A digital strategy is the backbone of your marketing as a brand, and in 2024, nothing could be more important than ensuring all of your digital strategies are optimised.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that your digital marketing strategy is running at its most optimal is to stay ahead of the new trends that other brands are following. Trends tend to get more traction, particularly on social media, and create a sense of recognition for the consumer.
Trends are a great indicator of consumer behaviour changes. Staying ahead of them can keep you abreast of what it is your audience wants and make it easier for you to tailor your marketing strategies to meet their needs.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the trends that are set to become big in 2024. Take a look now and brainstorm ideas that you could generate using these trends.
AI is very, very popular right now. Everywhere you look, someone is creating a new AI tool or investing in a new AI start-up. Big companies like Meta and Google (Alphabet), are investing heavily in new AI to completely change the way we work. But on the back of this popularity is a lot of scepticism. Not just from investors but also from consumers around the world who don’t yet trust AI.
Marketers can and should be using AI in 2024, but there is a fine line between using and benefiting from AI and using it so much you actually scare off your consumers.
So, how should you use it?
For content creation, generative AI is an incredibly useful tool. Generative AI is a tool which produces various types of content, including text, imagery, and audio, using artificial intelligence. To create content, you simply input prompt words and the AI will generate content based on these. While generative AI is certainly not new, the most recent innovations in the tool mean that the content produced can be incredibly high-quality.
Using generative AI can make your content creation much more straightforward, particularly when writing social media captions, email marketing subject lines, and coming up with new content ideas.
As with any tool though, there are drawbacks. For instance, some image-producing tools aren’t as sophisticated as others. Always check any imagery for extra arms and legs, because AI-generated images have been known to sprout them. In addition, generative AI has to get its inspiration from somewhere, which has led to artists having their work stolen by AI and reproduced without them receiving any royalties.
To overcome these issues, we suggest creating authentic image content, but perhaps using generative AI for inspiration for your written content. Remember that using too much AI in your work can begin to feel inauthentic and is likely to put your consumers off your content. Use AI for inspiration where you can, but remember to get the authentic content in there too.
If you’re looking at AI to take the stress out of content creation, remember that Rokir offers self-managed services, including content creation so that you don’t have to worry about it anymore!
Another way to use AI is to automate your content, particularly on social media. By scheduling posts, you can focus your attention elsewhere, like on business growth, while your marketing takes care of itself.
AI can also be used to help you get to know your audience better. Using AI-powered analytics tools you can gather lots and lots of data and analyse it quickly. This data will give you more insight into consumer behaviour, trends, and preferences that can not only help you to create products and services that your consumers want but can also help you to target your marketing content to them.
This data can also support personalisation in your marketing efforts. Personalisation is known to improve brand loyalty because you’re giving people what they actually want. Email marketing is one of the best places to put personalisation into practice by sending emails to different segments of your audience based on what they want. You can use data like past behaviour, recent purchases, and customer journeys to inform the content they see.
Remember: while personalisation is a really great marketing tool, there is a fine line between personalised and relevant marketing, and making your consumers feel like they’re being watched. Make sure you tread carefully.
It is also important to note that when using customer data to inform your marketing, you must adhere to local regulations regarding data privacy. These regulations can differ depending on your jurisdiction, so make sure you find the regulations that govern the region you work in.
For UK marketers, The Data Protection Act 2018 and the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) are where you will find the rules and regulations you must adhere to.
Google recently conceded that around 40% of young people choose to use TikTok and Instagram over Google when searching for things like places to get lunch. But more recent data actually suggests that TikTok is the number 1 search engine for more than half of Gen Z. 51% of survey respondents now choose TikTok over Google as their primary search engine.
While this is probably an issue for search engines like Google, you might be thinking… “What on earth this could have to do with marketers?” Well, with Gen Z using social media as their own version of a search engine, this presents an incredible opportunity for you and your marketing team.
In the above poll, survey respondents cited three common reasons for choosing TikTok over Google: the video format; more relatable answers; and more personalised answers.
As a marketer, this gives you the opportunity to create highly valuable content that educates users, meets their needs, and answers specific questions to boost engagement and set your brand up as an authority on social media platforms like TikTok. If people are using TikTok Search more than Google, then ensuring your content is valuable, useful, and educational means targeting those consumers searching for answers to the questions that you can answer for them.
If this is a good trend for you to get on board with, remember that Rokir offers a comprehensive social media strategy service. We support you in building a following, keeping consistent with your posting, and boosting your overall engagement.
Above, we mentioned that Gen Z uses TikTok more because of the video format. But this isn’t the only area where video content reigns supreme. In fact, it’s not just TikTok where videos are growing in popularity.
While TikTok is trialling even longer videos–that’s right, you can now upload up to 10-minute-long videos to the app–elsewhere on social media. Videos are also becoming the best kind of content to put out.
Over on the business side of social media, LinkedIn has had a shift in the algorithm that prioritises knowledge-based content. While this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to post video content, videos are about 20 times more likely to be shared on LinkedIn than a text post. So, if you’re looking to get your brand name out there, this could be the way to do it.
Now, we know that video content can be difficult to come up with, especially in longer formats, so we have a solution. If you’ve previously created longer text posts with a knowledge or educational focus, then use these as inspiration and turn them into video content. Once you’ve posted, you can track the metrics of the video content to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Looping videos are currently trending too on a range of platforms including TikTok and YouTube. As they sound, looping videos are videos with a short video or animation that loops over and over.
Looped content has a number of purposes. For one, it keeps followers engaged on a piece of content for longer, boosting your engagement levels. It also means followers don’t have to manually replay a video they’re interested in.
Looped content speaks to the desire for shorter content that is easier for people to digest. It also keeps people on your page for longer and entertaining them with visual content that they don’t need to manually replay.
Looping videos can be long-form, even though the base content is short-form. And, they are the perfect opportunity for branding. Firstly, because they make for attractive content on your page (consider pinning them). Secondly, because the shorter clip can include brand colours, logos, and text to remind people who you are.
In recent years, traditional marketing tactics have become much less common. Younger people don’t engage or are not swayed by them as much as the generations before. Gen Z, which now accounts for 40% of all consumers, are more driven to purchase from a brand where they feel a connection, authenticity, and ethical responsibility. This is likely the cause of hashtags like #supportsmallbusinesses and other shifts towards shopping local, shopping small, and avoiding big corporations.
But how does this affect you?
Well, the reason that people shift towards these brands is because of the connection they feel with them.
Building a community around your brand is absolutely essential if you want to have a connection with your consumers. After all, connected consumers are engaged participants in your business.
Building a brand community can have many benefits for your brand. These include the following.
The best practices for building a brand community are as follows.
Building a brand community might take some time, so remember what your purpose is. If you remember your why, you’re more likely to stick with your efforts and when you achieve them. You’ll get to enjoy the incredible benefits!
This list is by no means an exhaustive look at the trends that will likely be popular in 2024. That why we’ve whittled it down to trends we think you can easily harness. Take a look at the trends and pick the ones you like and that suits your business goals. Remember that there is no point in getting on board with a trend if it doesn’t resonate with your audience!
If you’re looking for support with your digital strategy this year, then you’ve come to the right place. Rokir offers a full suite of self-managed digital services. We can support you with content creation, social media marketing, web development, and more. Contact us today and let’s chat about how we can help you!
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