Social media trends are making waves in the marketing and ad industry again. Thanks to some keen insights by Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, it has been predicted that social media ad spend will see a boost of 20% by the end of 2019.
Day in and day out, consumers see changes in the advertising landscape. But these changes take effect so fast that it can be tricky to understand their magnitude. You’d be forgiven for thinking that print ads, along with their equally resilient counterparts, cockroaches, were still on track to survive global apocalypse. But evidence suggests the for the most part, print will finally fade if we stay on this trajectory. Why?
Good Impressions
All kinds of businesses are beginning to rely on social media ads for their convenience and affordability. Thirty second TV commercials used to be the go-to, but the massive cost, time and production implications means they aren’t necessarily the smartest option anymore. Businesses are looking for a more strategic, impactful approach, delivered straight to our social feeds, with more breadth for creative on tighter budgets.
Social media advertising gives brands the opportunity to drive growth by using automated tools to optimise their campaigns for key business objectives. By using first-party data from their own websites to identify potential customers on social media, brands can convert consumers who are already on the path to purchase and target look-a-like audiences more effectively.
By the end of 2019, it’s predicted that global social media ad spend will reach approximately $84 billion. That’s almost $20 billion dollars more than the ad spend for magazines and newspapers combined. That’s good news for agencies like OK COOL.
A Peek At 2020
Social ads are fast becoming the main event in advertising. As of right now, TV ad spend is still the largest channel for advertising, followed closely by paid search and social media.
The jury’s still out on how long it could take for social to snag the top spot, but the TV advertising market isn’t looking too promising. In fact, the Zenith report says TV shows “shrinking ratings from all key markets.”
Regardless of how the other advertising markets perform, one thing remains the same: social media is on an upward trajectory and continues to break ground in the advertising realm, offering unprecedented scope for creativity, robust analytics and indisputable ROI for forward-thinking brands.
If you’re in the business of business and not riding this wave, you’re missing a crucial opportunity and mechanism for growth. Just make sure the creative pops and there’s tangible value-adds with each post. We live in the age of capricious consumers with little tolerance for pushy brands indelicately invading their feeds.