One thing you can always count on with the digital marketing landscape is that it’s constantly changing… and fast!
A prime example is the phenomenal increase in artificial intelligence (AI) that we will see by 2023. This trend will continue to evolve and affect all areas of commerce by 2024.
Business also changes due to consumer behaviour and the external environment. While global growth is expected to be modest and prices are likely to cool, consumers will still be cost-conscious, according to the OECD. Furthermore, most people can seek out products that indicate that they are doing something for the public good, not just their own economic interests.
There are many things you need to do to succeed in 2024, but if you know what’s coming, you can easily plan, organize and stay ahead of the competition:
- In social media, we explore the rise of Instagram Threads, why you should take LinkedIn seriously, and how AI will play a bigger role on social media platforms.
- The application of AI in marketing explores the role of marketers in driving strategy, how little technology really is, the need for new skills, and the importance of collective action.
- The evolution of SEO has led us to focus on preparing for Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), with valuable and shareable content, EEAT, and the benefits of user experience.
- Google Ads in PPC forces us to look at AI as an assistant and avoid pressure from Google agents to change campaigns.
- You will hear the increasing importance of data privacy and sustainability in your digital marketing strategy.
1. Social media trends
It’s going to be another exciting year for social media! In 2024, social media platforms will fight for consumer attention and the way success is measured will need to be re-examined.
There could also be a shift in dominance as the ongoing drama with X (formerly Twitter) allows new platforms like Instagram Threads and Bluesky to grow in popularity, while new networks have the potential to they’ve got new space for organic traffic.
Meta launched Threads in July 2023 and now claims its 100 million monthly users, a number that will no doubt increase when it finally goes live in the EU last week with competitor build X instead, Threads are primarily used for sharing updates and joining public discussions.
Retention rate is the new engagement rate
In recent years, marketers have seen a decline in participation in organic social media activity. While there are many reasons for this – the quality of content, the time of day, devices – people may move away from socializing by 2024 to focus on conservation.
“People will report more retention rates than ever before. And because attention is the most valuable thing in the world, users are being presented with more options than ever before,” says Battisby.
To combat this, brands have developed impressive social media campaigns built around entertaining, educating and informing audiences. Being playful and creative is key to engagement.
Battisby believes social media platforms will look to enable this by experimenting with longer video formats – TikTok, for example, will introduce 15-minute uploads – and brands will not only draw on how to engage with their audience more attention has been paid and not just how to engage their audience but how to retain viewers.
LinkedIn has organic reach
LinkedIn recently hit one billion members worldwide. That’s a far cry from when it was the place to just post your resume and get a job!
By 2024, Battisby expects organic engagement on LinkedIn to increase dramatically – a rarity on social channels at the moment.
“People are updating their LinkedIn profiles, not just with job topics either – general life skills, advice, support, mental health topics, advice, leadership.”
AIs are being integrated into social platforms
It’s no surprise that AI is being used by social media marketers to drive business. AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney help marketers generate campaign idea ideas and social content ideas, as well as copy generation and text-to-image generation.
Parallel to this, social media platforms are integrating AI into their platforms. Example:
- TikTok lets you customize your feed based on AI.
- Instagram is experimenting with AI-generated stickers.
- LinkedIn offers premium users AI features such as AI-powered profile writing assistance and ‘Top Choice Jobs’ hints.
- YouTube is testing Dream Track and Music AI tools for short films.
2. AI in Digital Marketing Trends
AI has certainly dominated headlines and turned many marketers’ heads. By 2024, we will see A.I.
“There are only six companies that make up 49% of the Nasdaq value and the US dollar,” says Brian Korish, founder of AI-focused consultancy Elemental Intelligence and DMI. 25% of banks, and they’re all AI companies.” Worldwide Leader
So what does this mean for marketers?
Marketing should drive the AI process
There is some confusion about what to do with AI. Being so close to the customer, marketing departments can aggressively move forward with AI strategies. Knowledge gained in the customer journey can be used to identify opportunities that AI can bring to enhance what the business already has.
“Marketers have access to AI because nobody has it in corporate right now. It’s a great opportunity for marketers to say, ‘I’m going to take this and be the person who helped set the agenda, deciding what we do and how we best use AI,’” says Ken Fitzpatrick , CEO of the Digital Marketing Institute.
Corish believes the first step is to understand what kind of company you work for, as well as your desire to change and the resistance to that change. You can then strategically identify and prioritize AI projects, and get any necessary buy-in from stakeholders.
When choosing an AI project, marketers must decide if they want to streamline processes, speed things up, or change the business model:
Optimize: Make your internal systems more efficient (e.g. use ChatGPT to summarize trade).
Quick: How can you use AI to improve the quality of your existing product or service? Look at the metrics you can use and ask if the AI will add enough customer value to increase the value of the product.
Transformation: Can you use AI to create a new product, service, or business model? This is a great opportunity to go around the organization and talk about the problems people in the organization are facing and how AI can solve these problems
3. SEO Trends
SEO is changing and its future looks to be more user-centric and technology-driven. By 2024, that shift could be significant as AI and machine learning help search engines deliver results based on user input.
Create content worth talking about & sharing
Creating great content is always important, but in 2024, if you want to appear in search results, you need to increase what you create. “Your success will be tied to whether you can do better things than those things that AI has done,” says Lam.
In recent months, there have been rumors that backlinks are dead. In fact, interviews with Google employees have shown that backlinks are not a top-three feature. But Lam believes backlinks will continue to be a sign of Google's popularity, especially as it plans to support its AI models with on-site content.
Do high EEAT scores
Google’s EEAT (Experience, Competence, Ability, and Trust) system is not a ranking factor but part of its search engine guidance. Although the system is ten years old, this year Google added a new E for ‘experience’.
This is important because AI can’t provide real-world experience the way people can. This benefits insider marketers and reinforces the importance of having experts write or report on products.
4. Ongoing digital marketing strategy
The start of a new year is a great time to review your digital marketing strategy. It’s important to know what worked – and, more importantly, what didn’t.
Overlapping strategies can help you achieve your business goals, whether it’s growth or building brand awareness. However, the process also guides your team to understand where to focus their efforts and what to aim for.
An integrated AI strategy will be a must by 2024, especially according to Mesh AI research, only 15% of organizations have it clearly defined and well understood but what other resources are available?
Data privacy remains a sticking point
Data breaches and data misuse cost brands, and not just financially. Data breaches cause customers to lose trust and show a reluctance to share your personal information, which impacts your communications and data collection.
86% of Americans say data privacy is their biggest concern, while 68% worry about the amount of data companies collect, according to KPMG research
“You have to decide how you want to use customer data,” says Ken Fitzpatrick, head of digital marketing. “If you can be clear and honest with customers about yourself and explain what you’re doing and why, there’s an opportunity for companies to steal a way to be more transparent.”
Conclusion: Digital Marketing Development
2024 will be an exciting and challenging year for marketers. AI is changing everything from the way consumers behave and buy to how businesses and departments operate.
One thing we learned from speaking to our experts is that marketers need to embrace AI to improve their business. Even if AI doesn’t impact your operations now, it will in the future. So start learning about technology and start using some of the platforms. Otherwise, you risk being left behind!
Identify the trends that matter to you and focus on what you can benefit from in 2024.
