The Most Effective Types of Content on Social Media in 2024 [New Data]

It’s 2024, and the highest-ROI advertising channel remains to be good ol’ social media. 

Our State of Marketing & Trends Report reveals that 43% of entrepreneurs use it as a advertising channel. I’m wondering why that quantity isn’t even greater.

Today, sharing content material on social media is a no brainer for manufacturers. Whether or not you’re in search of a technique refresh or making an attempt out the channel for the primary time, this submit is your information to the various kinds of social media content material, what works finest, and the way it can empower your small business.

Completely different Kinds of Social Media Content material

1. Video (Quick-form, Particularly)

Social media entrepreneurs are nonetheless putting their guess on short-form movies in 2024, some even upping the ante: 

• 67% plan to extend their funding in short-form movies
• 31% will keep their present funding 
• 33% plan to speculate extra in short-form movies than another content material kind

It’s not shocking, contemplating quick movies yield the very best ROI for social media advertising, in line with HubSpot’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report.  

Some widespread examples of short-form movies are TikTok movies, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts. This TikTok under is from Candeeze, a small husband-and-wife model that sells freeze-dried sweet on-line. It racked up 1.8 million views by exhibiting the behind-the-scenes of their enterprise operation. 

Don’t neglect dwell video — they gained steam throughout the pandemic permitting distant participation in occasions. Twitch and different popular live-streaming platforms let folks work together with their favourite creators in actual time. This format has the second highest ROI of all social media content material sorts, in line with 57% of entrepreneurs.

Lengthy-form movies are additionally fashionable, regardless of having decrease ROI than short-form. They’re extra pricey to provide; customers count on excessive manufacturing high quality from them whereas missing the eye span to complete them. 

But when lengthy movies are your jam, don’t fear — for every long-form video you produce, you’ll be able to repurpose it into a number of shorts, maximizing the worth of your assets. 

2. Audio Chat and Reside Rooms

Bear in mind when Clubhouse was all everybody might discuss? That frenzy has handed, however audio chats and dwell rooms are right here to remain. Many platforms have native audio options, like Twitter Areas, LinkedIn Reside, and Fb Reside Audio. 

Audio chat rooms let manufacturers straight talk with audiences and develop nearer relationships than seeing a billboard or watching a YouTube video. And, throughout a time when clients worth connections with manufacturers greater than ever, audio chat rooms are a worthwhile device.

After seeing passable ROI, 91% of social media entrepreneurs plan to proceed or improve their funding in audio chat and dwell rooms. 

Audio chat rooms are additionally trendy among Gen Z, the most important social media demographic. A Spotify examine discovered that 80% of Gen Z take pleasure in audio content material as a result of it permits them to specific their individuality and discover totally different sides of their personalities. 

3. Content material That Represents Model Values

Nearly half of entrepreneurs say that content material reflecting model values is a part of their present social media technique. 

This sort of content material is something that highlights what your organization stands for, corresponding to commitments to sustainable manufacturing practices, honest therapy of workers, social justice, and extra. 

Customers care more than ever about what the manufacturers they purchase from stand for and the values they’ve. They wish to know the causes that companies help and the commitments made to bettering the world.

For those who want an instance of doing brand value content right, look no additional than Patagonia. 

It’s not nearly loyalty: Entrepreneurs additionally say that it has the 5th biggest ROI of any trend. 48% of entrepreneurs are already posting this kind of social media content material.

4. Person-generated Content material

User-generated content (UGC) is content material your viewers creates that options your small business/model that isn’t paid for by your small business. For instance, somebody shares a non-sponsored TikTok about how a lot they like your product or posts an image sporting your clothes and tags your small business.

This sort of content material is nice to share on social media as a result of it helps your audiences see that folks use and like your merchandise, vouching for you in a real-life means. Why toot your individual horn if you may get another person to do it, proper? 

UGC pays off, as clients belief evaluations from family and friends greater than they belief branded adverts, and almost 80% of individuals say UGC extremely impacts their buy choices, significantly extra so than branded content material and influencer content material.

If you do use UGC, the platforms it performs finest on are YouTube (26%), Instagram (24%), and Fb (21%). 

5. Humorous, Fashionable, and Relatable Content material

Social media entrepreneurs know the worth of a viral submit too properly. They’re onerous to return by, however you’ll be able to improve your likelihood by hopping on viral memes, relating them to your small business, and utilizing trending hashtags or sounds. 

This sort of buzzy content material requires a excessive stage of consciousness of what’s occurring on-line, cultural moments, and present occasions. 

