Yes, we’re already halfway through the year.
But Facebook advertising is always evolving. New products, features, and strategies develop all the time. With that in mind, as an advertiser, it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the exciting opportunities to market your product and brand on the biggest social platform in the world. In this article, I discuss five predictions on Facebook advertising you should know about to conquer 2018.
Prediction #1: Personalized Subscription Products Will Gain More Attention
It’s no secret that shoppers like personalized experiences. It’s also no secret that they like personalized products delivered straight to their door with no fuss. Think Amazon Prime Wardrobe, meal-kit delivery service Blue Apron, and Dollar Shave Club, which all provide a customized subscription box service. These services allow users to easily purchase subscriptions with their mobile devices and indicate the frequency they’d like to receive their personalized boxes.
Millennials in particular are most likely to respond to ads promoting personalized subscription boxes. According to marketing analyst Emarketer, 25 percent of US Internet users who received a subscription box in April 2018 were in the 18 to 29 age range.
While the number of US users that received a subscription box was less than 10 percent, Emarketer also found that 9 in 10 US senior decision-makers believe personalization is crucially important to achieve business goals.
With users wanting personalized experiences in addition to the convenience of delivery, the number of subscription box purchases is going to ramp up. So it’s likely that Facebook ads promoting personalized subscription products will rise in popularity in 2018.
Prediction #2: Messenger Conversations Will Become a Necessity
Customers are on their mobile devices all the time. They’re usually streaming, browsing, using apps, or scrolling through their News Feeds. Or they’re using the Facebook Messenger app to engage in conversations with friends.
Facebook has been encouraging businesses to use Messenger for building customer relationships. Whether it’s to address a complaint, confirm business hours, or answer questions related to the business or product, Messenger conversations are great for customer service experiences. Since customers carry their mobile devices wherever they go, they’re more receptive to seamless conversations to address their needs. And as more and more customers use mobile for their business needs, it’s predicted that Messenger will become a bigger resource for Facebook advertising in 2018.
Prediction #3: Influencers Will Become Integral to Marketing Strategies
If you don’t already work with an influencer for your brand, it’s highly recommended that you look into it. Influencers are the bridge between brand and customer. They have a special connection with their followers, so when they work with you to market your brand, their followers are more receptive to the message. We typically see them on Instagram and Snapchat, but influencers are also prominent on Facebook.
A great number of influencers started on YouTube, expanding to other social media platforms like Facebook. They have been able to maintain a strong following wherever they go. Examples of major influencers with a significant number of Facebook page likes are El Rubius (6.9 million likes), Dude Perfect (18.7 million likes), and King Bach (9.4 million likes). Television celebrities like Will Smith (77.5 million likes) are also powerful influencers with a massive Facebook following.
Partnering with influencers for your Facebook advertising campaign is becoming more of a must as other advertisers invest more in influencer marketing. According to another Emarketer analysis, 70 percent of US agency and brand marketers indicated at the end of last year intent to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2018. If other advertisers are doing it, in order to stay competitive, you need to find ways to include influencer marketing in your 2018 Facebook advertising strategy.
Prediction #4: More Facebook Ads Will Be in Video Format
Video ad formats are effectively engaging. They are more creative, informative, and compelling than static formats. According to Wordstream, 45 percent of users watch more than an hour of Facebook videos weekly. Eighty-seven percent of online marketers use video in their advertising strategies. Video ads are widely used because they work and deliver results.
Users primarily watch video on their mobile devices. In fact, statistics show that more than half of video content is watched on mobile. Additionally, 92 percent of mobile viewers share videos they watch with other users. As emerging technologies continue to make the video-making experience more seamless and creative, video ads are expected to be predominant in 2018 Facebook advertising.
Prediction #5: All Facebook Ads Will Be More Transparent
Facebook’s recent efforts to improve user privacy on its platform in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal include transparency. In recent months, the company has revealed updates and products that will make ads more transparent on Facebook. Political ads in particular will be clearly labeled as “Political Ad,” with “paid for by” information also included. The ultimate goal is to let users know exactly what they are looking at and to decrease the prominence of “fake news” and clickbait on social media.
Now pages also need to go through a verification process in order to continue sharing posts. Facebook is doing this to ensure no fake accounts fall through the cracks. Also, making sure all pages offer only quality experiences is part of Facebook’s new goal for the platform. There will therefore be more steps you need to go through to make sure your page and Facebook ads comply with the platform’s transparency stipulations.
As a result of this new focus on transparency, Facebook ads in 2018 and going forward will have a different feel to them. They will feel more honest and trustworthy. Yes, you will need to spend a little more time making sure your ads meet the necessary requirements according to Facebook’s terms. But the final result may drive more customers to your business because of authenticity.
Conclusion
In this article, we covered five predictions on Facebook advertising for 2018:
- Personalized subscription products will gain more attention
- Messenger conversations will become a necessity
- Influencers will become integral to marketing strategies
- More Facebook ads will be in video format
- All Facebook ads will be more transparent
Facebook advertising is ever-changing, so none of these predictions are set in stone. But we can say for certain that the future is exciting, and 2018 has already given us a lot to look forward to.
