No matter how you ended 2017, 2018 offers opportunities for growth and increased performance. The strides that we have taken in automation, creation, and personalization mean that these trends are within the reach of most advertisers. If 2017 was the year of anticipation then 2018 is the year of realizing the many ways that online advertising can be used to reach your goals.
1. Video. Video. Video - You have probably heard it all before. Video content is the next big thing. According to Hubspot, 52% of marketing professionals feel that video has the best ROI. Fortune also mentioned that Facebook is moving towards becoming a video platform with moves like auto-playing videos and paying content creators 55% of the revenue they make from a video. What this means for you, is that if you want to reach more people on Facebook, you will need to incorporate video into your strategy in one way or another.
Of course, some of the obstacles that advertisers are up against include a lack of:
- Money
- Time
- Manpower - dedicated videographer, team...
So, how do you overcome this? If you have a product feed, dynamic video is certainly one way. Automatically create videos for every item in your product feed in hours instead of weeks.
In order to help our clients get the most from video, we just launched video collection. It incorporates dynamic video into Facebook collection.
2. Mobile - Simply put, mobile is where it’s at. According to a report that was conducted by PWC, mobile ad revenue has grown to account for over half of online revenue. That’s a whopping $21.7bn. On the other hand, consumers are spending just 25% of their time on mobile leading to a potential $21.7bn in untapped mobile revenue.
Not only that, but users tend to research products on their mobile as they shop. A well-placed ad could be the difference between a sale going to you instead of your competitor.
3. Personalization - We have more information now on any number of people than at any other time in history. It is possible to buy this information but by simply tracking how people interact with your website, ads, newsletters and other marketing pieces that you provide, you probably have more information than you will ever know what to do with.
For advertisers this means, using information that you already know about your customers to craft messages that resonate with them. You don’t have to be scared to get personal - 66% of consumers say they are likely or extremely likely to switch to a brand that shows them some level of personalization. Customers, want to feel like they are more than a number.
4. Chatbots - Whatever your thoughts on chatbots, there’s no doubt that they are here to stay. At least for the foreseeable future. According to Business Insider, 80% of companies want to integrate chatbots by 2020. Some companies already have a jumpstart by using implementing their own bots. H&M uses a bot that scans a users social posts and makes recommendations based on their style. If you have not yet invested in chatbots or at least stepping up your chat and response game, now is the time to do so.
5. Unseen Sharing - Although mobile plays a larger role in advertising than it did just a few years ago, one untapped resource is dark social. These are places where it is difficult to track users and they include: email, messaging platforms like Whatsapp, secure browsing and more. This is not so much a trend as it is something to be aware of as you plan your marketing strategy. Thinking about how to integrate these unseen parts of the internet can be a great boon to your strategy. Simply put:
- Do not underestimate email. There could be some sharing there that you have no idea about. One tool that can help with this is LeadHub. They provide an email service that you can use to increase the number of visitors, completed checkouts and amplify the message in your email with a boosted post.
- Work with influencers. According to RadiumOne, 46% of consumers, 55 and above share via dark social alone. 19% of consumers are between the ages of 16 and 34. Sponsored posts are from influencers are likely to get shared because consumers trust the influencers.
Want to get a head start on these trends. Start by downloading our FREE e-commerce calendar.
