2024 Trend Report: Gen Z, Social & Astrology

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where we're all about mixing tried and true strategies that actually work with the magic of manifestation and the science of programming your unconscious mind so that you walk away feeling integrated, inspired and aligned. I'm Renee Bowen, certified Life and Business Coach, professional Photographer, middle-aged Wife and Mom to now three grown kids. I've built two multiple six-figure businesses with zero business training by digging in and learning the methods, and now I'm here to pass them all on to you, from photography and business strategies to energy healing, human design and the basics of manifestation. We cover it all here. I'm here to help you embrace your multi-passionate brains and lean in to the fastest and most efficient ways to reach your goals, whatever they may be. Whether you're a season pro or just starting out, or maybe you're just here for the woo-woo, let's dive in and explore all the exciting ways to take your life, business and self-improvement to the next level. Thanks for joining me and get ready to be inspired. Hey, hey, welcome to 2024, you guys, I hope you had a really amazing, safe, healthy and just really amazing 2024, ringing it in.

Speaker 1: 1:24

However, it is that you did that I stayed pretty quiet. It's been kind of a crazy few weeks for me and it's always awesome, I think. I mean, I'm such a homebody these days especially, but I really kind of like just being chill for New Year's Eve. And, yes, I did stay up past midnight. So I'm not quite that. You know old, I'm not gonna say let's not say, let's not say that word, but like I'm not quite, I'm not quite there where I am going to sleep before midnight. Yeah, I don't know if I'll ever get there. I really kind of still feel like I'm 25 inside. In a lot of ways, I just kind of like being in my own house, right. So we just really stayed pretty chill, watched a movie, you know, had some champagne, chatted with some friends. I've always had New Year's Eve parties and so it's been a while since we've actually hosted one of those, probably pre COVID. Maybe we'll do that again one day, but for now this felt really aligned and really awesome and I hope that however you celebrated felt the same way for you. So today's podcast isn't gonna be super long.

Speaker 1: 2:39

I really wanted to put a trend report together for you guys. Now, for those of you who are high school senior photographers and you work with high school seniors, you hear me talk a lot about Gen Z. A lot. I've been talking about Gen Z online since 2014. Like way before, most people were really kind of thinking about making our, you know, sort of senior portrait experience, mostly about the teen. I kind of was always doing that. So I've been talking about Gen Z and how they've been really change makers and driving our businesses for quite some time. I'm also now speaking about Gen Alpha, because they are coming up right behind Gen Z. Now we're seeing older Gen Zers, you know, kind of enter the workplace and now we're going to start seeing Gen Alpha, we're going to start working with Gen Alpha teens.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Anyway, my point being, I do want to include some trends for you guys and maybe, even if you're not a high school senior photographer, you kind of need to know about some of these trends that are going on. So I'm going to kind of talk about what we're seeing with teens as far as fashion, makeup, just some trends that that we're seeing as a whole, and the reason why I think this is actually useful for other creatives, other entrepreneurs, and not just high school seniors, high school senior photographers is because they drive culture basically. So if you are a digital marketer in any way, shape or form or you own any kind of business. Really you do need to kind of know who has their finger on the pulse of what and what's kind of coming down the pipe, because marketing in general right, we need to know what's what's happening. But again, anytime a generation, a younger generation, gets behind something and sort of you know, drives the momentum there, we're going to see growth in that area, and so I really want you guys to be paying attention to this. So this is going to be useful not just for high school senior photographers.

Speaker 1: 4:45

And then I'm also going to talk a little bit about what we're seeing in terms of trends for social media in 2024, and even beyond. And then I'm also going to touch real quick not super in depth, because it is not, you know, my area of expertise, but I do, I do look at this. I'm going to kind of talk to you guys about what are the really major astrological events happening this year, because I kind of do look at this in terms of when I'm going to be launching something and why. So we're not going to go super deep into that, but at the very end I do want to kind of touch on that for those of you guys who are into the woo, like me. So, before we dive into all of these different trends, so again, there's going to be like three sort of phases so the Gen Z, teen, young, teen, fashion, makeup trends that we're seeing, and then we're going to touch on some social media, and then we're going to touch on some astrological sort of woo-woo events. Okay, before we get into that, I really need to put another bug in your ear about two different things.

Speaker 1: 5:49

So this is for my photographers who are listening. I want you guys to listen up. I still have two seats to my workshop that I am holding at the end of this month, in January, here in Los Angeles. If you have ever wanted to shoot with me, learn from me in person. And or if you need some really killer content because I am going to be styling these models so fun and super cool locations here in Los Angeles if you need some great marketing for your senior business, because you can't really market your senior business if you don't have great images. So we're going to do a whole day of shooting here in Los Angeles and then we're going to do another day of learning, but the first part of that day, on Sunday, I'm going to actually be shooting your headshots, so you're going to get some killer branding images out of this whole deal as well. It is technically a two-day event, saturday and Sunday the 27th and 28th of January, but 26 on the night of the 26th. On Friday, we're going to be having a dinner that I'm hosting.

Speaker 1: 6:49

So this is a small group Okay, I'm talking under 12 people, so this is a really unique opportunity. It is mainly for my higher level, elevate membership people, and I do have a couple of spots that became available, so I'm opening them up to a select two people. So you do need to reach out to me if you're interested. It's not going to be right for everybody. The intention here is that you know the vibe of this group is really awesome and I want that to remain awesome, so reach out to me. Shoot me a DM on Instagram at Renee Bowen, let me know if you're interested, or you can email me as well. I would love to have you if this speaks to you and this is something on your vision board for 2024. This is a fantastic opportunity. This is not going to be like a big workshop where you get lost and you have to fight for, you know, your turn to shoot a model. This is a very intimate, very hands-on, very cool opportunity. So I highly recommend reaching out to me if this is even sparking your interest.

Speaker 1: 7:55

And then the other thing I want to talk to you about is that elevate evolution, my higher level of my membership. I actually call it like a member mind because it is not as expensive as a mastermind, but it really is at that level, like it is very, very hands-on. So there's two different levels to elevate. My foundation level is ongoing. That is my $49 a month level, like. If you're not in that, what are you doing? First of all, definitely sign up for that if you are on a budget and you still need coaching, because that is still a very, very in-depth program.

