve your audience.
We also know how tempting it is to fast-track Like entertainment—in all the shapes and Social media can be a massive profit engine for
ROI through sales. After all, Statista forecasts forms it takes. your business. But for that to work, it has to be
social commerce to keep growing 30% year- built on relationships, not transactions. And
In return, you won’t just win your audience’s
over-year. They even estimate sales via social relationships are built by sharing something
attention and interest; you’ll also win their
channels to reach US$2.9 trillion by 2026. meaningful together.
affinity, trust, and eventually, their desire to
But focusing solely on dollar figures risks convert and become loyal customers.
turning social media into a short-term
demand-generation machine. Instead,
maximize social media as a space to create
deeper connections, meaningful interactions,
and customer relationships.
It’s more of a slow burn, but it can end up

driving more ROI long-term.
34
Lemonade paints Instagram pink

Insurtech disruptor Lemonade knows what’s to engage by suggesting what items they
up. They’re an insurance company, which— should dip next. And instead of simply sharing
on social media—often translates to boring. educational content, they used the opportunity
to show more transparency about their business
So they asked themselves, “Why would anyone
operations and their Giveback program.
The trend want to follow an insurance company on
Instagram?” Sure, they could give tips and The pink paint was such a hit among their
in action advice to their largely young customers, but followers that Lemonade expanded the idea
before they could do that, they’d first have to to include artists during the pandemic. It has
build their following. also now become a recurring theme for their
Instagram visuals.
Their answer may have been out of left field,
but it certainly solved the challenge. Hopping onto a trend on social may not always
work for finance companies, but when you get it
The company tapped into the #OddlySatisfying
right, its impact can shape your entire presence
trend and came up with the idea to dip objects
on social media.
in their signature pink color. They got followers
35
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife

Conservation’s winning engagement recipe
When you picture a wildlife conservation society For the agency’s social media specialist, Sarah
on social media, “fun” and “entertaining” are Southerland, this means creating content that
probably the last words that come to mind. serves their primary audience without alienating
But while the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife

the rest of the community they’ve built. Goodwill on
Conservation has very important things to say
on social, they’re also just a hoot.
Why? Because it creates goodwill.
social media
“Not everyone in our audience would care
As a state government conservation agency, about deer disease,” she notes. ”But we do need can go such
a long way.
the department has a responsibility to use their them to trust us and have goodwill toward
platforms to educate. But their funny posts us—so at other times, like when we need help
and on-point TikToks don’t just attract hunting to raise awareness, we can go further.”
hobbyists or local conservation enthusiasts look-
Sarah
ing to get accurate information; they also attract
With the responsibility of using their funding Southerland
in the best way possible, the department
all kinds of people who are there for the lols. Social Media Specialist
makes sure to connect their social media Oklahoma Department
initiatives to organizational goals. of Wildlife Conservation
36
It’s not enough for a post to go viral—they The result? The department became so beloved Just by creating relevant content, the depart-
also measure how it affects event attendance. by their community that when TikTok bans ment was able to build a community that has
Other times, likes and shares are given less were introduced for federal agencies in the US, their back and supports them in times of
importance if what they ultimately want are their community came together and asked the need—even when those followers aren’t their
votes. #DuckStampContest governor to give them a pass. primary audience, like hunters. It’s proof of how
far your audience can take you when you give
Whatever they do on social, it’s centered on the
them value first.
department’s mandate of creating a safe,
educated, and engaged community of wildlife
enthusiasts.
If you’re genuine with people, you get returns.

We were allowed to use TikTok because our followers
thought we were important to them and they were
able to make a case for that.
Sarah Southerland
Social Media Specialist, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
37
1 When it comes to content,

follow your audience’s lead
Don’t assume you know what your on Facebook. Then, whatever sticks,
followers want to see. The beauty of social do more of that.
media is that you can ask them and get
If you have current posts that aren’t
their input directly.
performing too well, look into those too.
Recommendations Grab the opportunity to ask them what Compare all your underperforming posts
they want. Run polls on types of content and see if they have anything in
you could post. Host Q&As to hear their common. Are they all bland? Maybe they
suggestions. have low-quality images. Or maybe your
followers simply don’t get much from
You can also run experiments where you
them other than bits of old information.
tweak your tone of voice, or try new
content categories altogether. Maybe Once you have an idea, start tweaking
add more memes to your Instagram future posts to address the issue, and
stories, or add more conversational posts keep testing and iterating as you go.
PRO Use social listening to hear what people are saying

