By Fran Prince, director
With the technological landscape continuing its fast-paced change, it’s more important than ever for the marketing industry to use innovative ways to help brands stay connected to audiences in 2024 and beyond.
With cost-of-living challenges still taking their toll, a general election looming and an evolving focus on what consumers want from their favourite brands, marketers have their work cut out to ensure their messages are dynamic enough to be heard above the noise.
Here we consider six marketing trends for 2024 that are creating a buzz in the industry…
Six marketing trends for 2024
1. Artificial intelligence (AI)
One of the hottest topics of our times, AI continues to dominate the headlines. The marketing sector is looking to adopt its potential opportunities to transform how brands engage with their audience, for improved creativity and efficiency and to use as a measuring tool for marketing campaign success.
A report by media company Kantar found that 67% of marketers feel positive about the possibilities of Gen AI, indicating an exciting adoption of the new technology. Many will look to use it to create personalised and streamlined experiences that drive customer engagement and loyalty – and ultimately increase sales.
But there’s a cautious note about the need to strike the right balance between data-driven marketing and the importance of developing strong, effective strategies to raise brand awareness. And there will be much further discussion about the importance of transparency and what regulations may need to be put in place to harness its effectiveness.
2. Influencers adapting to Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Influencer marketing is predicted to undergo a transformation as AI takes hold in the sector with influencers looking to use it for content creation tasks, such as editing photos and videos. AI analytics can also assess an influencer’s reach and engagement and therefore their relevance to and impact on a brand.
But there are reservations regarding the possible overuse of AI that could make posts too polished – there will still be an emphasis on real people sharing real stories that will resonate with followers, building trustworthy relationships and keeping them engaged.
The Influencer Marketing Hub’s Benchmark Report 2023 found that 67% of respondents were intending to increase their influencer marketing budget last year. And it reported that the influencer marketing industry was set to grow by $21.1 billion in 2023.
According to Forbes, there’s also a growing trend towards brands collaborating with authentically niche or micro-influencers and developing more hyperlocal campaigns, moving away from a broader approach.
3. Increased video advertising
As well as the continued popularity of influencer marketing in building trust with audiences, capturing consumer attention with video-based content is a key marketing trend for 2024.
The huge popularity of short-form videos on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok shows no signs of abating and is an ideal way for brands to drive engagement with younger audiences through targeted and impactful marketing campaigns.
TikTok’s visually-driven content has seen it grow into a hugely influential social media platform, especially among millenials and Gen Z. With more than one billion videos viewed every day, this has massive potential for advertisers. Statistics show that 55% of TikTok users have made a purchase after seeing a brand’s products on the app.
Using trending audio through brand ambassadors and influencers is also increasing in popularity this year – using trending sounds for social media content such as Instagram reels can boost brand awareness and engagement.
Live streaming is now considered to be an essential marketing tool in reaching a broader audience base, according to the Research and Markets organisation. It reports that the global live streaming market grew to $1.49 billion in 2023, up 20% on the previous year.
4. Aligning with consumer values
Customers build an emotional connection and spend money with brands that align with their own values – and can be picky when that doesn’t quite work out. A Harris poll commissioned by Google Cloud found that three-quarters of shoppers reported parting with a brand if there was a conflict of values.
The same poll found that 52% of consumers are interested in supporting sustainable brands that save energy with strategies such as eco-friendly packaging and sourcing goods and services responsibly and ethically.
The shift towards this ‘conscious consumption’ is also highlighting brands that can actively demonstrate a clear policy on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
Consumers in 2024 will also be looking at brands sensitive to current economic challenges as they continue to tighten their belts and consider where and how they spend their money.
5. The growth of human interaction
With talk of AI and automation dominating marketing conversations, many are predicting a swing back to more human, meaningful interactions with audiences to create deeper connections.
Marketers will increasingly use the information from AI-driven algorithms that analyse customer data to develop ‘hyper-personalised’ marketing strategies that are customised to individual needs.
These strategies will help businesses understand what is most important to their target audience and improve the customer experience, according to Deloitte. A report by the company says that 90% of customers find personalised advertising appealing.
Meanwhile, the removal of third-party cookie support is an important factor for the marketing industry to consider. Google plans to turn off this support in Chrome for 1% of users worldwide early in 2024, the first phase of a gradual process to remove them altogether.
Cookies track a user’s browsing history, enabling them to be targeted for personalised advertising. There are concerns it will remove remarketing opportunities as data can’t be captured if people decline consent to cookies – brands will have less data to inform them what users like on their website.
6. Thought leadership and expert content
Despite all the buzz about AI, expect a renewed emphasis on human-written content created by experts in 2024. This will counter the prevalence of machine-generated material to retain key audiences and connect with new ones.
This will value content that showcases human expertise and originality, according to Cartwright Communications’ search engine optimisation (SEO) manager Jotdeep Drarh. Gaining customer attention and trust from the start is crucial to help make your brand stand out, he says, as the SEO world shifts from impressions, clicks and click-through rates towards brand visibility, lead generation and conversion rates.
And with all the uncertainty going on in the world, audiences will need to rely on trust-based relationships and genuine content that creates connections. Marketing strategies should consider thought leadership content that places businesses as experts in their field, linking to testimonials and bios on their websites. Use links to platforms such as LinkedIn to showcase your team’s education, experience and skills – and blog posts that harness SEO, highlight an author’s work and illustrates their authority.
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