As keyword analytics replace the golden white and black newspaper ads, it’s clear that the marketing world operates at the supersonic speed of light. Today, Artificial intelligence (AI) and Google Analytics are all set to revolutionize this world.

Though it’s difficult to predict what the future holds, spotting the latest trends likely to govern your marketing campaign puts your business in the driver’s seat. As a marketer, you must understand where your industry is heading in order to stay ahead of your competitors.

This article explores various marketing trends and strategies we think will stick in 2024 and beyond, helping you kick off your marketing campaigns.

Social media and influencer marketing trends

With influencer marketing reaching a whopping $16.4 billion in 2022, it’s expected to reach $21.1 billion by the end of 2023. A 29% increase in one year is sufficient to get you thinking about the usefulness of all social media marketing platforms.

With influencer and social media marketing increasing rapidly, businesses that embrace these latest trends are the ones that will get most out of their marketing campaigns.

1. AI is the next big thing for social media marketing

Without a doubt, social media is the heart of modern digital marketing strategy. AI in social media is expected to reach $3714.89 million by 2026. 

AI powers Instagram’s ability to process the data customers upload, determine the posts to display on their feed, and identify the ads that will generate the maximum conversions.

Social media is using AI for content moderation and personalized recommendations. In 2023, AI will predict your content creation strategy based on the keywords your customers use when searching for relevant products and services.

2. Emphasis on following “preferred creators”

With the average number of social media accounts for Gen-Z and millennials being 8.4 worldwide, up from 4.8 accounts in 2014, creators can no longer choose their favorite social media channel. While this isn’t new to the marketing world, these creators have a fan base who may interact with them on every platform they appear on. 

This means these creators have a large customer base interacting with them seamlessly across every channel - they are no longer just Instagram influencers or TikTok stars.  Instead, they are specialists in their field and focus on sharing their work regardless of the social media platform.

In 2023, while brands and influencers need to have their presence on multiple social platforms, being an integral part of every platform is the key to success.

3. Multi-fold increase in live shopping

If television were responsible for killing radio stars, live shopping would be a slow poison killing the television stars. With various types of content going live on social media, from music concerts to retail shopping, live shopping is a must for every business

In 2022, even Walmart partnered with 10 TikTok creators to host a live shopping experience. This experience increased the TikTok followers base by 25%, and the company saw seven times more views. 

With live-streaming videos likely to reach $247 billion by 2027 and the online live-streaming industry growing at 99%, live shopping will dominate every social media platform.

4. Short-form videos will be bigger and larger than ever before.

Short is better, at least regarding how customers consume video content. In 2021 and 2022, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts showed marketers how people and customers consume video content. In 2023, the trend will explode because such videos can easily grab and hold attention, are easily digestible, super shareable, and often spontaneous, triggering desired customer reactions.

With videos under 60 seconds making up to 57% of YouTube views and 50% of TikTok users agreeing that videos longer than one minute are stressful, the need for short-form videos will accelerate.

5. Influencer-generated content (IGC) will skyrocket

Getting your brand noticed in 2023 will become even more complicated. This is not because of the sheer number of competitors in the market, but because your customers have started to block out your noise - they prefer IGC content. IGC refers to images, videos, and other creatives produced by social media influencers.

Unlike other social media content, IGC is authentic, diverse, scalable, and high-performing. With IGC-based content achieving two times the engagement of brand-directed content and IGC ads having four times higher click-through rate, companies need to focus on IGC content in 2023 and beyond. 

6. TikTok will continue to dominate the social media world

With TikTok becoming another world in the social media realm, the platform will continue to boom in 2023. This is because decades after the inception of social media, the average engagement rate of posts on TikTok is 5.96%, whereas Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are less than 1%.

Even in 2024, the platform will focus on usability for businesses and improve the targeting options for advertising, making it a better platform than other social media platforms.

As TikTok has the highest potential to grow in 2024, increasing your investment in this platform makes sense.

• 46% of TikTok users engage with TikTok content without distractions.
• 63% of TikTok videos communicate their messages to their audience immediately.
• TikTok has an ad reach of roughly 885 million people.

7. The popularity of nano and micro-based influencers to take center stage

To ensure brands share content quality while conveying the desired message, companies are likely to hire nano and micro-based influencers. These influencers are more niche based and have a small but loyal fan following. Customers see them as more authentic than mega influencers. Typically, the conversion rate of such a customer group is high. With 70% of brands already working with nano and micro-influencers, companies are leveraging the power of these influencers to reach their prospective customers.

