In an incredibly fast digital world, brands have to keep their marketing strategies always effective and modernized. More importantly, they also have to stay tuned for the latest marketing trends and the top tendencies for digital promotion. GBC Time has reviewed the whole marketing industry and collected the top trends, benchmarks in 2024, and future prospects.
Don’t you think it is weird how advertising is constant in the world? People of different generations were facing various stages of marketing, but there was always marketing in our lives. Of course, it all started with a word-of-mouth type of promotion. People were talking about what is good, which product is better, and who is providing the best service. Eventually, it was transformed into a more formal appearance. Newspapers, paper magazines, billboards, and good-looking pictures of the products attract customers.
Marketing has always been a fast-growing and increasingly influential sector. Nowadays, this niche is digitalized like so many others. This article is a kind of guidance to modern marketing and its further perspectives.
The major leap in the marketing industry was obviously caused by the COVID-19 pandemic when the business sector comprehended the importance of digital promotion. Of course, the first signs of the marketing increase were recorded on social media platforms, because people spent way more time online than before. 87% of marketers increased social media activity as the pandemic began.
Social media was definitely a growing tendency at that time. TikTok was at the very beginning of its path, so the users got something new to experience. After the global pandemic hit, marketers reach the big rule of modern marketing – 85% of specialists believe consumers expect a personalized experience. So, nowadays, the promotion campaign content is more individual, therefore, more effective. Considering the most popular formats that marketers use in 2024, there must be mentioned:
- Video;
- Blogs;
- Images;
- Infographics;
- Case studies.
The biggest marketing companies in the world
Digital marketing is a highly competitive niche these days. Taking this into count, it is becoming more and more complicated to build a successful business and develop a company with a constantly growing income. However, there are still these successful cases that are worth your attention. Supposedly, their achievements were reached through the active use of trending marketing channels, content formats, and marketing strategies.
1. Accenture Interactive
New York, New York
Revenue: $4.4 billion
2. PwC Digital Services
Hallandale Beach, Florida
Revenue: $3.3 billion
3. IBM iX
Armonk, New York
Revenue: $3 billion
4. Deloitte Digital
New York, New York
Revenue: $2.6 billion
5. Dentsu
Tokyo, Japan
Revenue: $2.38 billion
So, let us review the most trending marketing formats and tendencies in 2024.
Top marketing channels in 2024
Social media
As it was already mentioned above, social media is a top marketing tendency in 2024. People make purchases through the platforms, build their businesses, and of course, promote their products and services.
Website or blog
Of course, a good old-fashioned website is still on the top among online users. Direct and organic inquiries on search engines are the dominant drivers of brand awareness online. People get a chance to find out more about the needed company.
Email marketing
Email marketing has become this popular in 2024 thanks to the highly personalized model. Brand directly informs the potential client about sales, discounts, and other special offers. Online users are used to getting personal messages.
Content marketing
Digital marketing in 2022 is all about content. It must be unique, high-qualified, interesting, and teasing. Moreover, unrepeatable content is able to increase total brand awareness online as well.
Influencer marketing
Influencers have proven their importance in marketing throughout all these years. Nowadays, brands are ready to set aside a bigger part of the budget to get promotional content from the influencer. They have a trusted status among online users, which makes the whole promotion even more effective.
SEO marketing
Search Engine Optimization still remains another effective way to promote the brand through various channels from Google to Instagram. Marketers do not miss the chance to increase the ROI by using the keywords.
Virtual events
After the global pandemic hit, the need of going out for any reason disappeared. Consumers found a way to get entertained, educated, and informed online on virtual events like conferences, webinars, tournaments, and online matches.
Statistical insights in the marketing of 2022
1. Budgets are increasing
Nowadays, an effective marketing strategy requires smart steps from marketers. The promotion specialists are aware of the extremely highly competitive level of the market – every potential customer is worth its weight in gold. Therefore, the business financial models are also built differently.
According to the HubSpot report “State of Inbound Marketing Trends”, around 48% of marketing teams expect their budget to increase in 2022. It seems like marketing of current days is one of those niches that would never go bankrupt.
Touching on the topic of marketing budgets, Statista posted research on the share of the companies’ revenue spent on marketing from 2014 to 2021.
