Social shopping, messaging apps, video content, and artificial intelligence are likely to be integral to your social media marketing strategy in 2024.
As consumer goods companies and retailers set their goals for 2024, marketing and customer experience teams will expand their social commerce efforts and leverage social channels, messaging, and chatbot technology, according to new research from Emplifi. You will need to find new ways to do this and diversify your services. Combine social video content and increase investment in social intelligence tools.
“In 2023, social media marketing faced unprecedented challenges due to the rise of ChatGPT, industry layoffs across technology, and major platform changes such as Twitter’s move to X and Meta’s introduction of Threads ” commented Zarnaz Arlia, CMO of Emplifi. “As brands navigate these disruptions, customer experience remains a key focus as consumer expectations rise.”
ESM looks at five areas where retail and FMCG companies can enhance their social media marketing in 2024.
1. Social shopping gains traction
According to Emplifi, social shopping is set to become a “key” element of online commerce strategies, as brands aim to optimize the product discovery-to-purchase transition within the realm of social media.
Today's shoppers use social media not only to learn about specific products, but also to purchase them, making it important for brands to create a seamless, frictionless social shopping experience.
Incorporate authentic content from real product reviews alongside purchase links within the same social media post, considering that nearly 90% of consumers indicate that ratings and reviews have a significant influence on their purchasing decisions. Power your brand's social commerce efforts with .
2. Messaging and chatbot adoption increases
Emplifi research shows that over 50% of customers expect a response within an hour when they post a question on a brand's digital channels, regardless of the time of day, giving marketers and support teams the power to engage with customers. I started looking for new ways to do it.
Messaging apps and AI-powered chatbots are therefore expected to become even more prevalent in 2024, providing marketing and customer support teams with a wide range of efficient 24/7 communication channels.
In this context, customer support teams are increasingly turning to social media to address customer inquiries and concerns. As consumers ask questions and inquire about products on social platforms, customer support teams are allocating more time to engage with customers on their preferred channels.
3. Diverse video formats are attracting attention
According to Emplifi, brands that diversify their video content (including both short and long-form videos) on social media are more likely to achieve higher engagement and resonate with their target audience.
In 2023, video platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok grew in popularity. Instagram Reels outperformed all other content types on the app, generating 55% more interactions than single-image posts. Meanwhile, the number of users on TikTok has also skyrocketed, with brands experiencing up to over $1 million. Number of followers increased by 5 times. This is likely to accelerate in 2024.
4. Brands embrace “social intelligence”
Understanding customer behavior has long been a delicate art, and brands are increasingly turning to social media for help.
Social listening tools with sentiment analysis, impressions, mentions, and social interaction tracking allow brands to comprehensively understand their customers and effectively manage real-time brand reputation. These assets are likely to grow in importance over the next year. Emprifi.
5. Generative AI to support customer support efforts
According to Emplifi, generative AI (GenAI) applications and AI-powered tools will play a key role in customer support efforts and improve productivity in this area.
In particular, brands are already seeing impressive results with AI-powered chatbots, achieving match rates as high as 97% when responding to customer inquiries. Additionally, AI can be used to optimize daily operations, streamline interactions, automate routine tasks, and provide lightning-fast responses.
As AI tools continue to evolve, we expect to see more widespread adoption by customer care and customer experience teams looking to improve efficiency across their organizations.
“This is about striking a balance between leveraging cutting-edge technology and maintaining a human-centered approach,” Arya added.
