The 6 Biggest Trends in Online Marketing in 2024

No part of an organization is unscathed by changes. Marketing fundamentals like branding, design, SEO, UX, and UI always change. On top of this, marketers must also master new social channels, regulations, and algorithms, to name a few. To anticipate the future, we created this article on the biggest trends in online marketing in 2024 to grow your brand.

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What is a social media trend?

Social media trends are short-term changes in the way people use social media, such as a new emoji, a spike in specific hashtags, new ways of posting content, or more interest in a particular topic.

How to Keep Up with Social Media Trends

Social media is a great way to connect with potential customers, build your brand, and drive traffic to your website. But it’s also an ever-changing landscape that can be tough to keep up with.

Here are some strategies for staying on top of the latest social media trends:

1. Follow industry influencers on social media: If you want to stay abreast of what’s new in your industry, follow those who influence individuals in your space. This allows you to stay up to date with their thoughts and ideas, which can help you keep ahead of the competition.
2. Connect with other businesses on social media: Learn from other entrepreneurs and grow your network by learning from those who have already been through the journey.
3. Use Google Alerts to stay up-to-date on terms and influencers in your industry: Pick topics or individuals in your industry and set up Google Alerts for them. This way, you can stay apprised of any breaking news in your industry.
4. Lurk social media forums and blogs. Forums keep you updated on what customers in your industry talk about and want to know about. This information can help inform everything from what products you offer to the content you create.
5. Listen to podcasts from influencers in your space: Podcasts offer valuable information. Find out about industry trends, learn from influencers, and do it on the go.

These are only a few ideas to keep you up-to-date with industry knowledge. Now let’s learn about social trends that marketers must monitor.

The Future of Digital Marketing: Biggest Trends in Online Marketing in 2024

Trend 1: Investments in Automation and AI

Investing in automation and AI is a growing trend in digital marketing for 2024. Marketing tools such as email workflows, analytics, and social media post-scheduling can save time and money for businesses, allowing employees to focus on other aspects of the business. Moreover, AI is now more accessible than ever, with 58% of B2B companies and 42% of B2C companies already utilizing chatbots on their websites, according to Outgrow.

AI-powered content generators can quickly create blog posts, social media captions, and even entire websites, saving businesses significant time and effort in content creation. Additionally, AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and insights, enabling businesses to create content that resonates with their target audience. AI can also enhance personalization in content creation, as it can analyze user behavior and preferences to deliver tailored content recommendations, product suggestions, and offers.

The challenges with automation and AI:

Customers now expect more than just basic FAQ responses from chatbots. They desire conversational intelligence that can understand complex requests and respond accordingly, bringing a human-like interaction without the need for additional customer support. Embracing automation and AI in digital marketing can enhance customer experiences and streamline business operations in 2024.

Trend 2: Building brand communities

From Reddit communities to Discord servers, building communities has become a way for brands to connect more closely with their audience. It's about creating spaces where fans and customers can unite over shared interests.

In today's digital age, effective social media management involves more than just broadcasting messages—it's about fostering interactive, engaging communities. This includes actively listening to consumer feedback and encouraging interactions that foster a sense of belonging. Such strategies are part of Conversational Marketing, which leverages chats, direct messages, and other real-time communication methods to build lasting relationships.

However, community building isn't limited to closed groups or dedicated channels. Platforms like TikTok use hashtags to bring people together around common interests, from healthy living to book clubs, showing that community can form anywhere people share passions.

LEGO Ideas is a great example of a successful brand community. This platform allows LEGO enthusiasts to submit their own set designs, which the community supports through voting. Designs that receive 10,000 votes advance to a review phase, where they may be turned into official LEGO products.

This model not only transforms customers into creators but also leverages user-generated content to drive product innovation and engage a passionate community, illustrating a perfect blend of creativity and marketing strategy.

The challenges of community building:

Growing a community can be quite challenging, especially in the early stages and as it expands. Keeping members active and engaged over time is tough as the initial excitement fades. Additionally, ensuring the community remains a safe and welcoming environment requires ongoing moderation, which can demand significant resources. Brands must balance the need for constant engagement with the practicalities of managing a larger community.

Trend 3: Personalized content

In 2024, genuine and personalized content, are crucial for social media success. Marketing leaders must prioritize authentic content and personalized interactions to stay ahead. Audiences have come to expect experiences and messaging that are catered specifically for them. About 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that provides a tailored experience.

Personalized content holds the key to capturing audience attention and building meaningful connections. By tailoring content to the interests, preferences, and needs of your target audience, you can create a sense of relevance and authenticity that resonates with them.

Retaining customers can be achieved through simple gestures like sending a birthday email or a thank you message for subscribing to the email list. It helps to generate interest in the brand or product, as well as build stronger and more personal relationships with customers.

The challenges of personalized content:

Digital marketers often struggle to personalize content without increasing their workload. It can be a time-consuming and complex process, especially for companies that have large customer bases.

Another challenge is creating content that is truly personalized and relevant to each customer. This requires a deep understanding of each customer's preferences and needs, and the ability to deliver content that meets those needs at the right time and through the right channels.

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Related Articles:

• Create and Automate “Shareworthy” Social Media Content with MeetEdgar
• How To Create The Best Social Media Posting Schedule
• Top Social Media Strategy Mistakes To Avoid

Trend 4: Seriously considering getting on TikTok to market your brand

We’re sorry to say but gone are the days when companies could shy away from using TikTok. Tiktok is a popular social media platform allowing users to create and share digital content. It was founded in 2012 by Ted Livingston and Kiko Argumedo and quickly grew in popularity due to its highly engaging interface, fast-paced content, and social features.

