Top Facebook trends to try in 2024

Facebook’s platform is always changing and evolving, meaning the strategies to see maximum success must change and evolve as well. In an effort to help you keep up to date with the latest updates, we’ve put together a list of Facebook trends to focus on in 2021.

Keep these trends in mind as you work through your brand’s Facebook marketing strategy so you can stay ahead of the curve with a competitive advantage.

Let’s dive in.

1. Facebook shopping

One major trend on the rise is Facebook shopping. With the platform allowing businesses with more ecommerce capabilities on their Facebook Pages, it’s important to understand why this is such an important trend.

Any business that sells products online can  create a shop on both Facebook and Instagram, highlighting their products with the ability to make sales without leaving the social media platform.

Take a look at YETI’s Facebook shop for example.

They’ve gone above and beyond by making the Facebook shopping experience nearly identical to the way a customer would use their website. Products have been grouped into categories, such as Rambler Bottles and Tundra Accessories, similar to their website categorization.

Ways to use Facebook shopping

• Tag products in photos you share so your audience can easily identify them.
• Create collections to make it easy for your customers to browse your products.
• Enable in-app checkout so users can make purchases without ever leaving Facebook.

2. User-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) has long been used across social media platforms as a way to keep your audience engaged. UGC is, in short, content created by customers that — with their permission — you can share on your own feed.

It’s fun for your audience to see the photos, videos and reviews shared by brands, which is why this trend is likely never going to go out of style. Plus this is one of the best ways to provide authentic content that your audience craves.

Here’s an example of user-generated content from bathing suit shop Cupshe. Cupshe shared and credited a customer’s photo and provided a direct link to the bathing suit she is wearing in the caption.

Ways to use UGC

• Ask permission to share the post on your profiles.
• Create a hashtag for customers to use when sharing photos of your products.
• Link back to the product(s) featured in the photo.

3. Longform posts

One recent trend we’ve seen a lot of is longform Facebook posts and ads. While these types of posts are always accompanied by some sort of supporting visual, the longform caption is the meat of the content.

While we always hear that ad copy should be short and concise, we’re learning that longer Facebook ad copy is actually performing really well. Long ad copy tends to see a lower cost per action (CPA) and also gives your audience more information before they click, potentially leading to a higher likelihood of a conversion.

Here’s a great example of what this longform Facebook post could look like.

Ways to use longform copy:

• Use emoji as bullets.
• Include a testimonial.
• Give your audience the full scope of your offering.

4. Chatbots

Another trend that won’t be going away anytime soon are chatbots integrated with Facebook Messenger. There are several software available to help build these chatbots as part of your Facebook strategy. These chatbots are meant to address frequently asked questions and provide more product information.

Travel pillow brand Trtl gave their chatbot a persona named Tanya that users can ask any questions they might have about the product.

Ways to use chatbots

• Create a 24/7 customer service outlet.
• Create Facebook Messenger-based apps.
• Promote and sell products.

5. Facebook stories

The last few years has shown Facebook stories is quickly becoming just as popular as the widely-used Instagram stories feature. This is especially true because you can easily cross-post your stories to both Facebook and Instagram.

However, Facebook itself has a lot of options for creating engaging story content. Start by taking or uploading a photo or create a text-based story in the app.

Ways to use Facebook stories

• Use the tools within the app to create unique and eye-catching designs.
• Upload photos, videos, boomerangs and more.
• Create a story-specific strategy to get more out of your Facebook Page.

6. Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) blew up when Pokemon Go came out in 2016 and many apps have been trying to utilize AR in their own way. Facebook advertising is now doing the same with their Spark AR.

The platform allows users to create their own AR-based ads, giving users a chance to try on things like makeup styles and glasses directly in the Facebook ad.

Ways to use augmented reality

• Create interactive Facebook ads that allow your users to give your products a try.
• Build branded filters for Instagram and Facebook stories.
• Learn how to use Facebook’s AR toolset and set yourself apart as a marketer.

7. Facebook Groups

Community building is an essential part of marketing, and one great way to do that is by hosting a Facebook Group. These groups can be by invite-only or be a branded group available for anyone to join used for brand awareness and authority.

As an example, The Daily Carnage is a newsletter and Facebook Group hosted by marketing agency Carney that thousands of digital marketers have joined to talk shop. While not many of its members are going to utilize Carney’s services, it’s a great way for the agency to get its name out there and increase qualified leads.

Ways to use Facebook Groups

• Share tips and tricks for using your products or services with your audience.
• Generate brand awareness and become a thought leader in your industry.
• Build a community of loyal customers and followers.

8. Hashtags

Hashtags were born on Twitter but over the years have grown in popularity across social media platforms. And lately, Facebook has been making changes that make hashtags more useful for finding content.

Similar to Instagram, Facebook is now using hashtags as a way to cluster content together to give content a longer shelf life. This way, users will be able to easily search bigger topics instead of just looking at individual posts.

As you can see below, hashtags now have a different appearance in Facebook search as well as the URL slug. Facebook will pull content from Groups, Pages you follow and public figures that use that hashtag.

Ways to use hashtags

• Categorize your posts based on content type.
• Create a branded hashtag and encourage customers to use it.
• Search related hashtags to find content to interact with.

9. Facebook advertising

While Facebook advertising has been around for awhile, it’s also one of the top forms of digital advertising and is here to stay. But what are the best tactics when it comes to successful Facebook advertising in 2021?

We’ve seen a lot of trends focus on newsfeed ads above nearly any other ad spot. While right column ads and display ads can get the job done, newsfeed ads give your business more ad creative space to work with.

If you pull your ad copy together and perfectly pair it with an engaging visual, you’re sure to see some advertising results. Test different types of visuals, whether it’s a photo, graphic, collage or video, and track your results.

Ways to use Facebook advertising

• Create brand awareness campaigns that help get the word out about your business.
• Sell products and services or collect leads to nurture.
• Try writing longform ad copy to accompany your news feed ads and ad creative.

Update your strategy with these Facebook trends

These are just a few Facebook trends to keep an eye on in 2021. Now it’s time for you to decide which of these make sense to focus on in your business and your Facebook marketing strategy. And with the right Facebook tools you can implement and analyze your strategy.