Speaker 1: 8:29

But my higher level of this, called evolution, that registration ends on January 7th because our calls start on January 10th and the amount of education and coaching that you get with me in this level is kind of insane. You get a ton of my programs, including the creative team method, which on its own is almost $1,000. And you also get my in-person sales class called Fearless IPS, which is the psychology of sales. That's also really meaty. I walk you through how I price, why I do it, the structure of it. That's what's important there. And you also get a bunch of other programs. So it's worth well over $4,000. And it is either a monthly payment of $255 for six months or a pay in full for $1330. The value is insane. Everyone who is a member with me there basically has been with me for a few years. They keep re-enrolling and all of them have been saying that the value is just ridiculous.

Speaker 1: 9:30

You're not going to find this anywhere else in our industry. You're just not. You get access to me on Voxer, so you happen to a group thread. You have a question about anything with your business. I'm going to respond within like two or three hours. It's literally like having a coach in your pocket. That is usually reserved for my one-on-one clients, which is a $4,000 and up Price tag. So this is a no-brainer.

Speaker 1: 9:52

I don't have that many seats left, but if you want in on elevate evolution, you need to go to Renee Bowen comm slash Elevate. All of this is gonna be in the show notes and you need to sign up ASAP. This is a six-month commitment. It is only open twice a year and, if I'm being honest with you, I don't even know if I'm gonna offer it again. So I do it on a six-month rolling basis because I don't like to bog myself down with, you know, plaining too far in the future either. So I like to leave myself the leeway to decide I may or may not even offer it, or at least in this same way again. This is your chance. I would highly recommend jumping on it.

Speaker 1: 10:30

Okay, let's dive into some social media trends that we are looking at for 2024. And Again, I am I am using mole to pull sources for this. You guys, like I, do a lot of research. If you know me at all, you know that I am. I go deep, I deep dive. So this is not just from one thing I pulled off of line. This is a bunch of different stuff that I've been collecting over the last I would say, four to six weeks, you know, because I do like to try and keep it timely. So I've dove into this a little bit in the fall, then put it up back on the back burner and decided, okay, I'm gonna really, really dive back into it in December so that I can get the most up-to-date information for you guys.

Speaker 1: 11:12

So, that being said, one of the main things that we're gonna be seeing with social media and you probably already know this and I've done a podcast on it is AI right, so a lot of digital marketers, anyone who uses social media to market we're gonna be seeing a lot more delegation of AI using AI to do some of these tasks that you don't want to do or you can't afford to hire an assistant to do, and, honestly, there's a lot of Opportunity here. So there's a lot of different ways that you can use AI. Again one of my past episodes, I talk about how I use chat, gpt, how I'm learning how to use it even more, and some of the other AI programs and I'm using as a photographer. So I highly recommend listening to that episode as well. I'll link it in the show notes for you so that you can find it very easily, and with that episode, you also get like my my cheat sheet of, like all the different things and sources that I'm using and learning from as well, because I want to pass that on to you guys for free.

Speaker 1: 12:16

So it's estimated that more than 80% of marketers Report that AI tools have, you know, save them time and created a much more efficient workflow. So this is. This is according to Exploding topics comm. This is one of the sources that I used and it says that more than 40% of social media marketers are using AI to write captions, which we know that that is a fantastic use of chat GPT.

Speaker 1: 12:44

Now, again, your ability to use chat GPT is going to depend on your ability to prompt it. Well, right, you've got to be able to ask it the right thing so that it delivers the right, you know response for you. So you know the. The level of your prompt is is going to matter here. But this is really kind of what we're seeing. We're seeing that more and more people are using it, and so another side effect of this is that we're going to start to see SEO and how Google prioritizes SEO, because so many people are using AI, right?

Speaker 1: 13:24

So, yes, while Google can, you know, tell if something is really written by a bot. That's why we always say make sure you're putting it into your own words, etc. But with the evolution of chat GPT plus and being able to create our own GPT, which is what I talk about in that episode, this means we are able to train it to speak like us. So it is going to get harder and harder for Google to really determine what is really written by a bot, because we're training it With our own tools. For instance, I'm training my chat GPT to to really speak Like I do, because I'm uploading multiple transcripts, multiple videos, to it so that it learns how I speak and how I coach people. So this is going to be a very interesting take, but my my overall, you know, point being for this Sort of topic is that if you're not using AI to make your social media Marketing more efficient, you absolutely should be looking at all of the different opportunities that you have.

Speaker 1: 14:34

Something I want to mention just as a little side note here as well In general, one of the other trends that you know we're seeing across the board and this really is going to pertain to Mainly product-based businesses, but but not necessarily so hear me out on this you may have been seeing a lot of talk about how the quote-unquote influencer Economy and using influencers and all of that is dying out. Okay, that's actually not what we're seeing in the data. So if you're seeing a bunch of that stuff on tic-tac and online in general, chances are that's not necessarily true. However, the word influencer, we know for sure, has lost a lot of its Power, especially with our younger consumers, our teenagers. Okay, so that's one of the reasons why I converted my Influencer team which is how I do my you know, quote-unquote model teams, high school senior photographers.

Speaker 1: 15:38

A lot of us use rep teams, ambassador teams Whatever you want to call them to market our businesses, and I've done that since 2007. I used to call it a model team and then in 2017, I started calling it the influencer team. I think I was the first person in our industry to do that, because I knew that my younger clients identified With that word, but they don't anymore. So I pivoted and Changed the way that I did my team and also the name of it, from influencer team To the creator team. So the program I offer now for senior photographers is called the creative team method, and it's based on this a creator economy. So, according to recent reports, 65% of media and entertainment companies Still partner with influencers, and so what that tells us is that these really big companies they still are using influencers and content creators and young ones especially, to drive their sales. So that is something we absolutely should be paying attention to, no matter what kind of business that you run. There's a lot of opportunity for collaborations here, and I teach that in depth inside of the creative team method. For those of you who are senior photographers who want a team that is actually going to make you money and get you business, that's what we focus on. But, in general, you're not going to see this die, so this is not going anywhere anytime soon. So, no matter what kind of business you run, you might want to consider Diving into that, leaning into this creator economy and seeing how you can also, you know, get that to work in your favor in your marketing efforts online.

