Brand Social Trend Report: Q3 2024
Rapid response, broadcast channels, trending music lawsuits, and more.
Hello! The Brand Social Trend Report: Q3 2024 is here! This quarter’s report covers things like:
The rise in rapid response social
Broadcast channel launches
The unexpected social role brands are hiring for
Why social managers are reinvesting in IG Stories
B2C companies embracing LinkedIn
My big takeaway from the “demure” trend
Why brands are pulling back from using trending music
And so much more!
Along with my own observations, I tapped people like Alice Chen the Director of Social at Away, Zaria Parvez the Senior Global Social Media Manager at Duolingo, Andrew Downing the Director of Social Media at CAVA,
the author of , Dan Frommer the Founder and Editor in Chief of The New Consumer, Byron Stewart the Associate Director of Social Media at Team Epiphany, Dave Jorgenson the Senior Video Producer at The Washington Post, and others to contribute trends.If this is your first time receiving one of these reports, welcome! You can find the Q2 2024 report here and the Q1 2024 report here. I like to describe my quarterly trend reports as the perfect counterpart to the more macro trend decks that get passed around. These reports are a little bit of science and a whole lot of gut. Kind of how I approach social strategy in general. Let’s dig in.
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Campaign Casting Felt Very 2000s
Reformation x Hoka casting Joanna Rohrback a.k.a. the woman from the iconic 2013 Prancercise video in their newest campaign.
Crocs partnering with Liam Kyle Sullivan on a reprise of “Shoes”, a YouTube video that debuted in 2006.
KIND bringing back Laguna Beach, which first premiered in 2004, with this spot with Kristin Cavallari.
While lots of brands are still prioritizing Gen Z with their casting and marketing, it did feel like there was a millennial shift this quarter. Lots of brands digging back in the internet archives to see if they can bring back some early 2000s magic. Which chip brand is going to find her first?
Is Rapid Response Social The Future?
Ever since this article came out describing how quickly the Kamala HQ social team moves (“When an eye-catching moment happens…the team races to post a clip of it on social media, working shifts that sometimes go past midnight.”), I have been thinking about the role of rapid response on social. This function is typically seen in politics and news organizations, but it can also be applied to brands. And some are already doing it.
Away moved quickly when SNL mentioned them in a recent episode. I took this screenshot from their Director of Social Alice Chen’s personal IG Story that she shared the following day—meaning she put together the last-minute post on a Sunday.
When I asked Zaria Parvez, Senior Global Social Media Manager at Duolingo, for her contribution to this newsletter, she casually dropped how her team does “rapid response”, using that exact language.
In my interview with Jack Hailey, Social Media Manager at Chili's, he talked about how he keeps Twitter open all day every day, always looking for quote tweet opportunities for the brand. That’s a version of rapid response.
I wouldn’t be surprised if bigger brands that have more resources are building in a rapid response strategy (or headcount) into their 2025 strategies. It’s often those last minute “Wait, should we do this right now?” Slacks that lead to overperforming posts.
Instagram Stories Are Back
This trend is contributed by Nathan Jun Poekert, Chief Marketing Officer at General Idea
I guess we have to make Instagram Stories happen now, huh? There's been a significant spike and increase in the past few months on Instagram Stories views. Brands used to struggle to get 2-2.5% of their audience to view stories and that number has spiked to 5-5.5%—which is pretty significant in just a few months.
Why? There's no conclusive data on this but from just talking to my own friends, it comes down to the user behavior with the app now where users open up the app, immediately scroll stories and sometimes not even visit their feeds except maybe once or twice a day—preferring to open up their IGS multiple times a day instead. An IG story specific strategy has been an afterthought for a while now but might need to become a priority.
There's some interesting correlation between the way that right-tap stories function similarly to FYP scrolls on TikTok that could be related.
Demure Made Me Think About The Difference Between a “Cultural Trend” and a “Format Trend”
Jools Lebron and “demure” went viral—it forced me to think about the difference between a “cultural trend” and a “format trend”. As our digital vocabularies get stronger, I think it’s important to drill down into these types of differences.
Cultural trend: Account participates in a bigger cultural moment. It’s usually a specific image, saying, celebrity reaction, clip from a live event, or other existing IP. A post that’s participating in a cultural trend often has to be within a certain timeframe. You can be “late” to a cultural trend.
Examples of cultural trends: Moo Deng, Demure, Little Miss, Jeremy Allen White partnering with Calvin Klein
Format trend: Account participates in a trending video editing style or photo carousel template. There’s usually room to make the format or template unique to your brand. While there can be a moment in time where these formats are “trending”, there’s less of a chance of being “late” and more opportunity to re-engage with them later on.
