Social media video marketing has become an entirely unavoidable beast ever since TikTok hit the scene, and with Instagram Reels also growing in popularity and even platforms like LinkedIn prioritising video content, it’s more important than ever to keep up to date with the best practices and trends.
Elon Musk recently announced that X (formerly Twitter) is now a video-first platform, and although many may disagree with this statement, it certainly reveals a lot about the algorithm and prioritisation of posts.
So, what are the emerging video marketing trends on social media this year?
1. Utilising trending sounds
It goes without saying that one of the best ways to get traction with video posts is to identify and utilise the sounds and songs that are gaining attention. One of the best ways to get in front new audiences is by featuring on their FYPs (For You Pages) and Explore pages, and using the sounds that are trending is a great way to enable this.
TikTok has made it easier than ever to find out which songs are the best to use (*cough* viral 50 *cough*) yet finding a sound that is still growing and hasn’t hit peak popularity and saturation yet is an even more successful approach as its likely to be seen as emerging, increasing reach further.
Brands need to make sure that they only use tracks that will genuinely resonate with their target audiences - using a sound that is popular in a community with a completely different niche is counter-productive and not likely to result in the desired boost in engagement.
2. Taking the strategy a step further
Once the trending sounds have been identified, the next step is to create content based on the associated trending videos. Often, we find that trending audios have a particular style of content to go with them, whether that’s a dance, a joke, or informative tips.
This isn’t to say that all brands should be filming their employees doing TikTok dances in the hope this can be a successful video strategy, but once the hard work of identifying the trending sounds that resonate with an audience has been done, it's worth taking advantage of the trend that goes hand-in-hand with it.
This TikTok from Duolingo is a clear example of a brand identifying the trending sound, and the engaging video trend that goes along with it.
3. Utilising UGC creators
2024 is the year of the UGC content creator. Thanks to the FYP anyone can go viral on TikTok and be an overnight sensation, so the strong hold that influencers have had on social media marketing is starting to dip.
UGC promotes the authentic and unfiltered perspective, with all the perks of high engagement rates and amplified reach that is crucial to good partnerships. At the start of the influencer marketing boom, this is exactly what brands aimed for and whilst the influencer industry is still very much booming, in some sectors the trust of the audience is being seen more highly through user generated content.
A great example of this is the recent viral moment when the Stanley Cups team spotted a video where a creator unfortunately got into a car accident in which the vehicle burned completely, but the Stanley cup inside the vehicle was still intact – in fact, the ice within the cup hadn’t even melted. Stanley capitalised on the social media buzz following this video and offered to buy a new car for the creator, amplifying the reach of their brand to 56.6 million users in a really positive way.
4. #LessIsMore
Don’t ruin a good thing with too many hashtags – yes, there really can be too many hashtags used across social platforms.
Depending on the platform being posting on, hashtags could actually be a detriment to a video’s reach. Videos shouldn’t be accompanied with as many hashtags as possible as this can take up too much of the precious character limit. For many users, too many hashtags can also quickly veer into appearing spammy and this practise is no longer seen as the done thing, which could result in brands appearing “uncool”.
In short, the use of hashtags has changed significantly over recent years. Be concise and only include hashtags that are highly relevant.
Take Dove’s recent post on Twitter/X as example: Dove shared its Superbowl ad – a striking, powerful message about the importance of self-esteem in young girls – but the video was accompanied by seven hashtags in the caption. This faux pas unfortunately overshadowed the message of the video, with many of the responses pointing out the spammy vibe of the caption getting more engagement than Dove’s original post. The brand has since restricted replies, but the damage was already done and the campaign-specific hashtag has been compromised.
5. Staying engaged
Following up on content, replying to comments and being an active presence across channels and within communities is key. So much of what makes video content successful is the opportunity for conversation that specific content can open up, so make sure to stay engaged with comments received and curate a community there.
TikTok makes it particularly easy to create more content based on comments received with “reply videos”, so it’s important to anticipate this happening and be prepared.
It’s also becoming more popular for brands to hang out in the comment section of other videos too – if there is a good fit, then why not comment on a few videos from relevant creators? This approach can boost reach and engage more audiences, having a stronger impact on performance overall.
