As we enter further into 2016, we put the focus on social media advertising and pinpoint three predictions that we expect to see over the course of the year.
Facebook search advertising
Facebook is in a strong spot for advertising revenue as it focuses on monetising the 1.5 billion searches conducted on the platform every day. The social network has focused on developing its proprietary product, Facebook Search, indexing all its content including posts, status updates, and photos. Improvements to the search function include personalised search suggestions and quick access to the most recent, relevant posts from both friends and the public. The initial purpose is to help people search within Facebook – which is in line with the launch of Instant Articles, a solution designed for publishers to post quality content on site directly. However, we predict that Facebook will launch sophisticated keyword-triggered advertising solutions in the near future as it continues to assist the organic reach of content.
Brands will leverage live streaming on social
Live streaming via social networks is increasing in popularity and is likely to become a major trend in 2016. Facebook’s Live service and Twitter’s video app Periscope are already moving social media into real-time video and we predict that we will see Instagram and Snapchat launch similar solutions in the near future. This real-time content flowing across social media offers unique opportunities for advertising, as brands leverage its spontaneous, conversational benefits to add authenticity to their marketing strategies. It will undoubtedly lure some advertising spend away from TV, so specific ad formats for live-streaming are likely to be under development as we speak. Given the risks associated with real-time advertising these formats will need to incorporate advanced moderation functionality to enable brands to maintain control.
Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest excel in 2016
We predict that the advertising propositions of Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest will mature throughout the coming year, and the industry is already seeing a strong shift of test budgets to these platforms. There is a particular focus on Pinterest in the U.S, while Instagram is gaining interest in both the U.S. and EMEA. Instagram and Pinterest have enormous potential for direct response activations due to the pattern of user engagement, and brands will increasingly leverage these platforms with highly creative sales strategies. While Snapchat is currently focusing on growing its user base, it is set to become the next big advertising platform once an ad API is revealed. The combination of its young audience and unique format is likely to divert TV ad spend. With these emerging ad platforms, marketers are more than ever looking to tech solutions like MediaMath to provide cross targeting and reporting across multiple channels.