Digital Marketing, a practice that emerged over three decades ago, has found still new ways to surprise the digital world this 2024. The year has begun with an enhanced escalation of old trends as well as the inception of new ones. These latest digital marketing trends will form the basis of the upcoming digital marketing strategies needed to be taken up by brands and businesses looking to stay relevant throughout the year. A good digital marketer must be privy to and stay updated with all the latest trends in the digital sphere in order to be able to bring about necessary modifications and devise the right marketing tactics to acquire, retain and grow their target audience.
Short Video Format – Various social media platforms have already resorted to the widespread use of the short video format for audiences. With the digestible and on-the-go nature of this kind of content, more people can relate to it and its use has proliferated enormously. From Instagram, Facebook and Youtube to even Spotify, this 1 to 1.5 minutes long format is blowing up in popularity, and brands need to jump on the bandwagon for their own good. Creating promotional shorts and reels and plugging relevant ads in between them is a good way to get creative and reach large audiences. Catchphrases and funny trends can be picked up and used to create fun advertisements.
Influencer Marketing – Brands have always been taking advantage of the power popular and influential people hold over the emotions and decisions of their audiences, and excellently leveraged this for effective marketing campaigns. However, influencer marketing has seen relatively new and different heights in the past couple of years. Relatability has become an important factor in this regard and influencers on social media platforms are now preferred especially by relatively smaller brands who cannot afford large-scale advertising budgets. These influencers already have a large audience base with most of them looking up to these seemingly relatable and accessible people. People have developed an inclination towards mimicking the style of influencers; they want to wear the clothes these influencers are wearing, use the products they’re using, eat the food they’re eating, visit the places they’re visiting, sign up for subscriptions for which they’re signing up, and so on. Thus, this is a good trend for marketers to tap in 2024.
Social Media Marketing (SMM) – From the aforementioned points, it is quite evident that social media platforms have become the biggest thing in today’s digital age. People are chronically online, always found interacting with one of these platforms. What better place to reach them than on the social media they’re using constantly? Social media marketing or SMM involves things like building a brand or a company’s social media accounts to maintain their online presence and target audiences on these platforms to increase sales and drive them to visit their website, buy their products or subscribe to their services. SMM offers a massive forum to elevate brand exposure and engagement as well as help them understand consumer behaviour and be able to influence it for their benefits.
Young Audiences / Gen Z & Ethical, Inclusive Marketing – Young audiences are the most active and accessible audiences due to their prolonged online presence and personas. They are the primary consumers of online content and social media as well as targets of influencer marketing. However, they are also pretty hard to please due to their hyper-awareness and sensitivity on global issues and social causes. Gen Z lingo and slang keeps changing every few days with new trends mushrooming all the time. It is a good idea for brands to keep up with these and use them in SMM campaigns to attract their attention and keep things fun and quirky. They can also study the kinds of social causes young audiences relate to the most, and make sure that they are seen caring about them too. This shows young users that your brand isn’t just concerned with generating sales but also cares about things going on around the world. It humanises the brand and helps build a positive rapport with the audience.
Personalised Marketing – With the growth of digital marketing tools as well as burgeoning needs and expectations of consumers, personalisation is an aspect that will gain more importance in 2024. Using these tools to study integrated, cross-platform consumer behaviour and thoroughly understand their needs through comprehensive and predictive analytics reports, customised experiences can be delivered to individual customers. This aids customer retention and loyalty. Further, personalised marketing can also be used for customer acquisition and conversion. The same tools can be used to identify potential customers and then apply different marketing strategies to engage them with your brand.
Data Privacy & Security – As everything in the era of digital marketing relies on data, the protection of user’s data is terribly important. More importantly so because people’s awareness about data privacy has now increased and they are not so keen on sharing all their data willingly. The demand for data security and protection will thus grow this year and businesses will need to oblige and maintain transparency and comply with data privacy laws and regulations.
