Marketing Trends to Adopt in 2024 and What to Leave Behind

Marketing

As we close the books on 2023 and look toward what the new year will bring, brands and teams will start analysing the key marketing trends and shifts likely to define their success in 2024.

With consumer behaviours and technology evolving rapidly, brands must stay agile and forward-thinking to remain competitive. The marketing tactics and channels that drive results today will be less effective next year.

Table of Content

Here is what you should follow for 2024.

Innovative companies are taking stock of emerging trends and preparing their 2024 plans accordingly.

Here are the marketing trends and innovations to adopt in 2024.

Trend 1: User-Generated Content Rules Supreme

User-generated content (UGC) has steadily gained popularity over the past few years. In 2024, expect UGC to be more prominent than ever. Consumers trust real photos, videos, reviews, and testimonials from other consumers far more than branded content.  

Companies will need to find new ways to incorporate UGC into their strategies. This could involve highlighting UGC on product pages, building UGC campaigns around holidays and events, or connecting with nano-influencers to utilize their authentic content. The key is making sure the UGC is genuine.

Trend 2: AI takes Content Creation to New Levels

Artificial intelligence has opened up new possibilities for marketing content. AI can now write blog posts, social media captions, emails, ad copy, and more. While AI-written content lacks a human touch, it enables faster content production at scale.

In 2024, expect to see AI complementing human marketing teams. AI tools like Copy.ai, Jasper, and Writesonic will help write initial drafts of content. Tools like Persado will optimize copy based on data and A/B testing. AI idea generators like Shortly AI will suggest content topics and angles.

However, human oversight will still be critical for providing creativity, strategy, and quality control. AI will enhance – not replace – skilled marketers. The future is AI and humans working together, with people providing the big picture thinking.

Trend 3: Helpful Content Comes First

Google’s helpful content update first launched in 2022, prioritizing high-quality, original content that provides value to users. In September 2023, Google expanded on this initiative with another update also focused on rewarding helpful, authoritative content.

Fact-based “how to” articles, detailed product guides, thoughtful long-form pieces, and other beneficial content should be priorities. Thin or promotional content gets demoted.

The focus is on keeping readers engaged rather than gaming algorithms with keywords. Helpful content also builds trust and loyalty with customers to establish thought leadership.

#TCCRecommends: Best tips to establish thought leadership in the industry.

Trend 4: Omnichannel Rules as the Consumer Norm 

Today’s consumers expect seamless omnichannel experiences when engaging with brands. They want the flexibility to move from smartphones to computers to in-store interactions and have each experience recognize them. 

Siloes between channels will disappear in 2024 as omnichannel becomes the norm. Marketing campaigns will integrate social media, email, paid advertising, affiliate marketing, SEO, and onmore to surround consumers. Data and testing will enable brands to learn what messages resonate on which platform. 

#TCCRecommends: Learn how to design an omnichannel strategy for your brand in 2024.

Trend 5: Personalized, Segmented Email Marketing 

Generic email blasts sent to huge lists have always had limited effectiveness. But in 2024 and beyond, these spray-and-pray efforts will go completely ignored. Savvy consumers expect tailored communication aligned to their interests and habits. Marketers must leverage segmentation and personalization in emails to cut through the noise. 

Personalized and segmented emails have open rates of 18.25% on average, compared to just 13.5% for generic bulk emails.

SmarterHQ report

Clearly, customized content resonates more strongly. Send different emails to customers based on preferences and behaviors. Personalize subject lines and content. Integrate on-site behaviors and CRM data to inform emails. 

#TCCRecommends: Consider personalized marketing in 2024 for your brand.

The right segments and personalization boost open and click-through rates, driving more significant ROI. Taking an individualized approach shows customers their business matters.

Nearly half of adults use voice search now through devices like Google Home and Alexa. And voice queries are often longer and more conversational than typed phrases. This benefits long-tail, natural language keywords.  