Examples of format trends: We let the Gen Z intern edit our video, Accidentally walking through the wrong door, Anything can be an album cover, “Who took the ____?”, Me when I remember I work at…
Brands 🤝 Broadcast Channels
We saw brands start to get access to broadcast channels on Instagram. They immediately started experimenting.
For some background, a broadcast channel is a “one-to-many messaging feature that enables creators [and brands] to send direct messages to their audience, creating an exclusive chat experience for loyal followers.” (As a reminder, you can only see them on mobile.)
3sixteen, the menswear company, has “3sixteen mafia” where they share memes, Substack posts, and store updates. Glow Recipe, the skincare company, created one called “Dew Tell” where their co-founders often chime in and provide updates and BTS footage. It’s fun that the co-founder posts come from their accounts versus the brand account. They have 13.8K members. Nike has a broadcast channel called “BTS ✔️” where they share…a lot of BTS. It has 278K members. Love that they mess around with different mediums within it—sending voice notes, photos, and more.
I have a feeling in Q4 we’ll see almost every brand create a broadcast channel
B2C Companies Embraced LinkedIn
This trend is contributed by Greg Rokisky, Senior Social Media Strategist at Sprout Social
LinkedIn has long been seen as a B2B-centric platform, but Lyft’s recent LinkedIn-specific creator campaign breaks that mold and opens the door for more B2C brands to follow suit. This campaign leveraged LinkedIn’s growing emphasis on video and creator content to successfully launch Lyft's price lock feature, proving that even brands not typically as active on LinkedIn can find unique opportunities to engage their target audiences. You can see posts here and here.
Lyft’s success showcases the untapped potential for B2C brands on LinkedIn, especially as the platform continues to prioritize TikTok-style video content and influencer/creator collaborations. The takeaway? LinkedIn may not yet be flooded with B2C campaigns, but there's an undeniable case for those willing to lead the charge.
Brands are Hiring for a “Creative Director of Social”
This trend is contributed by Andrew Downing, Director of Social Media at CAVA
This one is a little different, but I always keep an eye out for roles I think friends and former coworkers would be a good fit for, and one new position I’ve seen a lot more lately is a Creative Director of Social, specifically brand side.
I’ve seen Raising Canes, Robinhood, Gap, and some others post this position. I’m personally not surprised we’ve gotten here because a ton of social people have creative backgrounds. Still, I’m curious how these roles differ from a normal creative director, and where the lines blur between the social and brand creative teams. Perhaps a Link in Bio interview is needed? 👀
A Few Trends from a Recruiter Who Hires for Social Roles
These trends are contributed by Kelly Gordon, Marketing Recruitment Manager at Creative People
Junior roles are really popular again. Maybe we have been through the cycle where our Managers are now "Managing". A lot of Content Creation and Community Management.
We are receiving a lot more inquiry for Content Creators that straddle social and creative. They are typically asking for more technical skills in the editing process. They may even have more of a traditional creative background vs marketing.
Generally speaking, we have A LOT of hybrid roles. It's becoming a lot harder for individuals to be fully remote. Hybrid meaning 2-3 days in office. There is not as much flexibility in being fully remote, even if the candidates are fantastic!
Social Media Directors Are Going Solo
I had more conversations than ever before with social pros who are exploring the idea of consulting. A lot of the people who I spoke with are social directors who feel the only way to unlock more pay (and general motivation) is through going solo. Not sure if this is an early indicator of a larger trend, but it felt particularly prevalent this quarter.
Old Photos, New Trends
No photo of your younger self was safe this quarter. We saw it when Patrick Ta used the yearbook trend for his “Beauty That Brings You Out” campaign billboard announcement. We saw it when the “sign this photo” trend blew up on sports TikTok (and then red carpet TikTok).
We’re in the TikTok Era of Guerrilla Marketing
This trend is contributed by Byron Stewart, Associate Director of Social Media at Team Epiphany and author of
Brands are taking a social-first approach to guerrilla marketing by creating real-life experiences that double as content. While there's no guarantee a social post will go viral, you can position your brand for maximum social engagement by staging real-life events to create content around it and potentially spark user-generated content from onlookers. There's a high chance your stunt will be recorded by someone in public, providing opportunities for organic mentions in addition to engagement from your brand's direct posts. It's a win-win for everyone. Examples include the Duolingo x Charli XCX concert stunt and MCO Beauty dupe at Sabrina Carpenter.
