What does the future of Facebook look like? We had a guess at 2024 and beyond
As vertical video content continues to reign supreme, and younger generations continue to lose interest in non-video-based social media platforms, it’s time to ponder the future of social media’s forefather, Facebook.
Declining in popularity amongst younger generations, Facebook experienced its first drop in users in 2022. This in the very same year that TikTok saw a 15.1% increase in users. Needless to say … people voted with their thumbs.
So, what then of Facebook? Will Mark Zuckerberg’s creation remain a boomer’s playground in 2024? What new updates are headed our way? And what’s there to expect in the future Facebook marketing space? Let’s find out.
OUTLOOK ON ORGANIC CONTENT OF 2024
What the world thinks:
Like nearly every aspect of work, the influence and growth of AI has set a trajectory that will continue into the new year. In the organic space, it’s rumoured that Facebook will implement new AI integrations, in the form of post prompts, quizzes, and video creation tools.
Keeping you on the platform with AI assistance is Facebook’s goal, allowing users to create content faster and with more ease. Improving in-app video creation is a smart move from Facebook, as in 2024, reels are predicted to continue to dominate the feed.
As reels and videos continue their meteoric rise, link posts are expected to decline in engagement, with Meta looking to focus more on entertainment, than informative content.
What Media Mortar thinks:
Mixing educated guesses with hopes for the platform’s organic content, the team are expecting a range of new updates in 2024. With a young office of millennials and Gen Zs, we all agree that Facebook will need to improve its ‘Explore’ experience and algorithms, to provide users with better-personalised content. Updating their algorithms will ensure Facebook can compete in the realm of TikTok and Instagram, who seem to have their method perfected.
Due to reels continuing to dominate social media consumption, the Explore section of Facebook is currently too ‘messy’. When watching videos, social media users are now accustomed to the simple, sleek user experience where the entire phone screen is taken up by the content.
Leading from this, the design and accessibility of stories are likely to be improved, moving away from their current glitching, block-styled approach.
OUTLOOK ON PAID CONTENT OF 2024
What the world thinks:
As cyber-attacks become the new norm for both big and small business, the world is in desperate search of better privacy, with their attention moving to social media.
Within the paid advertising space, the industry predicts there will be an increase in privacy-focused advertising, better-protecting user data.
When structuring ads, it’s advised that reels will continue to dominate, followed by carousels due to their interactive and entertaining nature.
It’s also expected that the improvement of AI will allow for a higher degree of targeting, informing us to keep our eyes peeled for the development of Advantage+ Shopping Campaign settings.
What Media Mortar thinks:
As a team working daily in the trenches of ads manager, we know it’s a constant race for audience attention space. Static posts are now a pistol to the missile power of reels, and brands need to adapt to this new highly competitive landscape.
If you haven’t upgraded your paid social media strategy in a few years, or worse, written one at all, 2024 calls for it.
Consumers are now accustomed to ads, subconsciously skipping past them in the feed, so brands must go incognito, balancing the styling of a professional business and that of a regular Facebook user. We need to adapt our copy to be casual and inviting, avoiding the typical sales pitch.
In designing content, you need to be running it through the half a second test. Does this content hold your attention in half a second? No? You’ve just lost your audience. Think: an entertaining visual or disruptive, sometimes unexpected caption.
And finally, AI’s the game, optimisations the name, the team predict a higher use of AI tools, assisting in image generation and caption variations for A/B testing. However, remember authenticity remains a major draw card, so you need to ensure images are not generic and copy doesn’t sound like it was written by a robot, even if it was.
PREDICTING (AND HOPING FOR) THE NEXT KEY FEATURES AND UPDATES
What the world thinks:
The largest speculation surrounding Facebook is the development of the Metaverse. The linkage of social media to personalised avatars, gamification and augmented reality was an exciting possibility a couple of years ago, however, this excitement has faded.
It seems that although Meta continues to develop this platform, the majority of the world has gotten sick of waiting and moved on.
However, a new platform and ability to reach your audience will always entice us marketers, so let’s see if the Metaverse will be hitting our phones in 2024.
What Media Mortar thinks:
Nobody likes a sheep, which is why the Media Mortar team are hoping that Facebook doesn’t simply make a carbon copy of Instagram or TikTok.
At the core of Facebook’s brand, the team hopes that the social media giant remembers why it began in the first place – to provide a platform for people to connect.
The strengths of Facebook remain its social aspect, with Facebook groups, event organisation and Marketplace, differentiating the platform and providing practical uses.
On average, 250 million sellers utilise Facebook Marketplace, increasing around 1.75% (YoY) over the past five years. It is reported that 16% of Facebook users solely use the platform for Marketplace, preferred over all other online selling platforms in Australia.
Amazingly, 1.8 billion people use Facebook groups each month, which goes to the heart of what the platform is all about. In fact, in 2022 there were over 70 million admins and moderators operating active Facebook groups.
As e-commerce continues to grow, the Media Mortar team predicts Marketplace and shopping experiences will become more integrated. From a tourism perspective, we would like to see events and experiences being able to be bought in-app, to simplify the path to purchase.
WHAT’S OUR OVERALL TAKE?
The prospect of the Metaverse, the increase in AI and an aging population will continue to keep Facebook on our radar in 2024 – we’re not sending it to pasture anytime yet.
For many of our clients who target the ‘grey nomad’ market, the app in fact remains their most powerful marketing tools to connect with these customers.
Even for brands who have a significantly younger audience, we can’t see the need for Facebook going any time soon. Facebook is still the starting point for most paid ads, with brands needing a Facebook account to utilise Meta Creator Studio and Ads Manager to run campaigns across Instagram as well. Ingenious by design to ensure brands still have that Facebook touchpoint.
Wondering what the other platforms are doing next year? Make sure you check out our Looking Ahead series for all the Media Mortar’s 2024 predictions.