Digital Marketing Trends and Strategies For 2024

Happy New Year folks! As we begin 2024, it's time for a quick round-up of the trends to look out for and those that continue to work when it comes to digital marketing.

8 Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2024

#1 Short-form Videos will Continue to Dominate

Video marketing might not be the new kid on the block, but its popularity has exploded with easy-to-use platforms focusing on short-form video content, such as Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

In 2023, TikTok surpassed 1 billion monthly active users (WOW!), which is only expected to grow in 2024. Instagram Reels also boasted a staggering 2.35 billion monthly active users and its growth shows no signs of stopping in 2024.

Our Tip for 2024: Craft interesting content around stories that provide real value to your audience, personalise your content for socials and aim for organic growth. Write captions that complement your videos to help more people find your content.

#2 Shares and Saves will Matter More than Likes, Comments, or Followers

On Social Media, likes, comments, and followers have always been important, and they still are. They show people engage with your content and love what they see. But there’s something else on the horizon – saves (when someone saves your content) and shares (when someone shares your content). In 2024, saves and shares will become even more valuable. Why? People who interact and share your content with their network help your reach grow, spreading your message further than ever before.

Our Tip for 2024: Focus on creating saveable and shareable content that can also bring in more likes and comments

#3 User-generated Content will Increase

Gen Z, known for sharing their lives on social media, are big fans of short video content and often post about their favourite brands. Get ready for a surge of user-generated content from this group in 2024.

Brands love it when Instagram and TikTok users share their experiences with products or services. Brands can leverage these users’ content to grow their followers, build their community, and enhance brand awareness and engagement.

Our Tip for 2024: Don’t just watch user-generated content; start creating and interacting with it! Ask customers and clients to tag you in their stories and posts, drop some comments, share posts on your channels (with permission), and give a shout-out to your clients and customers. It helps you build stronger relationships whilst building authentic content and gets more people talking about your brand. The key is to make your audience feel valued and heard.

#4 Use of AI will Continue to Rise

Perhaps you’re sick of hearing about AI (Artificial intelligence) or maybe you’re still unsure about what it can do for your business. AI is a powerful tool that can help with productivity, streamlining tasks, and customer satisfaction. It can even guide you in making smarter decisions. Businesses and brands are staying ahead of the game and using AI to assist with automating repetitive tasks, generating content and even building entire image galleries and websites! The possibilities are almost endless.

Our Tip for 2024: Use AI to personalise the customer experience. Consider using AI for initial content drafting in your digital marketing efforts. You can then add your personal touch and make necessary edits so your content can connect with your audience and their pain points.

#5 Hashtags have nothing on Social Media SEO

SEO is going to have an enormous impact on our online experiences. SEO on social media will be even more effective than hashtags for getting your posts seen and engaged. This shift means businesses and individuals will need to pay more attention to optimising their content for search, using relevant keywords and phrases so that their target audience can easily find them. It’s a shift towards organic growth on social media. The key is having high-quality and relevant content to get people interested and engaged and not just 'keyword dumping'.

Our Tip for 2024: Research and be smart about the keywords you use in all social media post captions.

#6 Use photo dumps to share your story

A photo dump on Instagram is when you put a bunch of pictures and videos together in one post. These photo dumps, or carousels, let you tell deeper stories, join trends, and connect with your audience in a real and unfiltered way. It’s a low-cost way to share a ton of content without needing a high-quality video. You can put up to 10 pics in an Instagram post and 35 slides on TikTok. On top of that, these photo dumps get a ton more views and interactions compared to Instagram Reels or single posts.

Our Tip for 2024: Put some strategic thinking into your photo dumps – the first picture is super important! Catch your audience’s attention with an image that will make them want to see all the photos.

#7 Keeping it real – Authenticity is a must

As consumers, many of us are a lot more particular about the brands and businesses we choose to buy from and often will buy because we 'feel' connected to the message, values and ethics being shared. Trust and credibility have always been important for success, so be real in your messaging. Be open about what you do and connect with your audience to build genuine relationships.

Our Tip for 2024: Build trust in your brand by sharing more of your story, your team and your values. In addition, you can share reviews and testimonials, and everyone loves a sneak peek into the behind-the-scenes.

#8 Email Marketing is here to stay

Think email marketing is a thing of the past? Guess again!? Email marketing is expected to generate about $12 billion globally. With advances like AI and machine learning, precise message tailoring will allow businesses to target specific segments of their audience more effectively. Email marketing has come a long way, and 2024 will see more mobile-friendly designs with adjustable templates, interactive features like animated buttons, and user-controlled image carousels that will enhance user experience. Expect to see more live video streaming in email campaigns, particularly during major events or product launches. AI will be able to assist in crafting catchy subject lines, sending personalised emails, optimising your campaigns, and managing your email lists.

Our Tip for 2024: Consider adding live video streaming and interactive features to your emails to make them more engaging and mobile-friendly.

I know I said 8 tips, but couldn't resist throwing in some additional Social Media Tips for 2024!!

• Use Social Media to listen to your customers and learn more about their needs.
• Create a Social Media strategy that is aligned with your overall business goals. Puzzle Media can help you with this.
• Use high-quality visuals in your Social Media posts.
• Track your Social Media results by using analytics tools that most platforms provide. Adjust your strategy as needed.
• Experiment with new Social Media platforms and features and using your analytic tools, see what connects with your audiences and gets the most traction for your business.

Following these trends and tips can help give you the BEST chance of getting your Social Media game on point in 2024.

Staying competitive in today’s digital world means keeping up with digital marketing trends. By adapting your strategy to these trends sooner rather than later, you’ll have a better chance of seeing positive results with a more engaged audience, which means more sales!

If you would like to speak with me or one of my team at Puzzle Media about how to maximise Digital Marketing and Social Media in 2024 for your business, please contact us today.