The Top 10 Marketing Trends Dominating 2024

To gain an edge over your competitors, you must always find ways to stay one step ahead of them. Now that 2019 has come to an end, and we are well into the new year, it’s the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate your marketing strategy.

The best marketers follow the trends. But the early adopters to those trends typically get the lion’s share of the profits.

So don’t be the last person to jump on the bandwagon.

Continue doing the things that are already working for you, like seo, email marketing, social media marketing, and mobile-first optimization. But you still need to keep your finger on the pulse.

Based on my research, I’ve identified the top 10 marketing trends that you need to watch out for in this. Keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid to leverage new technology and marketing strategies.

1. Voice Search

According to a 2024 study, over 50% of people use voice search at least once per day.

One major reason for this surge is tied directly to smart speakers.

In fact, the usage of smart speakers for voice search has increased to a 35% penetration rate in 2024, up from 27% just two years ago.

More than 100 million people currently own a smart speaker, which is up from about 72 million in 2020.

With more people buying smart speakers, voice search must be a priority for marketers across all industries.

Another reason why voice search is on the rise is because the technology is drastically improving. It’s not the same voice recognition that we saw two or three years ago. Back then, you were lucky if a device understood half of what you were saying.

But today, voice assistance is more accurate than ever before, boasting an impressive 93% accuracy rate.

These numbers are continuing to rise. Pairing that with the popularity of smart speaker ownership means that voice search needs to be taken seriously.

2. Business Intelligence Solutions

If you’re anything like me, you probably check Google Analytics at least a couple of times per day. Maybe you have a little bit more self control and only use it on a weekly basis.

Google Analytics is a great tool, and it’s something that you can continue using to gain valuable information about your website. But it’s no longer be enough to keep an edge over your competitors.

Marketing is continuously evolving. There are new channels being introduced and lots of different ways to monetize your website.

The customer journey has changed as well. Transactions aren’t as black and white as they used to be. Now you’ve got to focus on things like upsells, cross-sells, repeat customers, and shopping cart abandonment.

Traffic and customers are coming from various marketing channels, which is causing them to behave differently. As a result, more businesses are looking for ways to optimize the lifetime value of their customers with business intelligence solutions.

According to Google Trends, business intelligence has been steadily rising over the past five years.

The topic reached its peak popularity in November April 2024. But based on this graph, I expect that to be surpassed at multiple times throughout the remainder of the year.

Specific solutions, like Power BI by Microsoft, have a 1,700% increase in search popularity over that same period of time.

More marketers are going to take advantage of these resources. To get your feet wet with BI, you can start with Google Data Studio for free.

3. Automation

There was a time when it was possible to beat your competitors by just outsmarting them and doing things better than everyone else. But over the past couple of years, the playing field has started to level out. Technology is available for all businesses to use.

We already talked about how business intelligence solutions will continue to dominate 2024. But marketing automation is something else that you need to take advantage of.

The main reason why you must use automation is because everyone else is doing it.

With automated marketing technology, you can reach your customers and prospects in real-time based on their behavior and actions. Click funnels, segmented drip campaigns, and live chat bots are some common forms of marketing automation, but there are other ways to take this to new levels.

Studies suggest that the marketing automation software industry will grow at an 8.55% rate this year, unlocking a $6.4 billion market by the end of 2024.

Last year, the number of vendors providing marketing automation software grew by 27%. This is a clear indication of the demand for this industry.

Currently, 75% of marketers are using at least one type of marketing automation tool. That percentage will climb higher and higher in the coming years.

4. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is nothing new. Companies have been leveraging their relationships with influencers over the past few years because of the effectiveness and cost benefits.

Small, medium, and large corporations are turning to micro and macro influencers to promote their brands, products, and services “organically” on various marketing channels.

If you’re not using influencer marketing, you need to start. Why?

In 2024 this trend will continue to thrive and create disruption in all industries. Take a look at how much money businesses in the US have been spending on influencer marketing over the years.

It’s estimated that US brands will spend up to $5.6 billion on influencer campaigns in the coming year. That’s roughly double what we saw just four years ago, and it’s project to grow by about 45% in the next four years.

An individual’s personal brand has never been more powerful. That’s why Kylie Jenner was able to build a billion dollar company without spending money on ads.

Consumers have grown to trust influencers and engage with their content. Marketers have recognized this and will continue to increase their influencer budgets in 2024.

5. Customer Experience

It’s still is the year of the customer. We all know the age old saying, “the customer is always right.” But technology has changed the way that customers interact with brands.

It’s no longer about just pleasing the consumers from a customer service perspective; it’s about meeting their needs at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

Having a great product or service isn’t enough anymore. Factors like convenience, availability, and meeting the preferences of your customers go a long way.

You must accept multiple payment options, have a friendly return policy, keep your technology up to date, and provide speedy shipping options.

