Social Media Clouds Keep Rolling In
Social Media Clouds Keep Rolling In
Marketing teams trying to steer clear of brand safety accidents are keeping an increasingly watchful eye on social media.
Identifying risks and projecting rewards has grown more difficult. What may appear to be a relatively safe environment for a marketing campaign on social media can unexpectedly flare up into something contentious and polarizing.
I recently asked Mike Menkes, SVP with Analytic Partners, an analytics consulting and technology firm, for his perspective.
Paul Talbot: What headwinds do you see social platforms experiencing in the year ahead that marketers should be aware of?
Mike Menkes: New privacy regulations, 2020 elections impacting social media engagement, and rising advertising and CPM costs are all major trends that marketers should be keeping an eye on as we head into the new year.
Talbot: Do we know enough right now to determine whether these headwinds are short-term or long-term scenarios?
Menkes: Privacy regulations will likely be long-term, while the election is short-term. However, prior political advertising issues and sentiment across social platforms will likely cause longer term reverberations—users may engage with social media in different ways before and after the election cycle. Overall, we may also see some pockets of stagnation in social media usage.
Talbot: What will the most likely impact of the 2020 elections be on how marketers use social platforms?
Menkes: Marketers should carefully and actively track exactly where and how their advertising is appearing across social media and be attuned to audience behaviors.
We may see a dip in social media use in 2020, which doesn’t mean marketers should avoid these platforms, but rather that they need a smart, agile strategy when it comes to spend and reach.
As 2020 is an election year and an Olympic year, advertising costs will see an increase and marketers will need to be smart to optimize across all channels to achieve the best ROI.