Speaker 1: 17:14

Okay, so let's talk about platforms for a second. So it definitely still is the case that you know tiktok is going to be the most popular with Gen Z, but it's it's definitely Definitely not just for Gen Z. So Facebook, technically, is still the most popular social media platform overall, okay, but tiktok is the app of choice for the younger generations. I have been screaming about this since 2019, and those of you who know me and have been following me for a long time, you know that part of my whole Gen Z conversation has always been about tiktok. I've been on there since 2019 Well before most photographers. I mean like it was a very different platform in 2019. So if you, even in 2020, when most people did discover it during the pandemic, it was a. It was a different platform. It has changed a lot since them, but that is where our Gen Z clients are, and younger, okay. So it's not a surprise that Most of the marketing reports say that.

Speaker 1: 18:25

You know, the percentage of Facebook users under 25 is like under 18%. We know that most of them are not really using Facebook and if they are, they're just kind of keeping their platforms up there for maybe just job searching or, like you know, having a digital footprint there, but they're not necessarily using it in the way that you know they were in in the early 2000s. That being said, parents are still using it, right, so they're. They're definitely still is a place for Facebook, and I have started to use Facebook in a very different way. In 2023, I Shifted my account and I think I talked about this in one of my previous podcast episodes when I was talking about social media. At some point. I feel like I did. Anyway. I Went from keeping my personal because I've always had a page, obviously, but, as you know, if you have a Facebook page, they have not really been great for, like getting eyes on your brand right, there's just not being prioritized. For a long time, facebook was prioritizing groups and then in 2023 probably the end of 2022, but into 2023 they really started this whole, when they kind of combined meta with Instagram and, you know, really Became a more cohesive front there. Obviously, they've combined it for a long time, but what I mean is they prioritized this sort of connection more.

Speaker 1: 19:56

I decided to change my personal Facebook profile to a professional account and I saw a lot, a lot of jump in engagement when I did that. So what that means is now from my Instagram let's say my Instagram, because I have it set to Automatically send to my Instagram posts my reels, my post, whatever and my stories to my personal Facebook, which is a professional account. Now I can do that because it's a professional account. Before that, I had to Do it through my business account, right, like. So if I'm a, I'm a professional account on Instagram and on Facebook, so they communicate, okay. So if you're a business account on Instagram, it's going to communicate with your business page.

Speaker 1: 20:47

I switched that this year. I still have my page and I still have an automation through repurposeio, which is a system I use to send my posts from Instagram to my Facebook page, but it goes to both places, right? So, organically it's going to go to Facebook my profile and then I have this automation setup so that it's going to do that. But that automation is set up for multiple things. Like, if you know Anything about how I like to automate systems, I use that that system, repurposeio To send my TikToks and Instagrams, my videos, everything all over the place. So, like it'll automatically put it on YouTube shorts, it'll automatically send it to Pinterest, like there's all kinds of automations that I have set up because I don't have time to be doing that all by myself and I want to be able to have a consistent messaging on multiple platforms. I'll put that resource below in the show notes as well, if you guys want to check it out, because I do have a code that you can get it for, I believe, 20% off.

Speaker 1: 21:45

So, that being said, my main point to this being that you may want to experiment with using Facebook and Instagram as a professional account and see if that gives you a jump of engagement. I found that it definitely did. Like more people see my my posts there now, and so I do post about my business. I have a lot of my stuff being, you know, sent over there, and I don't use my Facebook Just for my personal life. Now, this is a choice. Okay, I'm not saying that you have to do any of this. I'm not saying that you have to listen to everything that I'm I'm doing. I'm just letting you know my experience with it.

Speaker 1: 22:27

I believe that my brand is a reflection of me and I've talked about this a lot in the past that our clients really want to have more of a Relationship with us and not just like a head right, like a business head. We've been moving away from that for the last several years with social media, and we've seen more and more of this word, you know authenticity being thrown around, and that's really what we mean by that. We mean your clients want to know more about you than just okay, this is what I do for business and this is what I do for you. They want to know who you are as a person. So I'm okay Sharing some of my personal life online, but I always have. So that is a choice that you have to make and I'm not saying that you absolutely have to do it the way that I do it. I Just find that it works really well for me because by the time a client comes to me, they know a lot about me already.

Speaker 1: 23:28

Now I'm not gonna share every single bit of my life online. You know we all have to like make these decisions ourselves, but I do think that having some of that online is a really great Point of reference for people and a touch point. It's a touch point like just recently, I shared Some personal photos of my family that I had just taken on my Instagram and and Facebook subsequently, because you know, they communicate and I have way more engagement on personal posts than I do on my business posts. I mean, people really want to engage With you personally and they're more invested in real life, and so why not infuse a little bit of that? Let your clients know you know who you really are and what you value, and I really do believe like I've seen it in my own business and I've seen it in other people's businesses too I feel like this can make a really, really big difference.

Speaker 1: 24:24

So, that being said, I get on a tangent, sorry, let's get back to the topic at hand Facebook and and TikTok being the platform, so most people are going to be using TikTok. So if you're not using TikTok or you don't know how to use TikTok, I highly suggest figuring that out in 2024, because 78% of Gen Z used TikTok in 2023 and two-thirds of them used it daily. So this has just grown every year and it's not stopping anytime soon. And I know that TikTok has changed a lot with the opening of TikTok shop and all of that, and so there's a lot of like sponsored posts and there's a lot of like selling on there, but people are still using it. They're still using it. It's not going anywhere. Again, I've been talking about TikTok as a platform for a long time. I love it.

Speaker 1: 25:18

I'm over there all the time. You guys can find me on TikTok. I'm just Renee underscore Bowen. That's my handle. I'll put that in the show notes for you. Come find me over there and just kind of see what I do. You don't have to like dive in and commit to posting five and six times a day right now. There's a lot of strategies that you can use. I have a class as well that you can purchase. It's just like a 90 minute, maybe almost two hours. It could be two hours Class that I taught a few months ago, talking all about how to use it. It's called glow up your TikTok. I'll post that in the show notes for you too, if you are trying to figure it out. I just recently saw one of my students who took that class when I delivered it live, and she has been very, very consistent about using TikTok and, man, her videos are just blowing up now. So it really does pay off, okay, but it is a long game. None of this stuff is just gonna be a quick hit. You really have to kind of put in some consistency so that, all being said, get on TikTok.