Here’s a look at what consumers value the most when it comes to CX.

As you can see from the chart, factors like efficiency, convenience, and friendly service are leading the way.

73% of consumers say that CX plays an essential role in their buying decisions, but only 49% of people say that businesses are providing them with a good experience.

71% of people said that employees have a significant impact on their experience. This makes sense, considering that 60% of consumers will stop interacting with brands if they don’t receive friendly service.

Customer service is nothing new. In fact, it’s basic business 101. But the way the customer experience will be prioritized to meet new demands in 2024 is something that you need to keep an eye on.

6. Visual Content

Content creation has been trending upward for years. Written content isn’t going anywhere since it’s crucial for SEO and driving traffic to your website.

But according to Forbes, 91% of people say they prefer visual content over text-based content.

Visual content is a great way to build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive engagement. By 2021, it’s estimated that 82% of all Internet content will be video.

Here are some quick facts about visual content that you need to know in 2024.

I understand the importance of visual content, which is why I always try to include some graphics in my blog posts.

Companies have recognized this trend and adapted accordingly. They are spending more money on video marketing and custom visuals to reach their audiences on as many distribution channels as possible.

Failure to create visual content in 2024 will cause you to fall behind your competitors.

7. Personalization

Personalization is directly tied to CX. Customers only want to see information that’s relevant to them. If everyone who visits your website is seeing the exact same thing, then you’re doing something wrong. This is especially true for those of you who are in retail.

A 55-year-old male customer living in Los Angeles isn’t shopping for the same products as a 21-year-old female living in New York City.

According to Instapage, personalized homepage content influenced 85% of customers to buy. 92% of consumers were influenced by shopping cart recommendations.

Companies that don’t personalize content for their customers will struggle in the future. 74% of customers get frustrated when content isn’t personalized.

51% of customers expect companies to anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions in 2024.

To improve your personalization tactics, you need to encourage customers to create profiles, implement a loyalty program, and leverage artificial intelligence. This brings us to our next trend of the year.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

I know—AI and machine learning have been hot topics for years now. These buzzwords have penetrated nearly every industry, and businesses have been preparing to adapt.

But today, businesses will do more than just prepare for AI. They will start implementing it in as many different ways as possible.

AI insights are directly tied to personalizing the customer experience. Machine learning technology can segment your customers and automatically optimize the experience based on their behavior and purchase history.

According to Statista, global revenue generated from AI is expected to reach $184 billion by the end of 2024. But it’s growing at a CAGR of 28.46% and projected to reach a whopping $826.7 billion by 2030.

84% of businesses are adapting to AI because they feel it will give them a competitive advantage. 75% of companies say that this technology will help them move into new markets.

The crazy part is that we’ve still just barely scratched the surface in terms of what AI is actually capable of accomplishing from a marketing perspective.

9. Live Video

We know that visual content and video marketing is king. But live video has become increasingly popular over the years.

Live streaming via social has really paved the way for this trend. Basically, anyone with a social media profile can “go live” for their followers at a moment’s notice. Even LinkedIn has launched a live broadcast feature for the professional market.

Here’s a look at the current and projected growth of live video in the next five years.

By 2025, it’s estimated that the live streaming industry will reach $125 billion.

35% of marketers are currently using live video. But with influencer marketing continuing to rise (as we previously discussed), I expect this number to increase even more.

10. Data-Driven Campaigns

Technology has been a significant theme with the trends on our list so far. Marketers will use the information collected from BI solutions and AI software to make data-driven decisions.

Not only will these decisions improve the customer experience, but they can also help companies with business-related opportunities.

Deciding whether or not to launch a new product or target a new customer group can be answered with data.

In fact, data analysis is one of the most sought after skill for new marketing hires.

Data-driven insights are being used by companies of all shapes and sizes. Red Bull, a global giant in the beverage industry, was recently able to leverage data analysis to learn more about which customers consume energy drinks.

This case study explains how their target market and customer behaviors were changing. Based on the data, Red Bull was able to reach customers on new marketing channels and deliver more value to retailers selling their products.

Final Thoughts

It’s a big year for marketers. There are more tools and technology available at our fingertips than ever before.

Companies that are able to recognize and adapt to these trends will have the most success in the coming year.

You can’t afford to ignore the marketing trends that I’ve identified above. I didn’t pull these out of thin air or just make random assumptions. Every single point on the list is based on data and extensive research.

Now that you’ve recognized these trends, it’s time to adapt and integrate them into your marketing strategy. To gain a competitive edge in 2024, contact our team here at McDougall Interactive, and we’ll make sure you have an advantage.

We would also love to now what some of your top marketing tactics are for this year. LinkedIn ads, writing a book or going against the grain with micro targeted print media? The door is wide open if you are willing to test and prove the ROI of each tactic you try.