Social Marketing

Understanding consumers’ behavior as they switch between devices remains one of the toughest challenges facing marketers today. According to recent research investigating marketers’ digital capabilities, the problem doesn’t seem to be getting any easier.

The recent disclosures by Facebook that they overestimated video viewing for two years is troubling. While ANA recognizes that “mistakes do happen,” we also recognize that Facebook has not yet achieved the level of measurement transparency that marketers need and require.  By Bob Liodice, President and CEO, ANA

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the “What Works & Why: IAB Global Insights Report 2016,” showcasing case studies exploring two dozen award-winning campaigns from around the world, and featuring perspectives from 28 leaders across the international digital marketing and media landscape.

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (“SBS”) announced the addition of a full video channel line-up to its LaMusica music streaming app.

Facebook admitted “miscalculating” average video view times, which grossly misled advertisers on the value they could expect when buying video ads from Facebook.  This is like a car salesman telling potential customers they can expect to get 25 miles per gallon when the car actually only gets five.  The most disingenuous part of Facebook’s admission is that, despite employing the brightest engineers on the planet earth, we are supposed to believe they made an honest “math mistake.”  Facebook’s admission, on top of Dentsu announcing that it charged advertisers for buying ads that were never bought, make our industry’s failures more viewable during advertising’s conference week.  How ironic.

Consumers are turning their back on brands as 39% of U.S. respondents ‘actively ignore’ social posts or content, despite soaring usage of popular social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.

As media fragmentation increases, it is more and more difficult for networks to generate the levels of viewership they have historically been used to. Driving engagement and cultivating loyalty is correspondingly more challenging, too. The net result is a threat to the value networks can deliver to their advertisers, which is, of course, a threat to their own success.

Psychology is an important metric for marketers to consider when analyzing data coming out of digital marketing campaigns, according to Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” and “Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior.” In advance of Berger’s presentation at eMarketer’s Attention! 2016 event next month, Sean Creamer spoke to Berger about how about how word-of-mouth influences consumers online and offline.

Oft-overlooked ‘boring’ text messaging is the number one choice of communications channel between millennials and brands – and vice versa – a study of US youngsters has found.

In many respects, social media and paid search are ideal partners. One facilitates branding and engagement, while the other helps seal the deal by driving traffic, leads and sales.

Millward Brown research shows that well executed Facebook video advertising enhances effectiveness and efficiency of TV media spends.

Ahalogy has released its third annual Pinterest Media Consumption Study, a follow-up to its first-of-its-kind research from 2014—which has been downloaded by thousands of marketing industry professionals and influencers.

Last month, CPG giant and the world’s largest advertiser Procter & Gamble declared that they would buy highly targeted Facebook ads less often. P&G will continue to invest heavily in Facebook advertising, but found that “targeting to super-specific audiences was expensive but didn’t result in a big difference to its business.”  By Lee Vann / Capture Group

We all know it’s become more difficult for marketers to reach their target consumers. In the near future, socially driven campaigns will become a far more important way to reach consumers who will otherwise remain off marketers’ digital radar. Marketers need to create more remarkable, emotional or useful content to leverage the true power of social to build their brands.  By Nigel Hollis – Chief Global Analyst / Millward Brown

For years there was talk about the digital divide between Latino and white consumers. Not anymore.  By David R. Morse and Karthik Praveen

Results from a new Trusted Media Brands, Inc. study exploring the future of digital video found 65 percent of surveyed marketers think social platforms (e.g. Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter) are the most important partners for digital video campaigns over video platforms (YouTube, Vevo); video demand side platforms or DSPs (Videology, Tremor Video); full episode players (Hulu, broadcast and cable digital properties); ad networks; publishers (BuzzFeed, Vice, Vox); and multichannel networks (Maker Studios, Awesomeness TV, FullScreen).

In the age of amplification of social influence through digital channels, brands that remain rooted in the advertising age face an existential threat in the digital age. Social platforms are designed to connect people, not sell products. And brands that embrace people’s stories (not product testimonials) are the ones that successfully drive social engagement.

At the beginning of 2016, marketing professionals made a variety of predictions (link is external) about the future of digital marketing. Some of the most notable forecasts pointed to the increasing importance of data collection, video advertising, virtual reality, and live streaming.

Influencer marketing is rapidly gaining popularity among brand marketers, and according to April 2016 research, nearly three-quarters of US marketers cite ongoing ambassadorships as one of the most effective uses of influencers.

The threshold of having a successful engagement with consumers on social media is constantly on the rise. Like for most things, there is no correct way to approach this task however, it is important to keep some key principles in mind such as: having a grasp of consumer insights, being fluent in Internet culture, staying true to the brand and being tech savvy.