Brands Are Pulling Back on Using Trademarked Songs and Audio
We’ve seen the headlines. Marriott sued by Sony for unlicensed use of music. 14 NBA teams have been hit with lawsuits alleging that the basketball franchises used copyrighted music without permission in promo videos posted to their social media channels. Sony Music Entertainment Canada is pursuing beauty brand Suva for millions allegedly owed for the unauthorized use of music by some of the world's most popular artists.
It’s bad.
I’ve heard from multiple social pros that their brands have decided to stop using trademarked songs and audio immediately. It’s simply not worth the risk anymore.
Content Rooted in Nostalgia
This trend is contributed by Alice Chen, Director of Social at Away
Trends are born out of nostalgia—that's nothing new. But I'm feeling brands lean into it more than ever lately: "An icon returns," reads a caption on a recent J.Crew video (which is, notably, not in 9:16); "It all started in 1995," says one of Gap's latest carousels; Merit has consistently been a masterclass in how to tap into our fondest memories of the '90s and beyond to launch new products (see: Solo Shadow, Brow 1980 & 1990).
As we rediscover the joy of digital point-and-shoot cameras, I'm seeing brands adopt the same styles of content capture. It makes sense; online audiences are starting to pull back from the noise of social video and craving a pivot to connection and community, both on and off our phones. A return to analog is just one form of reprieve.
While I don't think iPhone video or fast-paced editing are going anywhere yet, more brands are using lo-fi lo-fi as a creative wrapper. At Away, we recently had Peyton Dix and Hunter Harris shoot an entire campaign on disposable cameras. (They delivered.) Rhode embraced the uneven camcorder zoom and lack of high definition in their feature with muse Aweng Chuol. And even Sabrina Carpenter's throwing it back in a tour that's giving retro variety show, with '90s infomercial-style promos (notably also not 9:16) along the way.
The good news: There's a low barrier to entry to play in this format. Get yourself a disposable camera and start snapping. Just remember to keep your flash on!
We Went Back to School
Tower 28 brought their GetSet Pressed Powder to college campuses here.
OUAI went on a “OUAI-cation University Tour for beachy bevs and free merch” here.
LoveShackFancy did a giveaway to “throw you the most major LoveShackFancy Party right on your campus” here.
818 Tequila rang on some doorbells and released their “alumni collection”.
“Lo-Fi” vs “Lo-Fi Approach”
This trend was contributed by Dave Jorgenson, Senior Video Producer at The Washington Post and “The Washington Post TikTok Guy”
At a social media summit in Australia, I noticed everyone has started using the word “lo-fi” to refer to TikTok-style content. While it’s said with a positive connotation, I think it diminishes from the intentionality behind the content. Yes, lo-fi videos are the majority of those on vertical video platforms and help companies “meet people where they are” but that’s not the reason they’re “lo-fi.”
Vertical videos are lo-fi because making something quickly, and honestly, in reaction to trends, memes and news inherently requires a lo-fi approach (unless you have an entire studio and crew).
“Silence Brand” Has Come For TikTok
This trend is contributed by Zaria Parvez, Senior Global Social Media Manager at Duolingo
This past quarter, more than anything, I’ve seen the rise of the “anti-trend” movement on TikTok where users are getting annoyed at brands for leaning into the meme—think “very demure”. This sentiment shift on TikTok is reminding me a lot of “silence brand” on Twitter and is increasingly becoming something we have to account for when doing rapid response. It was bound to happen with the lifecycle of social platforms!
As TikTok becomes more saturated with brands, we’re focusing on building out our YT shorts presence. Since doubling down on our YT in the past year, we’ve seen a 300%+ increase in organic impressions (!) which is a clear sign there’s something there. Our content is mainly focused on original skits, incorporating product truths, bending our art style, and finding space to play with our community. It feels very TikTok 2020 in a good way!
Fashion Month Went Full Interview Mode
Even as a casual fashion month consumer, I couldn’t help but feel inundated with hosted interview posts from brands.
Gucci hired Amelia Dimoldenberg. Louis Vuitton hired Liana Satenstein. Tory Burch hired Maria Georgas. Other brands, like Michael Kors and Miu Miu, leaned into interviews without featuring a host. Regardless, lots and lots of interviews from fashion shows.
Thankfully they all used high quality mics, because I can’t stand to listen to this gravelly sounding mic interview any longer.
Brand and Social Professionals Are Using Substack as a Portfolio
This trend is contributed by , author of .
