The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Our environment is always changing. New changes appear month after month: new social networks emerge, innovative technologies arrive in our lives, Google algorithms are more powerful and intelligent...
All these advances are transforming the way businesses must communicate with their audience. The major digital marketing trends are helping companies advance their business strategies and offer an improved customer experience.
In other words, for businesses to stay on top of the latest digital marketing news, it's essential to stay on top of the latest trends. What are the new trends marketers can expect in the upcoming year to consider for their future digital marketing campaigns?
Table of contents
- 1. Logo, website, graphic charter: Towards more minimalism
- 2. Content creation: Video is crushing all other formats
- 3. The live shopping craze, a consumption mode created in 2020
- 4. TikTok: The social network of 2024, YouTube regains its popularity
- 5. Social shopping becomes a must
- 6. The trend born in 2019: Audio will intensify in content creation
- 7. Predictive shopping will become the norm
- 8. Even stronger SEO requirements with AI
- 9. The subscription economy is growing
- 10. NFTs, metaverse, augmented reality: Towards a parallel world?
- 11. New jobs and communication techniques will be created
- 12. Even more precise customer service with the help of AI
- 13. Towards the end of algorithms?
Definition of a digital marketing trend
In real life, merchants talk about traditional marketing to attract new customers. On the internet, its equivalent is called digital marketing. However, because it’s always evolving, it requires constant monitoring.
What is a digital marketing trend?
Digital marketing refers to the use of the internet to make oneself known and to develop one's activity and/or business. It’s the set of all marketing techniques implemented in the web environment. This term includes, in a way, all the traditional marketing techniques adapted to the internet universe, with various options related to the different digital channels.
Since digital marketing takes place on the web, it’s necessarily linked to technological advances. It uses different modern communication channels such as social media platforms, online videos, email, artificial intelligence, voice search, data, etc.
When we talk about digital marketing trends, it’s a question of observing what the new techniques used to promote a brand or a service on the internet are, as well as the new codes used or the most fashionable types of aesthetics for online advertising.
Digital marketing includes the following:
- strategic digital marketing, i.e., the analysis of the expectations and demands of consumers on the internet;
- traffic generation, i.e., the methods used to be seen and help attract as many visitors as possible on your pages;
- performance analysis, i.e., the results of the actions taken (traffic generated and sales made); and
- loyalty, to make sure that your business’s target audience returns to your website.
What are the benefits of following digital marketing trends?
The reason why it’s essential to follow digital marketing trends is simply because the world is changing. What worked in the past for marketers may not work in the future. Being interested in digital marketing evolutions allows you to prepare the future and anticipate changes. Keeping an eye on this subject allows your business to stand out from your competition and always stay one step ahead: in ecommerce, for example, this will allow you to show another side of your brand identity.
By following the ecommerce marketing trends, you will know how to best highlight your products and how to talk about your brand. This will be the best way to get more traffic. All your site visitors can then become prospects, then loyal customers, and even influencers and thus play a key role in the development of your company.
When a simple visitor finally reaches the stage of recommendation, businesses can consider this a success, contributing greatly to the growth of their revenue. Following digital marketing trends means interacting appropriately during the different purchase phases, in order to reach this final goal.
What are current digital marketing trends?
Let’s now talk about the future and the new trends in digital marketing. Here are some of the must-haves that marketers can't ignore in a well-planned digital marketing strategy...
1. Logo, website, graphic charter: Towards more minimalism
Today, more and more brands are opting for clean and minimalist design. The goal? To use simple and uncluttered forms, to prioritize space, and to go for the essential.
More and more brands are making this choice today, and it can be felt not only in their graphic charter but also in their logo as well as in their entire website.
The logos of the biggest brands are now sometimes made of simple initials or a basic drawing, which can almost be reproduced by hand. For example, the Boss brand is content with its simple name written in black on a white background, just like Zara. The purpose of the standardization of these international advertisers is to be able to help adapt their communication to the new marketing levers.
2. Content creation: Video is crushing all other formats
Did you know that in 2021, 86% of businesses used video as a marketing tool? It must be said that internet users are particularly fond of this communication format, so it's easy to see why it's one of the top digital marketing trends of today. Recent data from Lemon Light shows that at least 70% of customers have shared a brand's video with others.
