As we continue to move further into this decade, digital marketing is evolving at an unprecedented rate. To stay ahead of the curve in the coming years, startups must anticipate and prepare for the digital marketing trends that are taking root in 2024.
By preparing for these trends now, you’ll ensure you have a solid first-mover advantage when these trends become ubiquitous.
What Digital Marketing Trends Can Businesses Expect In 2024?
As consumers continue to migrate en masse into the digital domain, a behavior that accelerated during the covid pandemic, seven clear digital marketing trends have started to emerge:
- Increased application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist in marketing functions that used to be reliant on humans
- More advanced personalization and individualization of marketing messages through higher intent data capture aided by AI (remember the ads in Minority Report?)
- An increased focus on video content as an effective inbound marketing channel beginning to rival the primacy of written content marketing.
- A transition from text to voice-based search, which can provide more personalized results because it takes into account factors such as location and past search history.
- The increased use of AI-powered chatbots, which are able to understand complex questions including user sentiment and provide more accurate answers.
- The use of omnichannel marketing to track customer behavior across all channels, allowing startups to optimize their marketing campaigns more profitably.
- The use of big data analytics platforms to identify trends and marketing opportunities that businesses would otherwise be unable to detect.
Artificial Intelligence
In 2024, artificial intelligence has made huge strides in the area of sales copywriting, marketing messaging and even long-form blog post writing.
In fact, there’s currently a new suite of AI writing assistants on the market based on a machine learning model trained to write text that’s convincing enough that's virtually indistinguishable from that of a professional copywriter.
Advanced Personalization
Digital marketing is also becoming a lot more personalized and individualized than ever before.
Through a combination of user intent data-harvesting AI and machine learning techniques, startups are increasingly able to personalize marketing messages based on the specific interests and needs of each customer with an uncanny degree of accuracy.
Video Content Marketing
Another major trend in digital marketing in 2024 is an increased focus on video content. Video is already one of the most popular forms of online content delivery, and it has already surpassed written content in the level of user interaction.
Most of the commenting that used to be so prevalent in blog posts has mostly migrated to comment sections on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Startups should begin preparing now to create video content that’s both engaging and informative. By doing so, you can ensure that you’re well positioned to take advantage of this growing digital marketing trend.
By mastering and taking full advantage of the above three trends, startups can stay ahead of the competition and drive continued growth.
Voice-Based Search
Voice-based search is a technology that’s beginning to become ubiquitous in 2024 and has the potential to revolutionize digital marketing.
This type of search is more personalized because it takes into account factors such as location and past search history. As a result, businesses that are prepared to take advantage of this trend will be able to better target their advertising and marketing campaigns.
AI Chatbots
AI-powered chatbots are computer programs that can not only mimic human conversational patterns but can also identify user sentiment (positive, negative or neutral) and give responses or take actions based on the emotional tone of the user’s message.
The use of chatbots in digital marketing has a number of advantages. First, they can provide an instant response to customer queries.
Second, chatbots can be used to automate repetitive tasks such as follow-ups and appointment reminders.
Third, chatbots can be used to collect data about customer behavior, which can then be used to improve your digital marketing strategy.
Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing is a digital marketing strategy that seeks to provide a seamless experience to customers across all digital touchpoints, including email, websites, social media, mobile apps, and others.
The goal of omnichannel marketing is to create an integrated digital ecosystem designed in such a way to meet the needs of your customer at every stage of their journey. A good startup marketing agency can go a long way in helping you put together the right omnichannel strategy for your business.
Big Data
Big data is a term used to describe the large volume of data that’s generated by businesses and organizations. This data can be in the form of structured data, such as customer transaction records, or unstructured data, such as social media posts.
One of the biggest advantages of using big data in digital marketing is that it allows startups to automate their marketing efforts while generating better conversions.
By using algorithms to analyze customer data from multiple sources, startups can identify patterns and trends that can then be used to automatically trigger profitable marketing activities.
How Will Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Be Used In Digital Marketing In 2024?
Businesses are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help in a key marketing area: copywriting.
In the area of copywriting and marketing messaging in general, AI writing assistant tools have achieved a high degree of maturity in 2024.
While many textual AI techniques were experimental in 2022 and 2023, today’s tools have become very sophisticated in their ability to generate original marketing content, emulating the skills of a professional copywriter.
Here’s an example of a fictional product description created with the help of AI writing software using the popular AIDA marketing framework (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action):
Most people would think this piece was written by a human copywriter (only one correction: “...an AI-powered…” under Interest) and yet it’s 100% original.
For example, I picked a general phrase from the above text without branded terms and did a Google search, with the following results:
Over the next few years, expect this new technology to become a game-changer in copywriting circles.
What Kind of Personalization and Individualization Can We Expect In Digital Marketing In 2024?
In 2024, digital marketing is becoming more personalized and individualized than it’s ever been in the past.
As a result, businesses can now create even more customized and relevant marketing messages specifically tailored to each customer.
The basis of this new level of personalization lies in the trail of digital fingerprints prospects leave behind everywhere they go online.
They do so when visiting your web pages, clicking links or buttons, filling out forms, typing keywords on search engines, commenting on your blogs and videos, and engaging with the content in your social media channels, among many others.
By tracking and analyzing this data, AI systems can quickly detect the intent of your prospects, allowing you to create unique experiences for each individual that cater to their specific interests and needs.
