Melanie
The Monday Morning Marketing podcast is brought to you by Esther of IPA Group, bringing premier online promotion to your business.
Esther
And Melanie of STOMP Social Media Training, who empowers business owners to manage social media and marketing for themselves. And welcome back to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing podcast. And it's that time of the year again, guys. Happy New Year. Once again, we are here with our social media and marketing predictions for 2024. Now, that's scary. That is very scary. How did we get to 2024? Our fourth anniversary. You believe it's four years? Yeah. Our fourth anniversary of running the podcast. Thanks for sticking with us, guys. We are I'm so excited that this year we have so many special guests giving us their predictions for social media. How did we get them, Melanie?
Melanie
Well, we attended an event only a couple of months ago. We're now dating again, our podcast. But we were at the Social Media Fest in Wexford that was ran by Samantha Kelly, AKA. Tweeting Goddess, and We managed to pin all these people in one area and we asked them their opinion.
Esther
Yeah, and you'd be surprised, or maybe not, by their answers. First up, we have the lovely Janette O'Rourke giving us her prediction for 2024.
Janette
My name is Janette and I'm from Kay's Flower School. My prediction for 2024 is, first of all, it's going to be a bloom of colour. Colour is all in, all white is all out. I think for anybody with their marketing is try and include colour in your advertisements and even dress colourful yourself, you know what I mean, when you're doing any of your social media. That's my prediction.
Melanie
Well, it's not that surprising, really, is it, coming from her, is it?
Esther
If you don't know who Janette O'Rourke is, you must be living under a rock because her and her sister run Kay's Flower School. As you could hear in her voice about the bloom of colour that will be coming in 2024. We think on these gloomy, gloomy days, we definitely need to have more blooming colour in our lives. So we want to see it, guys. We want to see your colour.
Melanie
So next up, we have got a good friend of ours who we've known over a while now. And this is Sarah Jane Vincent. And let's see what she is going to predict for us for 2024.
Sarah
Hey, my name is Sarah Jane. I am an SEO expert and digital strategist. My prediction for 2024 is to really hone in on your SEO organic search when it comes to all the AI that's coming down the line. The search engines will be changing, and it's really, really important that you are on board and that you are optimising your products and getting lots of reviews on Google so that you are really prepared when this comes along the line. So we will start to see a change in the way the search is displayed. And so the best way for you to prepare for that is to, as I said, do all that stuff.
Esther
Yes, I agree.
Melanie
I agree.
Esther
I mean,
Melanie
right on the nose there.
Esther
Yeah, SEO has always been a big one, but people keep putting it off and putting it off and putting it off. 2024, make it your year to SEO your website.
Melanie
And I do think it's actually easier now to do it. There's more training, there's more YouTube videos, there's more downloads, there's more access to it. So there's really no excuse.
Esther
And if you don't want to do it on your own, then there's lots more people who can help you with it. So it has become one of those indispensable parts of the industry. Moving on, we have-.
Melanie
So who do we have next?
Esther
Next, we have Kareem Mostafa. I hope I'm saying that right, Kareem. Apologies if I'm not. And his prediction for 2024.
Kareem
Hello, my name is Kareem Mostafa. I'm co founder at Chopcast. And my prediction for marketing for 2024 is that people are going to start creating a lot more short form video because it's much harder to replicate than blogs.
Esther
Well, that's another one that I would agree with. I'm loathing to say it because as you know, as a listener to this show, I don't do video. But it has been huge. We predicted it in 2023. It has been huge in 2023, and it will only get bigger.
Melanie
And easier and more accessible and more places to do it and more calls to edit within the actual app itself. So yeah, completely agree.
Esther
You're going to say no excuses, right?
Melanie
It's about flipping time, really, frankly. Okay, so next up, we have Orla Kelly. I wonder if she's going to dazzle us with her latest prediction. Let's see what she has to say.
Orla
Hi, I'm Orla Kelly of Orla Kelly Publishing, and my prediction for marketing for 2024 is more AI-generated content?
