Top 5 Digital & Social Trends in 2024
From Barbenheimer to the Roman Empire, the rise of social commerce and community-first content – 2023 was an eventful and turbulent year in the world of social, digital, and culture. But what does this mean for brands and how can they connect with their audiences in this ever-changing environment? Let’s dive into some of the key trends, developments and themes to inspire your content this year.
1. Gen Z in their self expression era
Gen Z increasingly values self expression and self development across all areas of life – from social media to fashion and sustainability. The 2024 Instagram Trend Talk outlines how for Gen Z this year will be all about expressing their identities by establishing their own ‘core’ aesthetics, while exploring alternative career paths and prioritising meaningful connections when it comes to social media usage.
2. Longing for nostalgia
Retro and nostalgic themes are making a resurgence across various content categories – from 70s-inspired weddings, ‘grandpa core’ fashion and the revival of jazz, the Pinterest Predicts 2024 report shows our collective desire for comfort and familiarity in uncertain times. The incredible success of the Barbie movie last year indicated a shift towards nostalgia as a theme and is set to continue and grow this year.
3. Co-creation and community-first
A key theme of TikTok’s What’s Next 2024 report is the shift in narrative techniques towards more co-created and community-driven content. Against the backdrop of uncertain realities, communities on TikTok are embracing a blend of fantasy and manifestation to tap into self-defined delusional realities, or ‘Storytelling Unhinged’. This space allows for more collaborative formats and a move away from traditional storytelling to new narrative structures.
4. Fandom on the rise
2023 was the year of fandom – from the Barbie movie to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Harry Styles’ Love on Tour, we have seen a strong shift of fan culture moving from niche to mainstream. People are looking to get more out of their interests and experiences and feel part of a brand’s world, while sharing it online with other fans. According to the We Are Social Think Forward 2024 report, this sense of belonging and community will be a strong theme this year and important for brands to pay attention to.
5. Integrated social commerce
This year, we can expect to see a significant change in how consumers make purchases online. With social media platforms enhancing their shopping functionalities and pushing products to people who are engaged in real-time, social commerce brings the rise of more fluid ways to discover and explore and an opportunity for brands to tap into this new wave of shopping behaviour. Read more about the boom of social commerce in Born Social’s 2024 Trend Report.
Are you looking for a partner to help activate your brand in the digital and social space?To learn more about TDC’s digital services, please contact James Hart ([email protected]).
