Welcome to the forefront of marketing trends in 2024!
We’ll unravel the importance of staying up-to-date with trends, from their inception to widespread adoption, highlighting the everlasting flux and the necessity to adapt as our only constant.
From general trends shaping the industry to laser-focused examples, we’ll guide you through the dynamic marketing world.
Elevating AI Practices
It’s no secret that marketers worldwide use AI for various purposes, from content creation to data analysis. Recent surveys suggest this trend will stay strong in 2024.
Revolutionising Content Creation
AI-powered content creation tools like Chat GPT and Google’s Gemini are transforming how marketers generate engaging content.
Chat GPT uses advanced language models to generate human-like text based on user prompts. Similarly, Gemini (previously Bard) utilises machine learning algorithms to analyse existing content and generate relevant suggestions for new articles or blog posts.
The rivalry between the two titans continues, and choosing which to use is challenging. Currently, Chat GPT is dominating over the leading competitor, but Google might have an ace up its sleeve, as you will see later in this article.
Either way, both tools enable marketers to automate the content creation, saving time and resources while maintaining a consistent brand voice.
For instance, an e-commerce company can use Chat GPT to generate product descriptions, blog posts or landing page CTAs, while Gemini can help brainstorm new content ideas based on trending topics in their industry.
Although creating high-quality content at scale seems incredibly tempting, adding a human touch is necessary. A significant amount of editing is still required regardless of the tool you’re using, and the need for fact-checking cannot be emphasised enough.
Additional AI Applications in Marketing
Marketers also use AI algorithms to segment customers into distinct groups based on preferences, demographics, and behaviour, enabling a targeted approach.
Moreover, AI-powered analytics tools can analyse large datasets to predict customer behaviour and market trends, guiding strategic decision-making.
In 2024, the prevalence of AI-powered marketing tools is set to soar, with innovations such as chatbots, voice search optimisation, and predictive analytics leading the charge.
These advanced technologies will enhance customer engagement and insights and revolutionise how marketers automate repetitive tasks and streamline operations.
The emergence of AI tools, such as AI-generated presentations, is revolutionizing the way marketers create and deliver content. AI presentation makers, for instance, can automatically generate visually appealing presentations based on specified data inputs and content goals.
This innovation not only streamlines the creation process, making it more efficient, but also allows marketers to reallocate precious time to higher-value marketing activities. Moreover, it enables a new level of personalization and impact in communication strategies, offering tailored content that resonates more effectively with target audiences.
With AI automation offered by tools like Zapier, marketers can unlock new levels of efficiency and effectiveness in their campaigns, driving more significant ROI and business growth in an increasingly competitive environment.
Physical Marketing Strategies
The fusion of physical and digital experiences is emerging as a trend, with QR codes as a cornerstone.
Bridging a Gap Between the Two Worlds With QR Codes
It’s no wonder QR codes are gaining prominence and playing an essential role in physical marketing. You can make a QR code for billboards and banners, flyers, posters and brochures, not to mention product packaging or labels and stickers like Pepsi does.
A simple yet brilliant example is a plain pull handle saying – “Sorry, we’re closed. Scan to shop online” – seamlessly guiding potential customers from the physical space to the online realm.
By integrating QR codes with platforms like Triggerbee you can create interactive experiences for customers in physical spaces as well.
A QR code placed strategically in a tech store can prompt visitors to scan and receive your personalized campaigns offering your products, discounts, or loyalty rewards directly on their mobile devices.
This interactive approach enhances customer engagement and provides valuable data insights for you to optimize your marketing strategy.
By adding the link into a QR code, and subsequently embedding it onto flyers significantly enhances the ease with which these campaigns can be distributed.
This seamless integration of digital convenience into physical marketing materials not only captures attention but also facilitates immediate engagement, significantly increasing the likelihood of gaining new buyers with minimal effort.
Thanks to their nature, QR codes are a great way to pique curiosity and drive brand interactions. But there’s more than meets the eye here, as the best things happen behind the scenes.
They allow you to measure user engagement through relevant metrics such as time on page, clicks, page views, and bounce rate. And with platforms like Trigerbee, you can further personalize the user experience based on real-time data collected from these interactions.
Future Trends in Physical Marketing
Exploring the convergence of emerging technologies, we must mention the transformative potential of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) alongside the growing significance of Voice Search and AI Assistants in modern marketing strategies.
Augmented Reality enriches real-world encounters by overlaying digital data and offering customers virtual product experiences, such as visualising furniture placement or trying on virtual clothing. Similarly, Virtual Reality immerses customers in digital environments, creating memorable brand interactions.
Moreover, Voice Search and AI Assistants are gaining popularity, requiring businesses to optimise content for voice queries and leverage AI assistants for personalised recommendations and assistance.
As consumers increasingly use voice-activated devices like Siri and Alexa, optimising content for natural language queries becomes essential for enhancing brand visibility and accessibility in the phygital landscape.