Esther
Again, you can't deny this one. I mean, AI is going to be huge. I mean, the advances in the last few months alone have just been astounding, whether it be text, image, video. I mean, AI is everywhere. So we should be using it, adopting it, adapting it, and not just taking it at face value either.
Melanie
And it's just creeping into every part of our life these days, isn't it?
Esther
Yeah, it really is. It really is that you just can't get away from it. You can't. But there are still those who are fearful of it. But I would say it's time to embrace the future. And talking about embracing the future, we have Amanda Webb, who has been on this podcast a few times as well. She gave us her predictions last year, too, and they were spot on. So let's see what she has to tell us for 2024.
Amanda
I'm Amanda Webb. My business is Spiderworking. And my digital marketing prediction for I'm trying to be optimistic, but my marketing prediction for 2024 is that we're going to see a battle of the social networks. They all want to be the one social network to rule them all, that does everything for us. I wonder if it can become like political parties. Could there be a war of social networks? On a positive note, one thing I'm trying to get my head around is the idea of decentralised social networks, which means we will have one profile that will work across all those different social networks. So when they do go to war, it's okay because whoever wins, we can be on their side.
Melanie
See, this is when it gets a little bit deeper, isn't it? And a bit more complex for people. But what do you think? Do you think it's going to be a case of a fully decentralised social media?
Esther
I think a lot of people are fed up with being told what they have to see by the algorithm, that they will prefer to go to new sites that are more decentralised and that they have, they themselves as people, have more control over. So, yeah, I would agree with this one. I would prefer that they not be as controlled and controlling because social media does control our minds in a lot of things. But I do think that just like with AI, people are fearful of it. But it should be something that We accept and try to adopt, at least with a pinch of salt, and hopefully it all works out well.
Melanie
Fingers crossed.
Esther
Fingers crossed. What could go wrong? Who's up next, Melanie?
Melanie
Right. I think we should hear from Anita Wong. She's an incredible presence online, and we had the great privilege of of speaking to her. So let's see what she has to say.
Anita
So my name is Anita Wong, and I'm a YouTube strategist. And my prediction for 2024 is to put your podcast onto YouTube.
Esther
Here we go. Another stab at Esther, isn't it? Get the podcast on YouTube. Something else to do.
Melanie
I did not pay her.
Esther
Yeah, you did. Tell the truth.
Melanie
No, I did not.
All I can say is you just never know what, which of these predictions for 2024 will come true.
Oh, come on. We got to try at some stage.
Esther
Watch this space is all I'm saying. I'm not saying anything more. Moving on, moving swiftly on. We have Declan O'Keeffe with his prediction for what's coming up in 2024.
Declan
My name is Declan O'Keeffe from Dec's Pets, and one of my big predictions for 2024 is that businesses will be leveraging user-generated content a lot more.
Esther
That's an interesting one, isn't it?
Melanie
I don't think it's given enough credit, actually. I don't think people look hard enough at their own users generated content because we're so busy spending time broadcasting rather than sharing and being social.
Esther
Yes and as we usually tell you guys, social media is firstly social and then the media. So reach out to your listeners, your your watchers, your viewers, your purchasers, and hear what they have to say. It's quite simple.
Melanie
I think we should hear from Hanna. She has been on the podcast a couple of times as well. There's just so many areas that we need to embrace in social. Let's see what she's going to be suggesting for us for this year.
Hanna
Hi, I'm Hanna McDonnell from Hanna McDonnell Marketing. My prediction for 2024 is going to be that LinkedIn is going to be the place to be. I know other social medias are also going to be powerful, but LinkedIn is where the growth is going to happen. If you're not on LinkedIn, you should be.
Esther
Well, that was no surprise, really, coming from Hanna.
Melanie
Well, no surprise coming from Hanna. But what is surprising is that there's been so many things taken away from LinkedIn recently. I'm wondering, what secret sauce does Hanna have? But she does, doesn't she? Because you just see this ongoing repetitive engagement with her content. Maybe this is something we're not looking at properly or objectively enough.
Esther
Well, she's definitely putting the social into social media. Yeah, she definitely is.