TIP about your brand, competitors, and industry
38
2 Let social be
the long game 3 Make social relationships
the foundation of your ROI
With all this experimentation, you should give social (and yourself) Paying attention to what your customers want and actually giving it to
the space and time to dial in your winning tactics. them? Well done. That’s the first step.
Don’t rush into “smashing those goals” or “crushing those targets.” Social Tracking engagement across your social initiatives? Another leap in the
is best for building brand equity, which takes time—and that’s okay. right direction.
More importantly, don’t start getting impatient and reverting to your old, Now, measure how far those engagements go beyond social and across
self-promotion-y ways. We’ve already established that no one likes a hard your larger business goals. Things like, did that viral post move the needle
sell. Letting them flock to you will be much more effective in the long run. and increase your social share of voice after the Twitterverse (X-verse 🤔)
gave it so much love? Are you seeing more web traffic after a customer
And when you are talking about yourself (because you’re a business and
advocate shared your post to her bajillion followers? Are more likes on
that’s unavoidable), just make sure you’re warm, authentic, and relatable.
your TikToks translating into a higher sign-up rate for your events?
Position your promotion with a human experience, so it becomes more
personal and meaningful. Making sure your social content connects with business goals gives your
social media efforts a higher purpose. And putting your audience’s desires
at the heart of those efforts keeps them rooted in customer value and
authentic relationships.
39
Lead writers and researchers: Julia Escaño, Jordana Rapuch
Research and content directors: Kendall Walters, Sarah Dawley
Research and analysis: Critical Truth
Editor: Curtis Foreman
Supporting copy: Konstantin Prodanovic
Lead designer: Eric Uhlich
Supporting design: Gianfranco Valentini, Russ Horii, Anne Buchan
Video and motion graphics: Christopher Young, Liam MacLeod, Derek Saddler
Web: Ann Alonso, Sephora Khatchadourian, Sara Sinclair, Paige Cooper
SEO: Cathy Carey
Acknowledgements Campaign management and planning: Dory Kashin, Billy Jones
Social: Eileen Kwok, Trish Riswick
Big thanks to all the wise and talented owls
Webinars: Stacy Combest
who contributed to this year’s report…
Email: Denea Campbell, Yvette Lai, Allie Schwartz
Paid media: Ella Garfield, George Bradley, ASM Siddique
Marketing automation: Juliette Schoular, Spainie Zhuang, Neema Rafizadeh
PR: Chrisanna Chan, Rola Tfaili, Melanie Gaboriault
Inbound: Shannon Tien, Karolina Mikolajczyk, Liz Stanton, Britny Kutuchief
Industry insights: Larissa Beardmore, Ben Cathers, Tim Treacy, Scott Cassano,
Michael Blondé, Alex Wedderburn
Thank you to all the marketers and industry experts we interviewed

as part of our research—your insights helped shape this report.
Building enduring brands,
one social connection at a time 200k
customers
Hootsuite’s led the social media space since 2008—back when Charlie Bit
150+
Me was the biggest meme on the block. Since then, social has become a
non-stop engine of online culture, connectivity, and commerce. And through
it all, Hootsuite’s been your one-stop shop for all things social.
Smart social listening and engagement tools? We’ve got those on tap.
apps and integrations
AI-powered social commerce and customer care? We’ll help you do that, too.
1 Million
More than 200,000 paying customers log on to Hootsuite to tell their stories,
grow their audience, and make gutsy business goals come true. We’ll help
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TRENDS

Page 5 Page 18 Page 29

Research Methods Overview of Hootsuite’s global

Social marketers warmly

Interest was so high that from 2022 to 2023, topics on learning

And social marketers have jumped on the bandwagon.

Since social media managers are typically a team of one

AI use will skyrocket in 2024

In other words, audiences are not necessarily Concerns over AI are

It’s hard to tell what

67% 20% 13%

It’s hard to tell what images are

Sample: 4,499 respondents

AI for the ages

Generation Z Millennials Generation X Baby boomers

So if you have a younger community on social, 17%

Sample: 4,420 respondents (filtered to those who strongly agree)

Croda discovers the

Think of it as having a personal virtual assistant. If you use

1 Know your audience

A deep understanding of who your audience is on social will be

Don’t stop at basic demographics. Who are they? What do they

Location Interests Stage of life

These can help you gather insights on whether other factors

PRO Master your target market on

2 Decide which tasks

AI makes a great assistant—but you still have to run the show.

As AI gets more sophisticated, it may become tempting to pass

3 Create AI policies and best

Step 3: Create an AI style guide for social

Add tips for effective prompts

The multi-platform Orgs fear the ROI impact

platforms each month. Seven. Uncertainty about the

High costs 19%

Brands are most confident in

goals, they didn’t do much about it. LinkedIn

Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey

Sample: 3,891 respondents

Threads 16% 84%

Most orgs have a presence on

91% 86% 80% 66% 62% 29% 19% 16% 14% 5% 4% 1%

Sample: 4,281 respondents

iShares by BlackRock embraces

The trend Keen to capture a new generation of potential

The Harvard Graduate School of Education

1 Run a social media

2 Put your platforms

3 Master the art of

The crowd has spoken: Audiences give too much

an intimidating word, especially if you work in a “serious”

Social ROI remains a big concern for marketers

8% 24% 28% 27% 13%

Not at all Somewhat Concerned Very Extremely

Sample: 4,281 respondents

2% Survey-based brand awareness

demonstrate ROI Time spent

Sample: 4,268 respondents

Let entertainment lead the way to ROI

It’s more of a slow burn, but it can end up

Lemonade paints Instagram pink