There’s no question that scaling up your social media management in 2024 will be a major priority as more and more professional media-savvy marketers and influencers are springing up all over the internet. While small and large business owners focus their attention more on creating new products and services, they find themselves without much time left over for online marketing. 

Enter the professional social media manager. Says the experts at LYFE Marketing, a professional digital media agency, in 2024 and beyond you should look for a media professional who provides a variety of advertising services, email marketing, and of course social media management. Look for a company that can provide top-performing social media campaigns by managing social media networks like Pinterest, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Instagram, and more. Look for nothing less than maximum results and a positive return on investment (ROI). 

But what other business trends can we come to expect in 2024 and beyond? According to a new article in Forbes, with the global financial outlook expected to get gloomier than it already is, businesses will likely continue to be cautious when it comes to how much they spend on what are considered radical new business ideas for 2024. 

That said, there exists a variety of societal and technological trends like Artificial Intelligence (AI) that just can’t be ignored or put off until the cash starts flowing back in again. These are said to be areas where you can expect to see continued investment and innovation in the coming years. 

Here are just a few. 

Generative AI is Expected to Become Pervasive

Says the Boston Consulting Group, if you want to be competitive as a business in five years you need to develop a compelling and clear generative AI strategy now. Machine learning and AI are said to have been making industry waves for more than 10 years. They have become integrated and intertwined in the many services and products you purchase from big businesses. 

But now, generative AI is putting the power to intelligently automate and create the customer experience and also its internal operations, in the hands of even the smallest businesses.   

The Human Touch 

While it’s becoming increasingly obvious that technical aspects of work can be automated, such as research, coding, outlining, and data management, the ability to work on your soft skills that can only be performed by humans will become as critical as working with AI.

It’s because of this that in 2024, businesses and organizations will be investing in creating and nurturing attributes and skills such as communication, intelligence, problem solving between workers, thought leadership, and high-level strategic thinking. There’s said to have been a shortage of these skills for a number of years now. 

New changes in hiring practices that will place more emphasis on seeking out candidates who possess the talent and skills required for certain roles, as opposed to the level of college one possesses or even age will become a part of the industry’s response to these changes. This means there will continue to be increased investment in upskilling and training, in particular around generative AI and talents that will be in demand due to an inevitable AI-driven economy. 

Sustainable Business Practices

Says Forbes, one trend that’s in high demand now in the wake of research showing that consumers prefer to purchase goods and services from companies that have made a solid commitment to lowering their carbon footprint, is sustainable business practices. As the green economy increases in popularity, companies are quickly learning that green solutions lead to green bottom lines.  

For instance, Walmart recently made a dramatic effort to reduce its carbon footprint by replacing its transportation fleet with EV delivery vehicles. Companies that openly encourage going green in public forums such as a part of their social media marketing campaigns will also do better. 

A Data-Driven Economy

Personal consumer data is becoming increasingly more valuable as time goes on. In 2024 companies will be making more of an effort to streamline their operations while becoming more strategic about their data collection efforts. This will likely result in businesses taking the next step which is to monetize data in the name of driving new money-making opportunities. 

Big companies such as John Deere are said to be leading the data-driven charge by selling data from its sensor-equipped farm equipment back to farmers with specific insights on improving their productivity. With AI-driven analytics and access to large-scale data collection becoming increasingly democratized, you will see this same data trend continue with small to medium-sized companies in a wide range of “diversified sectors.”  

In the coming years, a customer experience revolution will take place with an increase in social media marketing opportunities and as the AI, data-driven economy begins to blossom. Look for a more personalized approach to selling your products or services to your customers as you become increasingly knowledgeable about their specific needs and wants.