December 2023

4 social media trends every home services brand should be watching in 2024

Generating views, engagement, and leads on social media can feel like an uphill battle—especially for local brands. These days, it seems like if you aren’t a content creator or industry influencer, your posts are lucky to see the light of day!

If you feel like your brand’s social posts are buried under a pile of professional content, ads, and cat videos, you’re not alone—and you’re not hopelessly behind.

With the right social media strategy in place—and an eye on 2024’s biggest emerging trends—you can make social media work for you. (And we can help!).

Check out the 4 key social media trends developing now and shaping the new year:

Social media trend #1: Social search dominates

“Social search” means using a social platform, like Instagram or TikTok, to search for brands, products, or recommendations. These suggestions can come from your friend or follower network, or from other platform users outside your group. And they’re transforming how people find and engage with businesses.

According to a recent Hubspot survey, nearly 1 in 4 consumers ages 18 to 54 use social media to search for brands more often than they use traditional search engines. Even Google has admitted social media is impacting its popularity!

So, how can your home services business capitalize on this trend?

Optimize your social media posts. Use the keywords your customers are most likely to search for and cater to the most common queries your customers research. Because on social media, getting noticed isn’t just about visibility. It’s about being the clearest, most easily found answer when a need arises.

“According to a recent Hubspot survey, nearly 1 in 4 consumers ages 18 to 54 use social media to search for brands more often than they use traditional search engines. ”

Social media trend #2: Users crave “edu-tainment” content

Just a few years ago, social media was commonly used to keep in touch with friends and family, share updates, and find your community. But today, social media users increasingly gravitate towards content that’s educational, entertaining, or both!

Edutainment content offers viewers an engaging way to learn something new and connect with the brands they resonate with. In turn, those brands can build a loyal following of customers who resonate with their business, trust their work, and choose their services again and again. And it’s gaining popularity quickly, alongside the rise in short-form video content—the most effective form of social media advertising right now.

How can you add edutainment content to your social media strategy?

Home services businesses can focus on creating content that doesn’t just talk about you, but gives your customers actionable tips they can try today. Videos that show how to care for your plumbing or HVAC systems, roofing care best practices, or electrical system warning signs to watch for are all helpful topics and value-added videos that get searched, saved, and remembered.

Social media trend #3: Socially driven customer service

Today, social media users expect the companies they engage with to offer fast, helpful, and friendly customer service directly through the platforms they post on. In fact, a full 40% of customers expect their go-to brands to offer problem-solving services on every platform these brands are found on.

Want to make the most of this social media trend?

If you’re going to leverage social media, be prepared to monitor your direct messages, comments, and engagements. Keep a close eye on the places potential customers can engage with your brand, and prioritize as quick of a response time on these platforms as you offer on your main site—so no lead falls through the cracks.

Social media trend #4: Platform-focused content

The last social media trend we’re watching in 2024 is an increase in brands tailoring their content to the platform they’re posting it on—and the audience found there. Instead of posting the same content on every site, businesses are recognizing that every platform has its own unique user groups and algorithms. What works on Facebook may not reach as many users as on TikTok, and posts on Instagram are very different from the content on LinkedIn.

How can your brand leverage this trend?

For home services, this means tailoring your content to resonate with the audience you’re targeting on each platform—and only focusing on the platforms your best customers access. Whether you’re targeting homeowners on Facebook, property managers on LinkedIn, or DIY enthusiasts on Instagram, unique content will be king in 2024.

HomeBoost by MediaSpark helps home services brands show up–and book up!

Our Marketing Booster package for home service businesses is designed to optimize your online efforts, strengthen your brand strategy, and increase your revenue—not your team’s responsibility. Whether your marketing department is stretched thin, or you’ve been wearing every hat yourself, leverage our expertise to maximize your efforts, impact, and bottom line. Let’s connect!