2024 Social Media Tactics

I had ~180k followers on Twitter when I decided to stop focusing on the platform and dive into the world of short-form video.

Why?

  • Out of the big five platforms (IG, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, & Twitter) Twitter has the smallest user base 

  • Every platform is attempting to pivot to short-form video (including Twitter & LinkedIn)

  • Personal brands and businesses are driving 7 to 8 figures in revenue from short-form video

  • Video consumption continues to grow year over year

So, then I took everything I learned from working with 10+ 7-8 figure brands’ content and put all the learnings into my own content. The result was 12,000 followers after 38 videos.

And now myself, Oren John, and Colin Landforce put together Cut30 to teach you everything we’ve learned from driving millions of followers for brand accounts and 500,000+ followers for our personal accounts here.

And as always, thank you to our partners Mind Studio and Osum.

Get your brand in front of 200,000+ marketers & founders.

 In partnership with Mind Studio

Sam Altman Thinks You Can Build A One Person Unicorn With AI

So, right now you're Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten cop.

Strong. Brawny. Efficient.

But what you really want to be is the Terminator.

A cyborg. Robot. Machine.

This is why you need to integrate AI into your workflow.

Because the past was about delegation. And the future is about automation.

So, I'm hosting a workshop to show you how to build AI workflows to scale your time and team without hiring anyone.

Social media is the new battleground for attention.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are competing with streaming giants for your time.

So, this is social trends report shares how you can stay ahead of the curve and win on different platforms.

TikTok Growth

You should diversify and experiment with a variety of formats and styles on TikTok.

By having a wide range of content styles, you're more likely to engage different segments of your audience and discover what resonates best.

This includes:

  • Longer videos (1+ minutes, with some 3-10 minutes)

  • Narrative-driven carousels with text

  • Mix in short videos that play into trends, audio, funny moments, and reactions

  • Greenscreen

  • Combination of all the tools at your disposal - talking to the camera, vlogs, grwm (get ready with me), etc.

Be personable, candid, and fun.

To create more content and increase followers/engagement, leverage replies on popular videos and introduce a regular series of content with recurring titles.

TikTok Growth For Brands

Approach it just like a creator.

Use the same mix of multiple styles and types, with recurring personalities driving the narrative.

Superline Wholesale is a clothing provider that has gone full creator personality.

Their TikTok content includes a mix of educational and entertaining interviews, reposts, green screens, funny videos around the office, and recurring series.

This is the gold standard for brand content.

If you use TikTok Shop, put it on the brand account separate from the primary creator, like the founder, so they can still be a full life-story creator, but tag the products enough to be a primary sales driver for the brand shop.

Instagram Growth

For both creators and brands, Reels is still the best growth mechanism on Instagram. The sweet spot for Reels is 15-45 seconds, with the occasional 60-75-second video when you have an audience.

Before creating reels, decide on visual content vs. talking content, as the algorithm splits users based on style pretty concretely.

If you're creating talking content, make sure it's capable of moving with the sound off by always captioning.

If you create regular posts, make sure to feature a combination of images and videos, avoiding solo images.

Some new content ideas to accelerate your Instagram growth:

  • Meme carousels should be in your creative arsenal, as there is no greater shareable format than relatable content, and EVERY niche has room for expression.

    • Adapt meme strategies to your own visuals and presentation style to create highly shareable content.

  • Sharing tweet screenshots or text blocks could boost shares but should only be done if it is extremely shareable.

  • Instagram's broadcast channel is a new feature that allows creators and brands to send messages directly to their followers.

The key to using broadcast channels effectively is to communicate in a fun, genuine way. Jordan Rogers has the best one I’ve seen.

YouTube Growth

YouTube is the network we have the least experience with, but it's one we're focused on tackling in 2024.

This is the framework we're using to think about it:

YouTube is a home for story-driven brands that aren't afraid to make content as entertainment rather than promotion.

Here's the playbook:

  1. Full-length + Shorts: The key is to create full-length videos while also posting short excerpts connected to that full-length video.

    • A brand executing on Shorts to long-form is Superline Wholesale.

  2. Shorts: Post other relevant shorts and shorts-specific content. This works particularly well with higher production value and interview-driven content.

  3. Engagement: The comment section is a conversation, like any other network, that should also drive in-video content, much like TikTok replies.

  4. Consistency: Post multiple shorts a week and establish a long-form cadence to go with it.

For brands, establishing a cast of characters across your videos is an easy leg up from single creators. Peachybbies is an excellent brand example.

For more advice on YouTube growth, check out Paddy Galloway’s YouTube Guide.

Hope that helps. And big shoutout to Oren John and Colin Landforce who helped put this Social Trends Report together.

In partnership with Osum

Are You Prioritizing Market Research?

Last week I told the story of Magic Mind and how founder James Beshara positioned the brand as the first product in the “drinkable productivity tool” category.

If you can’t be first in a category, create a new one.

How do you know your category? Market research. It's the missing piece to your puzzle.

And here’s your new best friend to help:

Osum - perform market research in seconds.

  • Copy and paste a URL to instantly access industry insights, SWOT analysis, buyer personas, sales prospect profiles, growth opportunities, and more.

  • Transparent pricing that grows with you.

  • Stay ahead of your competition and discover new ways to 10X growth.

P.S. Marketing Examined readers get 25% off on any plan for life. Use the code MAREX at checkout.

  • Landing Page Heaven: 10 Landing Page templates and a 100+ landing page swipe-file with breakdowns…for free (LINK)

  • Roast Session: We wrote three YouTube short scripts then I let a YouTuber with 500k subs rip them apart here (LINK)

  • Writing tips: Kurt Vonnegut's 8 rules for writing. Save this. (LINK)

  • Trend Analysis: How Crocs and Claire’s became ‘cool’ again. (LINK)

  • More LinkedIn News: LinkedIn wants to be TikTok so they’re rolling out a new feed…(LINK)

  • The 8-9 figure dashboard: Triple Whale is the source of truth for all Shopify stores. (LINK)

Btw if you’re interested in joining Cut30 then you’ll learn how to:

  • Test and validate content ideas

  • Properly research and script a video

  • Edit an engaging video (even if you’re a beginner)

  • Find content-market fit

  • Develop a content strategy 

  • Conquer imposter syndrome

We’re four Bootcamps in. Have 400+ alums. And helped alums add 600,000+ followers.

And we’d love to help you too.

Much love,

Alex

Did you enjoy this newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

More Marketing Examined

  • 30-day framework to launch a brand from scratch. (LINK)

  • The best creative brainstorm on the internet. (LINK)

  • Learn how to go viral on Instagram within 30 days. (LINK)