Marketing trends may come and go, but we have identified the ones you need to focus on this year. We share the reasons behind the trends and the statistics you need to start monitoring to check how they are working for your business. Follow these five marketing trends to try:
Social Media Platforms that work for your business
One of Hootsuite Trend Predictions was music to our ears. Concentrate on platforms that work for you. So look at what’s working, and what’s not. Don’t feel any imposter syndrome from any other accounts telling you what you ‘should‘ be doing and focus your time and energy on what works for your business.
A little shout out to Lush who stopped their Meta feeds in 2019 for ‘ethical’ reasons. They returned briefly at the end of last year to promote a ‘safer social media environment for their users’ and added a friendly note to their nine posts to confirm that this was not their return to the platform.
This might be a bold move; it is a reminder that you do not need to be everywhere all of the time and show the strength of your values.
How do your customers prefer to work?
Knowing your audience has always been fundamental, but now it is about knowing how they work. Social Media, for example, is seeing low engagement across the board and this may lead to you reconsidering your time on a platform as above. However, it is important to understand the shift in how people use and engage on social. There are fewer likes and comments. The drive is towards DMs where people save to collections or privately share your content, so it’s about making shareable content. Your analytics for saves will be a key stat to monitor this year.
Likewise, building real relationships with your customers through messaging. Drop the reference to ‘link in bio’ in your caption copy losing them on the way. Instead, encourage them to comment or DM to start a conversation and build rapport. It’s personal and more approachable. Keep an eye on your Messaging data that is available such as sentient.
In email marketing, the key stats to monitor now are click-through and conversion rates, since Apple’s changes to their Mail Privacy Protection means that they are not sharing when an iPhone user opens an email.
Don’t forget to schedule in some surveys to get real honest insights on what your audience wants and how they want to consumer it.
AI Everywhere
Are you playing with or avoiding AI? Right now it’s a great research tool. To get the most from this it’s about honing that request to be accurate to what information you need. But let’s be honest, we absolutely need to sanity-check everything and AI-generated content is losing credibility with audiences. This year is about quality, authentic content.
With Pantone’s Colour of the Year: Peach Fuzz
Can you bring more blush tones in graphic designs and photography to make more of this trend? Curate a collection of products from Peach Fuzz (and complimentary colours if you are struggling here).
Find out more about the story behind this year’s Colour of the Year here at Pantone.
Want more trend inspiration?
Browse Pinterest Predicts for ideas for content they are looking for and super inspirational if you are looking to host an event – maybe follow that Jazz Revival. Would you be more ‘Be Jelly’ or ‘Hot Metal’ inspired for your shoots?
Stay ahead with making the most of these trends in your marketing. Get in touch if you would like a marketing audit of your marketing to help detect more opportunities and develop a strategy for your business to flourish in 2024.