Over 40% of entrepreneurs already share humorous, fashionable, and relatable content material on social media, and 59% say they are going to double down on humorous content material in 2024, it being the best of the three. Customers find it irresistible, too – they’re starved for quality humor from brands. 

Our very personal social media crew is savvy at this type of content material, like this humorous and relatable tweet. 

6. Shoppable Content material

Shoppable social media content material permits customers to flick thru merchandise in your accounts, uncover issues they like, and even make a purchase order with out leaving the app.

The picture under is an Instagram storefront for Ink Meets Paper, the place somebody can browse its merchandise, discover what pursuits them, and make a purchase order.

Image Source

This can be a worthwhile content material sort as social purchasing is presently on the rise, and customers are discovering new merchandise and shopping for merchandise on social media apps greater than ever earlier than.

In reality, social media is the preferred means for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X to find new merchandise — over 1 in 5 have made an in-app buy up to now three months. No surprise 87% of entrepreneurs plan to take care of or improve their funding in social promoting enablement instruments in 2024. 

The best platforms for promoting in-app are Instagram (26%) and Fb (26%). 

7. Instructional Content material

Instructional content material shares useful info with audiences that helps them attain their objectives and meet their wants. It will possibly are available infographics, movies, text-based posts, photos — any of the content material sorts we mentioned on this submit.

HubSpot usually shares instructional content material by way of YouTube movies, the place viewers can be taught extra about ideas of curiosity. The video under is a current one which educates viewers on making a model type information.

8. Ephemeral/Disappearing Content material

Ephemeral/disappearing content material is content material that solely stays up for a sure period of time, like Instagram Tales that disappear after 24 hours.  

Leveraging people’s FOMO is among the oldest tips within the advertising playbook. The sensation will get much more amplified in social media, which is why 47% of manufacturers plan to extend their funding in this type of “limited-time” content material. 

Customers solely have a set interval to have interaction with it, in order that they could be extra keen to maintain observe of your profiles and hold returning to expertise. 

Creating quizzes and polls in your Tales is an effective way to leverage this kind of content material. Individuals solely have a sure period of time to reply, producing pleasure and speedy motion and provoking respondents to return again and see outcomes.

Take a look at examples from LEGO, Harvard Enterprise Assessment, and Outback Steakhouse, and see how they’re crushing it on the Instagram Tales recreation. 

9. Different Kinds of Content material You’re Acquainted With

Pictures

Our current survey discovered that 47% of entrepreneurs leverage photos as a media format, which works properly on all social media platforms.

Truly, 54% of entrepreneurs assume that social media content material that’s polished and has excessive manufacturing worth (e.g. excessive decision photos/movies) is much more vital than the content material being genuine and relatable. However attempt to intention for each! 

Textual content-based

We see text-based content material on social media on a regular basis, from Twitter(X) threads to thought management posts on LinkedIn. The first purpose is to share perception by way of phrases — you’ll be able to pair it with an eye catching picture, however the level of the submit is within the textual content.

Blogs are fashionable text-based content material the place folks learn longer posts and uncover useful info. However a standard mistake is sharing weblog hyperlinks straight on social media. Social platform algorithms don’t favor linking out (they need you to remain!), so that you higher adapt an present weblog submit into snackable takeaways that’s extra appropriate for social customers’ habits. 

Infographics

Infographics are a content material sort with the share-ability and visible enchantment of images however are stuffed with useful knowledge and data. It’s an impactful type of social media content material and academic content material.

The picture under is a submit from HubSpot’s Instagram account that’s an infographic that informs viewers about the best traits of a gross sales chief.

Image Source

Infographics are efficient, too, with 51% of entrepreneurs that recurrently use them saying it yields excessive ROI.

Repurposing Content material Is Nonetheless A Worthwhile Technique

Social media entrepreneurs say they use a mean of three platforms in 2024, every with its finest practices and norms to comply with. 

It may be difficult to create particular person items of content material for each single platform, so many entrepreneurs share related content material throughout platforms however repurpose it to suit the tone and necessities of every one.

The important thing to success, nevertheless, is repurposing content material, not resharing. Individuals don’t look fondly at manufacturers that share the very same factor on every platform. 47% of entrepreneurs already share related content material throughout platforms with tweaks to make it extra related to the platform’s calls for.

It’s a brand new period for social media. To maintain up, I like to recommend you try this video about making a social media technique this yr and past. 

Need Extra Social Media Insights?

Study extra concerning the State of Social media with extra of this knowledge, movies, and unique business recommendations on our State of Social Media Hub— which is able to include a free downloadable useful resource.