Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen significant trends shake up the world of digital marketing. Some current marketing trends have been revolutionary, including AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, which have influenced a shift in everything from marketing strategies to the way we process data and carry out analysis. You may have also seen a shift in consumer behaviour and habits, including the rise of short-form video and the growth of influencer marketing to help brands build relatability and rapport with their customers.
Whether you’re a content marketing expert or a complete novice, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the latest trends in the digital marketing world. You’ll find that there are different strategies which will really help you elevate your business to the next level in 2024.
In this blog, we’re going to run through some of the key trends that are on track to rise to prominence in 2024. With our handy tips, you can stay ahead of the curve and help your business become a leader in your industry.
Why Is Social Media Marketing Important?
It’s important to stay on top of social media marketing trends because it’s one of the most popular marketing tools online. According to the Statista website in July 2023, 5.19 billion people worldwide (64.6% of the global population) used the internet, and 4.88 billion of these people (59.9% of the population) were social media users.
With this being the case, you have an amazing opportunity to capture the attention of your ideal customer profile across a range of channels and mediums. Using the various tools social media platforms offer you, such as Instagram reels or LinkedIn carousels, you’re able to build engaging relationships with your customers by inspiring them with easily consumable content. If you inspire your customers, they’re more likely to comment, like and share your posts, helping you reach a wider audience. It’s key to remember that if a customer leaves a comment, you respond so they feel heard and connected. Customers love to receive a reply from their favourite brands! Building a loyal customer base can lead to repeat business, which in turn can help boost your revenue and exposure moving forward.
Why Is Content Marketing Important?
Content marketing is a great way to bridge the relationship between your business and your customers. Making sure that you use the tools and support available to you, you can make huge strides to ensure that your business’s goals are achieved. Content marketing helps increase brand awareness while attracting and retaining customers by utilising different communication channels including social media, email and blogs. By educating, entertaining and inspiring customers, content marketing helps shape customer perception of your brand while promoting your business’s products and services. Effective content marketing allows your business to become an industry thought-leader and ultimately provide you with a good reputation amongst customers.
The Rise of AI-Powered Marketing
AI has taken the world by storm and is showing no signs of slowing down. In June 2023, Forbes analysed the growth and adoption of AI and found that the UK AI market is expected to grow from around £16.9bn to £803.7bn by 2035.
From a marketer’s perspective, the rise of AI is looking like it’ll continue to transform the industry, helping analyse vast amounts of data, automate repetitive tasks and increase efficiency of your workload. With all these great benefits, AI will ultimately help increase the delivery of personalisation for customers, leading to higher levels of engagement and conversion, whilst being able to analyse your business data with more precision and ease.
With AI on hand, making decisions on everything from pricing strategy to the best time to post content can be made quickly and accurately, saving you time that’s better spent elsewhere. If you’ve considered utilising AI, but don’t know where to get started, we’ve created a handy blog called top 10 tips for leveraging ChatGPT to help you begin.
UGC & Influencer Marketing
Another trend which will continue to be at the forefront of many businesses’ strategy planning is influencer marketing strategies and maximising the use of UGC (user-generated content).
Although historically most businesses have focussed on micro influencers (10,000-100,000 followers) and macro influencers (100,000-1,000,000 followers), there has been a growth in utilising nano influencers (up to 10,000 followers). Previously, it was thought that the more followers an influencer has, the more likely it is for them to reach and inspire a wider pool of customers. Entrepreneur.com found that due to customer habits changing and an increased understanding of how influencer marketing works, consumers are now less likely to feel that their content and promotions are authentic. When a customer sees an influencer ad, with a genuine presence and a niche loyal following, they’re more likely to relate to the content.
An influencer marketing strategy is also a great way to help your business generate content that’s unique, outside the box, and that generally has a more personal touch. Psychologically, real human perspectives help build a further element of trust with your customers and user generated content does just that.
Utilising Short-Form Video
On the back of TikTok’s global popularity boost in 2020, the prominence of short-form video has quickly become a preferred method of consumption for many online users. Studies have found a correlation between the shortening of attention spans as highlighted by King’s College London and the preference towards short content. If your customers aren’t engaged with your content because it’s too long, they’re not likely to interact.
Making the most of TikTok, Reels and YouTube shorts with snappy, engaging content will help generate interest from customers who are scrolling through their social media feeds. Many algorithms are encouraging this type of content, so it’s important to stay ahead of what’s trending and how you can adapt your content to make sure you reach the widest audience possible.
Voice Search Optimisation
With the rise of AI assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, we’re finding ourselves using our voice to find the information, products and services we need, rather than using the internet on our mobile devices. Being able to order something while watching the television when you can’t find your phone, or learn about something you’ve been told without having to Google it, voice search has become a widely used method for accessing information.
According to Semrush, the average answer length for voice search is 23 words, so to succeed with this rising trend, it’s important to write with a concise, natural tone. Writing this way will match the way customers are searching for your products and services your business offers. This in turn, allows voice assistant software to crawl through your website and deliver the information they requested. Think about writing for your users and how they would speak, rather than writing content in complicated jargon. Writing this way helps AI tools and systems understand what your content is offering. If the information matches the term with a higher reliability score (meaning that the algorithm thinks it’s a better match for the consumer's query), it’s going to rank higher than a competitor offering the same information in a more complex way.
Focus on Purpose and Sustainability
Today's consumers are more aware of their purchasing habits and decision making due to the vast amount of information available online. It’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to focus on their purpose and sustainability so that it aligns with your customer’s values.
Make sure it’s clear on your website and social media platforms that you know your business’s why, and explain it to your customers in an easily digestible way. The same goes for sustainability. Customers are becoming more cautious of the impact the decisions they make have on the planet, so if your business hasn’t started considering its environmental impact, now would be a great time to start developing your objectives.
In Conclusion
The digital landscape is constantly evolving! 2024 will continue to see the rise and of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, all with the goal of improving productivity and efficiency. Combined with a focus on changing consumer habits and what customers value, staying aware of what your audience wants and needs from your business is key to keeping them engaged.
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