Speaker 1: 26:25

And so, to finish that topic a little bit, just in general, the platforms that are Gen Zers are really on. Snapchat is still the winner because this is how they communicate Most. Young people, teenagers, everyone they connect with Snapchat when they meet somebody out and about. They don't ask each other for their cell numbers right off the bat. What's your snap is what they'll ask. It's a lot less invasive. So Snapchat is still being used mostly by them, and TikTok is right underneath there, right? So the percentage of Gen Zers is like 51% of Snapchat and then 44.7% TikTok, and then under that is Instagram and then under that is Twitter, and then you get into Reddit, pinterest and YouTube. So it's really surprising to me that YouTube is so far down. It's only like 25% of Gen Zers are on YouTube that often, which is very, very interesting, it's mostly millennials on YouTube right now and some Gen Xers, but you get the point. Okay, tiktok is really the platform of choice. Instagram is just underneath that.

Speaker 1: 27:39

And, again, I do repurpose my content. I talk about that in my little mini course. Repurpose I'll link that for you too Talks about how you can take one piece of content and just put it in like 26 different places. So think about where you wanna spend your time. I'm not saying that you have to be on all these platforms. I've talked about this on other podcasts. You need to figure out where your target client is spending their time and you need to figure out your core messaging, and then you need to just learn how to replicate that so that you can get that. You know, cast that net and really get visible. That's your top of funnel marketing. But what most of you guys are really not doing, and what I really wanna see more of you doing, just as a side note, is converting your audience into buyers. Okay, you've gotta activate them to actually book with you and buy from you, and that's where it gets a little tricky for a lot of you guys. So it's not just about showing up, that's just part of it All right.

Speaker 1: 28:34

The next social media trend that I want to touch on is that this has kind of been happening for a while, too, but it's really significantly increased. 51% of consumers believed that the most memorable brands on social media are the ones that respond to their customers. So that's why social media isn't just about marketing your stuff, and you know quote unquote outbound engagement. What are you doing to get these people to feel nurtured and to feel seen and heard and interacted with? What are you doing, like? Are you responding to your comments? Are you going out and sourcing clients yourself? Are you responding to your DMs in a thoughtful way? Are you directing people to where you'd like them to go? Are you having conversations with them?

Speaker 1: 29:30

And a lot of times, especially with photographers, I talk to them and they're like you know, they just sort of expect to put some marketing materials out and to get that visibility that I was just talking about, but they're not actually doing any work to convert those people and they're not nurturing them, and so this is a big, big deal If you're not responding, if you don't have anything set up to where you can respond to people in DMs. You need to look into that. I have been using many chat and I really like it so far. I think it's by far the best program that we have for sort of like automating our Instagrams and our messages, especially because you can set up workflows that actually really, you know, do a lot of this heavy lifting for you. Again, I'm all about automations, but it still helps your audience feel connected to you because, especially our Gen Z clients, our younger clients, they are used to brands responding to them. If they have a problem or they need something, they can message these brands on Instagram and they're gonna get a response more than likely, and if they don't, they're gonna get annoyed.

Speaker 1: 30:40

And so if you have clients out there trying to get information from you and you're not responding because you're never on social media or whatever it is, you're gonna lose a lot of clients like this. And I know a lot of photographers, especially older photographers, who you know maybe didn't start out on social media or don't love social media. I totally understand that. Listen, I'm 53 years old, I get it. It is not super fun to live on social, but there's a way you can automate things and not feel like you are living on social and yet still have your clients feel as though they are taken care of. And that's my goal is that I always want my clients to feel like they're being taken care of. I don't necessarily have to be physically doing it, but I want them to know where that information is and how to get it without you know feeling lost.

Speaker 1: 31:28

So you need to figure out a way to you know, respond to those comments, to make sure that you are participating in that way, and to also be in your DMs. If that means that you just have it on your schedule to check once a day, that's cool. Or if you look into a system like MiniChat, that's cool. Whatever you want to do, but your clients are expecting you to be responsive in that way. And if you thought social media was like going away, that's not happening. It really is on track to overtake TV by 2025. Like they're predicting that they're gonna be more social network users than TV viewers by 2025, by next year.

Speaker 1: 32:14

So again, especially with platforms like TikTok, we are seeing much longer videos. Tiktok, we know, is prioritizing 10 minute videos right now and I know that seems crazy, but they've been really trying to push this for a while. They really want you to be producing more than just a few seconds or even a one minute video. They want viewers to stay on the platform and to do that, they need to have good quality content. Obviously, you can't just put out crap and expect people to watch it for 10 minutes Like. You've gotta be able to hold people's attention.

Speaker 1: 32:50

But, just as a side note, it's not going anywhere, right? So anyone who's telling you that social media is not the way to get clients okay, it's maybe not the only way to get clients, but it's definitely should be part of your plan. It should be part of your strategy. The average user spends like two and a half hours a day on social media, so there's a lot of people, a lot of people on it, and whatever your thoughts are about that and how good or bad it is, we're not gonna go into that on this podcast. My point is that you really need to just understand it's not going anywhere and decide how you're gonna use it. You have to make that choice. The other theme that we're seeing really rise this is not gonna be a surprise to you either is that more and more brands are engaging users with this authentic content. This is what I was kinda talking about before, but those days of really hard selling, promoting on social media, that's really what we're gonna see on the out. That's kinda going out.

Speaker 1: 33:50

People don't really connect with brands that who only talk about themselves and their products. They don't really care. It's just like we talk about with your copy on your website. Whatever you really need to be saying. You way more than I. This is the same kind of information. So people really want useful information that they can use in their lives and they want to emotionally connect to a brand and they wanna know that there's a human on the other side of that. So the most impactful brands are really tailoring their social content so that tells a story.

Speaker 1: 34:24

Again, we have been talking about this for years, so this shouldn't be anything new to you guys, with storytelling and brand authenticity Still a big deal even bigger. This is why we're seeing so much UGC content, so user-generated content. This is the kind of content that is the most authentic a brand can typically get. It's like social proof that brands and products do what they do. It's what I was talking about before with the creator economy. In a recent survey, some consumers were two and a half times more likely to rate a brand as authentic when they published UGC content as opposed to like brand-created, polished content. So you're gonna see a lot more of like bigger brands using real people and doing these like ads that don't look like ads. They're literally just creators that they have found who obviously are getting paid, but it's more like in line with their branding, like the brand will post it and it is coming from it's social proof. It's coming from the person who's actually using it.

