Let’s face it, digital marketing is no easy feat. The playing field is changing fast. Marketers must be able to adapt and execute quickly in order to stay relevant to their buyers. More than a third of CMOs say that digital marketing will account for 75% or more of their spending within the next five years. However, in order to justify this shift in spending there is an increased focus on measuring the impacts that digitial marketing activities have on the bottom line.
Modern marketers are constantly proving the ROI of their marketing efforts through analysis and measurement. While marketers have access to more data than ever before it is becoming increasingly hard to measure the impact. In order to secure marketing budget, marketers must be able to prove ROI. Best practices are constantly being established, challenged, and adapted when it comes to digital marketing as well. As a space, marketers are figuring out what works and what doesn’t through testing and optimization.
As the digital marketing space continues to innovate, so does the way we measure our marketing efforts. CMO by Adobe predicted seven major shifts for marketing measurement in 2016. Here is our take on these trends from an influencer marketing perspective.
1. Brands will take back control of their data
This shift to in-house data management allows brands to be agile and adapt quickly to change. Meaningful insights can be provided to marketers in a more efficient manner. This trend translates into the influencer marketing space as well. By doing in-house influencer marketing it allows brands to quickly identify new or up-and-coming influencers and focus on building long term relationships with them.
2. Agencies will lose the battle to programmatic
Agencies lose the battle when they struggle to adapt. When a major shift in the market occurs agencies need to react promptly in order to stay relevant to their clients. One way agencies can win the battle against this programmatic shift is by bringing influencer marketing on as a service offer. We have many agency partners such as Text 100 andOgilvy who have been very successful offering influencer marketing services to their clients.
3. Marketers will embrace enterprise software solutions
In 2015, spending on enterprise software reached 310 billion dollars and is expected to increase in 2016. Enterprise software solutions solve many of marketers’ biggest pain points while reducing manual processes. The influencer marketing space is no different. The latest edition of the marketing technology landscape supergraphic now has 1,876 vendors represented across 43 categories. Marketing technology is rapidly expanding to meet the growing demand for scalable software solutions.
4. Mobile will reshape brand-to-consumer interactions
Marketers constantly chase where consumers spend their time and it is no secret that mobile has taken over. Mobile digital media time in the US is now significantly higher at 51% compared to desktop (42%). In terms of influencer marketing this often means that the impressions driving business for your brand are happening on mobile. Many of the platforms influencers engage with their audience on are mobile first. Brands can work with influencers in order to have a mobile presence without having a mobile ad spend.
5. Spending patterns will continue to change
Spending habits in the marketing space are changing because there is a shift in the channels that impact ROI. As marketers adapt to these changes we see a decreasing spend on advertisements such as traditional TV ads. This shift is a direct result of the shift in who consumers trust. Consumers trust authoritative content 51% over advertisements or branded content. In order to impact their audience marketers are partnering with influencers who their buyers already trust.
6. Big data hype will blow up
Marketers are prioritizing meaningful insights over the massive collection big data. Much like the marketing industry is overwhelmed with the amount of big data available, marketers executing influencer marketing can be easily overwhelmed with the amount of influencers that exist. Which influencers are the ‘right’ ones to partner with? Who will have the most impact for your brand? The solution to both the big data and influencer selection process are the same, focus on relevance and ignore the rest. Although some influencer marketing campaigns focus on hundreds of influencers, some of the most effective focus on a powerful few.
7. Marketers will demand more tangible results from measurement methods
In order to impact business marketers crave data that truly shows the impact of their efforts. In the influencer marketing space best practices for measurement are being established and tested. Impressions, number of brand mentions, and share-of-voice are all meaningful ways to analyze influencer marketing programs. In order to optimize your influencer marketing you must be able to measure it.
Marketing measurement is a challenging and complex subject. Which of these trends do you agree with?