In addition, 72% of internet users believe that video marketing has improved their customer experience and contributed to their conversion rate. In other words, prospects are more enamored with a video situation than a long written pitch! Videos have replaced physical contact with products in many stores. Beyond a technological tool, video content is a better user experience that your business can offer.
What's more, videos can be used in a variety of ways for your digital marketing strategy. For example, you can share them on social networks, in your email newsletters, in your blog posts, or even on your ecommerce store's product pages.
3. The live shopping craze, a consumption mode created in 2020
Given the craze of internet users for the video format, new tools are also emerging to allow potential buyers to finalize their orders in a simple, intuitive, and fast way for a stellar customer experience. This is how live shopping came about.
The latest trend in online stores, it makes it possible to make purchases in real time while watching a live video. The idea is to broadcast information about a product on sale in images, while directly integrating a link to the product page from this medium.
Through this intermediary, consumers see the item in a situation directly before buying it. By this method, the internet is getting closer and closer to the demonstration processes that we can have in traditional stores. Internet users almost have the impression of being able to really touch the object with their fingertips!
4. TikTok: The social network of 2024, YouTube regains its popularity
Another big trend of the moment: the social network TikTok! Created in 2016, it now gathers more than a billion active users. Based on the sharing of short videos, this media has many followers and is a real gold mine for marketers! Over the years, TikTok has become popular with the public, despite concerns with consumer privacy.
The idea is to offer content that’s short but striking, content that’s able to make the internet user react in record time. Moreover, TikTok is also an excellent way to target the young generation. In fact, data shows that 42% of users are between 18 and 24 years old.
Among the social networks on the rise, we can also count on YouTube, which is regaining strength: the influencers confided in Reech for their 2024 study, and announced that this video network is the second social media platform after TikTok on which they wish to launch themselves in the near future. To be continued...
5. Social shopping becomes a must
Speaking of social networks, let's talk about social shopping. The concept? Don't just sell products on your website, but also use social media to make people talk about your brand.
As of today, most social networks have a shopping function. Thus, users can make their purchases on apps like Facebook, Instagram, etc. without even leaving their application and their social media. Social networks are now considered as a sales channel in their own right. They represent a new entry point, allowing internet users to access the flagship products of certain merchant sites. In this context, the influence of the community is also very important.
What is the future of digital marketing? Upcoming trends
Of course, digital marketing trends aren’t going to stop cold this year. In fact, it's even possible to anticipate some of the upcoming changes for future periods... Let me get my crystal ball and tell you what the next upheavals will be!
6. The trend born in 2019: Audio will intensify in content creation
While videos are particularly used in digital marketing, the trend is now turned to audio media as well. Some new social media platforms are emerging and supply a new concept... They offer 100% audio rooms in which several people can chat with each other.
With these social networks, it’s as if the user could enter a room, listen to a conversation and choose to actively participate. It could also be a new promotional tool used by the biggest brands.
Podcasts are also becoming more and more popular. More than 170 million people have already subscribed to a podcast page via Facebook! Again, this is another channel to communicate about your brand and your products.
7. Predictive shopping will become the norm
Similarly, have you ever noticed the ability of your computer or cell phone to suggest products that might interest you? This is what we call predictive marketing.
It aims to anticipate the needs and behaviors of customers. This method of communication predicts a consumer's buying intentions and then makes sure to present them with a personalized offer.
The goal of predictive shopping is to trigger the act of purchase while the consumer is still thinking about it.
8. Even stronger SEO requirements with AI
Because competition is increasingly important, it is also essential for a brand to rank well in Google search results.
So, you won't be surprised to learn that SEO requirements are expected to increase further when it comes to ecommerce advertising and marketing, especially with Google and with the arrival of voice assistants in the home that only take into account the first results of search engines. Marketers should consider these as the acquisition channels of the future...
It's also imperative to think about the importance of AI in search engines and the need to rank at the very top of SERPs in order to compete with artificial intelligence's responses...
To be sure to attract as many visitors as possible to your site, you should aim to be at least in the Top 3 results and ideally reach position zero on the search engine! In addition to following best practices for technical SEO, you will need to incorporate plenty of keyword research into your SEO strategy to ensure that the content you share, be it, for example, on your website, in your social media posts, in your ads, etc., targets keywords and topics relevant to the people in your audience.