2. Data privacy becomes one of the main drivers for marketing worldwide
One of the loudest marketing news this year definitely was the elimination of the third-party cookies of multiple browsers. Search giants and leading media companies have chosen to limit personal data collection due to this. Internet users have also changed and become more attentive to their personal information protection.
According to Statista research, from 2018 to 2022, the level of awareness around the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has significantly increased among users in European countries. It means that online users see the importance of personal data protection during online activities.
| Country | 2018 | 2022 |
| France | 20% | 47% |
| Germany | 26% | 58% |
| Netherlands | 28% | 66% |
| Spain | 23% | 50% |
| UK | 32% | 73% |
| Belgium | – | 51% |
3. The most effective content is funny and interactive
No denying, it is becoming more complicated to retain and interest new customers. But the marketing teams have found a way to improve their content. In 2022, effective content is equal to interactive content. Internet users around the globe are not interested in static content that has no unique pieces of interaction or creativity.
Marketers actively use social media platforms to provide quizzes to users in order to find out what are their preferences, collect other essential data, and additionally inform them about updates in products or services. It is also a more effective way to promote the brand.
4. Quality content is the key to marketing success in 2022
HubSpot reports that a bigger part of marketers believes in quality content performance over quantity. 83% of marketers focus on quality, and 17% of marketers try to post on social media as often as possible even when it is not qualified content.
5. The main task for marketers is to create engaging content
Marketing teams in various sectors face the general requirement to create entertainment content that would be high-qualified and better ROI-producing. The clients ask for high activity from the audience so the total arrival of clients was growing constantly.
Top marketing trends in 2024
Influencer marketing
Successful social media promotion is mostly built on the influencer’s impact. It is impossible to scroll the whole feed on any platform without seeing a “sponsored post”. Influencers are showing off their favorite products, and services they got from a popular brand, or even offering the followers to get a special discount from this promotion campaign.
One of the main reasons for such popularity among marketers is the trust among users. Influencers build their personal brand by posting their real life and sharing intimate details with their followers. Therefore, their subscribers do not perceive their recommendations as not believable.
One of the most successful influencer marketing cases was Drake promoting the online casino Stake.com. The Canadian rapper was streaming his stakes and roulette games on social media, which significantly increased the number of clients.
Mobile-friendly website design
Worldwide, consumers spend about 4.2 hours per day on their mobile devices. Mobile gadgets are more used these days than ever. It is a more powerful form of online activity compared to the global desktop share.
Mobile gadgets are obviously more accessible and convenient to use. According to some studies, the total number of smartphones exceeds the total number of citizens. Talking about developing countries with low telecommunications infrastructure people get an opportunity to get access to information, media space, and even health service.
You can also find the statistical infographics of mobile and desktop sharing worldwide in the PDF file at the link https://gbc-time.com/marketing-info.pdf
Counting the extreme popularity and obvious necessity of mobile gadgets nowadays, marketers figured out that it is not enough for the website to be accessible only through a PC or laptop. The mobile version of the websites expands the boundaries and gives online users more opportunities for use.
Short-form video content
Since TikTok popped out into the social media space, users began to perceive the short form of video content as more likable than long videos that were popular during the massive YouTube vlog boom. These days, the shorter is video, the more likes it gets from followers. The HubSpot resource has collected the best short-video formats that are definitely worth the marketers’ attention:
- Brand challenges;
- Influencer ads;
- Product teasers;
- More user-generated content;
- More behind-the-brand videos;
- More explained or educational videos.
Touching on the question about the best social media platforms for the short-video format, the list must definitely include:
- TikTok;
- Instagram (Reels);
- YouTube shorts;
- Thriller;
- Hippo Video.
Experiential marketing
Experiential marketing is a form of marketing that implies the maximum involvement of the customer in the promotion campaign. Marketers provide a memorable and innovative experience for online users through emotional or interactive content. Successful experiential marketing is based only on high creativity, so marketers and content creators are not limited at all.
Conclusion
Marketing in 2024 is a fast and unstoppable mechanism that exists and develops thanks to technological innovations and bright creative trends. In just one year, dozens of new formats, strategies, and styles may appear that users will certainly like. These days, it is essentially important for marketers to always be aware of new trends and keep up with users and their preferences.
