I normally eschew making predictions. At best, they”™re a best guess. At worst, they really miss the mark. However, this year I decided to put aside my hesitations and go on the record with my 2014 predictions. But first, I want to ask a few questions.
Which online platform has the second-highest number of advertisements after Google?
The answer is Facebook, which in 2013 has overtaken Microsoft and Yahoo to generate $3.17 billion in U.S. advertising revenue. (Google generated $17 billion, nearly 40 percent of all U.S. ad revenue dollars.) A significant and increasing portion of Facebook”™s generated income is from mobile advertising that is now also second to Google. Globally, digital advertising rose to $119.52 billion with 62.45 percent of the revenue derived from platforms other than Google and Facebook.
Which two platforms grabbed the highest share of worldwide mobile advertisements?
Not surprisingly, the answer is Google (48.76 percent) and Facebook (16.91 percent). Facebook had the largest increase, rising from 5.34 percent to 16.91 percent in one year. Total mobile ad spending grew 105.9 percent in 2013, rising from $8.82 billion to $18.15 billion, denoting amazingly rapid growth.
What element should most local social media campaigns now include?
Mobile search. We just starting working with a dental practice and one of the areas we addressed involved mobile. In fact, if you are a local company and do not have a mobile site, I strongly recommend you get one soon. They range in price from free to usually no more than $30 a month. Amazingly, for many websites you can be mobile in a matter of minutes. If you want some recommendations, please send me an email with a request.
What continues to be the most important part of any online campaign?
Content creation. Google and other search engines along with most online users have placed increasing importance on content. Most successful digital marketing campaigns rely on a foundation built on consistent and high-quality content. Whether the campaign involves social media, webinars, email marketing or paid advertising, it still depends on well-crafted content to successfully drive it.
What is the common theme of my questions (which incidentally comprises my 2014 prediction)?
That companies will continue to increase the amount of money they spend on online advertising to drive their campaigns and promote their products and services. Despite the presence of the Big Two ”“ Facebook and Google ”“ ad revenue spending on many other platforms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoo and mobile will continue to grow. Expect the number of platforms to grow since a multiplatform approach is increasingly important in being able to reach a company”™s target audience; spreading the wealth for both content and advertising is essential. Remember that mobile can realistically account for at least 30 percent of your views. As online platforms develop new capabilities and reach, marketing strategies will also continue to evolve. And finally, that regardless of the platform, great content that”™s both informative and original is essential because after all, content is still king.
I hope you have a great 2014. It will certainly be exciting.
Bruce Newman is the vice president at The Productivity Institute L.L.C. He specializes in content creation and digital marketing. Most of his time is spent in the creation of content for webinars and their promotion, email marketing, education and social media campaigns for clients. He is also the creator of the highly popular The Complete Webinar Training Course. He can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.
