Life moves fast in the media and marketing world. Here, learn about the media trends Markacy predicts for 2020.
Life moves fast in the media and marketing world. While in 2019 we saw Snapchat turn into a ghost town and a new short-form video app — TikTok — take centerstage, the start of 2020 has been just as exciting.
From GDPR to CCPA to jumping on and off the social media bandwagons, it’s a lot to keep up with.
Which social platforms and channels are here to stay in 2020? What shifts and shuffles might change the landscape for marketers and advertisers? Keep reading as we review some of the top media trends we’re seeing and what you can expect this year.
1. Privacy Pivots and Crumbling Cookies
We’re one month into 2020 and privacy has definitely been a buzzword. Platforms and services have continued to crack down, and there’s no sign of it slowing.
Back in 2017, Apple introduced its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature within Safari, which greatly reduced companies’ abilities to track consumer behavior across the web. Their latest update (ITP 2.3), announced on September 23rd of last year, tightened things up even more — including eliminating many of the loopholes and workarounds companies had still been using up until then.
Google’s on board, too — on January 14th they announced that cookies will be phased out of Chrome by 2022.
So, what does this mean for marketers? A few things:
- With third-party advertisers suffering the most from the changes, we’ll likely see a consolidation of ad spends to the major players like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. If you’re already playing in this space, not too much will change for you.
- It might be time, however, to explore other channels of reaching your audience — think email marketing and content-as-ads that follow more of a people-based marketing approach instead of cookie-based retargeting.
Simply put? It’s time to shift your thinking and really get to know your potential consumers. With Google’s “Custom Intent Audiences,” for example, brands can target their campaigns based on a user’s search history. If you don’t have a good handle on who your audience is and what they’re interested in, now is the time to dive in.
2. Podcasts: An Old-School Format Meet New-School
With all the latest and greatest technology being built these days, you might assume that consumers would prefer the flashiest, most exciting forms of entertainment. But the reality is, good ol’ fashioned talk radio is leading the charge — or at least the 21st century equivalent of it: podcasts.
Listener numbers are up and podcasts host are the new celebrities — think Joe Rogan, Dave Ramsey, and NPR fan favorites like Terry Gross and David Greene. According to a CBS poll, the percentage of people that listen to podcasts rose considerably over the past year, with 23% indicating that they listen a few times per week. While this number might seem low at first glance, compare that against the stats from a year ago, when 47% said they never listen to podcasts.
Alright, so what does this mean for marketers? There’s a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach a captive audience. And since many podcasts serve a niche audience (think health and lifestyle, business, sports, or parenting & family), it can be a slam-dunk to get your message in front of the right users.
3. Instagram & Facebook Double-Down on Ad Space
A social media platform at heart, Instagram will always be the place to post cute videos and share your life in picture form. But users are also seeing an increase in ads peppering their feed, accounting for as many as 1 in 4 posts.
So, what’s the deal?
First, it’s not your imagination: Back in August, a spokesperson from Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, confirmed a test for some users involving running ads back-to-back within a story.
For brands and marketers, this is something to monitor closely. By increasing its ad load, Facebook has generally been able to keep CPMs relatively low despite more advertisers turning to the platform. However, once the feasible ad load cap is reached, expect CPMs to increase as total spend continues to increase (we’ve started to see CPMs bump up a bit and are watching the supply and emand trend very intently).
For users, the long-term impacts are unclear. With more ads saturating their feeds, will this drive down the user experience? Facebook says this is something they’re trying to balance, but once they hit an ad load cap — then what?
What it means for you: the social media giant is still a great channel for reaching your audiences. With more ads, though, it will be more important than ever to stand out. You’ll need better creative, better copy, and better messaging to differentiate yourself.
4. Frictionless Purchasing: The New Frontier
Another shift we’re seeing from Instagram is the idea of frictionless purchasing.
Picture this: You’re scrolling through Instagram and are served an ad for a leather bag you have to have. While in years past you would have had to open your browser in another window and begin a totally separate user experience on the brand’s site to shop, now the event is much more streamlined.
With Instagram checkout, which launched in March 2019, you can now tap to view a product directly from a post, and proceed to payment without leaving the app. Plus, your information is securely saved for the next time you shop, making it even easier to make future purchases.
Tons of brands have jumped on board and we don’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.
5. Gaming is Now Big Business
From Atari Pong to the Sims craze of the 2000s and now the online multiplayer worlds of Fortnite and Apex Legends, it’s hard to ignore the impact that gaming has had on our culture. And while gamers sometimes get a bad rap — we can only hope flossing has run its course — it’s an industry we definitely have our eye on.