Not only are there 1 billion monthly active users, but the app has been downloaded 3 billion times and was the most downloaded non-game app in the first quarter of 2021.

Marvin Russell, Portfolio Director at SureSwift Capital, believes that brands should start taking TikTok seriously and says that SureSwift Capital is incorporating it into their new content marketing strategy in the coming year.

A successful example of a brand properly using TikTok is Duolingo, the language learning application. Zaria Parvez, Social Media Manager at Duolingo, has grown Duolingo’s TikTok from 50,000 to over 4.2 million followers in a little over a year.

In Duolingo’s first month with Parvez’s new strategy, there was a 1,900% increase in follows in just over a month.

https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo/video/7013717358359383302?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2F&referer_video_id=7013717358359383302&refer=embed

Above is Duolingo’s first video marking its new content strategy efforts.

If you’re not sure how to use TikTok to your brand’s advantage, read our beginner’s guide.

The challenges of TikTok:

TikTok presents editing and production challenges. For example, if you want your video to stand out from a sea of tens of thousands of videos on the platform, it must look well-edited and professionally produced.

Another challenge is using hashtags correctly. Users either follow specific hashtags or search by hashtags, so to increase exposure, you must use hashtags strategically to increase exposure.

Trend 5: Influence marketing

Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful and rapidly growing trend. This involves collaborating with individuals who have a substantial following on social media platforms to promote products or services.

Influencer marketing allows brands to tap into the influencer's authenticity and leverage their relationship with their audience to promote products or services in a more genuine and relatable way.

Besides, influencers have the power to reach specific and niche audiences that align with a brand's target market.

As digital marketing continues to evolve, influencer marketing is poised to be a significant trend in 2024, offering brands an effective and authentic way to connect with their audience and drive business results.

The challenge of influence marketing:

One of the main challenges is ensuring authenticity and credibility. As influencers gain popularity, some may engage in inauthentic practices such as buying followers or posting sponsored content without proper disclosure, which can compromise the integrity of the brand's message.

Another challenge is finding the right influencers who align with the brand's values, target audience, and marketing goals. Using influencer analysis tools can help in this process by providing insights into influencer performance and audience demographics.

It requires thorough research and careful consideration to identify influencers who have genuine engagement and can create content that resonates with the brand's message.

Trend 6: Investing in social commerce

Social media platforms are becoming powerful e-commerce channels, and this trend is expected to continue in 2024. During the pandemic, brands rushed to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to provide online shops in place of their physical stores. As a result, social commerce is taking the commerce world by storm, projected to grow from $89.4 billion to $604.5 billion until 2027.  

Social commerce is the process of selling products and services from social media platforms. And with more and more social media platforms enabling customers to pay without leaving the app, this creates a seamless customer experience unmatched by any other.

Clothier Modcloth advertises its clothing on Instagram.

The challenge of social commerce:

Social commerce is an evolving field with new trends and technologies constantly emerging. Social media marketing is also changing, so businesses need to stay on top of recent trends and technologies. Without the support of consumers and influencers, it's challenging to succeed. While social commerce can be exciting, it's a challenging field requiring dedication and patience.

Parting Tip: Keep the momentum going as regularly to capture multiple segments across multiple time zones

Consumers increasingly turn to social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to make purchases directly, with more than two-thirds (68%) of consumers have done so, and nearly all (98%) consumers are planning to do so in 2022.

With these factors in mind, it’s paramount to keep your social media channels updated and engaging. This will help you reach new audiences and expand your reach.

One of the most effective ways to engage with your audience is to consistently update your social media feed to ensure you capture multiple segments across multiple time zones.

You can do this with a tool like MeetEdgar. MeetEdgar is your social media’s best friend and helps you monitor multiple social media channels in one place.

You can track which times of day users are most active on your page and what content they respond best to. You can also see what time zones users are most active, especially important if you have a global presence.

Every time you post something, Edgar records historical and performance data, so you’ll know what your audience responds to best and can adjust your posting schedule to capture more engagement. A/B testing options, link tracking, and advanced analytics are all included with your MeetEdgar subscription.

The challenge of consistently updating your social media feed:

There are two main obstacles that can get in the way of consistently updating your social media feed:

1. Time
2. Motivation

If you don't have enough time to manage your social media accounts, it can be difficult to keep up with the current trends happening in your industry. In addition, if you don't feel motivated to update your account regularly, then you could become discouraged and stop posting altogether. To consistently keep up with your social media feed, it’s easiest to use an app like MeetEdgar to help you stay on top of your game.

A Parting Thought

They say that the future is a combination of technologies that people didn't know existed just 5 years ago. Digital marketing is constantly shifting, and it's difficult to predict the next digital marketing innovation. Still, if you want your brand to stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to anticipate future digital marketing trends. In this article, we outlined some of the top trends in digital marketing that we expect to see in 2024. We hope that this information will help you plan for the future and continue to grow your brand. Are there any other digital marketing trends you think will become popular in the next few years? Let us know in the comments below.4

Stay on top of the biggest trends in online marketing
With MeetEdgar, you can stay on top of social media by auto-scheduling your social media posts. Get Started for Free