Speaker 1: 35:31

So, again, if you're doing a senior rep program, this is a great news for you, because this is what we've been doing since the beginning of senior rep teams. It's just that that's not what we were calling it right, and so you have a great opportunity to really lean into teaching your teen clients how to really leverage themselves as creators and to even make some money doing this, because I'm sorry, but they want to, most of them want to and for most of them, it is accessible for them, especially on TikTok. Anybody could do that right now, so this is a great opportunity for you to sort of step into being the leader and their guide in doing that, as well as having the benefit of getting clients from it, because the more teen clients you have talking about your brand, authentically creating this content, the more you're going to have your brand awareness in your local area and get more clients. That's how you create that foothold.

Speaker 1: 36:33

Another trend that we are seeing in terms of types of content is we've known that there's a lot more shorter attention spans, so there's bite-sized contents doing really, really well because people are spending more time on social media and they're less engaging. So basically, this is a crazy stat because it was eight seconds, but a recent stat I saw said that GenZ loses focus on an ad after 1.3 seconds. So that's for an ad in particular, and I guess, especially with a more put-together ad, they're going to lose focus a lot faster because they have less patience for those types of ads. So you really really really want to be using, if you are creating ads or if you are just thinking about your content in general, what is going to keep their attention. That is kind of what I've talked about in the TikTok class and I know I just mentioned this longer form video that TikTok is prioritizing, but you really kind of have to be doing both.

Speaker 1: 37:47

It's not like I'm just converting all of my content to 10 minute long videos, I mean no. However, you can experiment with some of this. Most of your content is probably going to be short, digestible content, but then maybe play around with, okay, taking that topic and then expanding it a little bit and making it a little bit longer and seeing how much longer you can do it. Nobody's going to watch a 10 minute long video of like a highly produced ad that doesn't really tell a story. It has to tell a story, it has to be engaging. That's the thing. It can't just be basic, it has to be really good. So obviously, especially with our younger clients, a lot of them say that a video longer than 60 seconds can actually feel stressful to them. So the type of your content really matters.

Speaker 1: 38:40

My best advice to you is to, especially if you're new to it, just keep your content for the most part on the shorter side. But you have to actually look at your data and see what's working. You can tell if something's working or it's not, and so if you put out a piece of content and it's a little bit longer and it does really well. Okay, dig into why that is and then maybe see if you could do it a little bit longer, because chances are you're probably delivering some really good information there and that is where you're going to see more people retain their attention.

Speaker 1: 39:15

Instagram Reels, especially, has gotten to this space where it's just B-roll content, right, you doing anything walking, you cleaning your house, you doing anything for seven seconds, seven to 10 seconds, and then just all the information in the caption. Okay, so that's probably not going anywhere for a little while. So you can just take advantage of that. To me, that is easy. I see that doing well on Instagram, but I don't see it doing as well on TikTok and I've tested this with my own content as well. So it does depend on the audience, but that sort of like B-roll, like words on screen, all the information's in the caption, that doesn't do as well on TikTok.

Speaker 1: 40:00

Tiktok, it's more about either being educational, telling a good story, getting people really in, or it's about being funny and entertaining, yeah, like that top of funnel, like getting people into your universe and then hopefully they come over to Instagram and you can nurture them a little bit more. So it's two different types of content really. Now, it doesn't mean you can't post the same video on each one you can, but I'm just warning you that it's probably not gonna do as well, and that's what the data is really showing in these trend reports that I've been researching is that Instagram really does still prefer that a reel between like seven to 15 seconds are really best. So, just as a side note, your SEO is gonna be built into that caption, and so that's a really good opportunity, because people actually do read the captions more on Instagram than they do on TikTok. However, you still should be putting the information in the caption on TikTok because of SEO.

Speaker 1: 40:56

The other trend that we're seeing that I've talked about before and it's just more of it is that in January of 2023, 95% of internet users between 16 and 64 visited like a social network site, and in that same month, 81% had visited a search engine. So what we're seeing is that more and more people as time goes on. Social search is incredibly convenient, and we're gonna see more of that, which is what I was just talking about before with SEO. That's why you wanna be using the same type of SEO strategies in your captions and in your content on social. More people are finding you on social media than they are in Google, so be intentional about how you are wanting to be found.

Speaker 1: 41:47

The other thing to think about in 2024 in particular just in general on social media is that it's an election year, so a lot of social media platforms are really doubling down on issues like hate speech, disinformation, privacy, national security, any of that stuff. So a lot of regulations are being put in and I mean it's probably all really good that they're doing this, but I'm mentioning it to you here because a lot of you guys are gonna see some weird things, possibly like weird messages coming in to your account making sure that you are not accidentally using words that could get you flagged. So definitely go into Instagram occasionally you can do this on Instagram and Facebook and check on the integrity of your account. Make sure that you haven't accidentally put yourself in jail and accidentally use a word that's gonna trigger some sort of AI algorithm to flag your content, because that's when you get into issues of having your content not really being seen. So definitely just make sure you're checking the integrity of your account often and making sure that you didn't do anything accidentally to shoot yourself in the foot. I don't see this happening a lot. I just wanna mention it because it is an election year and so things could get a little dicey.

Speaker 1: 43:11

I also forgot to mention earlier that, in terms of TikTok in particular and the fact that they are sort of prioritizing longer form content, the style of it matters. So that whole like sort of FaceTime kind of content, like Alex Orle does, like the Get Ready With Me, like any kind of content where it really feels like that creator is speaking directly to you, that's the kind of content that's going to perform really well. So a lot of your B-roll, a lot of your BTS, is not gonna really perform as well on TikTok going forward. I think that you might get lucky and see some here and there, but what works the best on TikTok is that connection-based sort of content, and you can even watch some of these bigger creators and see what I'm talking about. Like Alex Orle I mean, if you don't know who that is, you really need to. She's like a Gen Z creator who has exploded in the last year and a half. She creates different content for TikTok and Instagram. She's on both and she's also on Snapchat. So if you just watch her content, like that would be a really good study for a lot of you, especially senior photographers. Just see what she does Like watch the kind of content she's posting on Instagram versus and even on her stories, versus what she posts on Snapchat, versus what she posts on TikTok and, yeah, she's got some people helping her, but she does a lot of this in real time. So that's kind of what I'm talking about.

