As we bid adieu to 2023, here at Flourish HQ we have been revelling in some of our favourite trends that took the marketing world by storm last year. From a pink-washed Barbie fuelled Summer to guerilla campaigns like Maybelline’s tube Mascara showing us just how to make a statement using CGI, it has certainly been a year where brands have had to go big or go home to stand out.
If, like us, all this looking back has got you thinking about what’s in store for 2024, then buckle up, because we’ve got the inside scoop on what’s been swirling in the marketing cauldron.
Authenticity is the secret sauce
2024 has already been dubbed ‘The Age of Authenticity’. For brands, this means audiences have grown tired of seeing the same genre of polished and professional sales-led content. Instead, consumers are begging us to put it all out there by creating original, authentic content with a focus on allowing people to get to know you as a brand. This helps win brand trust and build community.
We have seen this trend begin to emerge in 2023 already with smaller businesses, such as Charlie’s Bar in Northern Ireland taking the digital world by storm. Their diy Christmas advert, shed light on loneliness at Christmas time and was even dubbed ‘better than John Lewis.’ This type of homemade content hits all the right notes when speaking to the modern consumer, who is more interested in ensuring that their own personal values match those of a brand they shop with than ever before. In fact, 82% of customers feel it’s important that brand values align with their own.
A new way of influencing
Bringing authenticity to the forefront means one thing, the influencer scene as we know it is becoming old news. Our Gen-Z and Millennial audiences are wising up to the idea that they might not be able to trust recommendations from influencers being paid thousands to advertise a product. The result? We are officially in the era of the micro-influencer. In a world where personal connection trumps flashy fame, micro-influencers with smaller, niche audiences are the heart and soul of genuine, authentic engagement.
Another rising star of 2023, and something we predict will continue to steal the spotlight over the next 365 days and beyond is user-generated content becoming the catalyst for a two-way street of engagement. Encouraging consumers to shout about your products / services through reviews, unboxings, blogs etc transforms them from spectators to the stars of the show, it doesn’t get more authentic than that!
Speaking directly to your audience is more important than ever
There has never been a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to content, but now more than ever, knowing your audience and being able to speak to different segments directly is key. This means a lot of things, but most importantly having an understanding of who your audience are and which platforms they are on is vital.
Gone are the days where brands need to post each day across all channels (wow, exhausting). Instead, focus on building audiences on a few key channels and post with meaning. Don’t forget, posting is just half the battle. In 2024, consumers expect engagement from brands, be it replying to comments, direct messages or even engaging via live stream. Take a leaf out of Tommy Hilfiger’s book, this year Tommy himself took over the brand’s TikTok channel for a few days, answering questions, interacting with consumers and sharing styling tips and brand stories.
In the words of Regina George, stop trying to make ‘content writing with ai’ happen, it’ll never happen
AI is great for a number of things, and in 2024 we will see an upsurge in how these tools are used and the features that are available on them. For a whole host of tasks, they have proved to be a game changer, however when approaching the year of authenticity, keeping the human element across all content is imperative.
A new way of searching
AI has also brought with it a whole new way of searching the internet. In 2023, thanks to our friends Alexa, Siri and the rest of the gang, there were more than 1 billion voice searches each month globally. We predict that this trend will continue to rise through 2024, especially as more and more of the so-called iPad generation- Gen-Alpha, emerge on to the digital scene. For marketers, this means SEO optimisation for voice search is vital.
It doesn’t just stop at voice search, in recent years Google has slowly been tilted further away from the top spot by our good friend social media. That’s right, research showed that almost 40% of the 18-24 market went to platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to search before they went to Google. This figure will continue to rise as we as a society rely more and more on visual instruction over written copy.
How do we stay on top of it? Well, to start, consider your social media channels as an extension of your website rather than something that compliments it – make sure your content is searchable and optimised with keywords, hashtags and that your content is clear and informative.
Social shopping – the retail revolution
The world of influencers is just the beginning when it comes to our new-found way of shopping online. We’ve all witnessed the incredible rise of the TikTok shop throughout 2023. In fact, the shopping feature took off to such a height that in 2023, TikTok remodelled its whole layout to entice users to spend their pennies. This is just the beginning of a whole new era of shopping. With the high street hitting endangered status, social shopping has reinvented the way people purchase. For retailers, social platforms have provided them with a whole new way of tempting consumers to shop with them. And for consumers, their browsing environment is now more tailored, interactive and personal than ever, not to mention we can now buy products without even leaving our favourite social media platform.
2024 will see other channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat place an emphasis on their shopping features to try to keep up with their main competitors. And for consumers, purchasing via social media will continue to grow to be a new norm.
What does this mean for marketers? Well, if you’ve not been paying attention to the social shopping revolution, now is the time to start. A multi-touchpoint approach is key, listing products is just not enough, this is as an extension of your channel backed up by authentic brand-focused content. Work with influencers that represent your brand best and don’t forget the importance of user-generated content when thinking about the sell.
Leave it to the experts
Let’s face it, it’s hard to keep up with the marketing world nowadays. With new advances coming at speed and an ever-evolving consumer-led market, brands need to do so much more to keep on top of competitors.
Outsourcing your marketing efforts to an agency brings a range of benefits. Agencies bring multiple specialisms, fresh perspectives, and in-depth knowledge and experience that are hard to incorporate into the, usually smaller, internal marketing team. Even the most talented internal team can reap the benefits of having an agency on hand to support them.
If you want to discuss any of the above UK marketing trends for 2024, our team would love to hear from you. Get in touch!
