First and foremost: a healthy and happy new year! May all your (digital) wishes come true and may we continue to guide you in that digital growth. A new year and that means new opportunities to jump on the bandwagon and continue to build on that desired digital growth in 2024. We highlight five interesting digital trends that will become even more important this year.

So be sure to read on to get started full of new courage!

Dominance of video content

What became increasingly important in 2023 will be the real key to success in 2024. The importance of video content can no longer be denied or ignored, as it will only lead to a decline in brand visibility and thus negative growth.

According to figures from Statista (E-commerce in Belgium – Statistics and facts), we see 10 times more engagement through video than through static posts on social media. They subsequently predict that 80% of all content on social media will be video by the end of 2024. Thus short, dynamic videos (aka “short videos”) under 1 minute will become crucial on all channels. We see this not only on Instagram and TikTok, but it is also being increasingly introduced on platforms such as Pinterest (the “idea pins”) and on Youtube (the “shorties”).

So if you have never started working with video content before, now is definitely the time to start experimenting with it. Here, it’s especially important to capitalize on current trends, but find some individuality and brand personality as well. Also be sure to take a look at some of your direct competitors and see how they approach this and whether you can learn something from them.

Exponential growth of TikTok

If you’ve never spent time on TikTok until now, it’s high time to download this app. Beware: it is highly addictive! ;-)

Last year, the number of users of the app in Belgium increased by 170%! Compared to Instagram, where the year-on-year growth was only 6%, this is an insane figure. On top of that, we see the age of active users increasing all the time. Currently, the average age is 18-35. Why is it so interesting as a business to have a presence on this channel?

• 52% of users say they find new brands on TikTok: ideal for building your brand awareness.
• 48% of users also actually purchase something within three months: So TikTok can be an important first touchpoint in the customer journey!
• Users spend an average of 80 minutes a day on TikTok: so it really is the place to get in touch with your target group.
• Anyone can go viral because of the favorable algorithm: so be sure to start working on fun trends and who knows, you might suddenly go viral with your next TikTok.

Get inspired by theTikTok journey of gofluo, one of our customers, who has made a great journey with us on the platform!

Social media as a search engine

Until now, we saw that social media users were mainly present on these platforms to connect with friends and to be entertained. Recently, we are now seeing a shift, mainly among the new generation, from Google to TikTok. 74% of Gen Z use TikTok as a search engine and 51% of Gen Z women would prefer TikTok as a search engine over Google (Source: Search Engine). But why exactly?

• They get a better picture of something in the form of a video clip versus textual information.
• TikTok provides answers that the target audience can relate to.
• One gets personalized answers from “real” people on the platform.

Increasing importance of content creators

Never heard of a content creator? In a nutshell, this is any person who writes, edits or creates their own content on social media. This content is often intended to entertain or inform. Anno 2024 there are quite a lot of platforms and each of them requires its own typical approach. So it can be very overwhelming for a company to do this itself. Often there is a lack of in-house expertise and time. Especially when it comes to video content. So it can be interesting to partner with great content creators. The purpose of this collaboration is that they will promote your products or services in their own way. How do you look for the ideal match?

• See if the creator has expertise with your product: for example, if you sell beauty products, look for an influencer who mainly creates beauty content. 
• See if the creator is authentic: Would he/she buy products from your brand? Does his/her content feel right, in line with the look and feel of your brand?
• See if the creator delivers high-quality content, follows trends, … in short: is totally on board with the ins and outs of video creation.
• Look at the creator’s demographics: is this a match with your target audience?

Sociale media as customer service

More and more, young people are indicating that they prefer to get in touch with a brand via social media when they have questions. As many as 64% of consumers, especially the new generation, would rather send a message than call. According to Statista (E-commerce in Belgium – Statistics and facts), 60% of all requests and complaints will be made via social media by the end of 2025. It is therefore important that as a company you are prepared for this in order to meet the needs of this new generation. Don’t make things too difficult for yourself and provide a solution where all inquiries/complaints from all social media channels come together in one centralized place. Tools such as Hootsuite, Social Sprout and Coosto are examples of this. Put a few platforms side by side so you can list the pros and cons and choose the tool that best matches your expectations and business goals.

These are just a few trends for 2024, but ofcourse much more than this is moving in the digital landscape. For example, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become increasingly important for your online growth as well. We’d like to dive into this a little deeper soon, in a following article. So be sure to keep an eye on our website and social media!

Hopefully these trends can inspire you to get back to work with a lot of motivation!

Do you have questions or are you looking for personal guidance for your online growth? Don’t hesitate to contact the Dotters!