Chatbots – Almost every major business in every field is making the use of chatbots to give customers a better, automated experience. Websites and apps increasingly have these chatbot pop-up prompts where they ask you how they can help you out or what you’re having trouble with.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation being an organic and cost-effective way to increase website traffic and SERP (Search Engine Result Page) rankings, will see a rise in demand and popularity this year. Its focus is on value-based, high-quality content as well as keywords and links. It will thus be a preferred investment for businesses.
Programmatic Advertising / Media Buying – Advertising means everything to a business. Programmatic Advertising is an automated, data-driven method of buying and selling ad space by advertisers and publishers respectively. Ads can be placed practically anywhere online, from SERPs and websites to social media platforms and apps. With the growth in the use of the latter, programmatic advertising or media buying is bound to augment concurrently.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) – A chunk of digital marketing tools have been utilising AI and ML principles already, and this use is definitely going to augment in 2024. AI creates room for the possibility of large-scale automation, which helps marketers save time and resources that can be redirected to more creative endeavours. AI and ML also give marketers the chance to observe the real-time performance of their campaigns and perform in-depth analyses of varied factors. Chatbots and predictive content are a part of this mechanism to provide maximum consumer satisfaction.
Get yourself up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends with one of the best digital marketing courses in 2024 from Digifine Academy of Digital Education (DADE).
Digifine offers several globally recognised digital marketing courses with comprehensive modules and a practical approach. The faculty here is highly experienced and you get the chance to receive international certifications and a lot of industry exposure. Besides this, the best part about Digifine is that they give you a 100% Placement Guarantee along with post-course support. Read further to find more details regarding their courses, modules, features, fees and contact information.
Courses offered – Digifine Graduate Digital Marketing Program, Professional Digital Marketing Program, Executive Digital Marketing Program, etc.
Modules covered – Search Engine Optimisation, Google Analytics, Influencer Marketing, Programmatic Media Buying, Brand Management, Website Development, E-Commerce Management, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, etc.
Features – 100% Placement Guarantee, Global Recognition, Courses designed by Industry Experts, Practical Learning, Conducive Environment, Comprehensive Modules, International Certifications, Post-Course Support, etc.
Fees – starting from 33,000/-
Learning how E-Commerce helps a business grow, how to create a structured E-Commerce website to sell products/services, and the best advertising strategies for E-Commerce management.
Understanding how to create brand awareness and maintain positive reputation, reflecting core value of the brand through product/service offered to the target audience, learning about best techniques used.
Understanding how to conduct market research and how it helps in formulating optimum marketing strategies, learning data analysis and programming languages and implementing the insights derived into advertising.
Understanding decision making and goal planning in top management of major companies, learning the significance of strategic management in marketing, and formulating and implementing best advertising strategies.
Understanding the use of automation to buy advertising space on the internet, how to use Real Time Bidding, Media Planning and Pixel Setup best practices, learning to create Youtube Ads.
Learning to create structured and professional websites using the most used industry software, setting up and customizing websites, using plugins and effective techniques to engage and capture consumers.
Learning HTML codes for creating and structuring websites, learning CSS, best HTML practices for Search Engine Optimization.