As a result, businesses can create even more customized and relevant marketing messages. This enhanced personalization results in a more engaging experience for your potential customers increasing conversion rates and brand loyalty.
Why Is Video Content Becoming Increasingly Important In Digital Marketing?
Video content is becoming increasingly important in digital marketing because it can transmit information more quickly and effectively than text or image-based content, resulting in higher levels of engagement.
By using video, businesses can create multimedia experiences that are more visually appealing and that capture the attention of prospects more effectively, leading to increased conversion rates.
Video has taken over other means of communication not only on company websites but also on social media networks.
Whereas Facebook and Instagram used to be more image and textual-based, video has taken over as the most engaging type of content on their platforms.
Even Twitter is becoming more video-based than ever before, and let’s not forget the continued explosive growth of YouTube and the new kid on the block, TikTok.
Savvy marketing departments are beginning to take full advantage of this trend and generating more video content with each passing day and so should your startup. Also, due to its instant-gratification nature, video is the most likely type of content to go viral first.
Why Is Voice-Based Search Upending Decades of Text-Based Search?
Voice-based searching is much faster and easier to do than typing out a query. People can simply speak their question or request and get an immediate answer, without having to type a single letter.
This makes voice-based search particularly well suited for mobile devices, where typing can be cumbersome or even impractical, such as searching while driving, jogging, etc.
But voice-based searches are also being driven by the proliferation in the use of smart speakers at home to select music tracks, activate home devices, get useful information, and even make online purchases.
Also, voice-based search provides much more accurate results than text-based search. This is because when you speak, you use proper grammar and complete sentences, making it easier for the search engine to understand your meaning.
With typed queries, on the other hand, people often use abbreviations, slang, or incomplete sentences, which can lead to less accurate results.
Finally, voice-based search is more natural and conversational than text-based search. This is because it allows people to ask questions in the same way they would ask another person. With text-based search, people have to use specific keywords and phrases that may not be part of their normal vocabulary.
For these reasons, voice-based search is quickly becoming the preferred method of search, especially among digital-natives. As a result, startups need to optimize their digital marketing for voice search to stay ahead of the curve.
How Are AI-Powered Chatbots Revolutionizing the Digital Marketing Industry?
Digital marketing is evolving at a rapid pace, and AI chatbots are one of the most exciting new developments.
AI-powered chatbots offer a number of advantages for digital marketers. First, they can help you gather data about your customers. By engaging with customers through a chatbot, you can learn about their needs and preferences 24/7/365.
This data can then be used to improve your marketing campaigns and target your products or services more effectively.
Second, AI chatbots can automate repetitive tasks such as customer service inquiries or follow-ups. This frees up your time so you can focus on more strategic tasks.
Finally, AI chatbots can help you build stronger relationships with your prospects. By providing a personal touch, AI-powered chatbots can make them feel valued and appreciated as if they were being served by a human operator who never judges and never gets frustrated.
Why Is Omnichannel Marketing Becoming So Prevalent in 2024?
There are a number of reasons why omnichannel marketing is becoming a lot more prevalent as of late.
First, as competition online has increased, startups have had to find ways to stand out from the crowd and reach their target audiences where they’re spending the majority of their time — on a wide variety of online platforms.
Secondly, customers themselves are now expecting a more seamless and integrated experience when they interact with businesses — they want to be able to move freely between channels without losing track of what they’re doing or having to start over from scratch.
Finally, omnichannel marketing simply provides more robust results than traditional digital marketing strategies. Startups who use an omnichannel approach see higher levels of customer engagement and loyalty, as well as increased sales and conversions.
How Big Data Is Changing the Way Digital Marketing Campaigns are Run
Big data is starting to have an outsize impact on digital marketing as more affordable big-data analytics platforms enter the market. What used to be a cost-prohibitive investment for startups in the not-too-distant past, is now readily accessible for a very reasonable monthly cost.
By collecting and analyzing massive amounts of data from multiple sources, from accounting systems to social media channels, website analytics and ad campaign data, among many others, you’ll be able to get a much better understanding of your customer’s needs.
Armed with this information, you’ll be able to create more accurate and targeted digital marketing campaigns than using individual sources, such as email campaign analytics or website analytics in isolation.
The end result is much higher conversion rates, ensuring that you’re spending your marketing dollars in the most effective way possible.
How Can Startups Prepare for the Digital Marketing Trends of 2024?
Businesses can prepare for the digital marketing trends of 2024 by staying ahead of the curve and making strategic investments in:
AI-assisted software and systems, including AI writing assistants and AI chatbots
Online behavior tracking technology and marketing automation software
Video content creation, including high-definition studio equipment, video recording, and editing software, and in-house professional video editors
Big-data analytics platforms that easily integrate with your existing business software
Most of the above requirements are satisfied by SaaS companies that can fulfill those services at a reasonable monthly cost. As these trends become more ubiquitous over time, these costs will only go down as competition in the space intensifies.
Conclusion
The digital marketing world is constantly evolving as new technologies emerge. The sooner you get in the game, the more entrenched your first-mover advantage will become over time, providing you with a natural competitive advantage.
By anticipating these trends and making strategic investments in a few new key technologies, you’ll ensure that your startup is well-equipped to compete now and for the foreseeable future.
We've outlined above seven of the most important digital marketing trends you should prepare your startup for in 2024.
