CMOs Forecast a 15.1% Increase in Digital Marketing Spending in 2018

 

Key Takeaway:

CMOs are continuing to increase digital marketing budgets while decreasing traditional advertising budgets. In fact, the research shows that the forecasted 15.1% increase is the largest increase in digital marketing budgets in the past 6 years that the survey has been conducted. (Source: The CMO Survey)

How do your numbers compare? If you’re not planning to increase digital marketing spending this year, be aware that some of your competitors may be coming for your hard-earned ad space and organic search rankings. Whether you plan to increase digital marketing budgets or not, make sure you’re staying on top of best practices in order to remain competitive. If you don’t have someone in-house who is a pro in the digital marketing space, consider teaming up with an agency.

Key Takeaway:

From 2008 to 2017, Facebook usage grew from 8% to 67%. Then in 2018, that number dipped to 62%. (Source: Edison Research) As for Facebook advertising metrics, in Q4 of 2017, the platform had an average CPM of $3.77, the average CPC was $0.27, and the average CTR was 1.42%, according to a benchmark report by AdStage.

To be sure, Facebook is still the most widely-used social media platform in America, but some of the smaller social sites are definitely picking up steam, especially with the younger demographics. In fact, Snapchat is expected to draw more new users in the 12-24 age bracket than Instagram in 2018, according to a forecast from eMarketer. Ultimately, the decision of how many advertising dollars to allocate to each of the social media platforms should depend on your unique brand, customer data and overall goals.

Key Takeaway:

As one of the world’s largest exchanges for digital third-party data, this recent news from Lotame highlights the prevalence of bots and fake accounts across the internet. (Source: AdWeek)

This issue of bot traffic has been in the forefront of the minds of consumers and company leaders since 2016, when the internet saw a rapid increase in bot traffic. Accurate website data is important to business owners; it is this data that often drives important business decisions. So how does one go about ensuring they have clean website data? The first, and easiest way to remove bot traffic from your Google Analytics data is to simply go into the admin settings and check the box that says “Exclude all hits from known bots and spiders”.

There are other, more advanced tips and tricks to excluding bot traffics from your Google Analytics data. If you have a specific question as it relates to your site, drop us a line and we can help you get to the bottom of it.

Key Takeaway:

The cost of advertising on Instagram has been steadily increasing as more advertisers enter the space. In terms of CPC, 2017 ended with an average CPC of $2.62, 80% higher than Q3. (Source: AdStage)

Curious how many brands are advertising on Instagram? There are approximately 2 millions monthly active advertisers competing for space. And if you’re one of those brands, you’ve likely been feeling the impact of the increased competition on your advertising dollars. Here are some basic tips on Instagram advertising:

  • take the time to learn your Instagram demographics
  • advertising costs fluctuate depending on many factors including mobile device targeting, demographics, time of day, and holidays
  • choose the right marketing objectives for your Instagram ads
  • make sure you select ‘edit placements’ and choose only Instagram, to keep your Facebook and Instagram statistics separate
  • carefully select your audience, focusing on your most engaged and active audience
  • remember that success is often achieved through trial and error

Key Takeaway:

Along with this decrease in CPM, the Google Display Network also saw CPCs decline during Q4 by 6.5%, to an average of an average of $0.58. Meanwhile the average CTRs increased slightly to an average of 0.45%. (Source: AdStage)

With a variety of newer advertising platforms having entered the market in the past several years, many companies have been reducing their spend on Google Display advertising. So if you’re looking for ways to advertise efficiently, don’t forget about the classic platforms like Google Display and Search advertising.

Need help with your digital marketing? Contact us today.

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