Speaker 1: 44:46

If you wanna really connect more with your Gen Z clients, you really have to produce content that's gonna be a little bit more authentic and get them to feel more connected to you. And I know a lot of you guys are gonna be like Renee oh, my God, I'm in my 40s. How in the hell am I gonna, you know, connect with a teenager? I get it. Do what you can with what you have and how good you feel about it. I'm not saying that you have to like act like you're a teenager. That's not what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 45:13

But if you are, you know, in the back of your mind, always thinking about the fact that you feel cringy or you're worried about how they're gonna perceive you, like a lot of senior photographers in particular, I hear you guys say that a lot. You're like really super intimidated by your clients, and I don't really get it. But that is, that's a you thing, that's a you internal voice that you know is probably coming from something else, and so I really invite you to tell that voice to take a seat, because it's keeping you stuck, it's keeping you down, it's keeping you from getting what you want, and you can allow that to happen or you can move through it right, be brave, be courageous. The more you put yourself out there and actually try and connect with people, the more you're actually going to probably feel a lot more connected to yourself as well and get the benefit in your business. So it has to come from a really you know, true place. It's not like you can just fake this, but I tell this to photographers in their 40s and 50s all the time because it's something I hear a lot. But the fact of the matter is that if you are drawn to work with teenagers and you love doing this and most of you do like when I talk to you like you absolutely love, love, love what you do, then show it. Okay, if you love what you do and it lights you the F up, talk about it, tell people why that is, connect with your audience. Let them know how much you freaking love working with them and why, okay, go to that, speak to that, because that is your truth and no one can take that from you.

Speaker 1: 46:59

All right, we're moving on to some fashion trends, in particular that we're seeing in 2024. Now I'm not gonna go super deep into this. This is gonna be a little bit of a shorter rundown. Those of you who are in Elevate Foundation and in Evolution you're gonna get a much more meatier breakdown of all of this in our first calls at the beginning of this month, in January. So in the next week or two, if you're in my programs, especially with my Evolution, we're gonna go even deeper into this with these trends, because this is what we do. We need to be thinking about how to really speak to our clients. Again, like for my workshop coming up, I'm gonna be shooting a lot of these trends because I wanna be thinking way ahead. I don't wanna be doing stuff that everybody else is doing, and so if you're shooting the same kind of stuff and the same kind of content and the same kind of clothes as everybody else, you're just going to be lost in a sea of sameness, and I don't want that for you, and so this is super top of mind for me. So, those of you guys in my groups, you're gonna get more of this, but this is just a rundown. I want you guys to have this on your radar Again.

Speaker 1: 48:11

Even if you're not a high school senior photographer, you can use this in your own life. First of all, if you wanna look fashionable, if you wanna feel in the know, if you wanna be the it girl, even in your 50s hello, excuse me, I am still an it girl you can be too. So here we go In beauty. You guys are gonna love this. We're seeing a big old comeback in blue, and I'm talking like blue eyes, shadows, nails, prom makeup, yes. So let's hope that this is gonna be a much more current take than those of us who did this in the 80s. But yeah, that stuff is back Like 80s. All the 80s stuff is back in a big way. Another thing that we're seeing in terms of fashion with 80s is those big like shoulder pad jackets and coats. I mean, it's done in a different way than it was in the 80s, thank goodness, but very structured look okay. So let's get back to beauty, though Blue, blue, blue.

Speaker 1: 49:14

We're also seeing a lot of metallics, so silver, silver metallics and nails, even in eyeshadows and also in jewelry, silver's making a big, big comeback, which I don't really know how I feel about that, because I mean, that's all I wore for years, and then in the last, I would say, 10 years, it's been nothing but gold or rose gold, and now we're going back to silver. So I gotta start digging out some of my older stuff. Another thing that we're gonna see a lot of is this like spa aesthetic, body, skin and a lot of like skincare. We're seeing these like young girls, like 12, 13 year old girls on TikTok making all of this content about their like 12 step skincare routine, which good for them, but, oh my God, like that is not what I was doing at 12 and 13. So that is gonna be huge. That's still. That's making a big, big. It's on the rise, it's not going anywhere.

Speaker 1: 50:18

We're also seeing which is really interesting to me, this sort of like jazz revival, right? So, yes, in terms of music, I think we're gonna see a lot more like sort of jazz influenced music, but mainly outfits, right? So jazz bar outfits, funky jazz outfits, jazz club outfits those things are on search terms that are on the rise right now. So that's gonna be interesting. Another thing that's really big right now is, you know, this kind of fluffy hair aesthetic, like this big 90s hair right and then sculptured jewelry, so like chunky hoops, big braid hairstyles, wavy perms are like. That is a search term that people are searching for, which, oh my God, I can't believe it because I was getting perms at like nine. Okay, but this is not that kind of perm. Big buns, those are like, and not the kind that you think, but hair buns, that's what people are searching for. But yeah, all of those kind of like big chunky jewelry things as well.

Speaker 1: 51:36

Also, stacking bows bows everywhere, bows in the hair, bows on the necklaces, bows on the shoes, crocheted bows I mean, oh my God, they're everywhere right now. Again, alex are all always with that bow in the back of her hair now, but we're gonna see like stacking of the bows, so you know, hair bows and then bows on the outfits and the shoes, like it's gonna be a lot, so you're gonna see a lot of that kind of stuff. Also, stickers are not going anywhere. Okay, stickers have kind of been a thing, but if you use stickers in your business as to do promotions or anything like that, they're not going anywhere. Stickers on everything is still there and a lot of Gen Zers and millennials are really into abundance and like saving their money and being really like thoughtful about their money, and so we're gonna see a lot of like credit card stickers and decorating piggy banks and like a retro sort of vibe, but also current. So that's gonna be really fun and interesting.

Speaker 1: 52:42

Okay, this next trend is awesome. I personally love it. A lot of you guys are gonna hate it, but I think it's hilarious. It's called Eclectic Grandpa, which to me is hilarious, but it's really like doubling down on what we've been seeing Gen Zers do for the last several years, which is like this whole vintage and resale and consignment, like really sustainable clothing. It's that and then some. So basically, think of this sort of eccentric and expressive elements to your wardrobe. So like retro streetwear, but like chic cardigans like cardigans are really big. Some search terms that people are using to find it are things like customized denim jacket, which again super fun you could also do a DIY with like your team, or something like that. Eclectic clothing styles grandpa core is another search term that people are using grandpa style, because Gen Zers are doing a lot of this, like wearing clothes in unexpected ways. And yes, I'm talking about like how we did in the early 2000s, where we put skirts and dresses over jeans. They're doing that, but they're doing it in a lot of different ways as well.

