The marketing industry in 2024 is not the same as before due to changes in customer behavior and preferences. Several trends are dominating the industry nowadays and redefining how brands interact with consumers: short-form content, and the application of AI in content production. These shifts are about switching to new technologies and understanding basic psychological motivations and consumer actions. Here are the marketing highlights and trends of 2024 that seem to stay with us for much longer.
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Short-Form Video Marketing: A Magnet for Viewers
One of the biggest changes in 2024 has been the rise of short-form videos. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have become the core of the marketing mix.
Besides, there is another psychological reason — people, especially Gen Z, do not want to spend much time on something. Psychologists have discovered that people have a better ability to recall tasks or events that were not completed than those that were completed to the full. This is called the Zeigarnik Effect and that’s why short-form videos are great for generating traffic. Every video tells a small part of the story and the audience feels the urge to watch the next one, thus, spending more time on the platform and raising the views of the content as well as providing businesses with the opportunity to make their content viral.
However, the effectiveness of short-form videos is not limited to this psychological factor only. In a world full of information, these videos give people a short and entertaining break. They offer just enough fun and news to fit the user’s needs without having to spend too much time on it. These are the factors that made apps such as TikTok and Instagram Reels so popular — they present a constant flow of short and entertaining content that provides customers with valuable information about brands and their products.
AI’s Role in Shaping Video Content
As video content consumption continues to rise, AI has become the key player in 2024. AI is now being employed by marketers not only for the purpose of data analysis but also for content generation and optimization. A recent advancement in the marketing of brands is that the use of AI has made it easier to reach the right audience with the right message. It makes sense as these tools can identify the user preferences and activity patterns and recommend the content that will be closer to the user’s preferences.
AI has also facilitated the creation process of the videos. AI tools for editing make it possible for marketers to create more videos that are of high quality in less time. The impact is clear: in TikTok and Instagram, for example, the engagement rates are boosted by 35%, and completion rates by 25% when AI-generated recommendations are used. These findings underscore the increasing role of AI in enhancing videos and their distribution to the right target market. The capacity to create content, determine the best time to post, and choose between the best hashtags means that AI will be a crucial component of marketing for 2024 and the upcoming years.
User-Generated Content (UGC): A Shift Toward Authenticity
One more marketing trend that has started to progress rapidly in 2024 is the usage of user-generated content (UGC) even though it appeared much earlier. While influencer content is most often sponsored and edited, UGC is generated by ordinary buyers and admirers of a particular brand. This kind of content is far more believable and realistic, especially given that the audience is bored with the highly polished and celebrity-endorsed messages.
UGC has proven to be useful for brands who wish to establish credibility in the market. The studies reveal that consumers are more likely to trust the brand that reposts the content created by other people. In truth, another survey conducted by EnTribe revealed that 86% of the participants felt more confident in a brand that shares UGC, especially because it made people feel like they were getting a recommendation from a friend. This shift towards the real is in sync with a growing trend among consumers who are demanding that brands and companies do not present themselves in a falsely positive manner.
Sustainability as a Core Brand Value
By 2024, sustainability is not an option but a necessity that brands have to adopt if they are to survive in a very competitive business environment. The buying decision process of customers is now involving the sustainability profile of the brand or product in its process.
Those companies that are truly committed to sustainability and ethical accountability are building better relationships with their audience. These efforts are popular with the consumer who has become more attentive to the way the products are created and who will only follow brands that are genuine. However, this increased awareness also creates a lot of pressure for companies not to stay completely symbolic in their actions. Advertising that is green, or includes an environmental message, but lacks substance is met with skepticism and disapproved by the modern consumer.
In order for brands to succeed in this new environment they need to do something, or more appropriately do more, and incorporate sustainability into everything they do. This means that they have to be clear with their actions, the progress they are making, and the impact they are achieving. Given that people have access to information at their fingertips, brands have to deliver clear messages. Failing to meet these expectations leads to irrelevance and market loss as competitors who embrace consumer values gain the market within a short span.
The change towards sustainability is an expression of a new culture of responsible and conscious consumption and production. Modern companies realize that satisfying this need is a chance to create a better connection with customers. By placing sustainability at the forefront, they show responsibility for the future – for the world and the buyer. Sustainability, in other words, is now a key element that determines which brands will last.
The Evolution of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is still one of the top forces of marketing in 2024, however, it has undergone some changes. Whereas previously it was all about celebrities, now it’s more about micro-influencers and nano-influencers that can bring brands more desired results. Instead of making occasional paid posts with celebrities, brands are now partnering with influencers who have a much smaller number of followers with whom they have common values, and who have a specific target audience. Such an approach has been found more useful in terms of generating actual interest and building credibility.
For instance, Nike has opted for micro-influencers for regional campaigns because they are close to the target market. Such partnerships are becoming more popular as brands begin to understand that establishing long-term partnerships with niche influencers is more effective than making occasional, but highly-publicized, campaigns.
The presented marketing trends of 2024 indicate that marketing is gradually becoming more sincere, fact-based, and psychologically oriented. From AI, and short-form videos to UGC and sustainability, brands are adopting new strategies in their communication with consumers. These trends are still on the rise making the brands that are able to decode these trends the ones that will prevail.
