Remember how all the 2023 marketing trends exploded with the introduction of ChatGPT? We do, too.
So, itâs probably no surprise that the 2024 marketing trends weâre covering in this article are our attempt to grapple with how AI continues to reshape digital marketing trends. At the same time, the rise of AI means that finding ways to connect with audiences and build trust is MORE important than ever.
In this article, weâll discuss the five major marketing trends reshaping the business world in 2024 (AI-powered personalization, community building, genuine branding, short-form video content, UGC, and influencer marketing) and include some additional trends to watch. Read until the end for those!
AI-powered personalization
What is this marketing trend?
AI-powered personalization leverages AI to tailor marketing to individual customers based on past interactions. Itâs using machine learning to deliver personalized content, recommendations, and experiences.
Put simply, AI will be able to gather and interpret even more data about consumers, which brands can use to provide more personalized experiences to every customer.
This might sound scary, but itâs generally a really good thing. As long as companies only use ethically collected data gathering, AI-powered personalization can help you find what youâre looking for more quickly.
How will this change in 2024?
In 2024, AI capabilities will continue to advance, creating more precise personalization in real timeâweâve already seen this happen!
With each advancement, businesses can predict consumer behavior more accurately. As they use that knowledge to offer customized experiences, engagement and conversion rates will grow.
How can brands take advantage of this trend?
Hereâs how to leverage AI-powered personalization for your brand:
- Use AI to analyze customer data. Once you obtain insights, use them in your email marketing campaigns, website content, ads, and product recommendations.
- Look into ChatBots. Thanks to AI, chatbots are getting more sophisticated. If done right, these AI virtual assistants can save you money and frustration by fielding customer questions.
How can creators take advantage of this trend?
If youâre a creator, hereâs how you can leverage this for your content creation business:
- Use AI-powered editing tools (like ChatGPT) to streamline your video creation process. You can draft tailored scripts for videos, allowing you to focus on the more creative aspects of video production.
- Start using AI to generate photos or videos. The tech isnât where weâd like it to be, but if you start playing with it now, youâll be ready to use it when it improves.
- Check & add the human touch. When using AI tools, always check the content youâve created and add a human touchâAI-generated drafts still tend to sound robotic.
Community building and genuine branding
What is this marketing trend?
These trends in marketing emphasize the importance of genuine connections. Authenticity and transparency are key components of both community building and authentic branding.
âŚAnd yes, we know this was ALWAYS important, but with AI taking over the internet, itâs even more critical now.
As personal connection fades into the sea of AI-generated workflows and content, the brands that build genuine connections and maintain an authentic, human voice will win the long-term game.
How will this change in 2024?
As AI-generated content becomes more ubiquitous, consumers will crave authentic interactions and genuine brand voices. Community-building will be critical for building customer trust and loyaltyâbecause you canât fake that.
How can brands take advantage of this trend?
If you havenât already started to build a community around your brand, đ get to it!đ
Donât worryâyou donât have to start a Discord server or Slack channel for your customers if you donât want to. Make an effort to interact regularly with the people who already love your brand. You can do this through social media, forums, and online and offline events. Ask for UGC and customer testimonials, and reward those who deliver.
How can creators take advantage of this trend?
Honestly, this is *pretty* similar to the advice we just gave brands: Donât neglect your community.
You can build and maintain a loyal community by regularly engaging with your audience through comments, live sessions, and interactive content.
Be authentic and super transparentâonly share your real opinions and experiences to connect with your audience on a deeper level. It can be tempting to work with any brand that will hire you, but youâll be better off in the long run if you only work with brands you genuinely admire. Itâs unbelievable how easily viewers can sense when youâre being fakeâdonât lose their trust for a bit of cash.
User-generated content or UGC
What is this marketing trend?
User-generated content is when customers create videos about their experience with a brand and post them online. It might seem pretty straightforward, but itâs become a whole industry.
How will this change in 2024?
Not to sound like a broken record, but AI is making genuine content EVEN MORE valuable because customers will get tired of hearing brand-generated content. They will want to hear the truth from real people like them. So, youâll see businesses scrambling to fill this need by encouraging and curating all the UGC they can find.
How can brands take advantage of this trend?
There are a few ways you can jump on the UGC train for your brand:
- Encourage your customers to leave reviews, share testimonials, and make UGC. If your customers arenât naturally doing this (and donât worryâitâs a struggle for every brand), offer incentives like discounts or giveaways for participation.
