For B2B and B2C companies, the most important thing to know about marketing is that the landscape is ever-changing. Read just about any list of key trends for any given year and you’ll likely see the idiom, “the only constant is change” applied to marketing. Marketing trends and essential best practices tend to shift not just from year to year or month to month but with every new algorithm rollout. You might be able to ignore trends when it comes to the latest Stanley tumbler color, but not when it comes to marketing.

Long Live the King – Why Content Matters Most

Since our start, OffWhite Marketing has always believed that content is king. Following the rollout of ChatGPT in 2022, businesses have increasingly used artificial intelligence (AI) to create content. While AI-generated content can be a good starting place, it cannot and should not be used exclusively. AI-generated content needs to be edited, fact-checked, and styled to fit your brand and ensure it provides valuable information to your target audience. Person-first content is also the most likely to get served to your target audience by search engines. Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update, rewards websites with quality, informative content and can result in a lower ranking for sites with AI-heavy content.

In short- your content should always be written with people in mind first. People-first content focuses on creating a meaningful connection with the audience and showing that you are a thought leader with something to add to the conversation. It is also about quality over quantity.

Search Engine Optimization

Even the most polished, captivating content is only valuable if it’s seen. In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) remains a cornerstone of effective marketing strategies. By optimizing your online presence, you can increase your visibility, attract more organic traffic, and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

Essential SEO Elements to Consider:

1. Keyword Research: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify popular search terms and phrases that your target audience is using. Analyze industry trends, competitors’ strategies, and user search patterns to compile a comprehensive list of relevant keywords.
2. On-Page Optimization: Optimize your website’s content, including titles, headings, and body text, to naturally incorporate high-ranking keywords. This is also a great time to make sure your content is informative, engaging, and provides value to your audience.
3. Content Updates: Creating a consistent content calendar that prioritizes publishing high-quality, original articles, blog posts, videos, and other multimedia formats is key. Regular content updates help keep your site fresh and maintain relevance so you perform better in organic search engine results.
4. Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks from other reputable websites to enhance your website’s authority and credibility. You can typically do this by contributing articles or blogs to other relevant industry websites or through other partnerships or collaborations. Don’t fall into the trap of just having an unrelated page with a list of “helpful links” though.
5. Performance Monitoring: Analytics tools are there for a reason. Monitoring your site’s performance lets you track key shits and make adjustments before surprises happen. You can use analytics tools to keep an eye on your rankings, organic traffic, bounce rates, and more to better understand user behavior and areas of improvement.

If you add nothing else to your marketing strategy, it is vital to have a robust, ongoing SEO program that can ensure your content is seen by your target audience. Implementing SEO fundamentals can improve your website’s search engine rankings, attract more qualified visitors, and ultimately drive business growth. According to a survey by HubSpot, 92% of marketers plan to focus on SEO in 2024.ⁱ Don’t get left behind by leaving SEO out of your strategy.

Keep an Eye on the Competition

If you want to keep up in today’s highly competitive landscape you need to know how you compare. From Google to SEMrush, there are tons of tools that help you keep an eye on your competitors. While it’s good to keep watch on what your competition does in the world of marketing, the goal is to ensure you’re strategy acts in conversation with their efforts. You want to stand out from your competition and establish yourself as an expert and thought leader in your industry. That means monitoring what the competition does, but not simply copying their efforts.

It’s also essential to stay informed about emerging trends and best practices in your industry. Read industry publications, attend conferences and webinars, and follow thought leaders on social media to keep up with the latest developments. This knowledge will help you stay ahead of the competition and identify new opportunities for growth.

Prioritize Mobile-First Optimization

Though the idea of mobile responsiveness should absolutely not be new, mobile-first optimization might be. People are on their phones so much today that it’s more important than ever to prioritize mobile optimization of your website. According to a recent survey by DataReportal, 95% of internet users use a mobile device to browse sites.ⁱⁱ

Key Elements of Mobile-First Optimization:

1. Responsive design: A responsive website design will automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device being used to view it. This ensures that users have a positive experience regardless of whether they are accessing your website from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
2. Image optimization: Images can take up a significant amount of space on a webpage, and this can slow down the loading time of your website. To avoid this, you should optimize your images for mobile by compressing them and using the appropriate file format.
3. User-friendly navigation: The navigation on your website should be easy to use, even on a small screen. This means using large, clear buttons and avoiding dropdown menus.
4. Clear and concise language: The text on your website should be easy to read on a small screen and free from unnecessary jargon.

How to Thrive in the Dynamic Marketing Landscape

So what can you do if you’re still completely lost? Do you really need to pay attention to marketing trends? If you want to reach your target audience, remain relevant, and stay ahead of your competition you do. From our experience, that’s hard enough to do for in-house marketing professionals, let alone marketing enthusiasts. Blink and there’s something new to learn. Pathways to the market which continue to evolve through social media and other digital platforms will come and go; the next best thing is around the corner. If anything has remained a constant over the years, it’s this: there isn’t enough time. The clients we serve constantly have too much on their plates. While there’s a wealth of tutorials, webinars, trainings, and other content available online that can walk you through the essential marketing trends to implement in 2024, who has the time? Certainly, our clients don’t. That’s why we’re here. If keeping up with the latest marketing trends is too much to handle, let us take it off your plate.

Whether you’re a pro at keeping up with evolving marketing trends or struggling to find your way, OffWhite Marketing can help.

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ⁱ “The Top Marketing Trends of 2024 & How They’ve Changed Since 2023,” https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-trends
ⁱⁱ 93 Online Advertising Statistics You Need to Know for 2024,” https://www.semrush.com/blog/advertising-statistics/