With AI, many brands and professionals tend to delegate absolutely everything to tools like ChatGPT: beware! Google and users haven't changed. You should feel free to take advantage of AI, but keep your identity, your authenticity! Stand out from the crowd with your ideas and your signature. AI is a tool, not a replacement when it comes to content creation and marketing or advertising campaigns.
9. The subscription economy is growing
In the past, only a few services were subject to a subscription. This was the case for telecommunications, internet, and some additional TV services. Today, this purchasing process has grown considerably. The subscription economy has been democratized, and we’re now subscribing to all sorts of different elements, whether it’s software, online classes, or group courses.
Moreover, new subscription services offered by businesses and platforms are constantly emerging, and the processing of requests is constantly increasing. This is the case of OnlyFans, a kind of photo and video content platform accessible only to subscribed users who have access to very specific types of publications.
According to the data, in 2023, this online platform was valued at more than $18 billion compared to $1 billion in 2021, and commercial predictions are growing!
This is also the model, on the other side of the mirror, implemented on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter): content creators pay a subscription to certify their account and access more features in order to boost their visibility.
Similarly, there are now paid newsletters. Yes, you're not dreaming... Some people are ready to subscribe and pay a subscription fee to receive qualitative news and content from their favorite brand, either on networks or in their mailbox. For brands, subscriptions are a real gold mine, which allows them to generate significant recurring revenue.
10. NFTs, metaverse, augmented reality: Towards a parallel world?
Although a growing number of consumers are buying online, they’re also still very attached to physical stores. The challenge for retailers? To offer them new hybrid customer experiences, at the border of the real world and the virtual sphere. These new parallel worlds increase the scope of online possibilities.
However, to be successful, it’s imperative to maintain a consistent brand image across all media and to create a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints. While content must be adapted to each platform and tool used, a certain uniformity must emerge from the brand's overall digital marketing strategy.
11. New jobs and communication techniques will be created
Finally, while it’s essential for marketers to stay informed about ecommerce trends in the face of the importance of digital marketing, it’s also because it tends to transform the employment pool considerably. According to data in a study by Capital, 85% of tomorrow's jobs do not exist today.
So stay tuned... New technologies should still hold many nice surprises and just as many great opportunities throughout the years!
12. Even more precise customer service with the help of AI
The personalization of chatbot responses has never been so precise. This makes web users even more demanding and demanding of the performance of these AI-boosted tools.
The more complete, rapid and detailed the responses, the happier customers will be with their brand experience. You absolutely must invest in this lever: video, voice, text... Thanks to AI, many applications exist to recreate avatars from your image and guide your customers step by step, offering your customer base greater personalization than ever before and saving you time and energy. Think about it!
13. Towards the end of algorithms?
Some experts believe that we're coming to the end of the era of algorithms. It will soon be out of the question for a company to count the number of subscribers or to post three times a day every day to attract subscribers...
The algorithms of all networks will "TikTokize," bringing content to the forefront of users' screens without them needing to subscribe.
As a result, there will no longer be much point for businesses and marketers to post content at a specific time, as social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, for example, will continuously select interesting content and offer it to the right profiles on the social network at the right time. A new way of consuming content on the networks? To be seen in the months to come. In the meantime, test and re-test new formats as much as possible.
How should you adapt when digital marketing is changing?
As you can see, as we enter the new year, more than ever, it’s imperative to take an interest in the great evolutions of digital marketing and keep an eye on current and emerging trends. Search engines are starting to abolish cookies little by little. Brands and marketers must therefore find other strategies to track their customers and know how to reach them in order to optimize their campaigns.
Creating ecommerce marketing content to ensure a high-quality customer experience and help convert a maximum number of internet users must be one of your biggest concerns. Because today's consumers are increasingly demanding, so is marketing analysis.
You can adapt to changes and new trends in digital marketing by taking an open-minded approach, staying agile, continuously learning about new trends, and leveraging data analytics. Emphasizing content-based strategies that avail of personalization while staying in line with consumer privacy regulations and investing in emerging technologies like AI can help marketers like you maintain relevance and engagement with your campaigns in an ever-changing market.
