Over the past 20 years, I have observed all different shifts in online marketing. However, nothing I’ve observed has been as dramatic as what I have seen over the past 18 months. A massive shift in buyer behavior, the buying cycle, and an unstable economy are some of the key drivers in the changes business owners are dealing with, causing a shift in 2024 marketing trends.
“It’s not buyer fatigue we’re seeing, it’s founder fatigue.”
There is money to be spent, but the shifts have been so great, that business owners haven’t yet caught up to meet the market where it is, and that’s why so many are struggling.
The point of this blog post is NOT for you to stretch yourself thin.
It is here as a guide for you to educate yourself, and then determine what makes the most sense for YOU, and which actions you want to take to ensure you’re on track for your business goals.
2024 Marketing Trends
Unless you’re someone like me, you probably didn’t start your business thinking about marketing. You probably started your business because you saw a need in the market and your skillset can provide a solution. Unfortunately, if you don’t spend your time (or money) on understanding the best marketing practices, the clients who need you won’t know you exist.
There are two things I want you to remember as you learn these 2024 marketing trends:
- You need to know and utilize timeless marketing principles
- You need to know trending marketing strategies
FACT: The business owner who understands timeless principles of marketing, has an easier time adapting to the trends.
Today I’m going to teach you about the 2024 Marketing Trends. And there are 7 trends I want you to know about. But remember, you don’t (and shouldn’t) try to apply all of them. Add one at a time and/or stick to the ones that make the most sense for YOUR BUSINESS.
#1 Short-Form Video
Short-form video allows you to form a deeper connection with your audience and ideal clients. It is a great way to incorporate storytelling into your online presence. And it allows you to foster a greater sense of trust with your community.
YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok are short-form video formats that have exploded in recent years. It’s the ultimate way to engage your audience. You can create unique brand content, user-generated content (UGC), or partner with influencers to promote your brand. Short-form video is a great way for businesses of all sizes to reach a wider audience and make more meaningful connections.
#2 In-Person Events
Following the pandemic, business owners have seen a spike in requests for in-person events. Whether you’re creating a pop-up shop in your local community, hosting a conference, planning a mastermind event, or organizing a fundraising event, online marketers are seeing great results with incorporating face-to-face opportunities in their marketing strategy.
(Caveat: I wouldn’t recommend this for business owners who are just starting out and haven’t built a large audience just yet.)
#3 Podcasting
This might be my most favorite marketing strategy. Whether you are a podcast host or guest, it allows you to reach a wider audience. Podcast audiences are highly engaged. They are actively seeking information, and positioning yourself as an authority, whether you’re a guest or host, should be a key component of your marketing strategy. Podcasting is GREAT for building brand awareness. Just remember, podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint.
#4 Interactive Marketing
Interactive marketing is when you include elements such as games, quizzes, and polls in your online content. It helps capture attention and engage your community on a deeper level. When using these elements, focus on creating high-quality content that is relevant and engaging for your ideal audience. Also, test different elements to find out what works best for your particular goals. For example, you might A/B test to see whether a quiz or poll drives more traffic to your website.
#5 GenZ’s Influence on Marketing
This marketing trend is FASCINATING to me. Gen Z is a demographic cohort that has grown up entirely in a digital world. As a result, their decision making process is significantly different than other generations. For example, Gen Z makes their brand buying decisions based on a company’s stance on social issues, the quality of a brand’s company culture, and topics like sustainability.
Bottom line, it’s not enough if your product or service has the best features…you have to help your audience understand the benefits of your product or service, and how those benefits connect to a deeper purpose. This is becoming true for ALL generations, not just Gen Z.
#6 Content Marketing
Content is QUEEN (or King some people say). Long and short-form content, used on social media, in ads, and via email is increasingly important. Content allows you to build authority and create omnipresence. Blog articles, podcasting, and long-form video are forms of content that help you do this. Creating one long-form piece of content per week allows you to have several marketing options because long-form can be repurposed into short-form content.
For example, if you’re a podcast host, you would share a weekly podcast episode on the same day and time each week. But then within that episode, you can pull out multiple audio and/or video clips that can be used on your social media page(s).
Creating omnipresence isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about knowing how to take what you have and turn it into multiple marketing pieces that can be used across channels.
#7 Inclusive Marketing
Building a successful business is all about creating a strong connection with your ideal customer. It’s all about building trust. And one important way of building trust is demonstrating that you are a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It means being socially relevant in your marketing campaigns. However, this needs to be done authentically. Simply posting “Happy Black History Month” is not enough. Through market research, you can determine how your content can reach and support different cultures, languages, and backgrounds.
How Your Brand Determines Your Marketing in 2024
Your brand and marketing are closely connected. They are interdependent elements that together shape how clients perceive and interact with your brand.
Your brand represents the unique identity, values, and promise you offer to clients. Your brand encompasses the feelings, experiences, and expectations consumers have about your products or services. And marketing is the process by which you not only promote your product or service, but how you promote what your brand represents.
Your brand provides a consistent identity and promise for what clients can expect from you, and your marketing actively promotes this promise to potential and existing clients. Your marketing efforts should consistently reflect your brand’s identity, voice, & values. Your marketing should elevate your brand position in the market.
Most importantly, your brand establishes your unique value proposition in the marketplace, and your marketing efforts help you amplify your value proposition to your target audience.
In 2024, and into the foreseeable future, your branding is about establishing and nurturing the overall identity and promise of your company, and your marketing is about effectively communicating this brand identity to the world. Both must align, and executed effectively, they will create a powerful synergy that results in a strong, memorable, and trusted presence in the market.
Marketing Power Found in Consultations, Comments, & Conversations
The last tip I’ll leave you with is this: Uncover the secret gems that can be found during your consultations. Many of my clients and subscribers offer consultations. But few realize that every consultation is an opportunity to understand your target audience on a deeper level so that you can better focus and position your marketing efforts.
Have you ever had someone say, “I feel like you’re in my head.” That’s the goal! You want your target audience to feel like “you’re in their head.” This means you deeply understand their needs and wants. It means your marketing is connecting to their emotions. And people buy based on emotions, not logic.
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