• In 2021, micro-influencers comprised roughly half, 47.3%, of all influencers.
• Micro-Instagram influencers have an average engagement rate of 3.86% compared to mega influencers, which only have a 1.21% engagement rate.
• 90% of marketers prefer working with micro-influencers, while 34% prefer to work with nano-influencers.

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8. Podcasts to come to the forefront

The rising adoption of audio content has taken many people by surprise. Did you know that audio content in the form of podcasts made a breakthrough in 2022? This trend is slowly capturing the interest of companies and influencers. As a result, more podcasts are being released on Amazon and Spotify.

With Statista predicting the number of podcast listeners to reach 160 million by 2023, podcasts will become an integral marketing strategy. In the coming year, your podcast is likely to broaden and nurture your customer base and help you stay in the front of their mind. You can even build trust using your podcasts.

9. Building long-term relationships with influencers will be the new G.O.A.T

With the number of social media influencers rising each day, brands will prefer forming a long-term relationship with them to keep their campaign constant and forever running. With customers taking an average of seven interactions before purchasing, building stronger relationships can help you get the results you desire from your marketing campaigns. 

Creating authentic content which organically connects with your prospective customer is powerful in driving your brand to success. Maintaining a positive relationship with influencers is the key to success even when the average cost of an Instagram mega-influencer is $1,200 and a TikTok mega-influencer is $1,034. Businesses are still likely to leverage these influencers to reach their target customers.

• With 72% of marketers using Instagram for influencer campaigns in 2022, this number will grow by 4.1% in 2023. 
• 52% of marketers used Facebook for influencers marketing campaigns in 2022, and this number is likely to increase in the coming year. 
• Businesses generate $6.50 in revenue for every $1 invested in influencer marketing.

B2B marketing trends in 2024

When it comes to B2B marketing trends, timing is the essence of everything. If you want to fight the marketing war by following previous years' marketing blueprints, your brand will have lost before you even realize. Today, your business needs to catch up with innovative and current marketing trends. It will help you reach your customers like never before. So, let's look at marketing trends forward-thinking B2B businesses should embrace this year, no matter what.

10. Virtual events will be a crowd-puller

While the pandemic did cause a rise in virtual events, companies, especially B2B, realized their worth only after the world slowly adapted to them. 

With the virtual event industry likely to reach $1024.8 billion by 2031, more and more companies are likely to leverage these events and use them as crowd pullers. 

Apart from lowering production costs, these events increase accessibility for a global audience, and promote new services and products.  Two-thirds of B2B businesses will use virtual events to ensure environmental sustainability and prioritize it in the next 12 months.

While the temptation and desire to revert to in-person events is high, virtual events hold more benefits and will be crucial for B2B marketing in 2024. Also, large companies like Meta and Apple are slowly shifting their focus to the metaverse. While this only applies to video games and virtual reality experiences, it will soon revolutionize the event industry. Over time, in 2024, hosting virtual events may involve VR technology.

• 36% of B2B marketers will use virtual events as they reduce carbon footprints.
• 68% of B2B marketers say most lead generation comes from virtual events.
• 54% of B2B marketers plan to host virtual events this year and beyond.  
• 45% of future B2B events will be completely virtual.

11. Adoption of B2B influencers will rise

Even though influencers have long been synonymous with B2C and D2C business models, they are becoming an integral part of B2B marketing. Today, influencers are helping B2B marketers reach new prospective customers and create a connection that otherwise is not possible to achieve.

The key to a successful B2B strategy is choosing an influencer who is knowledgeable about your industry and who can speak to the needs of your target customers. With 86% of B2B brands finding success in influencer marketing, it’s high time you start leveraging the power of influencers.

Like B2C customers, 91% of B2B buyers will purchase a service or product when an industry influencer recommends it. Besides increasing sales, B2B influencer marketing allows you to reach new audiences, increase your sales, build brand credibility, and ensure high-quality content.    

So, if you’re looking to leave a lasting impression and build a strong follower base, implementing a B2B influencer strategy is a must-have to win those extra brownie points from your customers.

• B2B influencer marketing campaigns enjoy an average engagement rate of 8.7%.
• B2B influencer marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing.
• 50% of B2B buyers rely on industry experts and influencers to stay up-to-date with industry trends and development.

12. AI marketing is here to stay.

Over the years, AI has proliferated through marketing technology, especially in the B2B marketing space. Machine learning algorithms are smarter, actionable and provide deep insights into the customer’s buying behavior. B2B companies are leaving no stone unturned in order to reach their target audience. In 2023, companies are using AI to combine all customer data – online and offline –  and build a 360-degree overview of each customer. 

