2024 is here, and you know what that means: new local marketing trends are on the horizon.
While it’s impossible to predict the future… our experts have some pretty strong premonitions.
That’s right — your local marketing meteorologists are here to forecast the new year.
These trends will define local marketing over the next twelve months.
Brace your brand for the coming year with the top marketing trends for 2024.
1. Video marketing will become more affordable thanks to AI
Video has emerged as one of the most impactful marketing tactics of the last decade. In fact, 92% of marketers say this tactic produces a positive ROI.
However, producing video content — even short-form video content — can be expensive and time-consuming.
But, perhaps, not for long.
“In 2024, we’ll witness a significant shift in marketing strategies as advanced AI tools democratize the creation of high-quality video content, making what was once a costly endeavor accessible and affordable,” said James Morse, Senior Vice President of Product Management at BrandMuscle.
Right now, generative AI is all the rage, enabling brands to create compelling copy and stunning artwork in seconds. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes the go-to method for video marketing. Thanks to AI, creating effective, professional-grade video content will require a significantly lighter lift for marketers and affiliates alike.
“This evolution will not only level the playing field for local businesses but also unleash a new wave of creativity and personalization in marketing communications,” Morse continued.
You can probably recall plenty of corny, low-budget commercials that aired on your local television networks. Those homemade videos have their charm, but they can’t compete with national brands. But with the introduction of AI for video creation, these local businesses can finally put themselves on the map.
Big brands should prepare for local affiliates to experiment with video AI by creating guidelines to ensure brand consistency and compliance across this video content.
2. The presidential election will impact local marketing reach
It’s the widely anticipated event everyone’s been talking about since 2020: The 2024 presidential election. Though the primaries won’t take place until November 5, candidates will be campaigning year-round.
And that’s what’s going to shake things up for marketers.
“The impact of the presidential elections will create a challenge for channel partners looking to maximize their reach with advertising in 2024,” said Sanket Patel, Senior Vice President of Client Success at BrandMuscle. “Content and messaging will be amplified to consumers, and local businesses will need to figure out how to cut through all of the noise to reach their customer base.”
So, though the election won’t hurt businesses directly, it will steal much of the attention away from their local campaigns. That means companies will have to get creative to be seen and heard amid the political frenzy.
3. National agencies will go local
This year, brands will have more marketing agencies to choose from when deciding who to partner with in their channel marketing efforts. But brands beware — these newcomers will struggle to scale their services across affiliate networks, resulting in subpar results.
“National agencies will seek to expand into local marketing as platforms expand capabilities and automations,” said Erin Strong, Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing at BrandMuscle. “However, with no experience in the expertise of hyper-local, affiliate-level individuation of budgets and optimizations, they’ll fail to honor the affiliates’ unique budgets, needs, targets, markets, and schedules.”
This poses an issue for local affiliates, whose needs will fall by the wayside due to national agencies’ lack of understanding and accommodation. As a result, these channel partners could pull back on their marketing efforts, dissolving the bridge between brands and local consumers. This is a channel marketer’s nightmare, as we all know how difficult it can be to gain affiliate trust.
“It will result in a more nationalistic approach to e-commerce that ultimately will harm local business proprietors,” Strong predicts.
Local marketing success is all about serving thousands of unique consumers under one national brand. Agencies with no experience maneuvering the affiliate model will struggle to keep pace when the rubber meets the road. Be sure to ask the right questions to select the best local marketing partner for you.
Master your 2024 local marketing
Now that you know what marketing trends to expect, it’s time to make 2024 your year. Get off on the right foot by partnering with the local marketing experts.
With over 20 years spent helping brands deliver excellent local experiences through their channel affiliates, you can trust BrandMuscle to drive results for your organization.
Get in touch with one of our local marketing experts.
