As we approach the end of what feels like the longest month of the year (we made it past Blue Monday!), the team here at Bull Marketing are looking ahead into the exciting developments within the future of marketing this year. In a landscape where innovation is paramount and at the forefront of consumers’ minds, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve. Join us as we explore some of the top emerging and growing digital trends that will shape the marketing landscape in the coming year.
So, let’s get started!
1: Making it personal…
By understanding your audiences, you can make informed creative decisions and hit the key areas of interest for your demographics. Personalisation allows your customers to feel valued, leading to increased brand loyalty and stronger consumer relationships. To increase your customer retention, and by extension your profits, you need to focus on integrating individualism into every customer journey. Not every consumer group has the same pain points, so why try speaking to them all at once? It’s far more effective, and produces a far greater ROI, to strategically position your brands messaging to hit the pain points of relevance of the users you’re wanting to speak to.
By harnessing your user insights effectively, you’re able to provide value at every touchpoint. Website personalisation is an increasingly popular method of achieving this. This refers to adapting your website’s view based on a visitors industry, department, or any other relevant demographics you want to filter down on. Account Based Marketing is another powerful tool to utilise for more meaningful personalisation, with Gartner reporting that effective ABM strategies can increase pipeline conversion rates by 14%.
2: User-generated content hits the mark!
More and more brands are seeing how utilising UGC can be a powerful tool when trying to retain or attract business. This is because it allows for users to see tangible examples of how your brand has worked for other companies, and the needs you’ve been able to address. User-generated content can take a range of forms such as reviews, social media posts, or direct client testimonials.
These are much more engaging than standard brand ads and people are more inclined to read about others experiences of a brand compared to a brand speaking about what it can do. It’s a fresh and innovative way to communicate the products and services you offer, without running the risk of sounding repetitive or like a sales pitch.
One of the major benefits of requesting stories from your customers and using this kind of content is that it allows your clients to express themselves and feel a sense of autonomy, and connection with your brand as a result. Working with you to produce the content, and then having it published will highlight their worth to you and inspire brand affinity. Alongside this, it highlights to potential clients the benefits you can offer them; giving them real experiences which will help them understand the variety of offerings your brand can provide them.
3: Purpose is the priority…
Going into 2024, companies are keener than ever to see the brands they work with align with their values, and to see how they are making strides for a greater purpose. So much so, research from Forbes reports buyers are 4-6 times more likely to purchase from purpose-driven companies. To effectively inform your target users of your brands purpose, you need to focus on authenticity, clarity and consistency throughout all your brand communications. By proactively speaking on the brands values and highlighting the benefits you offer to specific communities and society, you can build trust, inspire stronger brand loyalty and encourage new leads.
What does this look like in practise for your brand? It can be done in several ways, for example supporting charitable causes or even using inclusive language. However, your brand adopts this trend, it’s crucial to begin considering how the wider positive impacts of your business can be highlighted to consumers. People want to feel that the companies they work with are doing good for the wider world, so take on the challenge and show them how you are.
4: Video Based Content is here to stay…
One trend we keep seeing grow year on year is the industry shift towards video and audio content as primary methods of communication for B2B marketing. Moving into 2024, this shift shows no signs of slowing down; in fact, according to an article from Inc., over 90% of B2B customers watch videos online, with nearly half of these customers also doing so when researching products or services. Video and audio content can be executed in a variety of ways: video ads, webinars, podcasts, short form social posts, educational videos or even client testimonials recorded and published on your brands website.
With everyone busier than ever and time-starved, the most important thing for your brand is to utilise your video/audio content to grab consumers attention quickly and get your key message across. Short-form videos work particularly well for this as they stand out in a crowded online world, by offering quick, engaging and even thought-provoking content. However, there is a world of creative possibilities for your brand when working with these dynamic formats.
This is a trend that just keeps growing in popularity and it’s showing no signs of stopping as it continues to produce great results for brands. So, the most important thing is to think about how these formats can work for you and your brand and get to filming!
5: Interactive Content is the future!
Next up on our list is another repeat offender on the trends list; interactive content has been growing in popularity and the number of brands adopting this format is higher than ever! For good reason too, this is all about reimagining how your users can engage with your digital content, creating elevated online journeys for consumers and encouraging interactive experiences. This kind of content goes beyond just catching customers attention; it’s about getting ahead of game and creating an interaction which consumers remember and resonates with them in a meaningful way.
For example, gamifications and interactive ads featuring questions for users to answer can be a powerful tool to help inspire engagement and leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Beyond that, you could look at interactive webinars, animations, infographics, whatever makes the most sense for your brand and the audience you want to interact with!
Over the past 19 years at Bull Marketing, we’ve seen trends come and go, and understand the importance of staying on top of the ever-changing world of marketing. We assess, adapt and adopt what is working in the market and are here to help your brand do the same! Want to see how we can help your brand embrace the latest developments in the industry and elevate your businesses marketing in 2024? Get in touch!
Email us at hello@bulluk.com or contact us here: bulluk.com/contact/
