The fast-paced nature of digital marketing demands constant attention and adaptation. Trends, tools, and consumer behaviors are constantly changing. If your goal is to just keep up with the rest, you’re already falling behind. To really excite customers and clients, you need to anticipate these shifts ahead of time. That’s how to future-proof your business. And that’s what I’m going to help you with today.
This article will cover all the key things you can do to update your digital marketing process for 2024. We’ll look at top trends expected to dominate the year ahead, as well as a list of cutting-edge digital marketing tools to fine-tune your content workflow, with lots of actionable tips along the way.
But first, let’s get the basics down.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a broad term for all the ways businesses and brands advertise themselves online. This includes a wide range of different digital marketing channels like search engines, social media, email, and websites.
Many consumers rely on digital channels to learn about brands, products, and services. This makes digital marketing one of the most effective ways to boost brand awareness and grow your audience.
To top it all off, digital content is about 62% more cost-effective than traditional advertising. The use of technology also makes it easier to measure success on a daily basis and change tactics as you see fit.
It takes a team of skilled professionals to really reap the benefits of digital marketing. So creative collaboration is a must.
Here are some of the key roles in digital marketing:
- Marketing managers
- Social media managers
- Data analysts
- Content creators
- SEO specialists
- Web developers
- Designers
- Copywriters
Top nine digital marketing trends for 2024
Now it’s time for the good stuff. Let’s unpack the top trends predicted for 2024. I’ve broken this part down into three main categories.
- Consumer behavior
- Social media
- AI advancements
Key trends in consumer behavior
Your target audience’s experiences, opinions, and preferences should be the driving force behind every digital marketing campaign you make.
Here are some of the things causing a stir for consumers right now.
1. Elevated experiences
Consumers will continue to go for brands that offer more memorable virtual experiences. As we find ourselves doing and spending more online, digital marketing strategies play a huge role in pushing past plain transactions to offer something more meaningful for your target audience.
The constant development of augmented reality (AR) opens up so many opportunities for virtual events, interactive ads, and unique shopping experiences. How can your digital marketing campaigns nurture a narrative around your brand, and a world for your consumers to enjoy? Your customer journey isn’t just about the moment of purchase, but everything that comes before it too.
2. Hyper-personalization
Hyper-personalisation is becoming an essential part of many brands’ digital strategy. Most modern consumers are selective about the online marketing that they engage with. Which is why speaking directly to each consumer can help you get noticed.
On the flip side, consumer security is another important factor to consider. The trick here is to create digital marketing that offers personalized content while also respecting people’s privacy. In 2024, companies will rely more and more on first-hand customer data to provide personalized recommendations and offers based on previous interactions with their brand.
3. Genuine sustainability
Today’s consumers can spot greenwashing from a mile away, and they’re well and truly tired of it.
With climate change weighing heavy on everyone’s minds, it’s not enough to just throw sustainability buzzwords out on your marketing channels. Your brand needs to take real action that creates a positive impact on the world around you, from evaluating your internal processes to sustainable campaign delivery.
One way to incorporate genuine sustainability into your digital marketing process is by sharing content that specifies your brand’s impact – for example, the amount of waste packaging you recycle. When your claims are supported by real, factual evidence, you’ll foster a stronger relationship with clients and customers alike. Simple, sleek infographics work especially well for this kind of content!
4. Lots of love for video
Content marketing, in all its forms, will continue to go from strength to strength in 2024, with video content taking the lead for many consumers.
Here are just a couple reasons why you should prioritize video projects as part of your marketing workflow.
First, video is naturally more engaging than static content marketing. When done right, it has the power to grab attention and create a more dynamic experience for your audience. It also allows for more information in less time. Which is a big win for today’s convenience-driven consumers. Hence the skyrocketing rise in short-form video content on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Additionally, in an increasingly digital world, videos give marketers more ways to show authenticity and create a deeper human connection with their audience. With visual storytelling, you can bring your product or service to life in a way that really resonates. And beyond that, the emotional element of video marketing can shine a light on your values as a brand for stronger customer affinity.
Key trends in social media
It’ll come as no surprise that having a strong social media presence is one of the most important tactics for brands and businesses. But how can you get the best results out of your social media marketing moving forward?
Here are our top social media predictions to help you create a successful digital marketing strategy in 2024.
5. Social media as the new search engine
Getting your products seen by the right audience is key to running a successful brand or business. That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) for web content has played a massive role in most digital marketing workflows. But extra savvy marketers have started to put that same attention to detail into their social content. And for good reason.
The way we search and shop for products is starting to change, with younger generations turning to TikTok and Instagram over traditional search engine marketing. This is mostly because social media offers product and service recommendations from their peers, influencers, or brands to help inform their buying decisions.
It’s more important than ever for digital marketers to think about keywords and metadata on social media posts for optimal discoverability. In 2024, caption every piece of social media content and make every word count.
6. Nano influencers are in
Most of the time, when we talk about influencers, we’re referring to people who share content with a huge social media following. But there’s a new kid on block in 2024, and they’re attracting some major business.