Speaker 1: 54:04

So very eclectic, like just kind of putting on a whole bunch of stuff. Like I think it was about like two years ago I did this really fun shoot with my team, the Gucci style one, where I literally just like let them loose in my style closet and so I just put on everything. It doesn't have to make sense, it's like that Gucci style right when you see it on the runway and you're like what? But then it kind of makes sense and it's kind of fun, and so they actually had a really good time with that shoot. So that would be a really good idea for a team shoot if you are a high school senior photographer as well. Like, just do like an eclectic grandpa or like a just a very eclectic shoot where they just put on a bunch of stuff and call it like unexpected or something. You know, something that I think is really fun. That is coming back in style for Gen Zers is badminton, so that's gonna be really fun. Maybe you can do a really fun badminton shoot. That would be super cute.

Speaker 1: 55:02

And things that are like inspired by jellyfish, which I think is hilarious. It's like I don't know why, but jellyfish are making a comeback and so a lot of those search terms are being used right now, which is really funny. And then another really fun trend is like using scraps to make something new. So this is kind of in that term of like unexpected and grandpa core right, but even more so. So like transforming basic t-shirts to all kinds of like things where I just like taking shreds of materials and sewing them together or, you know, like crafting them together. So like the search terms that they're using to find stuff like this is zero way sewing patterns, or like discard recipes. So that's gonna be really interesting. And again, another fun opportunity and shoot to do with your team if you wanted to do something really fun and different.

Speaker 1: 56:05

Another thing that we're seeing you know, stick around is this vintage and retro 70s is making a comeback. A lot of weddings. You're gonna be seeing a lot of like 70s looking weddings, but I still think that there's still an opportunity for us to do like a very authentic 70s outfit styling as well, because they're still into that. And another one that's really big that's gonna be really big too is Western Gothic. I actually included this in my style guide, my FitCheck style guide template for senior photographers. What was it like two years ago? So it's kind of been around for a little bit, but we're seeing it even more now. So like basically mixing vintage Americana with like deep and moody hues, right. So Gen Zers are really big into like that dark fringe, right, or like dark paint. So a lot of like bedroom styles, even like home decor, western mirrors, vintage Americana, that kind of stuff. So, yeah, we're gonna see that still play out in a lot of the clothing that we're seeing as well.

Speaker 1: 57:17

Okay, if you're still with me, we're gonna run through a really quick little astrological event, sort of what to look for. Okay, again, we're not going super deep into this. You can do your own research if you're interested in that. I can list a couple of astrology resources that I trust, and I like to listen to creators who, you know, talk about this a lot. But this is just so you can put some stuff on your radar.

Speaker 1: 57:40

The first thing we're gonna talk about is Mercury, because we always hear about Mercury being retrograde and how that's not a good time to be maybe initiating contracts or starting things that are new. This actually really depends on your own personal astrology, okay, but in general, because I mean it can be a really good time to reflect, to go back, to redo some things, like there's a lot of ways you can use Mercury retrograde. I'm not gonna get into all that in this podcast maybe I would love to have an astrologer on to speak to that, so I am working on that for you guys. But in general, mercury stations direct on January 1st, so we just had that happen, which is amazing. What a fun way to start a new year. Right, like it goes direct. So you might have already felt that shift. You might have already felt like, okay, you know, I can get stuff done, I can, I can get moving on some projects, so that's really cool. It's gonna go retrograde again April 1st, okay, and then it stations direct April 21st and then it will go retrograde again on August 5th and then it will go direct on August 28th and then it will go retrograde one more time November 25th and go direct December 15th. So that'll be nice. We can end the year on a direct Mercury retrograde.

Speaker 1: 59:10

The other thing that I just want to touch on is the new and the full moons. So a new moon again. This is gonna depend a lot on your personal astrology, but in general, you can use new and full moons for manifestations, depending on the moon and also depending on what sign is it's in as well. But new moons are a really great time to go inward and reflect and really sort of like take in information or, you know, like process things. And then full moons it's like the culmination of that and like a purging right or something coming to fruition. Or you know, I I love a full moon. I always charge my crystals. Yes, I'm that person. I always put my crystals outside on a full moon. And different moons, like I said, are gonna be different things. Sometimes it's not good to manifest on certain ones, so you definitely want to kind of be listening to the experts on that. But in general, here is your little list of the new moons and the full moons.

Speaker 1: 1:00:16

Okay, so we got a new moon in Capricorn on January 11th and then a full moon in Leo January 25th. Then we've got a new moon in Aquarius, february 9th, and a full moon in Virgo on the 24th of February, and then the new moon in Pisces on March 10th, so that'll be like a really nice Virgo Pisces is kind of like a good little combo. I think I'm a Virgo, though, and I always get along really well with Pisces women especially and then we have a full moon eclipse in Libra on March 25th, and then a new moon eclipse in Aries on April 8th, and then a full moon in Scorpio, april 23rd. New moon in Taurus, may 7th. Full moon in Sagittarius, may 23rd. New moon Gemini, june 6th. And then a full moon in Capricorn, june 21st. New moon in Cancer, july 5th.

Speaker 1: 1:01:18

Again, you might want to like write these down, just so you have them or put them on your calendar. That's what I do. Full moon in Capricorn on July 21st. New moon in Leo, august 4th. Full moon in Aquarius, august 19th. And a new moon in Virgo on September 2nd just really kind of fun. And then, what I think is really really, really cool because again, this is my birthday on September 17th we have a full moon eclipse eclipse in Pisces it's gonna be really juicy and then a new moon eclipse in Libra on October 2nd. Full moon in Aries, october 17th. New moon in Scorpio, november 1st. Full moon in Taurus, november 15th. New moon in Sagittarius, december 1st. Full moon in Gemini, december 15th. And then a new moon in Cap Capricorn December 30th, which is really kind of a fun way to end that year, and right before Capricorn season of 2025, which is hard to believe that we would be talking about that. But here we are. You know how fast the years go.