Melanie
Well, yes, she is actually.
Carol
Next up, let's hear from Carol Gaffney? Hello, my name is Carol Gaffney. I'm from Gaffney Studio. I'm a co-founder of Gaffney Studio. I'm a brand and expert. My prediction for 2024 is a taste device that it's going to help the consumers not only to see the advertisement, not only to hear the advertisement, but also to taste. Imagine, for example, a chocolate company that wants to release a new chocolate flavour, and then they will have this device. We are going to have this device, and then they're going to be able to introduce that new taste to their consumers. That's my prediction for 2024. Thank you.
Melanie
Well, I wasn't expecting that.
Esther
No. That came right out of left field. That, I personally...
Melanie
That's just bizarre.
Esther
It reminds me of Smell-O-Vision. Remember those scratch cards we used to get when we were children? They tried to implement... I think that was during Children in Need. It's a thing that we all had here growing up in the UK. Still going on, but I've never seen Smell-O-Vision since. But that's, yeah, that's a strange one. Interesting. Would you be up for that?
Melanie
I don't know.
Esther
Imagine watching your favourite-.
Melanie
I'd say it's pretty ambitious.
Esther
Imagine watching your favourite TikTok video about cooking and being able to taste.
Melanie
Wouldn't that be good?
Esther
You see? Now you're really into it.
Melanie
Oh, God, wouldn't that be fun if that actually came true.
Esther
Now I'm hungry. Who's next?
Melanie
Oh, yeah. Sorry. Okay. So next up, we're going to hear from Gary Evans. And Gary, we've been trying to get him on the podcast for a while, haven't we?
Esther
We have. He's coming up soon, guys. Hold with us in this one. We promise. We promise he'll be here soon.
Melanie
So, Gary.
Esther
Let's hear what he has to say first.
Melanie
Fire away, Gary.
Gary
Hi, I'm Gary from Feedalpha. Some stuff that we see coming down the tracks for marketing. Everyone talks about AI. Ai is still massive and it's going to be even bigger with a lot of automation. We're building out version 2 at the minute and there's a lot of AI smarts included in that, so stay tuned.
Esther
So we have to check out Feedalpha in 2024. If they're implementing all these new features. Sounds like a good one.
Melanie
It sounds like we try to do too many things by ourselves and we try take on too much, especially as small business owners. And there are these tools are out there that can help you.
Esther
Yeah. Yes. Why not use them?
Melanie
Absolutely. And they give you reporting, they give you analytics, they give you So is there an overview or even a microscopic view of what you need to be working on? So why not use them?
Esther
Why not? Why not? Next up, we're going a little old school with Denise Whitmore.
Denise
So my name is Denise Whitmore. My company is a Social Media Department. My prediction for marketing for 2024 is the use of more physical products such as physical diaries and planners and people moving away from digital planners?
Esther
I do love me a good planner.
Melanie
I think a lot of us prefer something tangible, something you can touch and feel. And I think it gives more focus, more presence when you're trying to build a strategy. Because I'm not saying that there isn't a place for putting things up on tools and apps, but to write it down somewhere and pencil it and rub it out and reinforce it and then put it on. Even on whiteboards and chalkboards and I don't know.
Esther
Post-it notes.
Melanie
Honestly, yeah, it does make a difference. I think It becomes more ingrained as part of you. We both had a good look at Denise's planner.
Esther
The planner is fabulous.
Melanie
It's enormous.
Esther
We've used other planners in the past from other people.
Melanie
Every time you open up another page, there's another tidbit, there's another QR code with a bit more information. So there's a lot of hidden value in these planners, I've got to say.
Esther
Yeah, who's next?
Melanie
Who's next?
Esther
We're rattling through these predictions.
Melanie
Well, we're definitely trying, aren't we? I think we should hear from Roz Kelly, who's some relation somewhere to Samantha Kelly.
Esther
Sister. She's her sister.
Melanie
I was trying to be subtle there, okay?
Roz
My name is Roz, and I work at webtemp.ie. My prediction for marketing next year is more use of voice search through people literally using their mobile phones and across their tablets, voice searching for everything they want. So make sure you've got your SEO done for voice.
