Last week the highly respected research agency Millward Brown International published Digital & Media Predictions for 2013.

Both the No1 and No2 trends concern Feedback closely so we thought we would share our POV with our friends and followers.

No 1 – Facebook’s monetization drive will provide new, richer advertising opportunities

“The drive for effective and revenue-generating advertising will draw on its powerful social ecosystem, pushing the creative formats and placements far away from the ads we see today. With these new opportunities will come increased responsibility for advertisers to deliver quality content that enhances the user experience rather than invades the platform. Brands will need to tread carefully as they explore these new opportunities…targeted advertising may cause resentment, unless brands deliver engaging content that is appropriate for this personal space.” Martin Ash

Absolutely and inevitable. Being able to judge what to say, when to say it and how to engage to people in digital communities is core to what we at Feedback do every day. Normative values for different types of advertising are developing rapidly allowing us to assess campaign effectiveness then change placement and messaging instantly leading to improved effectiveness. Those seeking the best conversions should be ready to get involved, this type of communication is more hands on than what they are used to. Agencies beware, simply taking press ad’s resizing and formatting isn’t the answer. It is a personal space and knowing how a brand can fit into that environment or contribute to it is critical. Advertisers who get it right will enhance the Facebook experience and benefit, the others risk alienating themselves and users. From past form we expect a minority of vocal Facebook users to protest but even they will get onboard rather than risk becoming a social leper. In general the adoption pattern of Facebook users is that they quickly become accustomed to the changes and will self select or filter advertising just like they do in every other medium.

No 2 – Social Media Listening Evolves

“The current generation of technology can help aggregate the data, but it is not yet effective at assessing more subjective aspects. Social data can start to inform business decisions more broadly across organizations, but it’s only meaningful if it’s cleaned, designed and analyzed in a way that makes it actionable and comparable to other measures. Human discretion is still needed to evaluate the source, quality, and value of results. To find true insight in social data, brands will require a new iteration of social listening that is less focused on fast feedback, and more on reliable research.” Anne Czernek

Dashboard analytics provide convenience and a way to manage the vast quantity of data but marketers in search of actionable insights need to dig deeper and ask ‘why?’ Identifying patterns is becoming more complex with: the increasing number of platforms; the evolution of different visual communities like Instagram/PInterest/Tumblr and increasing number of ‘private’ networks. This is likely to challenge the way the insight budget is allocated and agency rosters since specialist providers who pioneer new techniques are needed. The digital behaviours developing in these online communities are profound and extend to all aspects of consumers lives and decision making. Brands and their agencies therefore need to take great care in developing communication strategies with social media messaging and content that will ‘earn‘ them exposure.