Welcome to 2024. As digital marketers, we spend hours studying current website development trends, distinguishing between annoying fads that impede access to content and meaningful changes that affect the standards we lean on to provide the most engaging online experience.
Listed below are six digital marketing trends for 2024. Based on our experience, we have identified that those organizations whose goal is to provide value, offer more current and modern messaging.
1. Mobile First
Google is leaning in, using the mobile device experience as a strong signal of a quality website. On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, John Mueller from Google wrote on the Google blog. "It's been a long road, getting from there to here. We're delighted to announce that the trek to Mobile-First Indexing is now complete." Depending on the industry, we see 50% up to 75% of website visitors originating from a mobile device. Interestingly, what has also occurred is a drastic reduction in visitors using tablets to less than 5% in some areas.
This is good news for website owners. Understanding your industry and their preference for web access provides actionable insights into the best exposure approach to your content.
2. 5G is here
It's changing design decisions. Understanding Core Metrics is an important measurement when considering visitor engagement. This measurement is divided into two parts. Largest contentful paint, the amount of time to render the largest content element visible in the viewport, and first input delay, the time from when a visitor first interacts with your page to when the browser responds to that interaction.
Stagnate websites are losing their position in search results as Search Engines refine their algorithms to provide a more relevant experience for the user. 5G has created opportunities to increase the size and quality of the media, including podcasts, video, and creative animation.
3. Email is not dead
We see our clients experiencing a significant uptick in email open rates of organization's newsletters among established brands. Before COVID, organizational emails averaged 13%, with a response hovering around 1-3%. Since COVID, several factors have changed, including people's preferences regarding which medium they use to access information, exceeding 40%.
As we progress, our level of sophistication will only improve by using techniques like audience segmentation, A/B testing, and other omnichannel marketing tactics.
4. Promotion
The new marketing normal for small businesses is to assess the digital footprint, complemented by traditional marketing and advertising. In a post-COVID report by Deloitte, "SMBs that reported using targeted advertising on social media were nearly twice as likely to report higher revenues than in the previous year. That underlines why four out of five SMBs said that they expect to increase their use of digital tools going forward."
This increase and success of the channel have created opportunities, and as the success continues, more organizations will follow this approach. The result makes the environment more challenging in the future, forcing the early adopters to continue to look for innovative ways to increase sales and engagement.
Promotion in various traditional channels can be accomplished by business owners participating in events within the community by bringing attention to your brand. To gain the most from digital media, it needs to be part of a larger plan that places the brand in front of potential customers in owned and non-owned online communities.
5. Bard and ChatGPT
If you want to ignore this paragraph, do it at your own peril. AI is here; by all indications, it is here to stay. The only question is how these new tools will give you an advantage. Many businesses already benefit because software companies have already incorporated some AI into their tool sets (e.g., Grammarly). Applying the technology to the productivity tools differentiates tools but, more importantly, can change how you create content using different file types ( e.g., WAV, PNG, MP4).
It is estimated that Bing Search traffic is expected to triple to 15% during 2024 after Microsoft included the ChatGPT in Bing search results. This advancement has created a race of users adopting AI at an alarming rate.
Jump in. Use the entry prompt using Bard or ChatGPT to start creating new material. Now is a good time to mention that this commentary was written by a Bill (human) without the aid of AI. Although in true transparency, Grammerly was involved before publication.
6. Don't wait
It's a new year. Set aside uninterrupted time to focus on your marketing plan for the next 12 months. Are you selling widgets, services, or adding members to participate in your organization's activities? Start with your goals for the year. For churches, what entices people to become part of the congregation? For volunteer groups, how do you appeal to like-minded people? For businesses, what makes you different? Consider seasonal fluctuations and plan to exploit the busy time while using the less active time to adjust the plan.
In conclusion, these are steps to start the endless continuous improvement and engagement journey. Establishing and growing your brand can be accomplished using all available marketing channels.
William R. Benz, Owner & Chief Digital Officer
As Owner and Chief Digital Officer at the Carnegie Agency, Bill draws from his decades of experience creating digital platforms for the world's largest financial institutions. He now supports digital marketing capabilities for small and medium-sized companies. He provides company strategy and hands-on delivery of digital and traditional marketing solutions. Bill is a frequent guest speaker at Commonwealth University - Bloomsburg and Rutgers University.
Bill works out of our Warren County office located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, with a view of the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.
William R. Benz, Owner & Chief Digital Officer
As Owner and Chief Digital Officer at the Carnegie Agency, Bill draws from his decades of experience creating digital platforms for the world's largest financial institutions. He provides company strategy and hands-on delivery of digital and traditional marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses. Bill is a frequent guest speaker at Commonwealth University - Bloomsburg and Rutgers University.
Bill works out of our Warren County office located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, with a view of the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.