Section 1: Introduction to UI/UX
1.1 Define UI/UX:
Explanation of UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) | Importance of a user-centric approach in design
1.2 Importance of Design:
How effective design enhances user perception and interaction | Case studies demonstrating successful design impact
Section 2: Understanding the Audience
2.1 User Personas:
Creating and understanding user personas | Influence of personas on design decisions
2.2 User Journey:
Introduction to user journey mapping | Understanding user expectations during website navigation
Section 3: WordPress UI/UX Environment
3.1 Explore the WordPress Dashboard:
Guided tour of WordPress dashboard | Purpose of various sections (editor, customizer)
3.2 Theme Selection:
Choosing a theme aligned with brand and goals | Highlighting themes with good UI/UX practices
Section 4: Wireframing and Prototyping
4.1 Introduction to Wireframing:
Importance of wireframing in design | Hands-on using tools like Balsamiq or Sketch
4.2 Prototyping:
Introducing prototyping tools for interactive designs | Role of prototypes in testing and refining user experience
Section 5: Typography and Color Theory
5.1 Typography Basics:
Choosing readable fonts | Typography’s contribution to overall design
5.2 Color Theory:
Teaching color theory principles | Guiding students in choosing a color scheme
Section 6: Layout and Composition
6.1 Grid Systems:
Introduction to grid systems for layout | Maintaining consistency and alignment
6.2 Visual Hierarchy:
Techniques for establishing visual hierarchy | Guiding users through content
Section 7: Interactive Elements
7.1 Buttons and Call-to-Actions:
Design principles for buttons and CTAs | Role of interactive elements in guiding user actions
7.2 Forms and User Input:
Best practices for designing user-friendly forms | Importance of feedback during form submission
Section 8: Responsive Design
8.1 Mobile-First Design:
Designing for mobile devices first | Using media queries for responsive design
8.2 Testing on Various Devices:
Demonstrating how to test designs on different devices | Utilizing browser developer tools for testing
Section 9: WordPress Customization
9.1 Customizer and Theme Options:
Using WordPress Customizer for live preview | Theme options for further customization
9.2 Widget Areas:
Explaining widget areas for adding dynamic content | Encouraging experimentation with widgets
Section 10: User Testing
10.1 Usability Testing:
Introducing usability testing concepts | Gathering feedback from potential users
10.2 Iterative Design:
Emphasizing iterative design based on user feedback | Implementing improvements in design
Section 11: WordPress Plugins for UX
11.1 SEO Plugins:
Importance of SEO and recommended plugins | Impact of SEO on user experience
11.2 Performance Optimization Plugins:
Introduction to Performance Optimization Plugins | Discussion on page speed and user satisfaction
Section 12: Portfolio Showcase
12.1 Project Showcase:
Assigning a project for designing the various brand brochures & websites | Encouraging students to showcase their work in a portfolio format
Section 13: Feedback and Critique
13.1 Group Critiques:
Conducting regular group critiques to discuss design choices | Encouraging constructive feedback and learning from peers
Section 14: Stay Updated
14.1 Industry Trends:
Discussing current UI/UX design trends | Encouraging exploration of design communities and resources
Section 15: Resources and Further Learning
15.1 Introduction to Design Tools:
Overview of design tools like Adobe XD, Figma (emphasizing Figma in
this course) | Hands-on exercises to familiarize students with Figma
Section 1: Introduction
Create a Black and White Image | Quickly improve images with Camera Raw | Speed up Photoshop | Discover Panel – Find hotkeys and panels fast!
Section 2: Get Started
Use Photoshop’s interface efficiently | Customize your workspace | Create a new project | Open images in Photoshop | Save your Photoshop work | Export your work in Photoshop | Get around Photo- shop fast-zoom-pan | Use the History Panel to fix your mistakes | How to use Undo in Photoshop | Resize an image | Crop and straighten photos | The proper- ties panel
Section 3: Layers Part 1
What Are Layers | Start Using Layers | Use the Layers Panel | Move Layers | Arrange Images Quickly | Layer Opacity vs. Fill
Section 4: Layers Part 2
Layer Types Explained | Customize the Layers Panel | Identify Layers | Filter Layers | Manipulate Layers – Free trans- form | Use of Blending Modes | Lock Layers
