Are you ready for this year to be your business’s biggest marketing year yet? Knowing where to focus your marketing efforts is the key to successful marketing for your business.
Should you be posting videos? Which parts of your business should you take to social media? What are your clients expecting from you? These are all questions that can be answered by doing a bit of research on what trends to follow.
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of the top marketing trends to follow in 2024 so that you can maximize your success.
Online events are becoming more popular
Online meetings are no longer an anomaly these days, with the pandemic having completely shifted the way in which we connect and communicate. With so many new (and older) restrictions on in-person meetings, coupled with the convenience of online events, it seems that this marketing trend of online events is here to stay.
A virtual event can be anything from a live stream, a webinar, an online meeting or even a conference. These online events allow people to engage with interesting, value-added content presented by organizations, all while remaining safe in the confines of their own homes. Planning for a few online events will be a smart strategy to get the word out about your business.
Video marketing will continue to be on the rise
We’ve said it before, video marketing is one of the strongest marketing tools a small business owner can use. Forecasts are predicting that video marketing will not only increase in 2024, but will also be a crucial factor in the next 5 to 10 years. Consumers want to connect with small businesses and videos are a great way to achieve that.
Videos that provide true value for their audiences are a surefire way to get your brand more highly recognized and bring leads. In 2020, 93% of businesses landed new customers because of a video they had on their social media pages. It would be in every small business owner’s best interest to incorporate video marketing into their business strategy this year.
Marketing automation is too important to miss
With all the stress of running a business, marketing your business is sometimes the last thing on your mind, even though it should be one of the first. That is the reason why too many small business owners don’t bother with their marketing and 47% of small business owners go at their marketing efforts alone. This is where marketing automation comes in.
Automating things like social media posts, marketing email campaigns, chatbots, web campaigns and more allows you to collect crucial information about your clients and how they interact with your business, while freeing up your time to do other things. Using a tool like vcita can help. With vcita you can automate your marketing emails and many other aspects of your business for full digital transformation.
Personalization is key
Personalized marketing has always helped small businesses stand out amongst the crowd, and although automation is on the rise, personalizing your marketing efforts is a key factor in keeping your business at the tops of your clients’ minds. Most consumers can see right through generic emails and advertisements, and they’re sick of it.
Use data that you collect to better understand and support your marketing efforts and, and we can’t stress this enough, personalize your emails, ads, and posts. Have an app? Make the customer experience personalized and watch your sales increase.
Get you an influencer
According to a study by Klear, in 2021, sponsored posts on Instagram increased by 26.7% and sponsored stories by 33.5%. Influencers are creating an average of 16 sponsored stories per week. In addition, 91% of all sponsored posts’ engagement was with videos created by micro-influencers. If you’re already putting money into your posts, why not increase the return on your investment and gain higher views, likes, shares, referrals, etc.
With new features released such as TikTok’s creator marketplace, it is now easier than ever to connect with creators and feature an influencer in your next marketing campaign. Even if you feel you don’t have enough followers. Later x Fohr Influencer Marketing Report found that the less followers an influencer had on Instagram, the higher and more steady their average engagement rate.
Make your business smart speaker and voice searchable
By 2024, it is expected that 8.4 billion digital voice assistants will be in use globally. Though you may think that smart speakers and virtual assistants are only around to search benign facts on the internet or play a song, they are becoming a new way for consumers to interact with businesses. According to Invoca, 51% of those who shop via voice use it to research products and 22% of those consumers make purchases directly through voice on a monthly basis.
Voice search is becoming more of the norm, especially in the US and China. Making your business voice searchable and discoverable via smart speakers is a strategy that will surely future proof your business and help you sustain a successful business long term.
Social commerce is here and not going anywhere
Social commerce is the selling of goods and services directly to the consumer via social media. Unlike social media marketing, social commerce ads have a link to the product directly within the social media post and buyers can purchase the product or service directly from the social media platform, or via a link that takes them to the product or service page where they can purchase.
Think about it, instead of a client perusing your site, looking for items/services to buy, a specific service or product can be presented to them, targeting their specific needs, and voila! They pay and buy directly from the ad they saw. Social commerce streamlines the payment process, diversifies marketing channels, personalizes the shopping process, allows businesses to collaborate with influencers and much more. It is estimated that social commerce will double in the US between 2021 and 2025, with consumers spending more on average with each purchase, so getting on this 2024 marketing trend would be in the best interest of any small business owner.
Market your business like a pro in 2024
Following the herd doesn’t always mean being a sheep. It’s knowing that in order to sustain a successful business, you need to know how to best market your business and expand your reach. Hopefully, the list of small business marketing trends above together with some of our out-of-the-box marketing ideas give you some more direction as to where you should focus your energy and your marketing budget this year.
