It’s 2024, and that means one thing for marketers everywhere – new year, new digital marketing trends.
Look at 2023, which saw the end of Twitter, the beginning of X, the launch of Threads and the surge of social commerce among so many more changes, proving just how fast-paced and changeable the industry is, often meaning it can be difficult to stay caught up.
For that reason, we wanted to collate a list of what we believe could be the top 10 Digital Marketing Trends that your business needs to look out for in 2024.
1. Sustainability
With environmental and climate issues becoming even more of a widespread concern, it could continue to have an impact on consumers’ mindsets, behaviours and purchasing patterns in 2024, with more eco-conscious decisions being made by consumers worldwide.
If your business is on the path to greater sustainability, why not take the chance to share this with your customers? It will help you spread the word about your work and make your business feel a little more human.
Do be weary – it needs to be truthful to avoid ‘Greenwashing’, i.e. communicating that your business is environmentally conscious, but in reality, this does not represent your business practices.
2. Video and Short-Form Content
If you have avoided video and short-form content as a social media strategy, it might be time to think again.
We saw video as one of our top 10 digital marketing rends to watch out for in 2023 and since then, its popularity as a marketing tactic has only ramped up.
Video is becoming so popular that we are seeing a vast array of other social media platforms jumping on the trend and adopting it as a feature of their own.
Take a look at the emergence of Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts as prime examples!
In 2024, harness the power of video and short-form content and experiment with what it can do for your business’s social media performance.
3. Voice Search
Smart devices are quickly becoming all the rage, with consumers buying devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo, which now incorporate very useful AI assistants, increasingly being used for searching the web.
SEO is constantly changing and businesses have to move with it, so this could be a major opportunity to get ahead of the competition by ensuring that your website is optimised for voice search results, letting your website be the leading solution for searchers’ queries.
4. Growth of Social Commerce
Social commerce shows a big shift in how consumers shop online with social media giving rise to a more seamless path to purchase.
If you aren’t aware, an array of social media platforms are integrating in-app shopping experiences, meaning users can scroll and shop as much as their heart desires, all from one place.
If you are an e-commerce business, grab the opportunity to reach new and existing customers by leveraging social media to boost online sales, website traffic as well as engagement and interaction in 2024!
5. Multi-Channel Marketing
There are a variety of different social media platforms today and it can be hard to know where you should be and where you shouldn’t be.
It might be worth taking some time this new year to consider the platforms out there and evaluate how different combinations may work for your business.
You don’t have to have a presence on every channel, but just be sure you are on the right ones and not missing a big opportunity elsewhere.
Ultimately, your target audience may be using a variety of platforms and might be somewhere you’re not, so try not to completely dismiss the idea of developing a cross-channel strategy to maximise the success of your marketing.
6. Fluidity and Adaptability
One of the most important adaptations your business should look to make in 2024 is becoming more fluid in the changing digital marketing environment.
The industry isn’t set to slow down anytime soon, so it might be time for your business to shift its mindset slightly and try to be open to some new emerging platforms, social media trends, updates and more.
Be ready at any moment to redirect your digital marketing efforts depending on the course the industry takes because being rigid in your approach to digital marketing can hugely limit your business’s growth.
You never know what opportunity might come your way and be a huge success for you, so consider all of your options and embrace change.
7. Interactive Content
Whether this is voicing an opinion, voting in a poll, or giving a rating, consumers love to share their thoughts and feel like they have some involvement in your business, something we don’t see diminishing anytime soon.
To boast greater engagement in 2024, take a look at introducing some of these interactive elements, for example, using platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for some of their unique story features (polls, rankings, quick reactions etc.
8. Email Marketing
It is often thought that email marketing is a dwindling marketing tactic, probably because of how long it has been around, but this isn’t necessarily true.
Amidst all of the new technologies and emerging trends, don’t look past some of the best tried and true methods of marketing.
One of the latest consumer behaviour reports from the CSO in Ireland has found that 93% of people still use email, making it a leading online activity for consumers.
So really, if you are looking to boost your website traffic and conversions or just simply create more brand awareness, try out email marketing and put your message right in front of your audience, you can be almost sure they will see it.
9. Balancing Personalisation & Privacy
Personalisation in digital marketing is set to continue as a trend this year as consumers are becoming easier to win over when they feel like you are directly communicating with them (i.e. mentioning them by name at the beginning of an email marketing campaign).
However, one of the biggest factors to consider with personalised marketing is the fine balance that needs to be struck between personalisation and privacy concerns.
If you are considering personalisation, go for it! But just be sure not to overdo it as it could end up having the opposite effect of what you intended and maybe even scare away consumers who may start to feel like they are being watched.
Be open and honest with your consumers about how you are using and storing their data and always allow them to opt out at their own will.
10. Social Media as a Search Engine
The growth of social media as a search engine has been incredible, with many consumers flocking to platforms such as TikTok with a vast array of search queries. 
Because this concept is so new and up-and-coming, 2024 is a good time to consider how you could create a social media strategy similar to how you would optimise your website for search engines.
Much like how consumers search for answers to their queries on Google and your optimised website tries to rank as a solution, searching via social media works similarly.
But with a social media post or short-form video being the answer rather than a webpage, giving your business now has another opportunity to be an answer for searchers’ queries in a reinvented way.
Digital marketing trends can be very difficult to keep up to date with but using our guide to anticipate a few of the trends we may expect to see, you can start preparing a strong digital marketing strategy for 2024!
Check out more of our articles on digital marketing, web design and development here.