- Highlight user-generated content in your marketing campaigns and social media channels, including UGC videos and testimonials.
- Use a UGC Platform (like Clip!) to source UGC content from phenomenal content creators!
How can creators take advantage of this trend?
As a creator, you are also a business owner, so the tips here are pretty similar:
- Encourage your followers to share how youâve helped them decide while buying somethingâthis speaks VOLUMES.
- Engage with your fans through comments and replies, highlighting them on your channels. These conversations will likely generate UGC that you can use (with permission!)
- Take a business approach to branding: get testimonials that speak to how great you are to work with.
- Bonusâif you love creating videos, consider becoming a UGC creator yourself!
Short-form video content
What is this marketing trend?
Short-form videos are, well⌠short. Usually, theyâre under 60 seconds, capture the viewerâs attention quickly, deliver a message in vertical format, and then GET OUT OF THE WAY. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have made this format super popular with audiences, and weâre pretty sure that will only grow in the future.
How will this change in 2024?
As short-form videos grow, businesses will incorporate them into their marketing strategies even more. The algorithms on these platforms increasingly favor short-form videos, meaning brands must adapt to stay visible.
How can brands take advantage of this trend?
If you want to take advantage of the shift toward short-form content for your brand, hereâs how:
- Focus your social media strategy on creating short-form content and posting on platforms that are friendly toward it. By that, we mostly mean TikTok, but you can post on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, too.
- Leverage trends for short-form videos, like participating in trending challenges and hashtags. This will help you increase visibility and engagement.
How can creators take advantage of this trend?
As a creator, you have an advantage with this oneâshort-form video is all about being creative and telling stories succinctly! Hereâs how to make the most of it:
- Master short-form storytelling. Focus on creating compelling and engaging short-form videos that capture attention quickly, using hooks and other storytelling techniques.
- Ride the trend waves. Stay up-to-date on the latest trends and challenges on platforms like TikTok and Instagram to keep your content fresh and engaging.
Influencer marketing
What is this marketing trend?
Influencer marketing is when brands collaborate with social media influencers to promote products and services. They might work with nano influencers (someone with a few thousand followers) or celebrities with millions of followers.
How will this change in 2024?
Brands have generally followed the idea that âMore is moreâ when it comes to an influencerâs social media following. Unfortunately, more is usually less.
In 2024, youâll see brands shifting their focus toward working with micro and nano influencers due to their higher engagement rates and cost-effectiveness. More prominent influencers will still get brand deals, of course. Still, savvy marketers realize that hiring a few micro-influencers is much more cost-effective than a big influencer because smaller influencers generally have a more loyal and engaged following.
How can brands take advantage of this trend?
Thereâs only one clear takeaway: Focus on working with nano and micro-influencers yourself. Theyâre more affordable and will usually get you better results.
How can creators take advantage of this trend?
The good news for creators is that follower sizes will start to matter lessâwhatâs important is having an ENGAGED community. So, focus on building a small but mighty army of engaged followers. You can foster this by engaging with your followers and, when you DO get brand deals, working only with brands that align with your values and audience.
Other marketing trends
Weâve already covered the five most impactful current marketing trends, but there were a couple of honorable mentions we wanted to cover, too:
AI-generated content
AI tools for content creation (text and images, mainly) are becoming more advanced and widely used. When you use them for your brand, make sure you strike a balance between artificially generated content and genuine, human-made content.
Itâs good to get ahead of the curve on this oneâjust ensure that youâre still staying true to your brand and including lots of opportunities for real human connection, as we discussed earlier.
Voice search optimization
SEO is evolving, just like everything else, with the rise of AI-powered and voice search.
You can optimize content for voice search by making it user-centric. But, to be honest, weâre still in the early stages of this. You probably shouldnât make it your #1 priority because information will be hard to find, and the learning curve will be steep.
Final thoughts
We know youâre probably tired of hearing about how âAI will change everything.â Online experts go a little overboard with their claims sometimes. But there is a bit of truth to it, tooâas you can see from the marketing trends weâve covered in this article.
Our advice? Ride the AI wave slowly. Experiment with it and use it, but donât neglect to build community and authentic connections with your customers and followers.
If you can nail the mix of using AI to save time so that you have more opportunities to connect with people, you will win.
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