First, there are more players than ever. A 2018 study found that about 67% of Americans, or roughly 211 million people, play video games on at least one type of device — and experts say the video game market could become a $300 billion industry by 2025.
Second, the industry is shifting to a totally different revenue model. With many games (like Fortnite) remaining free to play, revenue instead comes from in-game purchases. As these companies look to expand even more, we’ll be interested to see how in-game advertising takes center stage.
As with any marketing trend, though, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. One report suggests that while Amazon’s Twitch dominates the market, ad revenues aren’t quite as high as they expected. We’ll see what 2020 brings.
6. Creative Content Runs the Show
As any smart marketer knows, reaching your audience is much more than just placing an ad and hoping for the best. Instagram’s multi-card stories and carousels are a great example of how brands can get the attention of prospective buyers in an increasingly saturated marketplace.
With these new ad formats, users can swipe through, pause, and shop for specific products with one tap. It’s a win-win for brands, now with more space to tell their brand story and more creative freedom to engage consumers.
The proof is in the pudding. Instagram reported that:
- Ulta saw a 63% higher return on ad spend with two-card carousel video ads versus single video ads
- Michael Kors reported a 60% lower cost per click versus other ad formats
- Gap showed a 73% higher click-through rate than previous Instagram campaigns
We’re also seeing this trend with TikTok, the newest social media platform that marketers can’t stop talking about. With over 1 billion downloads in its first year (2018) and another 738 million in 2019, the app is showing no signs of slowing down this year. Chipotle is just one of the brands diving in, reporting record results for its campaign celebrating National Avocado Day back in August.
The takeaway: it’s time to get savvy with this new type of advertising or risk falling behind.
7. Continued Growth of User-Generated Content
Of course, it’s not all bright-and-flashy full-screen ads. While the better part of the past decade was ruled by influencers, we’re continuing to see a shift away from the Kim Kardashians of the world and more toward organic and micro-influencers — everyday people with decent followings instead of millions.
Consumers see these micro-influencers as more relatable and trustworthy, and find user-generated content overall more memorable than other media.
But here’s the problem: tracking can be a huge issue, and selecting your perfect influencer can be challenging. While companies are getting wiser to the metrics that matter (massive follower counts don’t always mean engagement!), they’re still relying on self-reported numbers from these influencers, and also run the risk of influencer marketing fraud.
While it sounds scary, it doesn’t mean you need to shy away from the strategy. Just remember that keyword there: strategy. Think carefully about the influencers that will be the best brand fit for your company, and consider new ways to measure the impact.
One way to get around it is to turn influencer-created posts and content into your own paid ads, allowing you to easily track their performance. With proper measurement in place, you can make better (and quicker) decisions on who you’re partnering with and the messaging you’re using.
8. Partnering Analytics with Expertise
With all the changes and updates on the horizon, it’s only natural to feel a bit… well… powerless to the media giants. And with attribution becoming increasingly difficult, how do you really ensure you’re optimizing for the results you want to see?
First, collecting and analyzing first-party data is the biggest opportunity that we see for our clients. These days, most companies use so many tools and apps to piece together analytics that it’s easy to forget about the data right in front of our faces: behavioral metrics from your site, purchase trends, and even direct feedback from your customers, just to name a few ideas. If you can build your own data warehouse, you can then continually analyze that data to make smart, strategic decisions.
Second, consider 2020 the perfect time to reframe your metrics. We may never lock down that elusive 360 attribution we all want — and that’s OK. Instead, focus on cross-channel reporting tools to analyze the data you do have, and lean on both platform-level metrics and higher-level ones like your media efficiency ratio.
Third, remember that tools can only get you so far. While it’s easy to get caught up in AI buzzwords and the “latest and greatest” in analytics, keep in mind that most platforms have robust algorithms that work fairly well when you let them. Combine that with the human element — a smart team with experience analyzing creative performance and making quick decisions — and you’ll be set up for success.
Let Markacy Lead the Way
Ready for 2020? It’s going to be a wild ride, but we’re here for you. Our team brings decades of expertise in strategy consulting, creative & digital marketing and growth hacking to help clients execute integrated growth strategies grounded in cross-channel data and analytics. And we live for helping our clients thrive in the ever-changing media landscape, constantly testing new growth channels so you’re never left behind.
Get in touch today at info@markacy.comand connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to learn how we are helping great brands make their mark.
