Forrester predicts that in 2016, US advertisers will spend more on digital advertising than TV ads. Interactive marketing spend (email marketing, social media, display advertising and search marketing) will be 30% of marketing budgets (up from 24% in 2014).
Whether you are a start-up, a small business, or a business that is well-established, you should give yourself the gift of an interactive marketing strategy in 2016.
An October 2015 study by Pew Research Center found that 65 percent of American adults surveyed use social networking sites. Without social media as part of your interactive plan, you miss delivering your message to two-thirds of the U.S. population!!
Already rockin’ a social media plan? Awesome. Go you!
Let’s talk Facebook. In 2015, Facebook was the only platform to see a drop in active usage (-9% per the chart below). As Facebook fine-tunes their ad machine, organic growth is almost dead, so efforts on this network seem to be for not. In fact, several articles are calling for a move away from Facebook.
*Global Web Index – social-q1-summary-report
But not so fast! Facebook is still the largest social media platform with 1.55 Billion users. YouTube is in second place with 1 Billion. All other platforms are in the millions. So rather than move away from it entirely, we suggest you pay attention and leverage your audience.
Gone are the days of random posts and sporadic efforts. You need a strategy to maximize your investment. Your strategy should include content, consistency, connection and currency (advertising spend). With the right approach you can:
- Maximize your spend
- Reach new customers
- Grow your overall interactive reach
As an example, right now, L’Amour Des Pieds (one of our clients) is running a contest, which is a great way to connect. The marketing goal was to increase e-newsletter subscription, so we used a boosted post on Facebook to promote sign-ups.
Entering the contest is easy:
- Like the L’Amour Des Pieds Facebook page
- Sign up for their e-newsletter on lamourdespieds.com
- Follow L’Amour Des Pieds Instagram (@lamourdespieds)
The contest ends today at 5 p.m. and the email database has already tripled! It goes to show what a focused strategy can accomplish.
Do you have your interactive marketing strategy for 2016? The ‘Porch is ready to help you rock it!