Famous Danish cartoonist Robert Petersen once said: “It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.” But where’s the fun in that?
Some of the best fun a marketer can have is to peek behind the curtain and see what trends might shape the future. So, we decided to do just that – here are our predictions on the top 6 trends that will shape advertising and marketing in 2024.
1. Content marketing will be more than words
When businesses think of content marketing for social media or other platforms, usually they think of blogs or videos. But 2023 could be the year when virtual reality content starts to go more mainstream. For example, if you’re in the retail industry, virtual reality is a new and exciting way to show your product’s features. Rather than merely describing what your products do, you can virtually show them – customers could even look from the perspective of holding your product in their hands!
Some sectors are already embracing VR like real estate, but what other sectors could start embracing VR? And could it be yours?
2. Expand your paid media to include voice search
Post-pandemic, people are once again on the move, and when you’re on the move you want things quickly. This has led to an increasing number of users searching for content, products and services with their voice… not by typing. In fact, a recent study suggested that 58% of consumers use voice as their preferred method of searching for local businesses.
So, 2024 could be the year when voice search engine optimisation starts to make its mark. If someone asks their phone: “where can I buy a coffee nearby?” how can you make sure that your phone responds with your business?
3. What influence are influencers having on your marketing strategy?
If you were wondering what kind of paid media generates one of the best returns on investment, would you have said: influencers? Well, believe it or not, it seems influencers deliver significant bang for their buck ($5.20 for every buck, to be precise).
When you’re deciding which digital marketing channels to focus your advertising on, 2024 will be the year where it’s more important than ever to include influencers. But be careful! For every success of influencer marketing, there are also fails. So make sure you pick the right influencer to associate with otherwise you might end up on this list, and no one wants that.
4. Your social media advertising will (probably) need to include TikTok
TikTok is already the world’s fastest-growing. It has over 1 billion users and by the end of this year it’s projected to nearly hit 2 billion. And if the growth in users wasn’t fast enough for you, its growth in paid media revenue is even higher. According to Statista, $4 billion was generated in TikTok advertising revenue last year and that’s predicted to double by 2024 and triple by 2026!
While it’s all very exciting it’s worth being careful too. As in all marketing, you need to make sure your audience is actually there. TikTok has a younger audience and its algorithm doesn’t show people localised content – it prioritises interests. So, while the audience and advertising growth is, it’d be worth doing some research to make sure it’s the right platform for you.
Learn more on how brands can make the most of TikTok
5. Don’t let your marketing just be about answering customer questions, get the data too
A few years ago, the rise of the chatbot was the hottest topic in marketing and advertising – these are popups on websites that automatically answer questions which users type in. They were initially hailed as a revolutionary customer service tool, but it seems their biggest benefit is the data they store.
That’s because chatbots capture incredibly rich data metrics, like the most frequently asked questions, what products have the most questions asked about them, what time of day customers will inquire about particular products and more.
This could help you adjust the content on a particular page, setup your website so particular products are featured at certain times of the day, and what products to ‘suggest’ to prospective customers when they’re viewing your site. And that’s just the tip of the chatbot data iceberg.
So, if you have a chatbot, make 2024 the year of the great chatbot data harvest.
6. The best advertising is having a social conscience
Have you seen the news recently? Multiple sports stars are pushing back against their sports sponsors because of their stance on social justice issues. And if you thought this was confined to sports stars, think again. In the United States, Gartner did some research that found 64% of American consumers opted not to buy a particular product due to their political or social beliefs.
In addition, 50% of American consumers will research a brand’s stance on particular social issues before they ‘agree’ to do business with them. If a customer wanted to find out your stance on climate change, what would they uncover?
Well, 2024 could be the year your business hits a social justice speed bump. It’s worth taking the time to investigate where you should be making a stand, not just because it’s probably a ‘good’ thing to do, but because it’ll also help your bottom line.
If you want to make sure you’re riding the right marketing wave in 2023, get in touch with us. We’d love to help you take advantage of these new and exciting trends and ensure your marketing strategy starts with one step in the future.