Speaker 1: 1:02:27

So the only other thing I want to touch on real quick about astrology in 2024 is this one, because it is a very, very, very, very big event, and it's when Pluto moves into Aquarius. Okay, so we've kind of been testing the waters with this again. If you know a little bit about astrology, you may have heard about this before. As the furthest planet from us in the solar system, pluto moves at a very, very slow pace, right, ruling generational change more than individual people, though that's not to say that those with like strong Aquarian energy and their birth charts won't feel this transformation more than other people. So Pluto is going to be moving into Aquarius January 20th and it'll stay there through September. It's gonna move back out and then it's gonna go back in for a really long time.

Speaker 1: 1:03:21

So, basically, pluto was last in Aquarius from 1778 to 1798, which is an era that you know included this huge spectrum of events that it's really I mean, like it's impossible to make a whole list of those, but the most notable events that took place during that time frame were the American Revolution, signing of Declaration of Independence, the discovery of Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius, the age of enlightenment, the French Revolution I mean a lot, right? So we had a taste of Pluto in Aquarius back in March of 2023. It just kind of like dipped in there real quick and this was like what they call a preview in astrology, and this offered a glimpse into what is to come for the next two decades. Okay, because it has been in Capricorn for a long, long time, you guys, and so we we were able to see a glimpse of what's to come, with frustration towards big banks and corrupt political leaders, and then it you know it dips back into Capricorn for a while longer and Capricorn is more conservative and more like, you know, sort of like traditional old money, wealth, that kind of stuff, right? And so on January 20th, pluto will once again move into Aquarius, where it will stay until September of this year and then on November 19th there's like it's there, right, so like it's kind of kind of dipped back out and then, starting on November 19th, it's it's gonna stay in there. So, yeah, a week after election day it's gonna be in the sign of the water bearer and there it's gonna stay for 20 years and it's supposedly going to color every aspect of our society, culture and political landscape. So, yeah, it could be, it could be a very, it could be very cool, it could be very tumultuous, okay, so I just wanted to highlight that because, again, I am not an astrologer, I am not here to like tell you how to live your life.

Speaker 1: 1:05:34

I think it's very interesting and I do think that knowing when these things are gonna be happening, like full moons and new moons and, you know, planetary transits I I don't necessarily structure my life and my business around it, but it is something that I look at and it helps me. Like, again, it's a tool in my little tool belt of self-awareness and how I like to plan. You know my strategies going forward. So you know if I'm planning a big trip and I see that, oh my god, it's Mercury retrograde on that day, it's not like I'm gonna cancel that trip. I'm gonna listen to my intuition, I'm gonna listen to myself, my higher self, and I'm gonna tune in. Is it a good, is it a good thing, is it a yes, is it a no? Like just like anything else, right? So I'm not gonna like not live my life for it, but I do think it's interesting and I just wanted to kind of include it in this podcast because there are a lot of you guys out there who are interested in this and again, if you want to dive deeper into that, go check out the people I'm listening in the show notes for it, because it ain't me. So have at it, guys.

Speaker 1: 1:06:42

Okay, so I know I lied and said this wasn't gonna be that long of a podcast, but you know how I am, so I hope this gave you some good tidbits on trends that are coming that you need to be thinking about, maybe even how you can be using social media in a different way. I hope it maybe sparked some ideas for you. Again, I kind of didn't really want to do like a okay goal setting for January, you know, 2024. In the last episode I kind of went through some of that and hopefully you guys downloaded the journal prompts. I know a lot of you guys did and I've gotten really great feedback from that. So if you have not downloaded those journal prompts, it is basically done from the place of your future self.

Speaker 1: 1:07:26

Okay, so it's not necessarily about too much reflecting on 2023. I want you to. I want you to look forward. I want you to feel what it feels like to be in the place, to be the person that you want to be this year and to actually put yourself in that energetic space. Right, because that's how we, that's how we collapse time, that's how we get where we want to go. I've heard some really great feedback. A lot of you guys are already seeing some really really awesome results from that, which is super fun. So I just want to share this little snippet from Amanda, who's in my elevate group. She says this morning I was listening to Renee's podcast on our 2024 era.

Speaker 1: 1:08:07

It was glorious. I was already having a really good day, been having really good days and just absolutely basking in the you know 180 that I've done in the last six months. And then about midday, I had an old inquiry pop up wanting to pay their booking today. Then another family session inquiry who found me in a business network we both belong to. Instead of rattling off my fall family special in a hurry, I took a minute, converted my senior session pricing over to something that made more sense for families and I sent it out with no extra thought, like I do it every day, happy if they booked, just find if they didn't. The guy didn't even bat an eye and happily booked my lowest package as a Christmas gift to his wife. I absolutely did not have selling a 30-minute family session for $1,000 on my 2023 bingo card.

Speaker 1: 1:08:53

Renee Bowen, I just can't, even with you, live in my best life over here thanks to you helping me zone in all my years of hard work lately and you know, that's just kind of one of the little tidbits of feedback that I've gotten about the journal prompts. I've heard some people tell me that they sat down and did them because there's like 30 journal prompts so it can take you a little bit. Someone said that they carved out like two, three hours and they just really wanted to, to really kind of immerse themselves into it and immediately after doing it, they're like finding money, you know. I mean like finding money on the street or having unexpected abundance to drop into their bank account, like all kinds of crazy cool stuff is happening and I, first of all, I love that for them and I also love hearing about it. So if something is happening to you in a good way, I want to hear about it. Let me know. So that's it, guys.

Speaker 1: 1:09:45

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of tried and true with a dash of who. I hope that you got some good strategy and some good who combo for you and that 2024 is treating you well so far. If you want to join us for the workshop on January 26 through the 28th, get in touch with me ASAP. I'd love to have you. And if you want to join elevate evolution, you got to do that real quick, because registration ends on the 7th and there's some really good bonuses.

Speaker 1: 1:10:10

To again, you get a lot of stuff in this. It's kind of it's kind of crazy. And if you've never invested in yourself just as a side note, I know it can be really scary, but if you expect other people to invest heavily with you, you need to be investing heavily with yourself. Period the end. That's just how it goes. I'm not talking about taking money off your table, but if you can do this. It's literally such a small price. I mean 13, 30 pay in full you should be making that and then some per senior, and when you surround yourself with the right people and get the right education, you absolutely can. So I want to see you in the room and I hope you guys have a fantastic week. Talk to me on social, let me know what's up. Love, you guys mean it. Bye.