2024 has not been an easy year. There are many hurdles for digital marketers, including tight marketing budgets, a difficult digital advertising environment, and handling third-party cookies. But with challenges comes opportunities. Smart marketers can leverage it to do more with less.
In this article, we highlight some of the biggest trends that will shake up and shape the digital marketing industry this year, based on Brandwatch's latest Digital Marketing Trends Report. Learn how to use them in your digital marketing strategy.
Trend: Marketers embrace AI
AI is the secret sauce, but robots need a human touch too.
References to AI are everywhere. Innovative companies like OpenAI and Midjourney are disrupting industries and regularly making headlines with new features and developments.
In the near future, AI will change the way we work, and companies that don't implement it will be left behind. This year, marketers need to find ways to apply AI to their marketing efforts without losing the human element.
In September 2023, Brandwatch asked 516 marketing professionals to predict the biggest digital marketing trend for 2024, and a whopping 92% said incorporating AI into marketing will be the biggest trend. The industry is undergoing major changes and marketers are redefining their strategies to improve outcomes with his AI technology.
And the discussion about the challenges and opportunities of AI is vast. From November 2022 to November 2023, more than 1.64 million articles were published and the total number of engagements exceeded his 55.8 million. Interestingly, articles over 3,000 words in length have higher engagement rates than shorter articles. This may indicate that the reader is genuinely interested in learning more about the topic.
What do marketers value when it comes to AI and marketing? Mentions of SEO and content creation increased by over 90% in conversations between marketers on X and Reddit.
The analysis shows that AI can help in various marketing activities. This year will see marketers embrace AI as an integral part of almost everything they do and become more sophisticated about how to use it to deliver the best results in business.
pro tips
Don't forget the human touch when implementing AI. Otherwise, you risk losing your brand voice and ultimately your customers. For inspiration, keep up with the latest AI trends by monitoring online conversations.
Trend: Personalization attracts customers
Marketing personas are dead.
Many brands are in the same position, trying to win over customers in a competitive market. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of consumers. And converting one-time customers into loyal customers is even more difficult.
This is where personalization comes into play. Brands that provide a great, customized customer experience are more likely to convert new customers into repeat customers. In one study, 60% of consumers said a personalized shopping experience makes them want to come back and buy again.
But importantly, consumers not only value personalized marketing, they expect it. As consumers share more personal information with brands, they expect more personalized experiences in return. In fact, three-quarters of customers expect personalization after being asked for personal information by a company.
There are many ways to personalize the customer experience. For example, offering a special offer to celebrate a customer's birthday is an easy way to surprise and delight on a personal level. Another is to provide personalized products. Take the British brand Skin + Me as an example. This cosmetics brand not only offers personalized packaging for its products, but also allows customers to consult a dermatologist to get the skin care products that best suit their needs.
pro tips
Keeping customers happy and engaged is important for long-term relationships. Implementing a well-crafted loyalty program can effectively bring customers back while showing your appreciation, ultimately fostering lasting connections.
Trend: Creativity captures consumer attention
Creativity is a neon sign in a sea of grayscale.
In today's world, it takes a lot of effort to capture a consumer's attention. The average American is exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 ads every day. This information overload makes it difficult for content marketers to cut through the noise.
It's important to convey information as quickly as possible, and short-form videos will continue to be the tool of choice for marketers. Whether it's Instagram Reels, TikTok videos, or YouTube Shorts, marketers will become more sophisticated in how they incorporate video content into their content strategies to get their message across in seconds.
Content marketers also need to get more creative to capture consumers' attention. With human attention spans shorter than that of a goldfish, content marketers are having to shake things up. In 2024, his campaigns will delight consumers with more experiential and interactive content.
For example, Mars Wrigley ran a campaign in November 2022 that capitalized on controversy surrounding one of its products. According to Mars, 40% of consumers dislike Bounty chocolates, and the brand used this insight to launch a “No Bounty” campaign and announced that it would remove Bounty from its Celebration boxes.
The campaign quickly went viral, with fans and haters alike posting their opinions and memes on social media. Online conversations about Bounty and Mars spiked to nearly 29,000 in November 2022, with more than 24,000 people talking about the Bounty incident. In total, this campaign generated nearly 75 billion impressions.
pro tips
Keeping it simple and short is the secret to success. Remember to keep the most important information in the first few seconds of your video. Look at your existing content and repurpose it into short, snappy videos.
Trend: Social listening strategies
Social listening is a marketing strategist's secret weapon.
Did you know that only 1.5% of online discussions about brands and their products and services come from the brands themselves? Social media users worldwide will reach 5.17 billion by 2024 As expected, social networks are becoming an even larger pool of consumer opinions and insights.
Brands that don’t monitor these online conversations are missing out on a huge source of information about what consumers are saying about their products and services. They also miss out on insights into how consumers feel about competitors and their purchase barriers. These one-sided online consumer conversations contain valuable insights not only for marketing departments, but also for customer service and product development teams.
Social listening tools allow marketers to gather real-time consumer insights, allowing them to optimize their marketing strategies and become more customer-centric. In a Brandwatch survey of 516 marketing professionals, 76% agreed that social listening tools will be used to inform marketing strategies by 2024.
Using insights from social data, marketers can see how their campaigns are being received and use unsolicited feedback to optimize current and future campaigns. See what content is performing best, what products your customers love, and what their pain points are. Benchmark your brand awareness against your competitors and identify threats and opportunities.
pro tips
Stay ahead of your competitors by using social listening to discover the latest market insights, consumer trends, and new competitors. Regularly monitor your competitors' conversations to identify opportunities and optimize your marketing strategy.
The biggest digital marketing trends of 2024
Consumer behavior and preferences are constantly changing. It's a universal truth that brands need to constantly adapt and refine their marketing strategies in order to stand out in a competitive environment.
Whether you're implementing new AI technology or experimenting with video content, it's important to prioritize the customer perspective. Understanding the value these efforts provide to your audience is the key to staying ahead.
A customer-centric approach should be at the core of your marketing strategy, and using social listening tools to track consumer opinions is key to staying ahead of your competitors.
Interested in the digital marketing trends that will impact 2024? Read the full report to learn more.
This article was written by Emily Smith, Content Marketing Manager. With a brand watch.
