Digital Advertising Or Traditional?

If you own a Marketing Agency you will be well aware of the changing trends in consumer habits,

Traditionally, TV, direct mail, news papers and directories such as Yellow Pages would be the go to place for products and services. While there is very much still a place for those mediums, there is a realisation that the millennials (aka) “The younger generation” are cutting their teeth on newer ways of accessing consumer goods and services.

According to Research by Kantar Media, UK consumers feel better about seeing advertising on traditional platforms like TV and magazine than they do about seeing it online.

A survey in Kantar's report, shown that 30% of UK consumers didn’t like being served ads in news feeds and online articles while 33% said that they did not like seeing ads on video platforms and search engines. Only 14% and 13% disliked seeing ads in printed magazines and newspapers.

Consumers are generally receptive to advertising with 68% of respondents saying they accept being advertised to but aggressive targeting on digital platforms can have an adverse effect on branding. 

More alarmingly, 74% of people surveyed reported seeing the same ad over and over again of which 49% said the ad had no relevance for them. This irrelevant invasive advertising usually equates to a bad user experience.

There is a bit of trade off here though… To receive more personalised advertising, we need to be more prepared to share our information. Offering more personalised advertising can also run the risk of intrusion leaving consumers with privacy concerns.

What next?

Online advertising is predicated to account for more than half of all advertising spend in the next few years. Given what nearly half of those surveyed in the UK have said about advertising relevance, there is a clear message here about knowing your audience and marketing to those who have an interest in what you provide.

As a group of shoppers, the millennials are constantly connected. Their smart phones sit at the centre of their lives, with 80% of millennials saying they look at their phones multiple times an hour. They tend also to be very active on social media – 97% having accessed social media in the past month. 95% have used messaging services like Facebook and Whatsapp Messenger. In perspective only 55% of this group had read a printed newspaper during the past month.

It’s not all about the millennials though as 86% of all shoppers own a smart phone and 86% of all shoppers accessed social media during the course of a month. 61% used a search engine to search for a product.

Leading retail and shopper marketing agency, Savvy suggests that the mass adoption of social media and smart phones has fundamentally contributed to a change in the buying cycle

66% of millennial shoppers say they regularly use their smart phone to buy products and nearly half (49%) regularly use their smart phones while in the supermarket. Presently, this group represents around a third of shoppers but are predicted to account for 47% by 2022

Where should you concentrate your marketing efforts?

Often business’ that produce and circulate content can be immersed in what they are doing as a company and what they believe people want to see. It is this “broad brush approach” that’s responsible for the user experience described by almost half of the millennial shoppers. In short “if you market to everybody you market to nobody”.

I’ve heard it said that “if you chase two rabbits you’ll catch neither of them”. This is never more true, than in your content marketing efforts. An approach like this is a bit like the “The Voice”, as you shout out your message while hoping that somebody turns round.

Content can be distributed in so many ways and as a business; you have to work out where your audience hangs out, what content they like to see and how they like to consume it.

This way you get to put out the right message to the right people in the right way. This narrows the field and creates your “tribe” of loyal listeners, readers, followers… and ultimately customers.

As we become more and more comfortable with making online purchases, our hand held devices will inevitably become an even bigger conduit to online purchases and not just the research part of the buying cycle.

Take note of the more recent increase in screen size of the more modern smart phone easing the transition of your PC habits to your hand held device.

Speaking of mobile - 46% of video is consumed on mobile technology. The well drilled have already incorporated this into their marketing. (Facebook live is only on mobile technology.

Who is your audience and where can you find them?

The so called millenials are first up when it comes to mobile communication so its no surprise that the likes of Snapchat currently has over 10 Billion views per day which is for the most part the millennials demographic.

As with Facebook, this trend will change and is doing so as we speak. This image messaging application has been monetised and will more likely increase as an advertising medium as its demographic slowly continues to change.

Live video streaming can capture new audiences and has the ability to condition your audience. However, this method has to be done with regularity, (i.e. set days and times) in order to get the best effect.

A big challenge for companies can be getting their products and services in front of the right people. Often I meet business owners who have a fantastic product and are really good at what they do but they find it challenging to get their message in front of the right people.

Having a steady flow of new / repeat customers is the obviously the life blood of any business and is often the thing that a lot of business owners identify as holding their business back.

By having an understanding of who your ideal customer is, what your customer wants, and where you can find them puts you in pole position to engage them. Couple this with a great proposition and you are now gold!

Being able to demonstrate to your audience that you have what they need and that you're able to solve a problem for them is the key to your success. If you would like to learn more about how you can better connect with your ideal audience and transform your business Click here.