Section 5: Selections Part 1
Selections explained | Rectangular Marquee | Elliptical Marquee | Layer masks | Combine 2 images with layer masks | Quick Selection Tool and Magic Wand | Make an orange purple | Change the color of a t-shirt
Section 6: Selections Part 2
Lasso Tools | Pen Tool Overview | Direct & Path Selection Tools | Quick Mask Mode | Color range – Select a Color in a Photo | Remove Background | Save and Load Selections | Select and mask hair
Section 7: Raster Layers
Use the Brush Tool | Soften Skin Imperfections | Use the Eye Dropper & Swatches | Resolution vs Image Size | Color Replacement tool – Replace Color
Section 8: Shape Layers
Create Shapes | Modify Shapes | Use Custom Shapes | Design Shapes | Generate Guides from Shapes | Place Images in Shapes Clipping Mask vs Layer Mask vs Vector Mask
Section 9: Artboards
Introduction | Find out how artboards can help you | The hidden value of artboards | Creating and resizing artboards | Duplicate artboards and using guides | Export- ing artboards
Section 10: Creative Layer Styles (Effects)
Introduction | Download and Scale Layer Styles | Create Gold Text Effect | Embed Text in Photos-displace | Use Global Light | Neon Effect
Section 11: Work with Smart Objects
Smart Objects Explained | Linked Smart Objects | Create a realistic mockup | Filters with Smart Objects
Section 12: Repair Your Photos
Remove Skin Issues (Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush) | Remove Watch and Necklace (Clone Stamp Tool) | Clean Up Face Imperfections (Frequency Retouch- ing) | Remove anything from photo (Con- tent Aware Fill) | Move People in Photos (Content Aware Tool) | Dodge, Burn, Sponge tools | Remove Red Eyes from Photos | Patch Tool
Section 13: Actions
Create an action | Resize lots of images
Section 14: Text Layers
Text layers explained | Font types | Get New Fonts | Learn Typography Best Practices | Combine Fonts | Identify a Font | Stay consistent in your projects – styles
Section 15: Adjustment Layers
Solid-Gradient-Pattern | Enhance faded photos | Change object color-Hue-Saturation | Change Environment – Color Balance | Black n White, Color mixer, Photo filter | Lookup Tables-LUTs
Section 17: Camera Raw – Edit Your Photos
Camera Raw – introduction | Raw image format vs JPEG | My workflow in Camera Raw | The two keys to camera raw edits | One-click wonders in Camera Raw | Graduated filter and the before/after shot
Section 18: Cloud Documents
What are cloud documents? | Saving to the cloud vs locally (on your computer) | Version history | The biggest drawback with cloud documents
Section 19: Effects
Reshape faces | Create a lens flare | Blur & Blur Gallery
Section 1: Introduction
Introduction to Figma Essentials training course | Getting started with Figma training | What is Figma for & does it do the coding? | What’s the difference between Ul and UX in Figma | What we are making in this Figma course | Class project 01- Create your own brief
Section 2: Wireframing – Low Fidelity
What is Lo Fi Wireframe vs High Fidelity | Creating our design file & introducing frames
Section 3: Type, Color & Icon Introduction
The basics of type & fonts | Rectangles Circles Buttons Rounded corners | How to use color | Strokes plus updating color defaults | Object editing and how to escape | Scale vs Selection Tool | Frames vs Groups | Class project 02- Wireframe | Where to get Free icons for Figma | Matching the stroke of our icons | How to use Plugins in Figma for icons | Class project 03 – Icons
Section 4: Pages
How to use Pages
Section 5: Prototyping – Level 1
How to prototype | Prototype animation and easing | Testing on your phone with Figma Mirror | Class project 04 – Testing on your phone
Section 6: Animation Level 1
What is Smart Animation & delays | Class project 05 – My first animation
Section 7: Commenting
Sharing & Commenting on Figma file with Stakeholders | Share editing with other UX designers in Figma
Section 8: Moodboard – High Fidelity
How I get inspiration for UX projects | How to create a mood board | Class Project 06 – Moodboard
Section 9: Columns
How to work with Columns & Grid
Section 10: Colors
Color Inspiration & the eyedropper | How to create a color palette | How to make gradients | How to create & use Color Styles | Class Project 07 – Colors & Columns
Section 11: Text & Fonts Advanced
