Prime 6 Social Media Advertising Challenges in 2024, Based on 1,500+ Entrepreneurs [+ How to Face Them]

I’m unsure which social platform is successful the algorithmic gymnastics competitors this 12 months. Is it Instagram? Perhaps TikTok?

Both manner, it looks like all of our favourite channels are actively competing for gold, which presents fairly the vary of social media advertising challenges for us.

From algo updates to unpredictable developments, we’re all the time left questioning: Which platforms will present the best return? The place’s our viewers hanging out now? And the way can we create content material they’re truly concerned about?

These are all honest questions. In truth, our newest social developments report reveals that they’ve manifested into the most important challenges social media entrepreneurs are going through this 12 months.

Right here’s what the info says.

Prime 6 Social Media Advertising Challenges in 2024

1. Creating participating content material.

As somebody who creates content material, I can let you know firsthand that creating good content material is tough. And the usual for good content material is all the time altering.

It seems like I’m not alone on this considering as a result of our survey reveals that 17% of entrepreneurs mentioned creating participating content material could be their largest problem this 12 months.

The important thing to high-quality content material creation is assembly your viewers on the intersection of what they care about most and what’s trending on their favourite platforms.

Sprinkle in a number of fickle social algorithms, and also you’ve created probably the most sophisticated recipes of all time.

That’s why it’s no shock to me that this looks like a strain level for entrepreneurs.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

Rachael Samuels, director of social media at Sprout Social, believes dedicating time, sources, and headcount in direction of social media is important for long-term success.

As she places it, “The social panorama is changing into more and more saturated with new networks and seemingly infinite potential audiences to interact. Social groups of 1 are not sufficient to maintain up with the demand.”

Samuels provides, “As client preferences and expectations proceed to develop, social entrepreneurs require larger funding of their groups and sources to achieve success.

Manufacturers should guarantee social is prioritized as a vital communication software and supply their groups with the sources wanted to provide inventive, related, and genuine content material.”

As a former social media staff of 1, I wholeheartedly agree that lack of time and sources are blockers for content material creation.

Nonetheless, for those who’re not able to extend your social media headcount, listed here are a number of extra methods you may beat the participating content material problem:

• Repurpose content material throughout channels to get essentially the most bang on your buck. For instance, take one among your 1,800-word weblog posts and rework it into punchy short-form content material for channels like Instagram or TikTok. HubSpot’s free AI paragraph rewriter is nice for this.
• Use social media AI instruments to streamline content material planning, creation, and posting throughout your social channels — and to open up time for extra creativity.
• Pull ideas from the video beneath on tips on how to create an efficient social media content material calendar:

2. Maintaining with options and algorithm updates.

I already talked about the fickle social algorithm, and right here it’s once more, rearing its not-so-pleasant head in problem quantity two.

Our information reveals that 16% of entrepreneurs are having bother maintaining with new social media options and algorithm updates.

After taking a look at only one instance of Fb’s algorithm from Meta, I get it. (Not the algorithm, however why that is giving social media entrepreneurs a headache.)

Supply

And coming from a blogger who has been quietly beefing with Google over their all-too-regular algorithm adjustments, you may belief and consider that I perceive the wrestle.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

As entrepreneurs, we are able to’t cease the algorithms from altering. However we are able to take steps to be proactive, keep knowledgeable, and regulate our content material to satisfy new calls for. Right here’s how:

• Get to know the algorithms in your most steadily used channels. It’ll be simpler to navigate the adjustments for those who already know the fundamentals about how issues function.
• Keep updated on the newest algorithm adjustments. Sources like HubSpot (cough, cough) Sprout Social, and Hootsuite are nice sources right here.
• Create content material your viewers desires to interact with. Content material relevance is a giant rating issue for many algorithms, no matter platform.
• Submit on social media on the proper time. The extra engagement, the higher your probabilities of exhibiting up in-feed — so catch your viewers on-line early and sometimes.

3. Discovering concepts for brand new content material.

Primarily based on our survey, 16% of entrepreneurs additionally reported that discovering concepts for brand new content material is a giant problem this 12 months.

Why? It may be exhausting (and difficult) to persistently pitch new concepts for social platforms, particularly once they already really feel overcrowded with content material.

Fortunately, we’re at some extent now the place we are able to faucet AI to assist generate new content material concepts if we’re feeling caught. In truth, the beneath ChatGPT immediate is one among my favorites as a author:

“Give me [number] of [content type] concepts about [topic] that might attraction to [target audience].”

Right here it’s with the blanks crammed in: “Give me 5 weblog submit concepts about social media that might attraction to entrepreneurs in 2024.”

And right here’s the response I bought:

I additionally talked to an skilled about this problem — let’s see what she recommends.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

Christina Garnett, former principal advertising supervisor at HubSpot, suggests researching what already exists when in search of new concepts.

