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THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

With consumers being constantly connected to digital devices more than ever, brands that are looking to impact the increasingly complex decision path must have a fully thought out omni-channel digital marketing strategy. As brands evaluate their fiscal year 2014 budgets and plan for fiscal year 2015, they should be aware of the latest trends and advancements in digital marketing.

The first thing brands must recognize is the massive shift in budget from traditional media such as television, newspapers and radio toward digital marketing. Three out of four businesses say they planned on increasing their digital marketing budgets in 2014, while only 20 percent said they would expand their traditional marketing budget. The survey also found that only 6 percent of companies planned on decreasing their digital marketing budget in 2014.

According to eMarketer, digital media spending in the United States is expected to top television spending in 2017. Digital spending is already higher than spending for print, radio or billboards.

eMarketer shows that some of the biggest platforms that will benefit from the move to digital marketing are Google, Facebook and Twitter. All three of those platforms are expected to grow in ad revenue share over the next two years, proving that more brands are investing heavily in digital platforms.

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THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

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THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

Source: Econsultancy, February 2014

Source: eMarketer, June 2014

Source: eMarketer, June 2014

The next evolution in marketing requires that brands move closer to their audiences. As time moves forward, brands that embrace consumers on an individual level will be able to create more effective content that engages the right audience, on the right platform, at the right time — ultimately driving ROI and sales.

1. Custom Audience Targeting – Integrating Search and Social Data for Greater Customer InsightBy integrating data from both search behavior and social channels, marketers can now learn more about each consumer than ever before. This data insight is immensely powerful because it allows brands to create much smaller and accurate custom audiences to push content toward. By creating customized content for each audience as it moves through the decision path, brands can more effectively motivate consumers. Effectively, these audiences, which can only be created through the use of search and social data, allows brands to maximize the efficiency of each marketing effort, reducing reduce cost-per-acquisition and increasing return on investment through highly targeted, relevant content.

Kenshoo studied how adding ads on Facebook impacted the conversion rates of paid search ads and found dramatic results. The study found a 19 percent lift in conversions from people who saw ads on both the search and social platforms compared to those that only saw the search ads. The cost-per-acquisition (CPA) is a very important metric businesses should track because it defines the efficiency of a marketing effort. In this study, the CPA was reduced by 10 percent among people who saw ads on both Facebook and Google.

2. Smarter Retargeting will Reign in 2015Retargeting is one of the digital marketing tools most underutilized by brands because of its ability to reengage consumers who never complete the purchase path and convert. eMarketer reports that nearly 3 out of 5 of online buyers notice these targeted ads, and the overall reaction is more positive than not.

Consumers generally visited at least two websites before making a purchase. This makes retargeting a must for businesses that need to both stay top-of mind and stand out from the competition. Generally, only 2 percent of shoppers convert upon the first visit to a website. Retargeting can help businesses bring the other 98 percent back into the purchasing funnel.

Retargeting using the data available through search and social platforms can yield results for brands in almost every sector. With the data available, brands can effectively retarget consumers based on a variety of factors including browsing history, demographics, geographic information and social data, and then push specifically created content to that user.

3. Moving from Link Building to Relationship Building In 2014, Google introduced Hummingbird to help fight spam, advocate quality content and make results more relevant. While the total number of links will always have some impact, moving forward with Hummingbird, marketers looking to improve search engine rankings via link building must put more emphasis on building relationships and producing higher quality, relevant and authentic links. Relationship builders looking for links should engage with publishers and webmasters as potential partners that can provide each other with value in the form of content and readership, not with the heavy hand of a business transaction. The content link builders send to these publications should also reflect the change, with the content being more geared toward the publication’s readership, and providing actionable and original insights. Google’s Matt Cutts has relatedly stated that links from highly traffic and trusted websites are worth more, meaning marketers and relationship builders should focus on quality links from high traffic sites and creating quality content that will be shared organically.

