Instagram,  YouTube, TikTok,  influencer marketing… Which are ascendant, and which are so yesterday in social media in 2024 and beyond? Which platforms are we not talking about, but should be? A power panel of social media thought leaders from Birdeye, SOCi and Hummingbirds unpacks it all.

Key Takeaways

• TikTok seems to get all the attention in the tech press, but it’s getting disproportionately low SMB activity, in terms of SMBs using it for social marketing.
• There are definitely lots of SMBs on TikTok so it’s anecdotally an SMB success… but the aggregate numbers tell a different story. Those SMBs we see on TikTok are a vocal (and successful) minority.
• One reason the aggregate SMB numbers are lower on TikTok is that it’s very challenging to create TikTok-native content. SMBs can’t just repurpose other video or assets… it has to be deliberate and native.
• TikTok is also relatively new so SMBs haven’t migrated en masse (they tend to move slow overall), versus more established media such as Google, Facebook, Instagram et. all.
• Users are a different story. An entire generation of users are being acclimated to TikTok, not to mention Snapchat and a few others, in terms of being on camera and expressing their viewpoints. A subset of those viewpoints are about SMBs such as restaurants. Could this be the new form of restaurant reviews that takes over?
• As for all the other social channels, it will continue to be a moving target and users will lead the way. They will self-select based on their preferences and trends. Brands and SMBs will always have to shift gears depending on how those trends develop.
• One challenge for SMB activity on TikTok is creation. TikTok makes it easy with its in-app editing functions, so other social channels can take a lesson from that in democratizing the creation process.

Where to Invest in Social in 2024 (and Beyond)?

Deepak Bahree, Birdeye
Damian Rollison, Soci
Emily Steele, Hummingbirds