4 key trends & predictions set to shape digital marketing in 2024

While the speed of the marketing industry means it's never possible to predict every turn or trend, there are some major themes all marketers need to stay abreast of in order to deliver a forward-thinking service.

To power through to 2024, brands too need to consider these elements — they may help (or hinder) the plans you have for the year.

Real-time conversational marketing

In a world of e-commerce and social media, consumers are increasingly seeking instant gratification, but with quality. The need for conversational marketing is growing.

What does this mean? Well, your consumers are likely to expect direct forms of communication — product or service dependent, of course. Gone are the days of entering reams of information into a form.

Instead, live chat and social media replies are increasingly the communication channels of choice. These may be powered by AI chatbots, but either way, real-time communication is something consumers are going to expect, and demand more of in 2024. Time to embrace the instant conversation.

Sustainability — show, don’t just tell

Brand values continue to rise up the ranks of consumer importance. People are no longer just seeking to take a product on face value — they care about the way the brand is structured, its ethics and how it commits to providing solutions to issues such as sustainability.

Proof is increasingly important to consumers, so saying you’re sustainable will no longer be enough, you need to commit to showing ‘how’ in 2024. 34% of consumers stated that their trust in brands would be improved if they were recognised as an ethical or sustainable provider by an independent third party.

We’ve actually written about the ‘greenwashing’ phenomenon and how you can avoid it.

To AI or not to AI?

2024 will be a divisive year for AI. While a raft of consumers will actively seek out AI solutions for speed, convenience, there will be others for whom this move drives mistrust and cynicism. In the next couple of years, as many as 20% of brands will lean into positioning predicated on the absence of AI as a differentiator.

So, for 2024, expect to be trying to keep up — either with enhancing your AI-centred offering, or setting out your stall as the outlier, but with greater trust.

Those of us harnessing the power of AI will need to factor in strong brand positioning, great communication and high-quality content to balance out any hint of fear relating to the technology.

Personalised and immersive selling

Part of the humanisation of the marketing experience involves using the data at our disposal to create hyper-personalised experiences for consumers.

This can be through segmenting your paid social media campaigns, a behavioural email marketing strategy, or even in physical stores thanks to the use of sophisticated tools and analytics. Think personalised content, data-led product recommendations and even ads that are generated for one consumer.

Will this approach lead to the collapse of mass-marketing as we know it? Only time will tell.

Ready to tackle 2024?

Now, obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but we hope these top considerations for the coming year provide some New Year food for thought.

If you think you could do with a team of digital experts by your side throughout the next 12 months, drop us a message. We’d love to hear from you!