Digital Marketing Trends of 2024
Whether a seasoned digital marketer looking to sharpen skills or a newcomer eager to dive into the world of online content, our blog space is designed to be your go-to resource for the latest trends and industry insights. Throughout this post, we explore the latest research and trends shaping digital marketing in 2024 and hope you can discover the strategies that will redefine your marketing success.
The Evolution of AI in Digital Marketing Trends
“AI is inevitable on social, and scaling back on its use now would be like reverting from computers to typewriters. To thrive in this new environment, marketers and brands need to move beyond defining “real” and “authentic” based on whether something was created exclusively by a human…the most successful brands will redefine “authenticity.” It’s not about who (or what) creates your content anymore; it’s about the brand experience your content creates for the customer.” – Hootsuite’s Report: Social Media Trends 2024
AI technology has become an integral part of creating digital content and the tools that digital marketing specialists use on a daily basis have been optimized with AI applications. Adobe’s newest Creative Cloud features suggest that AI has found a secure place in the digital landscape of creating for business and personal reasons, and recent research shows that there will be a 318% increase in how much organizations plan to use AI for customer support and 260% increase in how much organizations plan to use it for editing images in 2024. The evolution of AI in digital marketing trends show that it is not a matter of choice when using AI in digital creation but rather a matter of working smarter with the technology. Knowing your target audience’s perception on AI can provide a deeper understanding of what tasks to keep on your plate as a digital marketer and which can be delegated to an AI application. Creating AI policies and best practices for social media can be helpful in avoiding potential unhappy consumers or posting content that include misinformation.
Deeper Engagement with Interactive Content Strategies
Interactive content enables consumers to engage with the content that is being presented to them. Some examples of interactive content include quizzes, polls, animations, videos, and surveys integrated in social media posts like Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and TikTok videos. Keeping your audience engaged is one of the biggest battles in the current digital landscape that relies heavily on information being presented concisely and quickly. Interactive content is a great strategy in getting your audience to pause and engage with your brand and what you are trying to promote. Noted by Syed Balkhi, founder of WPBeginner, in 7 Reasons Interactive Content is the Future of Content Marketing, “unlike traditional forms of content, such as text or images, interactive content requires users to take some kind of action in order to receive information. This action could be something as simple as clicking on a link or moving a mouse over an image. While this may seem like a small difference, it can have a big impact on the way users interact with and interpret online content.”
Optimizing Strategies for Voice Searches
Recent research from Hubspot suggests that voice searches could become more of a marketing priority over the course of 2024 with 41% of marketing planning to increase investments in voice search optimization. Voice Searches have become popular due to its easy accessibility and convenience; voice assistant programs like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are changing how people search for what they want. This means that the way information is presented to those who voice search are going to vary due to the difference in questions asked. Instead of searching for “Mexican near me” in a quick google search, someone might voice search for “authentic mexican that is family-owned near me.” The way businesses present themselves through digital content will shift with the increase of voice searches. This optimization strategy is relatively easy to implement by framing content around common questions that people might voice search for. Director of Global Growth at Hubspot, Aja Frost, says it is key for businesses to look at a topic and ask themselves, “What questions could users ask about this? Then, they should plan sub-topics accordingly and look for opportunities to insert questions as headers.” Read more here: Search Engine Optimization Marketing Trends.
Short-form Video Content Continues to Dominate
Digital marketing trends of the last few years have had short-form videos as a dominating strategy. Social platforms like TikTok have taken the content game to the next level and according to Hubspot’s latest research, 53% of digital marketing specialists plan to invest in short-form video content in 2024. In their research, they point to CMO and Co-Founder of NP Digital, Neil Patel’s understanding of short-form video: “video creates a deeper connection with your potential customer base, and it is easy for brands to repurpose video content into podcasts and text-based content.” The point of short-form videos is to get to the point quickly. This main purpose makes them a bit more effective than long-form videos because of the fast-paced attention spans of many different audiences. According to Hubspot’s September 2023 Marketing Trends Report, short-form video content offers the highest ROI at 31% with images behind at 22%. This is a crucial form of content marketing to be integrating into all types of business marketing plans. Consumers want to gain the information they need almost immediately, and short-form videos help digital marketers create content that does just that. Giving exactly what your audience wants is a big way to build trust!
Influencer Marketing Remains Crucial
Digital influencers and content creators are everywhere in the digital world and there are no plans for influencer marketing to slow down in 2024. When done right, collaborating with the right influencers can have a massive impact on brand awareness and increase an audience base. For many businesses, getting a famous influencer could break the bank, but micro-influencers who have 10,000 to 100,000 followers can be a more affordable option that might actually offer better results. Working with smaller influencers can also be easier to establish long-term partnerships and gain insight into how to gain the attention of tight-knit, engaged, and loyal communities.
