This year has been one for the history books and the changing landscape of our world has meant that business and marketing have had to adapt as never before. So, what does this mean for 2024? But more specifically, what does this mean for digital marketing? Well, one thing is sure. Adoption of digital is not slowing down and in fact, it’s becoming more important than ever. Indeed, analysts forecast that businesses will spend 23.2% more next year on digital marketing. So, what are the tips and trends for 2024?
Digital transformation is accelerating
It’s no longer something a business can just be considering for the future. It’s happening now. The pandemic has forced businesses to become more digital, so don’t be afraid to finally embrace digital transformation. At Sapience, we help many businesses that may not traditionally think that digital channels are the right form of marketing for them to branch out.
This year we have found companies of all sizes, industries and funding stages are investing in migrating to digital platforms including social media, PPC, SEO, AI, omnichannel marketing, chatbots and more. Brands need to evolve now to stay relevant and be seen as an industry thought leader in the post-pandemic business world.
Research, research and research some more
COVID-19 has massively changed consumer behaviour and it’s likely to keep changing. This means researching your target audience has become even more important than ever. Channels that may have worked before, might not now and channels you would never have dreamed of using in your industry might now be the right ones to deliver your new business leads. Smart businesses should use insights to inform their 2024 digital marketing strategies, but more importantly to see the longer-term shifts COVID has caused on their use of channels, media, brand voice and overall messaging.
Top tip: Virtual events, webinars and podcasts have seen massive amounts of growth, which means they are key areas in which to invest your marketing budget in 2024. They are likely to become increasingly key channels in the digital era, given that traditional events and conferences will find it difficult to adapt.
Rise of Digital PR
Have you heard of digital PR? Well, a lot of people haven’t. Digital PR is an online digital marketing strategy used by brands to increase their online presence and improve their SEO rankings. PR agencies work with journalists, bloggers, and influencers and send out online press releases to create higher quality backlinks and social media presence. Very similar to traditional PR, but it offers the opportunity to reach a much wider and broader audience. Digital PR is a really effective method to increase positive brand awareness and in a world with an ever-increasing digital business presence, it’s a great way to help your brand to stand out from the crowd.
Influencer marketing for B2B
When asked, 63% of marketers intend to increase their influencer budget in 2024. But this is influencer marketing for B2C. So why is B2B influencer marketing increasing too – well it’s all about brand awareness, as the value of positive word of mouth marketing has risen and so has the importance of having a human touch. So, finding the right kind of target community influencers for your B2B business could deliver results that you might not expect. Typically for B2B this is with Micro and Nano influencers, particularly on LinkedIn. Getting reposted by a top CEO in your industry has massive reach, even if they do only have a few thousand followers.
Top Tip: Creating conversations and tagging LinkedIn influencers is a great way to capitalise on their industry reach.
Ethical marketing
The pandemic has also highlighted a huge change in our own behaviours and across society. We have seen this even when advising clients on content strategy. In 2024 brands should make efforts to adjust messaging to reflect their commitment to social and environmental sustainability (or ESG) as increasingly both consumers and investors want to engage with businesses that have a strong sense of purpose. This is not just a trend to be aware of, being responsible is becoming fundamental to business success.
Social media – we have lift off
Social channels provide an engaging way to stay connected to your clients, target audiences and potential leads – as well as a great way to find entertainment during lockdown. Even businesses in industries that would usually not see social channels as beneficial to their marking have now migrated over. This makes sense because as of this year, 77.6% of businesses are on LinkedIn. But many people forget that social channels provide some great insights into your audiences and how they engage with your marketing. On every major social channel, you can see in real-time data how your audiences are engaging with every post. So, use these insights to see what works for your business. You can even see what your competitors and learn from them too.
Top tip: Want to increase your brand awareness further? Paid social ads with the right content can help you be seen as a thought leader in your industry.
Year of the email
This year there has been a 31% increase in email marketing open rates and a 22% increase in conversions. Email marketing may not yet be pandemic proof, but it is definitely still a core marketing tool in any digital strategy. Email marketing allows businesses to nurture prospects through a long decision-making process without the same kind of budget commitment of other digital marketing methods and still deliver amazing results. However, the key to email marketing is engagement. It’s not enough to just personalise emails anymore. Marketing emails and lead generation emailing need to be engaging, to the point and have ‘the human touch’ to really make sure you get the results and leads your business needs.
What do you think will be the major digital marketing trends in 2024? Have an opinion? We’d love to hear from you, contact us. For more information on what we can do to support your digital marketing efforts, visit our services.
