Digital Advertising Trends 2024
DIGITAL ADVERTISING TRENDS 2024
2024 has really been the year of digital learning expansion, creating a host of new opportunities that are reshaping the way brands engage with their audience. With the rapid advancement in technology and consumer purchasing trends, businesses are pressured to adapt to the changing environment to stay relevant. These adaptations can be a headache to maneuver, so we’re going to look at some major advancements and how they’re going to impact advertising trends in 2025.
SEO & personalization using AI
The incoming advancements of AI are no secret. Companies left and right are figuring out new and increasingly resourceful ways to utilize what could be an incredible tool in your arsenal. Brands are now, more than ever, able to leverage AI to analyze vast amounts of data, from consumer interactions to search behaviors and even social media engagement. This will provide deeper insights to what consumers are searching for, when and, potentially, why.
The capabilities of AI to analyze massive amounts of data allows these programs to really narrow in on the context surrounding search history. Instead of focusing only on keywords, its analysis might include previous searches, search frequency and your particular phrasing. For example, a company that makes mainly running shoes would most likely get a higher chance of purchase from someone that’s made multiple searches for different variations of “best running shoes for a marathon” instead of one or two searches similar to “running for beginners.” Another important difference of phrasing is that some particular words or phrases carry more transactional intent than others. For example, “near me” searches, or any search that might include “is this___ good for ___." AI is capable of maximizing on these nuances to respond in a way that targets the consumer’s needs more precisely.
On a broader scale, AI is capable of analyzing behavioral history. Let’s follow this marathon runner a little further down the path, and assume that at this point he or she has opened a couple of websites, maybe added some shoes to their cart and then exited the page before buying. This person is most likely in the final few stages of the buying process, and is probably just going down the pros and cons of different brands. From this point, the AI tool may temporarily push messaging to include some discount codes or free add ons to try and entice the consumer into making that final step. If those don’t work, it may reroute to messaging that includes why a particular product is the best for whatever key phrase the consumer has already indicated their interest in, whether it be longevity, comfort or something else. The combination of these and other features used in AI SEO tools are really able to capitalize on the why people are making certain decisions instead of only logging what those decisions are, making it easier to predict trends.
Video Content
Through 2024, free ad-supported video content has really taken over paid ad-free versions of platforms. As more platforms and opportunities arise for video ads to get thrown back into the mix, advertisers are increasingly recognizing that video may be among the most impactful ways of connecting with their audiences in the short time - always less than 60 seconds, and generally less than 30 - you’re given.
Short form video content has exploded in popularity in recent years. With the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts comes a new way to consume ads, and in rapid succession. This trend of fast-paced digital consumption may die out eventually, but most likely not in 2025. The real trick here is going to be grabbing the users attention first and then quickly plugging your message or focus. This form of marketing is really geared towards younger audiences who have historically low attention spans, but also crave authentic content. The brevity of this type of content is an effective balance between speed and informational engagement. Since these ads are always skippable - or scrollable - you’re really battling with the ability to effectively and interestingly tell a compelling story within a few seconds, at least long enough to get someone to engage in other ways, either by clicking through, watching the whole video, commenting or sharing. The good news is that, since social media algorithms utilize AI to measure engagement, you’re not completely relying on a big budget to be effective. If you have a highly creative team, putting that creativity to work can be endlessly more effective than throwing money out pushing tired old-form videos.
Since the majority of consumers are looking for authentic reviews or opinions instead of clearly paid ads, the use of nano influencers - influencers with a small following, usually considered experts by their particular niche community - or genuine review marketing is an efficient way to create short form content, as you really only need to make background “noise.” A common strategy to implement user generated content is to simply make a video of you or someone on your team demo-ing the product and add text reviews overlaid. Or even better, if you have permission to use someone’s video review of your product, well, it can’t get any more genuine than that. Consumers, especially the ones that spend a consistent amount of time on social media, are pretty adept at picking out real reviewers. By incorporating review-based content, you can boost the credibility of your product/business and ensure that your brand is synonymous with certain products or emotions.
Another form of ad-supported video content would be streaming services that offer a free subscription with ads, like Pluto TV, Roku, etc. As the price of previously popular streaming services rise - Netflix is $22.99/month, and Disney+ is up to nearly $30 for some packages! - consumers will more urgently seek alternatives to paid subscriptions. According to a survey from EMarketer, the amount of time spent on CTV per day is expected to rise to 131.5 minutes per day in 2025, compared to 105.2 minutes in 2022. This time shift and popularity of free subscriptions particularly, opens a previously untouchable market, that is cheap for viewers, reasonably cheap for advertisers and more engaging than other forms of display advertising.
As we near the end of 2024 and start to look ahead to next year, it’s becoming increasingly clear that advertisers are going to have the best chance at building brand recognition and consumer trust by integrating AI tools and short form video formats into their advertising plan. We really need to be mindful about where our audiences are, and make a point to meet them there. Staying ahead and planning to embrace these trends are going to give you the opportunity to create meaningful and lasting impressions with your audience.