In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, keeping up to date is essential. We want to highlight 6 trends and updates that we expect will make a significant impact on the digital marketing landscape in 2024.
AI Chat Interactions
It’s no surprise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) tops this list. There are many examples of how AI is starting to have a tangible impact on marketing practices. One of the most evident is the ability for AI to interact with customers via live chat. We expect to see this become the norm on all websites before too long.
Live chats need to have the ability to respond to customer queries if agents are not available. Instead of getting stuck if users enter words they don’t recognise, AI will be able to apply natural language into live chat to better understand what a user wants, solve problems and represent your brand seamlessly.
Social Ecommerce
Instagram now allows brands to tag products on their posts so that users can easily shop directly from the app. This us a much simpler process than previously having to go to bios, click links to websites and then search for products. We expect this feature to be a gamechanger for social ecommerce in 2024.
With TikTok shop also becoming much more prominent in the app’s main navigation, brands can be sure that shopping via social media will get more popular as time goes on.
Email Authenticity
Expect to see the value of email marketing continue to soar with a projected average Return On Investment (ROI) of £33 for the year. However, with new legislation from Gmail and Yahoo set to take effect early this year, ensuring compliance with these regulations when they arrive is paramount.
The changes will be manly focused on verifying email authenticity to improve deliverability and prevent spam. Companies who fail to update their email marketing best practices will see their email marketing efforts drop off a cliff in 2024.
With this in mind it becomes increasingly essential to differentiate your brand from competitors. It may be useful to consider what aspects of marketing emails annoy you as a consumer. Are there any ways to avoid repeating these pain-points in your own business's email campaigns, ultimately fuelling engagement and driving results.
SEO
SEO will always evolve in line with user behaviours. Google are always testing and adding new features so it can be hard to know how to optimise.
One increasingly important topic in SEO is the ability of Google to accurately understand natural language used in search terms. This allows Google to serve other relevant results that might not match the search term keyword exactly, but that has results that are likely to be relevant.
Does this limit the importance of keyword strategies? Possibly to an extent but they will still be important. It does however provide wider scope for high quality written content that reads well to your audience without the need to shoehorn in numerous keyword synonyms in an attempt to rank higher.
Short-Form Video Content
The importance of video content is not new but short-form videos continue to offer a growing opportunity to reach your audience. Think TikToks, reels, stories and highlights which are all now the primary focus of each platform.
It doesn’t have to be perfect! High-production value is less important than creating an authentic connection with viewers. The best short-form video marketing promotes the human behind the brand, not just your product or service. Don't be afraid to show imperfections, behind-the-scenes content, and candid moments, in order to boost relatability.
Collaborations
Another social media feature that has become more prominent on feeds is collaborations. This allows users to collaborate with other content creators and brands on a given platform - connecting their audiences together.
If users love seeing their favourite celebrities working together, why not their favourite brands? We think that brands collaborating and working together to create something special for their audiences could be a great way to gain some extra visibility, but also create something extra special for their audiences.
What Can Mid Ulster Marketing Do For You?
As we navigate the evolving landscape of digital marketing, staying informed and adaptable is paramount. We expect that the six trends and updates we've highlighted are poised to make a big impact in 2024.
Do not hesitate to reach out for a chat of you would like no-nonsense marketing solutions to help take your business to the next level.