Esther
Voice search has been around for ages, but people don't use it properly. I think it's one of those things that it's our accent or we think it doesn't understand it. In most cases, in my case anyway, it is my accent and my smart devices are not as smart as they should be when it comes to regional accents. But it's a great tool, and I used it actually just recently to debunk some myths while I was in the car. But it's one of those things that you can just pick up your watch, you can pick up your phone, you can pick up anything and use it.
Melanie
Do you know that's three things now related to search, Esther?
Esther
Yeah, well, it's... Search is important. People are looking for you, so make it easy for them.
Melanie
So that's social search, voice search, and of course, SEO as well. So I can see search playing a big role.
Esther
Well, we're going to hear what Ashleigh Watson has to say now.
Ashleigh
I'm Ashleigh from Copper Square, and my prediction for social media marketing in 2024 is a rise in using social for search. So by that, I mean, instead of going to Google to find answers to something, that we would search TikTok or Instagram or one of the social media platforms to find out latest trends or news or places to go.
Esther
So yes, social search. Well done, Melanie. If you've managed to listen to this length of the podcast, you'll know that this happens quite regularly. There's always a post along the way. But you were just so I'm excited because it is search, search engine optimisation, social search, voice search. Search is on the rise. People are searching for the meaning of life and the meaning of everything. So why not get in? Exactly. Why not get in there and be top of the search engine, have your voice searches ready, have your social searches. So make sure that you have your hashtags, your meta tags, your everything that needs to be done. When when you're uploading your videos. Do that, too.
Melanie
We also fully appreciate you have nothing better to do with your time than do all of this, all by yourself.
Esther
Absolutely. I mean, it's the first of January. Why would anybody have anything else to do today? We're sat here recording a podcast. So why should anybody else be doing anything? Don't spend time. No, not saying that. Don't take time off work. Work 24/7. That's what you need to do. Actually, you need to surround yourself with people like us who can help you. Who do we have up last but not least, Melanie?
Melanie
We have last but not least, Dylan Lowry. So Dylan, sound us out for our final prediction of 2024.
Dylan
My name is Dylan Lowry. I work for the social media for the Farmers Journal. I suppose in 2024, I think social media is going to take a lot more short or form content. I think user-generated content, and especially a short form content is going to be more prominent in the future for brands to build their business.
Esther
It's interesting, isn't it? That the predictions repeated a couple of times through that. Ai, user generated content, social search, short form videos. There's a lot of that coming through in all of these predictions. And I don't think there's any getting away from any of them as much as we would love to run and hide from some of them. 2024 will be big for these things, guys. Trust us.
Melanie
I do think it's important to note, though, guys, that video is still important, Esther.
Esther
Was that aimed at me, Melanie?
Melanie
Well, I said Esther.
Esther
I don't quite understand the subtle hint. There's so much subtlety in that. Did you get that, guys? If you got that, let us know if you listened this a little bit of time. I always love doing our predictions, though. I always love listening, but I did actually listen to last year's. This is this is a revelation, guys. I did actually listen back to last year's predictions, and 99% of them, I would say, actually happened in 2023. So we're not saying that we're geniuses. Obviously, we didn't come up with these predictions this year. It was special guests and people that we bombarded with a microphone. But we're very grateful them, and we do agree with 99% of them, if not all. We'd love the taste one to come true, as long as we're watching Great British Bake Off.
Melanie
That would be unusual, though, wouldn't it?
Esther
It really would. Can we all go to Willy Wanker's Chocolate Factory? Try it.
Melanie
Oh, yeah. Well, I hope you have found this interesting. I hope it's giving you something to gauge 2024 with and give you something to aspire to and for. I want to thank all of our special guests. Thank you so much for your predictions. I tell you what, if we actually see some real growth in these areas, we might just get them back on again to give their thoughts. What do you think?
Esther
I think that's a great plan.
Melanie
That's all for now, guys. But we'll be back very, very soon with another podcast.
Esther
Bye.
Melanie
Bye.