Current Social Media Dynamics
Social media marketing is very much alive, although how marketers approach it has changed.
Redefined Approach to Social Media Marketing
In 2024, brands are shifting their focus towards platforms that align with their specific objectives rather than indiscriminately dispersing their efforts across all channels.
The simple reason is the recognition that not all social media platforms effectively reach target audiences. By studying their target audience with Google Analytics, marketers can glean valuable insights from their top competitors and discern which platforms resonate most with their demographic.
For instance, fashion and lifestyle industries may succeed on visually oriented platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. At the same time, tech companies may prioritise platforms like LinkedIn to engage with a more professional audience. Keep in mind that SEO and Google Analytics go hand in hand when ranking your business on any platform.
An essential component in this refined approach is leveraging Google My Business. By optimizing their GMB profiles, businesses can significantly enhance their local SEO and visibility on Google searches and maps, which is crucial for attracting local clientele.
Automation tools are pivotal in streamlining GMB posts, enabling marketers to schedule posts or share content across multiple GMB locations with a single click.
By leveraging automation strategically, businesses can maintain a consistent presence on social media while maximising efficiency and effectiveness. The goal is to optimise social media strategies to achieve marketing goals faster with precision and impact.
The Power of Short-form Video Content
Short-form videos have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing audience attention and driving engagement on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
These bite-sized snippets of content offer a dynamic and immersive experience that resonates deeply with today’s fast-paced consumers. And the statistics underscore the undeniable impact of short-form videos on consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions.
According to recent research conducted by M&C Saatchi Performance, a staggering 92% of users report either making a purchase inspired by the content they’ve encountered on TikTok or expressing willingness to do so.
Every e-commerce retailer must pay attention to such compelling data, highlighting businesses’ need to incorporate short-form video content into their marketing strategies.
The allure of short-form videos lies in their ability to deliver information quickly and succinctly, catering to the shrinking attention spans of modern audiences. With attention-grabbing visuals, catchy soundtracks, and concise storytelling, these videos captivate viewers within seconds.
User-generated Content Takes Central Place
User-generated content (UGC) from forums and community sites has emerged as a potent force, commanding attention and driving significant traffic to these platforms.
The Rise of Reddit Relevance
The exponential growth of domains like Reddit underscores the undeniable influence of user-generated content. The organic traffic surged from 188 million to 566 million monthly visitors over the last six months alone based on our findings on Ahrefs.
The seismic shift has not gone unnoticed by tech giants like Google, which recently announced real-time access to Reddit content through its Gemini platform.
This groundbreaking move signifies a paradigm shift in leveraging user-generated content, with Google harnessing Reddit data to train its AI models and potentially revolutionising content ranking in search results.
However, the impact extends beyond Reddit, encompassing many forums and community sites, each contributing to the proliferation of UGC-driven traffic.
Significant Link-building Potential
Simply put, when people speak positively about a brand on high-quality, respected community sites, Google uses this as a signal to determine an overall ranking ability. There lies the opportunity for businesses to diversify their link profile and increase brand awareness.
It is worth mentioning that forums and community sites are known for having a bad reputation due to a sea of low-quality link-building services in the marketing world. Cutting corners, many providers would go from choosing low-quality domains to placing the links with no context or keywords incorporated.
Selecting the right marketing agency is paramount in capitalising on the potential of UGC-driven strategies. From building trust through the client onboarding process to transparency in reporting and communication, there has to be a deep understanding of the brand and its audience.
Additionally, the strategy and execution must be built around SEO principles combined with experience. The primary ranking rules based on high-quality content that brings value still apply.
Yet, a significant abuse of the earlier-mentioned AI content creation tools is striking. For example, you will see posts on Quora copy-pasted straight from Chat GPT: “As a machine learning model, I don’t have personal preferences or financial resources.”
However, the forums cannot be dismissed anymore, as the number of organic visitors on many of these domains continues to grow rapidly. The best among them are highly moderated; if you appear out of nowhere, placing a link won’t work.
Those who spotted the potential ahead and predicted this trend have a leg up, as building a system and developing a data-driven approach takes time. For example, Growth Partners Media, a link-building agency, has been offering Herd Links service for a couple of years. The service facilitates natural brand mentions and link-building on reputable domains like Reddit and Quora.
Charting Success in 2024
Staying abreast of evolving marketing trends is imperative for businesses striving for success.
From leveraging AI tools to embracing user-generated content, the ability to adapt and innovate ensures sustained relevance and competitiveness. The synergy between traditional and digital strategies and a deep understanding of emerging technologies pave the way for industry leadership.
By remaining agile and proactive in adopting new trends and technologies, businesses can thrive amidst constant change. Adaptability emerges as the cornerstone of success, enabling companies to seize opportunities, captivate audiences, and achieve sustainable growth.
About the author
Sam Klaas is a seasoned marketer and content creator with a background in B2B SAAS and product marketing. He specializes in creating growth-focused content for high-growth startups and is passionate about using the power of language to inspire action.
