An e-commerce retailer launching an advertising campaign on Meta in 2024 without adapting its creatives to vertical format loses a significant share of potential clicks. This type of operational detail illustrates the reality of digital marketing today: broad strategic directions are no longer enough; daily execution makes the difference.
Between European regulatory obligations on AI-generated content and the saturation of traditional channels, we must rethink our approaches with more rigor.
AI Transparency Obligations: What the AI Act Changes for Your Campaigns
When producing advertising visuals or email texts with an artificial intelligence tool, a regulatory constraint now applies in Europe. Article 50 of the European AI regulation (AI Act) introduces reporting obligations for AI-generated content that directly affect marketing teams.
Specifically, chatbots used in customer relations or acquisition must identify themselves as AI systems from the very first message exchanged. Marketing content (texts, images, videos, audio) generated or manipulated by AI and that may be perceived as authentic must include an explicit notification: icon, label, or mention “generated by AI”.
To delve deeper into these issues and structure an appropriate approach, digital marketing on Mon Business en Ligne details the pillars to master before deploying campaigns.
AI model providers must also integrate digital watermarks into the produced content. In practice, this changes advertising creation workflows: A/B testing, reuse of visuals, cross-platform distribution—all must be tracked. Ignoring these rules exposes one to sanctions, but more importantly, to a loss of audience trust.
Short Video Content Strategy: Produce for Scrolling, Not for Cinema
We see it in the field: videos under 60 seconds generate far more interactions than longer formats on social media. TikTok has set this standard, but Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts follow the same logic. The common point of high-performing content is that they capture attention in the first three seconds.
In practice, this means we can no longer recycle a TV spot by simply cropping it. Each video must be designed for vertical scrolling, with an immediate visual hook and a message that is readable without sound. Integrated subtitles are not a bonus; they are a necessity.
What Distinguishes an Effective Short Video
- An opening shot that shows the result or the problem, not a brand introduction
- A native format adapted to each platform (9:16 ratio, duration adjusted to each network’s algorithms)
- An integrated call to action within the content itself, not tacked on at the end like an advertisement
- A regular publication frequency, because algorithms favor consistency over sporadic virality
Feedback varies on this point depending on sectors, but the regularity of publication seems to weigh more than the production budget in the organic reach achieved.
SEO and Editorial Content: Aim for the Answer, Not Word Volume
The race for 2,000-word articles stuffed with keywords no longer works as it used to. With the evolution of Google search results (rich snippets, generative results), content that precisely answers a question outperforms exhaustive but diluted content.
It is more beneficial to publish an 800-word article that addresses a specific topic with reliable data than a 3,000-word guide that skims over ten themes. The internal linking between these targeted articles builds a thematic authority that Google values.
Structuring Your Editorial Calendar Around Real Queries
Instead of planning content by product category, we start from the questions that customers actually ask. Keyword research tools provide queries, but comments on social media and questions posed to customer service are even more precise sources.
Each article should target a unique search intent. If two articles cannibalize the same query, we merge them. A site with 50 well-positioned pages earns more than a blog with 300 invisible articles.
Segmented Emailing: The Channel Everyone Underestimates
Emailing remains the channel with the best return on investment for most businesses. The difference between a converting campaign and an ignored campaign comes down to one factor: the segmentation of the contact list.
Sending the same message to the entire database wastes deliverability rates. We segment by purchase behavior, engagement level, and acquisition source. A customer who has purchased twice in three months does not receive the same email as a prospect who signed up a week ago.
The Most Common Segmentation Mistakes
- Segmenting only by demographic data (age, location) without considering actual behavior on the site
- Not excluding recent buyers from aggressive promotional campaigns, which degrades brand perception
- Keeping inactive contacts for over six months without a dedicated reactivation campaign, which harms overall open rates
Regular cleaning of the database and automated scenarios tailored to each segment transform emailing into a stable acquisition and retention lever.
Success in digital marketing in 2024 does not rely on adopting every new trend. It comes from rigorous execution of the fundamentals (content, SEO, emailing) combined with active monitoring of regulatory constraints like the AI Act. Companies that document their processes, test their formats, and measure their results by channel are the ones that progress, quarter after quarter.
