While emphasizing a renewed focus on genuine business growth rather than fixating on vanity metrics, President of the Association of Digital Marketing Professionals (ADMARP), Stanislaus Martins, has urged the industry to recalibrate its approach to digital marketing in the coming year
Calling on professionals to “do digital right in 2024” in a transformative statement, Martins, who also sits as Regional Director at Aleph for SSA (Aleph represents leading digital platforms like Meta, X, Snapchat, Spotify, Snapchat, Mdundo and AudioMack in Nigeria) addressed a prevailing trend where digital marketing efforts are often measured by vanity Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), mirroring traditional channels rather than harnessing the unique capabilities of digital platforms.
He advised “Let’s not focus on just spending the money on digital channels but in parallel focus on optimally using digital channels to drive actual business growth,” noting that 2024 should mark a departure from this practice and a deliberate shift toward a more results-oriented approach.
The central message conveyed was a charge for a more purposeful and strategic utilization of digital platforms and a more rigorous and business-centric approach to digital marketing—a perspective aimed at achieving not just visibility and engagement but tangible growth and performance impact.
According to the President, “This is what digital excels at, but sadly some agencies and brands focus on the vanity KPIs that put digital in the same space as traditional channels,” reflecting a concern that the unique capabilities of digital marketing are often overshadowed by an undue emphasis on superficial metrics that may not necessarily translate into tangible business outcomes.
Framed around the notion of adopting a “measurement mindset”, the ADMARP President’s vision for 2024 is to see a shift of narrative from an exclusive focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that merely measure engagement or reach, to a more holistic approach that emphasizes the actual impact on business performance, with digital campaigns playing a more integral role in driving both performance and tangible business results.
Highlighting further, Martins also anticipates a significant boom in Nigeria’s social commerce sector in 2024, stressing the potential contribution of MSMEs to the country’s GDP.
The surge in social commerce is reshaping Nigeria’s e-commerce scene, with the adoption of affordable smartphones and platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp transforming online shopping habits. Platforms such as Aleph Express and Selar are simplifying the process of setting up online stores, empowering Nigerians to engage in online commerce more effortlessly.
“I expect several new entrants in social commerce to facilitate payments, storefronts, analytics, and logistics,” Martins projected.
The ADMARP President also expects a continued surge in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), stating that 2024 will see even more significant developments in AI-based marketing.
“Just like in 2023, I think AI will still be huge. While lots of marketers sat on the sidelines in 2023, observing to see if this was yet another fad, I think 2024 will be even bigger for AI based on the impact it has begun to have on marketing and the massive strides being made in its development. AI changes everything – from strategy to execution. In the early days, we thought the “creatives” would be the least impacted/disrupted by AI, but we have been proven wrong in that regard as generative AI content development across text, audio, and visuals continues to blow our minds.”
“Contrary to what many say, I think that AI will take a lot of marketing jobs; it’s already happening and it will only get worse as AI gets better. As marketers, we should embrace AI while at the same time work at upskilling ourselves to make us more relevant to the workforce of the future,” he stated in a final submission.
