Platforms Predict: What’s Hot in the Creator Economy for 2024?
Neve Fear-Smith
January 11, 2024
Each year the major social media platforms share their research and predictions that will shape the year ahead for creators, and more brands looking to strengthen their Influencer Marketing endeavors.
We’ve pulled together the key information that you need to know as you enter 2024…
TikTok
Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s favorite platform, TikTok, is the birthplace of the most prominent social media trends. In TikTok’s report, they stated that in 2023, much of the TikTok community gained the confidence to break away and ‘reinvent the status quo’ in how they create and consume content. More people are creating more often as the barriers and learning curve lessen, and we can expect to see an even greater abundance of boundary-breaking content on the app in 2024.
In the report, TikTok tells brands to ‘be braver’ with TikTok in 2024, so it’s time to consider:
Peaking curiosity: Monitor the trends and creators that make you excited and curious and that you could tie your brand into. If there’s something you wish consumers knew about your brand, make this your focal point and collaborate with influencers that will help to elevate consumers' intrigue.
Go bold with storytelling: Mobilize your audience and collaborate with them to shape your brand on TikTok! Work on understanding what’s become 'expected' from your brand storytelling and work with influencers to flip that on its head.
Build audience trust: Experiment with encorporating ‘TikTok lingo’ into your product marketing and creative campaigns. What type of credible knowledge do you want your audience to come to you for? Work on sharing more of that in your output!
In partnership with WGSN, Instagram’s Trend Talk 2024 details the results of a survey looking at Gen Z trends across the US, UK, Brazil, India, and South Korea. The survey asked about topics, issues, and trends that matter to Gen Z and identified what you can expect to see from the platform in 2024.
Sustainable fashion is set to be even bigger amongst creators on Instagram in 2024, so as a brand, it will be key to ensure that you’re aligning with creators who share your visions and morals and align with your products.
The report found that 75% of Gen Z say that they belong to a ‘fandom’. Your brand can tap into these niche fandoms to target highly engaged audiences that are heavily influenced to engage with content related to their interest.
Instagram discovered that the top reason that Gen Z use social media is to keep up with friends and family (it’s the most used messaging app amongst Gen Z), this was closely followed by wanting to stay on top of the latest trends. Tuning into the trends, and collaborating with influencers who have the ability and expertise to tap into them will increase your brands’ presence in front of Gen Z.
Pinterest is the home of creative, inspirational, content, and is increasingly becoming an important fixture in the Influencer Marketing space as brands experiment with partnerships with creators who have built a loyal following and clear content niche on the platform.
482 million people use Pinterest every month to plan what’s next in their lives, and their report is your guide to what people will browse, try, and buy next.
The beauty industry is already huge, but as consumers lean further into self-care and wellness, ‘body care’ is going to be big. Pinterest predicts that Boomers and Gen Z will double down on luxury lotions and in-home spa experiences and brands that serve these categories should be capitalizing on this hot consumer trend – think ‘quiet luxury’.
Gen Z want to get a grip on their finances, but they want to make it cute. This is where working with influencers comes into play, as Gen Z will learn about budgeting and money management in a relatable and fun way – Pinterest has already seen an increase in searches for ‘aesthetic piggy bank’!
The emphasis on well-being will extend beyond beauty and skincare into sectors such as financial health, and self improvement. In 2024, there will be a widespread focus on strengthening connections among Gen Z and Millennials. Influencer Marketing will be an effective method to reach audiences, tapping into the followers of creators who have cultivated strong relationships with their audience who can discuss these topics in a human way.
YouTube releases its annual trends report each summer, so we can expect to hear more from the OG long-form platform around June, however, reflecting on their report from summer 2023, we will see…
More multi-device consumption. With more audiences swapping nights in front of the television watching Netflix to switching on the YouTube app, brands shouldn’t be afraid to push boundaries with YouTube influencer content that’s designed for the big screen.
Personalized user experiences. One size no longer fits all, viewers increasingly expect personalized experiences, and use different formats to meet different need states eg. viewing long-form, short-form, live, and pre-recorded content across mobile and connected TV screens. This means there’s even more room for experimentation with influencer content to target new audiences!
Gen Z trust YouTube. A recent YouGov survey discovered that despite the rise of hot platforms like TikTok and Instagram among Gen Z users, YouTube is still the social platform they trust the most. So if you were thinking of focussing your influencer partnerships away from YouTube in 2024, perhaps it’s time to think again if you want to gain the trust of Gen Z…
Remember to download our What’s Next in Influencer Marketing 2024 trends report to dive deeper into topics such as the unstoppable rise of AI, influencers' migration into mainstream media, and the platforms' battle for retail.
If you want to gain a deeper understanding of how you can capitalize on these trends within your Influencer Marketing strategy, drop us a line at hello@digitalvoices to chat to our team of experts about how 2024 can be your most successful year yet!
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