Year of the Consumer: Top 5 Marketing Trends in 2024

The beginning of the year is a great time to reflect on things we’ve learned and look forward to everything this year has in store. This is especially true in the fast-paced world of marketing, so as we dive into 2024, let’s take a brief look at what worked and what didn’t last year. Then, we’ll highlight the latest marketing trends for 2024 and learn what this means for your businesses.

2023 at a Glance

After several tumultuous months of working to combat the effects of a global pandemic, we could practically hear the sighs of relief from businesses as they returned to in-person events to connect with customers and build brand awareness, invested more in interactive marketing and increased using technology like live stream and video. Everyone was eager to reconnect—and it showed.

Consumers also reminded us exactly how savvy they are. They don’t fall for gimmicks or overly buzzword-driven campaigns, as evidenced by the failed Target campaign intended to celebrate Pride month in June 2023. Consumers crave purpose-driven marketing because it gives them a way to interact with the brands they love while still doing their part to positively impact the world around them, but it’s important to know they will gravitate toward authenticity … every single time.

Brand-New Year, Brand-New Trends

Paying attention to the changing marketplace and consumer sentiment is one of the ways you can stay sharp and stay ahead of the competition. Marketing trends tell us about the changing wants and needs of consumers, so it makes sense that when you are up to date with current marketing trends, you will be able to make more genuine and lasting connections with your clients and customers.

Here are 5 Key Trends in Marketing for 2024. By implementing some, or all, of these strategies into your marketing objectives, consumers will recognize your efforts and reward you with their attention and loyalty.

1. AI Marketing Automation

(AI) Artificial Intelligence is here to stay, and every year, its capabilities are more impressive. This year, look for even more advanced technology to deliver things like quicker data processing, even more in-depth consumer information and increased usage of behavior analytics. That means more businesses are going to have even more customer information, so your company needs to deliver an even greater level of consumer-focused marketing to woo customers.

How Your Business Can Win at AI Marketing Automation

Work to integrate humans and AI so that there is collaboration between the two. When humans analyze predictive and analytic AI feedback, they can deliver a more tailored consumer experience.

2. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

AR and VR aren’t just concepts from your favorite sci-fi movie. This technology has been used by businesses for a while, and the technology behind it keeps getting more powerful, offering continuously increasing capabilities. A way of immersing your customers and clients into a brand experience, AR and VR appeal especially to younger generations of shoppers, and many businesses successfully execute marketing campaigns that utilize these powerful tools.

Whether you know it or not, you probably interact with virtual marketing on a regular basis. Many businesses are already successfully immersed in AR and VR and are executing successful marketing campaigns. For example, if you’ve ever virtually tried on a pair of glasses to see how they would look on you, you’ve interacted with this technology. If you’ve entered a virtual showroom to design your living space, tracked a virtually “adopted” animal or played in a brand’s online gamified experience, you’ve interacted with this technology.

How Your Business Can Win at AR and VR

Consider providing a virtual brand experience to help connect your customers to your brand. Things like QR codes that lead customers directly to your website, virtual try-ons, virtual event attendance, gamification and other immersive brand experiences can serve as valuable ways to boost your brand.

3. Hyper-personalization

Personalization isn’t a new concept to marketers; however, hyper-personalization is a brand-new ballgame. It is a way of combining the data we get from both human and machine learning and leveraging it to create even more targeted and customized marketing campaigns. A way of getting to know your customers at an even more in-depth level, hyper-personalization helps companies compete and stay top of mind in a crowded, competitive marketplace.

How Your Business Can Win at Hyper-personalization

With all the data you have at your fingertips, there are many ways to reach out to your clients and customers. Now that you know them even better, consider reaching out on a regular basis and reminding them that you care about their well-being. For example, stock up on greeting cards from Hallmark Business Connections and send birthday cards or anniversary cards throughout the year; or plan a targeted campaign to welcome the beginning of springtime.

At Hallmark Business Connections, you’ll find bulk business greeting cards for every occasion, so get creative and send greetings for anything from graduation to encouragement. You can even personalize your greetings with your own brand message or logo to make it more meaningful, and if you’ve got a unique sending situation or need to send a single card, be sure to check out our Mail to One service for an elevated, one-of-a-kind personalized experience. We’ll even mail your card for you! Some businesses like to include a special offer inside their greetings to let customers know how much they mean.

For really special occasions, like weddings, the arrival of a new baby or a retirement, don’t forget memorable gifts like a bouquet of fresh cut flowers or a box of gourmet chocolates by Christopher Elbow. When special clients receive gifts from you on meaningful days, you’ll make a lasting impact that will turn into customer loyalty when the time is right.

4. Influencer Marketing

Engaging your consumer audience is more important than ever in 2024, and online influencers can help you do that. By strategically leaning into the reach that online influencers have, you can reach a broader customer base and share messages about your products and services with even more people. Influencers interact with consumers via their social media platforms to endorse products and services offered by their favorite companies. You’ll see influencer marketing at work on vlogs (video blogs), live video, blogs and social media platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram.

How Your Business Can Win at Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing can boost brand awareness, improve SEO and build even more credibility with your customer base. It makes sense, especially when you realize that more than 68% of the world’s social media users follow their favorite brands on social media. We’ve all heard about the mega influencers out there like movie stars who are paid to endorse products and services. Their reach is astronomical, often propelling brands into success.

But don’t discount micro-influencers (like local celebs, businesses and loyal customers) because they generate 60% more engagement than macro-influencers. Although micro-influencers may have a smaller audience, there are benefits to working with them. Most micro-influencers have taken the time to nurture their audiences, generate authentic content and gain consumer trust. Plus, it’s less expensive, so you’ll have more marketing dollars to spread around.

5. Video

Encompassing everything from live action to screen recorded to animated, video is by far the type of online content that people enjoy sharing the most. But what do consumers think? In a recent survey, 89% said that watching a video convinced them to buy a product or service. We’re not new to video, but in 2024, video has some new things in store for us.

On the heels of the popularity of TikTok and Facebook Reels, even more formats of short-form video are surging. We’ve learned that consumers love short videos and tend to stick with them from beginning to end (a dream for marketers!). You’ll also see AI integrating with video to deliver hybrid experiences, shoppable video that includes linked shopping opportunities and UGC (user-generated content) videos that feature real products being highlighted by real customers. Additionally, VR (Virtual Reality) continues to grow in popularity, along with educational and interactive videos.

How Your Business Can Win at Video

Try your hand at short-form video by adding behind-the-scenes vids to your online social feeds, adding tutorials to your website, adding customer testimonials, tips, tricks and more. Your imagination is your limit, but remember, authenticity rules still apply. Consumers want to align with businesses that “get” them, so do your research, know your clients and then give them the content they’re looking for.

Remember, it’s important to build a brand your consumers love now so that they’ll want to do business with you later. It’s worth spending time and marketing dollars to make sure you are aligned with current trends in marketing and know what customers are looking for. Consumers are more connected than ever and more in tune with the brands and companies they love, and the more you interact, build relationships and boost confidence, the more likely they will be to feel loyalty toward your company.

The virtual world expands more every year, and it’s more important than ever to find ways to maintain the human touch when connecting with your customers. By contributing human insight, feeling and creativity to the powerful online tools available to you, you’ll be able to deliver the authentic, personalized experience customers are looking for.

To learn more about creating authentic relationships and building brand trust with consumers, read Moving Beyond the Tagline: The Role of Authenticity in Customer Retention.