In order to reach the right audience with the right content at the right time, paid media has become one of the crucial marketing aspects today. Optimization tools are getting more and more advanced as everyone’s craving the best ROI from their investment in ad campaigns. Compared to traditional marketing and digital marketing, paid media offers instant results and traffic, and thus, digital advertising is getting essential for all businesses. Whether you are offering a digital product, services, or physical products, with paid media, businesses can enjoy immense benefits when implemented properly.

Let’s walk you through what paid media industry has now in store for us and the latest trends to help one move towards efficacy in future planning models.

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Latest trends in paid & earned media

1. The rise of ML & AI

AI acts as the basis for all computer learning and depicts the future of all sophisticated decision-making. A recent report discovered that about 80% of IT leaders say that ML and AI drastically transform customer engagement, while 69% of them say that it is changing the way they do business. AI is proving to be a worthwhile marketing tool, and several media channels have started to adopt it. Machine learning strategies such as Google Smart Bidding to lower advertising costs, automate bid strategies, and minimize manual input would be the top favorites. With AI, one can forecast CTR and conversion, effectively target customers, and drive innovative decisions for campaigns. Thus, marketers will shift from reactive to proactive tactics to generate more qualified leads.

2. Elimination of third-party cookies

As Google’s intentions to eliminate third-party cookies in the future have become known to the world, the online advertising industry is continuously evolving. As more consumers use social media across different channels and shop online, third-party cookies have become a crucial aspect of several advertising attempts. Now, the focus is on producing and keeping a qualitative first-party database. In addition to this, enterprises will use comprehensive data organization platforms that bring different technologies together so the advertising teams can garner the results they need. To gain, share, and act on the data and insights, you must have the integrations such as Google Analytics, CRM, and DMP (Data Management Platform).

3. The conversion API

iOS14 update in 2021 is no secret. It had a massive impact on the sector of Facebook marketing. As people are coming to realize it, more and more people will resort to conversion API to backtrack better results within Facebook. In the beginning, this wasn’t an easy task to do. The majority of the businesses use skilled developers to get the conversion API into the system and make it work. However, now luckily, there are various workarounds. For instance, Facebook itself provides different methods when setting up the pixel.

4. Gaming platforms will reign discovery & display

In the entertainment sector, gaming has established itself quite quickly and strongly, which also leads in terms of revenue. As per the research, video game advertising has grown by 17% by 2021. Advergaming, banners, and audio advertising are all good options. Businesses can consider investing in ownership rights for advertising pursuits, go for product placements, fund branded elements, or craft fully branded games. For in-game advertising, the video would be a key format. Brands can also include IGA content such as rewarded and pre-roll videos.

5. UGC (user-generated content) is taking over

UGC is basically video content (it can be pictures sometimes). However, instead of being created by brands, this content is created by customers. These can be product reviews, testimonial videos, unboxing videos, product demos, etc. Think TikTok videos of creators and influencer content on Instagram sharing products. UGC should be a focal point for marketers and advertisers in 2022, as it is favored due to its authenticity.

6. Animation

Product animations, cartoon animation, and even animating a still image make some of the most effective animated ads. When it comes to advertising, curating stand-out content and ads is the key. Every ad’s goal is to stop and grab a potential customer while they are randomly scrolling through their feed and make them interact with your brand. Good animated video will more possibly stand unique among other types of video created by other marketers running on Instagram and Facebook.

Using paid and earned media strategy offers the businesses the potential to capitalize on unique targeting capabilities and then engage a sizable audience. By following the above trends in your paid media campaigns on social media, you can get a step ahead of your competitors. Start by building a solid strategy and elaborately defining the KPIs. Then, proceed to experiment with different social media platforms and find the ones that suit your business the best.

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