Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Now that Facebook has gone public and some of the air has leaked out of the inflated IPO balloon, will the company begin looking for alternate sources of revenue? This seems likely as major advertisers like General Motors are pulling their paid ads from the site. Analysts expect one new Facebook strategy will be search and Google executives are already preparing for this eventuality which means that marketers should be ready for changes in the search and social space.

Look out, amateurs musicians and stuntmen. The professionals are ready to take over the world of YouTube. As Google, the owner of YouTube, seeks to turn the popular site into an advertising powerhouse, it will be rolling out new content and courting marketers in a big way.

Today’s shoppers appear content to browse websites and order everything from shoes to books without ever leaving home. But there are also consumers who are frustrated by the poorly fitting shoes they ordered online and consumers who are just wandering by a bricks and mortar store. It is these shoppers that retailers hope to reach with their geo-fencing strategies.

Because social media is still proving its worth to many marketers, there is no shortage of new studies emphasizing the various strengths of the format. Earlier this month, Market Force set up a survey to determine whether consumers can be influenced to buy products as a result of marketers’ social media posts. The findings may surprise some marketers.

Consumers are spending more time on social games these days. And, whenever consumers begin to change where they are directing their media time, markets pay attention. Analysts believe that more companies will be advertising in social games which means the format is moving from the fringe into the mainstream.

Healthcare marketers, especially pharmaceutical companies, have a love-hate relationship with social media. Consumers have made searching and talking about health problems one of the top online categories. But healthcare providers have been hesitant about engaging in social media because of privacy concerns and the need to provide full disclosure with respect to medication.