• 75% of B2B companies will use AI-based selling by 2025.
• Most B2B companies adopting AI experience a 30% to 50% economic benefit.
• 87% of B2B companies using AI plan to use AI for sales forecasting.
• AI helps B2B companies automate 69% of their data processing.

Another area where AI will likely bring a landmark change in the B2B marketing space is by helping you to create accurate and more targeted segmentation of customers and channels, depending upon the demographic, location, and buying persona.

AI is here to stay and revolutionize the B2B marketing world. With landmark advances in natural language processing (NLP), your B2B company will see more chatbots and other conversational bots. Improved NLP capabilities will allow brands to have an efficient and effective way of communicating with customers and buyers personally.

14. Personalization will be the key

For B2B marketing, personalization will remain forefront, and companies will need to leverage data for a better understanding of their audience and deliver personalized content and experience that appeals to them. With 77% of B2B buyers finding making their latest purchase challenging, personalizing touch points in their buying journey helps them make the right business decision.

In addition, according to a survey by Salesforce, 72% of B2B buyers expect B2B companies to personalize their communication, and customers are happy to provide key information to receive a tailored experience.

When B2B companies create hyper-personalized ads that are unique and include relevant products, a great way to start is with personalization, even during the awareness phase of the buyer journey. This trend will skyrocket in the coming year, and personalization could be a differentiating factor for B2B marketers.

It’s probably the right time to unlock the power of B2B personalization.

• Personalization has a big impact on customer loyalty, retention, and sales revenue. B2B personalization delivers five to eight times the return on investment on the company’s marketing trends.
• 80% of B2B companies will purchase from a company offering a personalized experience.
• 83% of B2B customers say being treated like a person and not a number is essential for buying from a business.
• Only 27% of B2B customers feel companies excel at meeting their overall expectations.

14. Customer experience to be the focal point

In the ideal world, 16% of customers are willing to pay more for superior customer experience. For 2023, most marketers expect that more than price, or product and service quality, customer experience will soon be the biggest differentiator for winning customers in the B2B. In 2023, B2B buyers will likely work with companies that deliver on the customer experience expectation. 

If you’re looking to up your B2B game, identifying opportunities to improve the experience at each customer journey stage is more than necessary. Another way companies can ensure customers remain the focal point is by listening to feedback from surveys and reviews. 

According to research, consumer experience also increases spot purchasing because 49% of B2B buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a personalized and superior customer experience.

Also, superior customer experience is the key to success because customer frustration leads to a high churn rate. With only one in 26 unhappy customers complaining, the rest share their bad experiences with others. Even if brands provide a positive customer experience 9 out of 10 times, that one time alone could be fatal.

Content marketing trends for 2024

As content production surges, companies are relying heavily on software like ChatGPT to compete in the modern digital landscape. As dominant trends come, staying up-to-date with the latest keeps you ahead of your competition.

With content never going out of style for attracting and converting customers, these marketing trends in 2024 will help brands combat writer’s block – especially when you have tons of content to share with your target audience. We will be breaking down which major content marketing trends to look for in 2024 so that you stay ahead of the curve.

15. Appetite for curated content is increasing

While 55% of marketers create more original content and post more frequently, it can be effective to share curated content. Curated content is selecting and sharing content from other sources on your channels and social media platforms.

The content doesn't need to be original when sharing something informative and appealing with your audience. Even if it's curated it will serve its purpose and provide in-depth learning and insights.

Content curation will likely follow its legacy and give your brand broader exposure to new topics, websites, and publishers. Apart from increasing exposure, it portrays your brand as a thought leader, builds industry-wide connections, diversifies content distribution, and builds your brand. So, curated content is your go-to strategy to up your content marketing game.

• Leading marketers use 65% of original content and 25% of curated content.
• 76% of marketers share and distribute curated content on their social media channels.
• 82% of marketers add content curation to their marketing strategy to show themselves as an authority in their industry.

16. Content will continue to be the key and become more data-led

As stated earlier, even in 2023, content will continue to make connections and build communities. As companies become more invested and interested in the values and ethos of a brand, even brands will show a renewed interest in data.

While marketers don’t rely on third-party data, first-party data reveals high-quality insights.

This data-led strategy will help you cater to different audience groups' requirements and unique needs.

With the rise of first-party data increasing, even the content marketing team will spend time creating measurement plans. With Google Analytics 4 or GA4 slated to replace Universal Analytics, companies will likely witness a landmark shift in measuring performance.  

17. Interactive content will steer the marketing ship

No one likes to engage in a one-sided dialogue. The interaction will not yield any results. That’s why in 2023, companies are shifting their focus to interactive content, such as surveys, quizzes, and games.

