Did you catch our latest webinar? We covered 7 predictions for branded content in 2024, and we’re adding a bonus one.

2023 was a beast, and 2024 is looking to be no walk in the park either.

But through all this, we are diving head down and looking ahead to see what is up next for content teams here and abroad.

We invite you to watch the entire discussion I had with Shawn Grenier, our consulting director in strategy at Toast, but here is a short version of all 7 predictions we have in the books, and a bonus 8th that wasn’t covered in the webinar:

  1. Client-side Internalization Deepens: Brands and advertisers are increasingly internalizing content functions, with a growing trend towards bringing more roles in-house, such as social media management and content creation. This shift aims to enhance agility and optimize budgets, while maintaining strategic thinking and avoiding operational isolation.
  2. Personalization and AI: The rapid advancement of AI tools has broadened the horizons for personalized content creation. AI’s potential to tailor content specifically to individual preferences and to generate new, innovative forms of content is emphasized. The role of AI in enhancing creativity and efficiency in content production is highlighted. For those of you who attended the webinar, here’s where you can find out all about the TikTok situation we discussed regarding the fake Pixar Harry Potter movie on Disney+.
  3. Importance of Trust: In an era where disinformation and misinformation are prevalent, building trust through authentic and transparent content is crucial. Brands must focus on producing content that can be easily validated by audiences, ensuring authenticity and maintaining trust. This involves a commitment to truthfulness, fact-checking, and transparency in content creation and dissemination.
  4. Quantity Beyond Quality: The focus is shifting from solely producing high-quality content to balancing quality with quantity. This approach addresses the demands of platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where a higher volume of content is necessary for visibility. It involves rethinking content strategies to produce more content without compromising quality.
  5. Lifespan of Content: Emphasis is placed on considering the lifespan of content. Brands should produce content with varying lifespans – some for immediate impact and short-lived engagement, and others with longer-term value. This approach involves strategic planning to optimize content utility and relevance over time.
  6. “Community” Content Strategy: This strategy involves engaging with and responding to the community’s content needs. By focusing on community-driven content, brands can create relevant and engaging material that resonates with their audience. This approach emphasizes authentic interaction and responsiveness to community feedback. It’s also more in line with our 4th prediction. Platforms and features like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels demand volume towards the conversation (engagement through comments, duets, shares, etc.) and attention that content generates on these channels. These are increasingly key performance indicators.
  7. Improving Internal Processes: There’s a growing need to refine internal content creation and management processes. This involves establishing efficient workflows, utilizing AI for tasks like content tagging and classification, and ensuring content is accessible and effectively utilized across teams.
  8. BONUS Zero-Click Content Growth: Zero-click content, which provides immediate information without requiring further clicks, is also expected to gain traction, reflecting changes in user engagement and content consumption behaviours. This is in part due to the desire from the main search engines to now provide answers instead of search results, but also the augmenting use of generative AI tools and platforms to provide answers to users.

You can watch the entire webinar (in French, with English subtitles) by watching our video replay below.