The internet marketing landscape continues to twist and turn its way into prosperity. Marketing departments understand their tried-and-true tactics no longer generate the level of ROI most executives expect from their teams. This generates demand for alternative methods to drive profits higher. Brafton reported on Nielsen’s Q1 Global Adview Pulse Lite study that noted paid advertising investments increased at a much slower rate of 1.9 percent year-over-year to start off 2013. This metric further suggests that brands have begun to show interest in other marketing areas, focusing on building sentiment before demanding more website conversions.
Another report from Nielsen, “2013 Online Advertising Performance Outlook,” found that 63 percent of marketers plan to increase resources for online brand advertising, with 20 percent saying their budgets will grow by more than 20 percent. In fact, marketers are transitioning their budgets to embrace digital channels. Forty-eight percent of brands will shift dollars from television into online video content creation, and almost 70 percent will boost spend on social media marketing and mobile content marketing.
Even with higher allocations for online marketing, brands face frequent challenges with how to measure content ROI, despite an increase in use of analytics software for stronger campaign tracking. Sixty-nine percent of marketers indicated they want improved clarity around the ROI from brand advertising, and they use content analytics to gauge sales (78 percent) and brand lift (55 percent). When brands see conversions rise in tandem with sentiment toward products and services, they often feel more confident in decisions to distribute resource toward somewhat new, experimental marketing practices.
As marketers focus on cultivating web real estate to inspire loyalty and awareness, digital channels that broadcast custom video content or networks that spark social chatter can become companies’ greatest allies. The more high-quality and engaging media brands pump onto the ‘net, the more likely they’ll reach their audience and continue to get their names in front of impressionable prospects.