I started my Substack a few months ago and noticed this trend almost immediately. Some of my favorite Substacks are by brand professionals—people working in full-time corporate or freelance brand roles—using the platform as an ever-expanding portfolio to showcase their brand and marketing expertise. Much of their content focuses on trend analysis, forecasting, campaign reviews, and brand news round-ups.
Speaking with a few of them, their reasons for doing this usually boil down to two main points:
Finding new work: Freelancers have told me they’ve secured gigs through Substack. Others link it on their resumes instead of a traditional website when looking for full-time roles.
Thought leadership: LinkedIn has a broader reach, but it’s harder to build ongoing rapport there. Plus, it’s easy to repurpose Substack content for LinkedIn.
The Olympics Hurt Brand Reach
Including this one as a reminder for the next Olympics! Do not launch a non-Olympics related product or campaign during this timeframe. Heard from multiple brands that reach was bad for any posts that weren’t referencing the event. We will likely see something similar during the weeks surrounding the election.
Where Have All the Brand Posts Gone?
This trend is contributed by Dan Frommer, Founder and Editor in Chief of The New Consumer
This probably isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but brand social is currently…completely absent from my Instagram feed?! Has organic reach always been this bad, or is this relatively new? I find that I’m seeing a bunch of founder content—including their personal stuff, their influencer-y stuff, and re-shares of their brand's posts—but almost never the brands themselves, either in Feed, Explore, or Stories.
Brands Became Media Companies
Overdrive Defense, a newly launched company from the team behind Starface, described their social strategy as “a media company that monetizes by selling product instead of advertising space.”
Ramen brand immi launching a third separate TikTok, in addition to their brand account and Ramen on the Street account.
BODY Social Club—the new entertainment arm of BODY Vodka—has “The internets favorite internet shows 😎” as their bio. So far they run @rekindleshow (there’s nothing posted) and @dumb_hot (an existing show that they likely bought).
And Starting a New Account is Normal Now
This trend is contributed by Zach Schiffman, Senior Social Media Manager at New York Magazine
Creators are making so many accounts. In the age of collab posts, it is so much safer to be able to start a new account for a specific franchise or series and keep all the content in one place.
On TikTok, this is all better served through playlists (though I am noticing a ton of new accounts there too), but I feel like I saw creators of all kinds being more willing to create an additional account for a specific type of content and collab back to the main page.
We Moved Beyond the TSA Bin
The NY Times wrote about TSA bin flat lays, so that means it’s officially dead. But brands are moving beyond them. I loved this shot of a grocery basket and this one of luggage. What flat lay vessel would make sense for your brand? Was also into this take on an OOTD from The Chargers and these scans from Gia Seo 서지아 and Air Milkshake.
IRL and BIG Announcements
Announcements are going IRL and BIG. Feels like a natural evolution from the flyer trend of past quarters.
Away here. Madewell here. J. Crew here. Canva here.
Fall Excitement Starts in Q3
This trend is contributed by Bari Tippett, head of social at sweetgreen
Seeing a lot of seasonal play like sept 30th vs oct 1, summer vs fall, halloween is coming, etc.
I think these are interesting as we think about campaigns—seasonal vs brand-led. I feel like the seasons are SO relatable, and sometimes just an easy layup for brands to hit the cultural conversation.
Examples from sweetgreen and Dunkin.
The Dolphin Meme Was Everywhere
This trend is contributed by Caroline Murray, a social media strategist at the agency Flash Marketing
A meme that really got my attention in late August was the "Symphony" dolphin trend, which features vibrant imagery of dolphins leaping through the ocean paired with chaotic, passive aggressive captions.
Brands like Duolingo, Scrub Daddy, Jimmy John's and more participated in the trend, with hilariously threatening captions like "End your streak and I'll end you" from Duolingo (9.2M likes) or "I'm watching you" from The Empire State Building.
It all ties into a bigger trend of brands not taking things so seriously anymore. I love to see more brands getting comfortable breaking the rules and think we're going to see more of this next quarter.
Quote Tweets Work
It felt like the only brand tweets that broke through this quarter were quote tweets. They take some social listening, but they really do work. Loved this one from Figma, this one from DUDE Wipes, this one from Ramp, this one from Saw, this one from The Substance, and this one from Chili’s.
Thanks so much for reading. What’d I miss? Let’s talk about it all in the Discord!
Hi Rachel, I'm wondering if you have any reccos for social media conferences that are worth it. Thanks!
Interesting flag on TT and the shift to YT Shorts. We’ve also started seeing some really interesting patterns emerge as we ramp up our organic and paid YTS. Something to watch as other brands potentially make the shift too. Great roundup!