The author is Sanjana Nischal, founder of Digital Kong.
In today’s fast-paced era, where a single Instagram reel can immeasurably increase a brand’s sales, digital marketing and social media play a vital role. It is no surprise that in March 2023, TRAI recorded his 881.25 million internet subscribers in India alone. This is a clear indicator that digital marketing is definitely the path to success and growth for any brand.
In 2024, digital marketing will definitely be taken over by two tools: social media and AI. If done responsibly, marketers can harness the full potential and benefit from both of these tools. AI as a marketing tool is an easier and faster option to create attractive campaign strategies using the latest information available in the internet space. For marketers, AI is the holy grail to build customers with sophisticated results, as content creation, graphics, content/copywriting, etc. are included in the marketing domain. When it comes to social media and its role in a successful marketing campaign, the results are not hidden at all. The power that social media has is unimaginable and it is clear that it is superior to other marketing tools at this time. It's safe to say. Combining AI and social media is a match made in heaven.
The road ahead
Both digital marketing and social media will become more profitable in the coming years, but at the same time, the fierce competition will make it difficult for new entrants to even step into the market. Today's consumers are smarter, and thanks to the Internet, they have easy access to almost everything. It has to be more than just thinking outside the box; it has to be groundbreaking. It's becoming increasingly difficult to break through the clutter and get the shock factor. Therefore, given current trends, we had to rethink our approach to our brand at Digital Kong in 2024, and the use of social media AI tools was a game-changer for us. These tools help you gather detailed audience insights, predict and identify trends, and help you better craft your campaigns.
Here are some insights and tips from our experience at Digital Kong that can help anyone looking to leverage social media and digital marketing in the right direction.
Connecting content
I think the approach to social media is leaning more towards community building rather than just brands posting about their products and ongoing discounts. So I think there's a shift happening where brands are willing to collaborate with complementary brands. And they're trying to build stronger communities. The whole idea is to be like a loyalty base created for brands. With AI, you can do a lot of things.
With AI, you can now better display your brand positioning. For example, CGI posts/ads are used by several brands. CGI allows you to showcase huge products. For example, a life-sized lipstick is dropped or placed right in front of India Gate. This is impossible to photograph or imitate even with advanced photography techniques. It also gives you a lot more creative freedom. Apart from that, I think transition reels with really nice seamless transitions are very easy to pick up because they're appealing to the eye and give you a dopamine hit. Basically, content that is both engaging and informative. This type of content works better because the visual way of storytelling has changed.
virus outbreak
Some of the things that digital marketers are implementing to build the right connection with their audience are: Picking up on trending topics like the latest meme templates and trending audio and sounds that people find interesting. That's it. The natural hook is to use them skillfully to educate and inform people while getting their attention.
When marketers and their social media teams say it's hard to keep up with trends, they're right. These trends are constantly changing and the time to attract the target user has been reduced from 15 seconds to 3-5 seconds. His first 5 seconds decide the fate of the content. It will either become a viral hit or get lost in the clutter of content.
Taylor Swift's concert, Chandrayaan's landing, or simply Ollie's Live R, to name a few global and national trends and events that people leveraged to get noticed. The idea of following these trends and creating something in line with them is to get instant acceptance from your audience. This will make them more relevant and will definitely increase engagement and traction on those posts. Therefore, as an agency, it is equally important to stay informed and stay on top of trends in order to create the same presence that you provide for brands.
the art of storytelling
We realize that many brands are built solely on digital media, and Instagram is paramount to us in terms of sales, visibility, and storytelling. One such brand is Raw Beauty, where 60-70% of its sales come from Instagram alone. It's very community driven. Another example is Mona B in our portfolio. Their audience is specific, how their story is woven around their recycled collections, and their brand ethos on social media makes them happy to tag brands and seek out collaborations. It really brings together a special community of people. The reason is a great product, a great initiative, great communication and relatability with the audience.
break down the barrier
Some tips are to use social media effectively, especially in today's virtual environment. Look at your data daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly and compare what's working and what's not. Rather than just relying on your intuition and what you think will work, leverage social features. By understanding the potential of media and its relevance to today's generation, you can use it to your advantage. Especially brands and marketers looking to break out of growth plateaus should take advantage of it to reach his Gen Z audience and witness the magic.