Font on Desktop vs Browser Figma | What fonts can I use plus font pairing in Figma | What common font sizes should I choose in web design | How to make Character Styles | Lorem ipsum & Placeholder text | Useful things to know about text | How fix missing fonts | Class project 08 – Text
Section 12: Drawing
Drawing tips and tricks | Squircle buttons with ios rounded courses | Boolean Union Subtract Intersect Exclude Pathfinder | What is the difference Union vs Flatten Figma | Class Project 09 – Making stuff | Smart Selection & Tidy up
Section 13: Working with Illustrator
Do you need to know Illustrator with Figma
Section 14: Images
Tips & tricks for using images | Masking Cropping images | Free image & plugin
Section 15: Working with Photoshop
Do you need Photoshop for UX Design in Figma? | Class Project 10 – Images
Section 16: Autolayouts & Constraints
Autolayout & Constraints | Class project 11 – Buttons | Auto Layout for spacing | How to use constraints | Combining Nested frames Auto Layout & Constraints | Adding Text Box Autoheight to Autolayout | Class Project 12 – Responsive Design | Nice drop shadow & Inner drop shadow effects
Section 17: Effects
Blur Layer & Background Blur & Image Blur | How to make Neumorphic ui buttons | Class project 13 – Effects
Section 18: Saving & History
How to save locally & save history
Section 19: Components & Instances
What are components | Updating & Changing & Resetting your components | You can’t kill main components | Where should you keep your main components | Intro to the forward slash / naming convention | Class Project 14 – Components
Section 20: Variants
How to make component variants | Another way to make variants | How to make a Multi Dimensional Variant | Class Project 15 – Variants
Section 21: Making a form
How to make a form using variants | Class Project 16 – Form | Putting it all together in an desktop example
Section 22: Prototyping – Level 2
How to add a popup overlay modal | How to make & prototype a tool tip | What are Flows | Slide in mobile nav menu overlay | Class project 17 – Prototyping | How to pin navigation to top | How to make horizontal scrolling swipe | Automatic scroll down the page to anchor point
Section 23: Animation & Micro Interactions
The difference between animation & micro interactions | Animation with custom easing | Class Project 18 – My Second Animation Make animated transitions | Class Project 19 – Page transition | Micro interactions using interactive components | Micro interaction toggle switch | Micro Interaction burger menu turned into cross | Class Project 20 – Micro interaction
Section 24: How to share you document
Talking to your developer early in the figma design process | Sharing Figma with developers & engineers handoff
Section 1: Introduction
What is Graphic Design? Introduction to Adobe Illustrator | Vector Graphics vs Raster Graphics
Section 2: Basics
Interface Overlook | Create and Save New Document | Customize your workspace | Navigation – Zoom Tool & Pan Tool
Section 3: Working with Objects
Selection Tool | Transformations | Group, Ungroup | Copy, Paste, Paste in Place | Basic Shapes | Shape builder tool | Path- finder | Aligning and Distributing Objects
Section 4: Drawing
Direct Selection Tool | Pen Tool | Anchor point Tool | Pen Tool alternatives | Curvature Tool | Symmetrical drawing | Concentric drawing techniques
Section 5: Appearance of Objects
Stroke settings, width tool | Swatches | Gradients | Layer Panel | Appearance panel | Effects | 3d
Section 6: Brushes
Calligraphic Brushes | Scatter Brushes | Art Brushes | Bristle Brushes | Pattern Brushes | Image Brushes | Strokes on image
Section 7: Images
Working with Images | Preparing simple images for tracing | Preparing complex images for tracing | Image Trace
Section 8: Type
Types of Typefaces | Character formatting | Paragraph formatting | Using Text styles
Fonts | Variable and SVG Fonts | Touch Type | Type on a Path | Type and Shapes | Warp Text | Create Outlines from Text | Image within Text | Text Wrap
Section 9: Advanced Techniques
Introduction to Masking | Clipping Mask | Opacity Mask | Recolor Artwork | Puppet Warp tool | Symbols | Symbol Tools | Dis- tort and Transform tools | Graphs | Blend- ing Objects | Creating Patterns | Refining Pattern Design | Gradient Mesh | Freeform Gradients | Perspective-Intro | Perspective Drawing | Transform Tools (scale and shear tool) | Transform each effect
Section 10: Artboards & Export
Artboards | Saving work for Print | Saving work for Web | Export for Screens