Nano influencers are those that have anywhere from 1,000 to 20,000 followers. But don’t let these humble numbers fool you. Because this type of influencer is highly skilled in driving engagement, particularly in industries like beauty, fashion, and wellness.
People love nano influencers because they share what they love and know, making their recommendations more trustworthy. And brands especially love working with nano influencers because their rates are usually a lot lower than the bigger names in the game.
So yeah, watch this space.
7. LinkedIn means business for B2B
Yes indeed. LinkedIn is becoming the new hub for service-based businesses in B2B marketing.
If you use LinkedIn, you’ve probably noticed that the platform has evolved quite a bit over the last while. These days, it’s not uncommon to see memes, pop culture references, and personal stories mixed in with brilliant LinkedIn articles and other long form content. This makes LinkedIn the perfect place for businesses to spread brand awareness and build trust.
More B2B marketers are recognizing this trend and planning to tap into the platform’s powers in 2024. So it’s a good idea to get your business page up and running, if you haven’t already!
Key trends in AI
AI has been one of the hottest topics of the past 12 months, and its momentum is only set to increase. For digital marketers, 2024 should be about striking the balance between automation and that all important human touch.
Let’s look at how AI can help you create an effective digital marketing strategy.
8. Conversational AI
In 2024, AI-powered marketing tools like chatbots, voice search optimization, and personalization will become even more widespread. These tools can enhance the consumer journey at every level, from targeted ads to streamlined purchasing.
For example, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants will play a crucial role in predictive customer service, anticipating issues before they arise and proactively addressing concerns. This will allow for faster response times that contributes to improved customer satisfaction as businesses leverage AI to provide more personalized and efficient support.
As AI technologies continue to get better, more businesses will rely on them to improve customer experience, creating more seamless and satisfying interactions for consumers.
Of course, every business is different. So, stay in the know on new developments and see which ones make sense for your needs.
9. Efficiency’s best friend
Automation powered by AI algorithms is set to revolutionize routine tasks, allowing marketers to focus on the more strategic, creative, and fun side of things. From data analysis to content optimization, AI streamlines workflows, ensuring precision and speed in decision-making processes.
Businesses that collaborate with AI will benefit from more streamlined work processes. But a word of warning is to not just set up your automated processes and leave it at that. Human input and consideration is crucial. Effectively integrating AI in this way will help your team make an impact, drive results, and stay ahead in the dynamic world of digital marketing.
Three tools to optimize your digital marketing process
Now that you’ve had a look into the future of digital marketing with our trend predictions for 2024, it’s time to pick the right tools that can streamline your processes.
Here are our top three digital marketing tools:
- Filestage
- Uberflip
- Loomly
Let’s take a closer look!
1. Filestage – best tool for faster approvals
Having a solid approval process is essential if you want to get ahead this year. Luckily, we have just the tool to speed up your approval process from start to finish.
Filestage is a review and approval software that lets you share, discuss, and review all your files in one safe place.
Some perks of using Filestage for your review and approval process
- Share unlimited file types – Upload videos, photos, designs, documents, websites, audio files, and more
- View your version history – Keep a record of every version and review round, so you can optimize your process throughout the year
- Log in from anywhere – Filestage works in your browser on any device for easy collaboration
- Invite unlimited reviewers – Share files and projects with as many team members and stakeholders as you need
- Approve files with one click – Make approvals easy for the whole team so you can prioritize and complete projects fast
How to set up a review and approval process with Filestage
- Sign up to Filestage for free
- Upload your files and add a due date
- Invite reviewers or send them a link
- Let reviewers add their feedback and discuss ideas in the comments
- Turn the comments into a to-do list so you can tick off edits for the next version
- Repeat as the process as needed
2. Uberflip – best tool for experiential digital content
Memorable experiences get more engagement and Uberflip is a content experience platform that helps make your B2C and B2B marketing campaigns more interactive and informative. So if you want digital marketing content that’s a cut above the rest, this platform is definitely worth a try!
Uberflip’s tool keeps all your content in one organized space and serves it to your audience based on their past interactions with your brand, for a personalized experience that can help convert sales fast. Their own branding and tone of voice is also pretty sweet, which is always a good sign.
3. Loomly – best tool for social media marketing
Your company’s social media strategy will play a critical role in your success. Luckily, there are lots of super useful tools that can help you manage your social media accounts, and Loomly is one of the best.
Loomly is a social media content management platform that can greatly improve the way you create content. It has a ton of great features for planning, setting up automated posts, real-time optimization, and performance analytics. If you want to take your social media presence to the next level, this is the tool for the job!
Final thoughts
2024 will bring lots of new challenges and opportunities for digital marketing.
Hopefully this article has given you some ideas on how to update your digital marketing process for the year ahead. By focusing on the trends and tools that resonate most with your business, you’ll be ready to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
To see how Filestage can set your year off on the right track, start your free trial today.
