The Best Tips From Social Media Week 2024

Social Media Week, presented by AdWeek in NYC, is the premier destination for social media practitioners and marketers looking to stay on the cutting edge of the latest social media trends, tools and strategies they need to advance themselves and their organizations. 

This year’s conference, held on April 9-11th, hosted speakers from LinkedIn, Adobe, Google,  HootSuite, Wieden+Kennedy, Pinterest, Instagram, and more (including Megan Thee Stallion). Later Social was in attendance and they recently listed their Top 5 takeaways from the week.

1. Talk like a Human

This is a fundamental of organic social media marketing but it’s more important than ever to highlight considering the rise of AI generated content.

People come to social media to hear from people. Leave the ad-speak for the ads and keep your organic posts authentic and original.

2. Users want Safe Communities & Connections

Community building and management is another classic fundamental but what users are looking for now is new opportunities to speak to each other outside of comment sections.

Facebook groups, Discord servers, Slack channels, and Telegram groups are an excellent way to curate a larger conversation. However, safety is the big concern. Diligently moderating these groups to keep them clear of hate-speech, misinformation, and harassment is critical to the user experience.

3. Social Media Manager Roles are Evolving

Social media managers are finally getting respect for their work! Or at least more than they have in the past. What was once considered an intern-level position has become an important role in marketing teams and leadership. More in-house roles are being created for specific platform focus.

4. Experiment, Listen, and Learn

Social listening might be overtaking “story-telling” as the new top buzzword in social marketing. This is an extension of post-creative strategy that guides your social messaging evolution by listening to the reactions of audiences. Consider setting some standards and practices for your social publications as you continue learning.

5. Creators Are The Future of Media

While you might think that a conference centered around social media would be biased toward social creators, it becomes more obvious each year that legacy media is losing its connection with broader audiences. Filling that void are online creators.

Customers have turned to YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest to discover and learn about new products and services. People want to hear from other people about their experiences with these products, not just an advertisement.

May these tips serve you well! Keep that ring-light close and start crushing it on social in Q2.

Read more about Social Week on Later Social