SEO strategies will shift as more people use voice search queries. Writing content that answers questions with 3-5+ word keywords and optimizing for featured snippets will be key. Structuring information for spoken results rather than written will also grow in importance. Brands that fail to optimize for voice search will see visibility decline as voice adoption rises.

An Oberlo survey found 14% already use voice assistants hands-free when driving to search. And 13% use voice search to look up definitions and facts, showing use cases extending beyond basic commands.

Trend 7: Social SEO Becomes Necessary 

Social media content wasn’t always a factor in SEO. But with social posts increasingly appearing in search results, social media can no longer be separated from SEO. Brands must optimize social content for search and drive traffic from platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook back to websites.

Using alt text and hashtags for keywords helps social content get discovered. Including links back to blogs and product pages also passes authority. Social gives SEO fantastic range, engagement, and referral opportunities if strategically leveraged.

Siloes between social and SEO must disappear. Brands that connect with audiences and nurture relationships on social channels through social selling tend to outperform competitors.

Trend 8: Video Content Explodes

Video marketing is only getting bigger. Research from Social Media Today shows video marketing engagement outperforms other content on every central platform. For example, video posts on Facebook have 4x more engagement than standard posts. 

YouTube remains the #2 most popular search engine. Social platforms emphasize video in algorithms and feeds. Customers increasingly prefer short videos over walls of text when researching brands and products.  

Marketers will need robust video content strategies to stay visible and engaging in 2024. This means producing episodic and short-form YouTube videos, social videos, explainer and how-to videos, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, animation, and more. Brands not prioritizing video next year will really struggle to drive traffic.

Trend 9: Authentic Stories Connect Deeper

Consumers have had enough of overly polished corporate marketing messages. They crave realness and want to know the stories behind brands. That’s why storytelling and narrative-based content will rise in 2024.  

Use various mediums such as blog posts, social media, and videos to effectively communicate your brand’s genuine narrative. Emphasize the founders’ origins, company values, and purpose, as well as provide behind-the-scenes glimpses, employee spotlights, and other engaging content.

By employing creative storytelling techniques, you can evoke emotions and establish deeper connections with your audience, surpassing the impact of merely highlighting product features. Leverage storytelling to humanize your company.

What to Leave Behind in 2023?

While those marketing trends will become more critical in 2024, some current approaches will fade out.

Here are some tactics expected to decline and why:

  • Heavy keyword stuffing: As search engines get smarter at understanding intent, packing content full of keywords will be seen as manipulative and reduce rankings.
  • Forced influencer product placements: Audiences can tell when influencers are awkwardly pushing products just for money. Authenticity is key, and forced promotions feel disingenuous.
  • Purely educational content: Combining entertainment with education helps information stick better. Pure education lacks engagement and emotional connection.
  • Pop-up and banner ad overload: Consumers universally ignore distracting pop-up and banner ads due to banner blindness. Better to focus on native ads readers actually engage with.
  • One-size-fits-all messaging: Personalized, tailored messaging converts better by speaking directly to each customer’s needs and interests.
  • Long, dense blocks of text: People skim online and prefer scannable formatting with videos, graphics, subheads, and bullet points. Hard-to-read blocks of text get ignored.
  • Relying on assumptions: AI and data analytics allow tighter targeting based on real user behavior vs assumptions.

The Bottom Line

As we head into 2024, intelligent B2B marketers are staying on top of the latest trends while letting go of outdated tactics. Focusing on value-driven content, leveraging new technologies, optimizing across channels, and connecting with customers authentically will be critical.

Companies who adapt their marketing strategies to embrace these trends will gain substantial competitive advantage. Those who stick rigidly to old ways of doing things will quickly stay caught up.

By preparing marketing plans and content with these 2024 marketing trends in mind, brands can feel confident they’re offering the type of experiences and information that modern consumers seek. The marketing rulebook is constantly being rewritten – savvy companies will read the new edition and adjust accordingly.