- Future of marketing…Borrell Research expert predictions
In the words of Wayne Gretzky, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” In other words, you don’t get to be considered one of the truly greats by doing what has been done in the past, and by shutting your eyes to where things are headed. At the recent Local Online Ad Conference held by Borrell Research, a number of media/marketing predictions were unveiled. These are predictions that come from outside observers, business and financial experts. Among these predictions are that daily newspapers may start to distribute fewer than 7 days a week, and that video will replace banners.
Why are these predictions important? Because that is where the puck is going to be. If you are a local business, you will want to pay attention to these potential trends and enable yourself to be able to capitalize on the changes. If you are a marketing services provider, you’ll want to start to become better versed in how the marketing landscape may evolve so you can continue to be an expert in your role. Want to see what some of these predictions are? Here’s a excerpt from Gordon Borrell’s presentation from the recent LOAC 2016. Enjoy, but remember not all predictions come to fruition, and they are not going to occur over night. These are based on the current direction as observed by experts. They have vision, but they are not infallible.
- Newspapers are digital leaders, but…
The aforementioned LOAC 2016 presentation also unearthed some, seemingly, contradictory truths.
Truth #1: In 2015, newspapers generated 5x’s more digital revenue than any other media competitor, including digital pureplays.
Truth #2: In 2015 pureplay digital companies generated 76% of all digital advertising revenue, while newspapers generated just 11%.
So, how can Truth #1 and Truth #2 co-exist? It’s because Truth #1 measures individual companies. There is generally one, or maybe 2, newspapers for any one market yet there are oodles of digital pureplays. Thus comparing one newspaper title against each individual pureplay yields an advantage towards newspapers. Truth #2 shows where dollars fell into the combined bucket for all pureplays yielding a significant advantage to the digital only side.
This shows that niche spending, (spending into pureplays that focus on a narrow market or result) is huge. It also shows that being a “one-size-fits-all” marketing solution is a challange. If you are a local SMB, you’ll want to take note of the value of narrowly focused marketing efforts. They just might deliver specific results for you. It also tells you that there is a wide spectrum of providers out there able to do a number of things. If you are a marketing solutions provider, this suggests that you need to up your game, be more aware of niche marketing efforts and providers, and be able to make recommendations that will address very specific needs. And it also tells you that the world is changing very, very fast. Here’s slides showing where 2015 spending landed, from Borrell’s LOAC 2016.
- Pinterest getting into the ad game
So far, the discussion about advertising on social media platforms has been almost entirely limited to Facebook. Oh sure, Twitter and Instagram are talking a good game, but FB is where all the action has been. Now Pinterest is upping the ante, and it looks like they are serious about it. Their attempts at offering targeted advertising in the past were limited to just 30 interests, but now they have expanded that targeting to more than 400. Pinterest users are very loyal translating to deep information about them that becomes targeting capabilites for advertisers. For SMB’s, ad placement is primarily self-serve, and might continue to stay that route for the foreseeable future.
If you are a local business, you may want to review your social media options. Pinterest won’t work for everyone, but if your products or services lend themselves to this audience, it might be something to test. If you are a marketing services provider, you should know more about this opportunity. Even if your current product suite does not include Pinterest advertising, it’s good to know how, and whether, it will work for your client. Check out Adweek.com, March 8 for more on this.
- Angie’s List drops paywall for consumers
Angie’s list has long been considered a credible source of local business recommendations for anyone looking for services. Their strongest suit has been centered in home services, but they have been thought of as a good tool to find reliable companies for consumers in need. Because of this, Angie’s List has consistently generated a good amount of traffic to it’s site. From the perspective of generating revenue, Angie provided an unusual model. Local service businesses were listed at no charge, consumer’s were charged to access the database and recommendations. The problem is now that the site has reached somewhat of a plateau, and in order to continue to scale, more traffic is needed. Competition is driving Angie’s List to change their model to “Freemium.” This means that there will no longer be a paywall for consumers.
If you are a local business, you should presume that competition is the reason that Angie’s List is making this change. There are far to many recommendation engines out there today to simply rely on just one. Don’t drop your faith in Angie, they still provide credible recommendations that consumers will use. Just know that they may be challenged in the future. And if you are a marketing services provider, you should file this under the “good to know” category. The more you know about how your clients find business, and how consumers find your client, the better armed you are to make good recommendations. You can read more about this at Techcrunch.com, March 3.
- An ugly website is better than no website at all…
If you are a local business, and you have not considered updating your local website, you probably fall into two camps.
Camp # 1: I don’t need a stand-alone website, I rely on listings and word of mouth
Camp #2: I have not seen any site templates that look good enough
Well, looks like it might be time to leave camp. According to a recent survey conducted by BrightLocal, consumers are more likely to contact a local business with a website, than a business without one. And surprisingly, a bad or ugly website puts off very few potential customers. (Seems that they give you credit for at least trying.) The survey also shows that preferences may vary depending upon the age of the consumer. But all groups agreed that relevant content (prices, products, hours) available on the site far outweighs aesthetics of the website.
For local business owners, this means that having (owning) your own local stand-alone website is very important to your customers. It needs to tell them what they want, and your customers will forgive a less-than-perfect website as long as it has information important to them. For marketing service providers, this means that your clients really should hear strong recommendations from you regarding, a) having a stand-alone website and b) not to get too focused on creating a work of art when a quick snapshot will do.
For more on this, check out Search Engine Land, March 7.
The Local Strategist 