“When looking for the brand new you could devour and see what sort of content material is already obtainable after which search for hole alternatives.

Are there questions not being answered? Completely different views not being shared? Perhaps the content material exists however not in a format that’s tailor-made for a selected learner or viewers,” says Garnett.

She provides, “As soon as you establish what you may create, it is advisable to decide who wants it, and the way it can greatest be packaged to enhance their expertise. Content material has the identical want to seek out product-market match as merchandise and options do.”

4. Reaching their audience.

Up subsequent, 15% of entrepreneurs additionally recognized reaching their audience as one among their prime social media challenges.

Creating participating content material and discovering new content material concepts are nice, however what’s the purpose in case your viewers by no means sees it? (Like if a tree falls within the forest, and nobody is round to listen to it … )

The excellent news is we have already got an ideal piece on the weblog that explains tips on how to discover your social media audience. I’ll summarize a number of of the motion objects beneath.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

• Establish or create purchaser personas. Take into consideration who your present prospects are. What are their jobs? Age? Revenue?
• Discover out the place your viewers is most energetic. This may enable you to prioritize which social media platforms to give attention to.
• Take a look at your rivals. Who’re they interesting to? Who’s responding to their posts and interesting with them?
• Survey your prospects. Ask what kind of content material they devour, what social media websites they like, or who they observe.

Then, use all of this data to satisfy them the place they’re on social.

5. Creating content material that generates leads.

Lead technology can be proving to be a hurdle in 2024. 14% of these surveyed report creating content material that generates leads as a prime social media problem this 12 months.

Lead technology is a job all by itself. Group that with content material creation, development monitoring, and group administration, and also you’ve simply described the duties of the quintessential social media marketer.

To take a number of the strain off, right here’s how one can construct a powerful social media lead gen technique.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

To start out, contemplate driving your viewers from sure social platforms again to devoted touchdown pages, or observe clicks on particular CTAs for every of your social media campaigns.

Let’s say you are operating a marketing campaign geared toward driving income in direction of a brand new product providing, create a product touchdown web page and hyperlink to it on every of your social profiles. That manner, you may observe what number of clicks come from every web page, and alter your technique accordingly.

For instance, for those who’re seeing most clicks coming from Fb, which will point out that it’s a good suggestion to place paid promoting behind your Fb technique.

Talking of paid promoting, social media adverts and influencer advertising are additionally highly effective methods to generate leads via social media.

Talkwalker’s former CMO Elena Melnikova emphasizes the significance of studying the room when creating adverts for social media:

“Too business, and this younger viewers will scroll previous your model, in search of the subsequent dance routine. Learn the room. Observe the developments. Be spontaneous,” notes Melnikova.

And relating to influencer advertising, Melnikova says:

“Savvy manufacturers will work with influencers to create content material. And with nearly all of TikTok influencers being Gen Z, they‘ll perceive how to make sure their content material stands out, and enhance a model’s engagement figures.”

6. Maintaining with new developments.

Final however actually not least, our information reveals that 14% of entrepreneurs cited maintaining with new developments as one among their prime challenges for this 12 months.

At this level, nearly every little thing materializes as a development — whether or not it’s a brand new platform, an outdated meme, and even only a sound (I’m taking a look at you, TikTok).

However the actuality is that this: Each development isn’t match for each model.

Typically the hottest social platform isn’t the proper place to seek out your viewers. Or perhaps your prospects aren’t conversant in, and subsequently wouldn’t admire, that trending phrase that everybody is utilizing of their movies this week.

(For instance, I mentioned “typically, it is advisable to eat a complete cucumber” to my mother yesterday, and he or she had no thought what I used to be speaking about. Shoutout to @logagm on TikTok.)

The fixed wrestle between what’s present and what resonates together with your viewers makes it troublesome to find out which developments to faucet into.

The best way to Overcome This Problem

I’ve two nuggets of recommendation for this one.

First, discover a method to hold a pulse of the newest social media developments.

Observe trade leaders like Sprout Social, join skilled newsletters like The Advertising Millennials, or see what your viewers is at the moment speaking about on discussion board websites like Reddit.

Additionally, observe the newest information and releases out of your favourite social media channels (or curate a community of insiders like Annie-Mai Hodge on LinkedIn) to be the primary to learn about new options and algorithm updates.

The second is to decide on the strategies with the best ROI. And for those who don’t understand how, check out HubSpot’s free lesson on The best way to Measure Social Media ROI to study extra.

Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not value it for each model to hop on each development. If it may tie again to your viewers’s pursuits and your largest enterprise outcomes, you’re in the proper place.

Problem(s) Accepted

There you’ve it! The six largest challenges that social media groups are going through in 2024.

Now that you realize which challenges you’re up towards, take the time to brainstorm options that may enable you to degree up your social media technique — for subsequent 12 months and past.

Editor’s observe: This submit was initially revealed in November 2021 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.