The primary purpose of interactive content is to elicit active responses and involvement from the target audience. 43% of customers prefer interactive video content over other content because it allows you to decide which information to view. This data shows you that interactive content goes leaps and bounds beyond traditional text content.

By providing more interactive content, businesses build stronger relationships with customers and create a like-never-before branding experience.

• 70% of marketers say interactive content is effective at engaging customers.
• 88% of marketers say that at least 10% of their static content will be interactive in the next two years.
• 93% of marketers rate interactive content as effective in educating customers.
• 88% of marketers who embraced interactive content said it successfully differentiated their brand from their competitors.

18. Content without a purpose will continue to fail

If you follow the practice of producing as much content as possible to feed fresh content to Google and place more emphasis on the number of pieces published rather than quality – you need to stop it immediately! Why? Because content without a purpose will continue to fail in 2023.

Every single piece of information you share must serve a definite purpose. Before producing any content, rethink why you are producing the content, how, and for whom. With the online space filled with hundreds of content pieces on the same topic, find new ways to individualize them with creative and unique approaches.

Your content should be working towards achieving one main or wider marketing goal. So, focus on creating purpose-driven content to see your brand flourish and remain on top of the search results.

• 89% of customers believe companies demonstrate purpose through their benefits to society, but they expect brands to share this impact on all touch points.

Marketing automation trends for 2024

2022 whizzed past, leaving behind a trail of what can be expected in the marketing automation world. With global spending on marketing automation closing at $25 billion this year, its potential will likely witness a whopping increase. 2024 is all about creating unique and holistic experiences, which make users feel super connected with brands. For this reason, understanding the marketing automation trends is more than a necessity.

19. Generative AI to see a steep rise

With customers and people openly accepting the revolution of generative AI in machine learning models, such as ChatGPT, and revolutionary image-based tools like Dall-E, more and more companies are likely to shift their focus to generative AI. 

67% of marketers use generative AI to save time and create content faster, while 50% use it to improve quality. 

In 2023, predictive segmentation or AI-based segmentation will dominate the marketing world. This modern approach groups customers based on their propensities to take action, such as chances of them visiting your store in the next 30 days, or potential churn from your product or services. 

For instance, these AI-driven algorithms predict users who will purchase from your brand in the next 20 days and create three different groupings for selected business goals, such as most likely, least likely, and moderately likely. 

Amazon and Netflix are using this technique to create a hyper-personalized customer experience. 

20. Chatbots that talk, and talk, and talk

As AI chatbots are highly effective, more and more companies will depend upon them in 2024. Today, chatbots are designed to mimic human conversation and are helping companies automate their customer service and support tasks.

In 2024, AI chatbots will become smarter and will be helping marketers with behavioral recommendations in the future, along with deep integration with various third-party software.

AI algorithms in chatbots can detect patterns and achieve customer-centric goals. 

As AI becomes more powerful, these chatbots will have access to vast knowledge and gain an in-depth understanding of customers’ requirements based on their interaction with your brand. 

More and more companies will use AI-powered chatbots to become part of the search bar and reporting systems. With AI chatbots, the search would become more relevant, and AI chatbots would provide results based on previous conversations. 

• 23% of customer service companies are using AI chatbots.
• 64% of customer service agents who use AI chatbots spend most of their time-solving challenging customer queries. 
• 34% of online retail customers accept AI chatbots.

21. Robotic process automation (RPA) to revolutionize marketing automation

RPA has been helping businesses automate their processes for a long time, and now it’s all set to revolutionize the marketing automation world. 

In 2024, companies will use bots to automate their repetitive tasks. One area where RPA could help businesses is monitoring competitor pricing. This is likely to gain traction because with eCommerce businesses using dynamic pricing, continuously monitoring your competitors' prices is essential in order to maintain your competitive edge in the market. Companies are likely to use bots to reduce time manually tracking the prices of each product. 

Another area where RPA is set to help companies is automating marketing reports. RPA simplifies the entire process of collecting, aggregating, assembling, and visualizing marketing reports. RPA will help marketers create automated reports from various channels and deliver them directly to your inbox without human intervention. 

This increases workplace productivity because companies can free their resources and use them to complete other essential marketing activities.

Get way ahead of 2024’s most important marketing trends

We anticipate 2024 to be a rollercoaster ride filled with new ups and downs. It’s going to be a challenging and exciting year for marketers. 

These trends show that marketers who remain up-to-date with the latest technological  and marketing trends are the ones that stay one step ahead of their competitors. 

Staying one step ahead ensures that your business doesn’t fall into the trap of digital Darwinism. 

It’s now up to you to think about the trends that will benefit your brand in 2024.

So, which do you think will be beneficial for your company? Happy planning!