In this quarterly series, we reflect on notable trends in the ever-evolving digital marketing world. What stuck out to us in the second quarter of 2017?
1 Fighting Google and Facebook’s digital ad duopoly
Google and Facebook dominate digital marketing in the U.S. In 2017 it is estimated that they will account for 60% of the U.S. market. Some argue that the two platforms don’t provide enough data, and that the data can’t be compared to data from other platforms. So three ad tech companies (AppNexus, MediaMath, and LiveRamp) are joining forces to create a common cookie with their data in hopes of rivaling Facebook and Google’s data.
2 Stopping the spread of fake news
We have seen that fake news continues to make headlines. Storyful, a video creation company, and Moat, an ad measurement firm, are partnering to launch Open Brand Safety (OBS). This platform monitors misinformation and extremist content by tracking video URLs and web domains. The goal is to create a database that advertisers can reference when looking to avoid advertising on sketchy sites.
3 People love podcasts
A new report found that podcast ad revenue has grown by 85% since last year and is on track to reach more than $220 million in 2017. NPR, which has produced fan favorites Serial and S-Town, is looking into new ways to explore listening metrics.
4 Influencers prefer Instagram
More than 90% of 300 influencers in a recent survey prefer posting content to Instagram over any other social media site. Respondents cited “community” and “opportunity to connect with brands” as reasons for choosing Instagram. Interestingly, 8% of influencers said they want to make YouTube their No. 1 platform next year.
5 Twitter isn’t dead yet
In Q2, Twitter reported that it had added 9 million new users in Q1, bringing its total user base to 328 million tweeps. However, Twitter reported at the end of July that it did not gain any new users in Q2, supporting claims from industry analysts that the platform is heading in the wrong direction.
Be on the lookout for our next quarterly update to see how these trends develop as we move into fall.