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THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

WHY BRANDS MUST MOVE CLOSER TO AUDIENCES THROUGH DATA INSIGHTS

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1. Quality Content that Engages Target AudiencesThe advantage of being able to identify and target smaller audiences more than ever before is being able to provide those audiences with specifically created content that engages and impacts those audiences. Within display ads, social media paid ads, organic social media posts, videos and emails, businesses can attempt to put the most consumer-focused content possible in front of very specific audience groups in an attempt to move those audiences along the consumer decision path. Quality content today is more than just what is pushed directly to consumers, it has also become the mantra of search engine optimization experts around the globe. Brands that put time and effort into creating quality content in the form of blog posts, syndicated articles and informative, original research will see an increase in organic inbound links, which positively impacts search rankings and organic traffic. The definition of quality content is not the same from industry to industry or even company to company. Brands should create content that is true to the voice of the brand, resonates with brand’s target consumer base and fits into the larger marketing and branding strategies.

2. Rise of Image Content Strategy in Social MediaOn average, people spend more than an hour each day on social media platforms. As platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram gain larger market share, brands must adjust accordingly to make sure the content is engaging and relevant to target audiences. Brands should invest in the coming year to test and create content that is specific to each platform and target audiences.

ZOG Digital’s own research shows the type of image on Facebook has a direct impact on engagement. The research found that the number of likes, shares, comments and the total reach of Facebook posts were positively impacted by the use of creative images over lifestyle images. Creative images are defined as having gone through a post-design process, which often includes the use of text and graphic design alterations. Lifestyle images are images that don’t go through the same process, with examples being the product being displayed singularly or the product in use.

3. Video throughout Search, Social and Cross-PlatformMore brands are investing in the creation and promotion of video content because of the growing popularity of video with consumers and growing evidence that video can positively affect the choices of consumers. In May 2014, 183.5 million Americans watched a video online — more than half of the entire country’s population. Research indicates that consumers who view video ads are, in some cases, 174 percent more likely to purchase a product. Separate research found 57 percent of online shoppers are more confident in their purchase after watching a product video.

To maximize the impact of video, content should be posted and promoted across multiple platforms. When it comes to SEO, videos regularly show up in search results, meaning that well-crafted and optimized videos can impact organic web traffic. Videos that focus on being visually entertaining, informative and educational have the ability to influence prospects during their decision path.

2015 – THE YEAR LED BY CONTENT

THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

1. Responsive Design — Mobile Continues its RiseMobile ad spending is expected to increase by 83 percent compared to 2013, and it is expected to exceed print spending by 2016. This surge in mobile spending can be directly tied to the massive change in how much time consumers are spending on mobile devices. According to eMarketer’s estimates, adults in the U.S. will spend on average almost 3 hours a day on a mobile device this year, more than desktop computers.

In 2015, brands must act on this trend immediately by moving toward a responsive website design. Responsive design is recommended by Google because it automatically adjusts to any size screen. Responsively designed websites may also help brands increase ecommerce sales. Consumers prefer responsive design websites, with more than two-thirds saying they prefer to shop on a responsive design website over a separate mobile site or an app.

2. Looking Beyond 2015: Smarter Devices and the Rise ofTelevision in the Digital Consumer PipelineBrands should keep a keen eye on new technology and platforms that will become more commonplace in the coming fiscal year. Apple, Google and other tech giants are putting heavy investments into wearable technologies like watches and Google Glass. Interactive technology is also becoming more commonplace in homes with the sales growth of Google-owned Nest, and the emergence of smart televisions. Cars are also being outfitted with interactive technology that can access the Internet and social media platforms.

These technological advances should be important to brands because they allow for two things; the collection of new data to help create content and target audiences, and the ability to impact customers in new places and times to help influence them along the decision path. Brands could in the near future place audience specific ads in currently unavailable locations such as car dashboards, watches, or even televisions. The advancement of these potential options and rise of technological advancements should be on the radar for each and every brand looking for new ways to reach and impact potential consumers.

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THE 2015 DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET AND TREND GUIDE

MOVING YOUR BRAND CLOSER TO CUSTOMERS ACROSS ALL DEVICES

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CONCLUSIONAs brands look toward creating their 2015 budget, digital marketing should be at the forefront of priorities because of its unique ability to deliver specially created content to target audiences at the moment-of-interest. As brands prioritize going into FY 2015, getting as close to the consumer using search and social data, creating quality content, including videos, and optimize for the increasingly mobile world should be high on the list.

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