We take a look at some of the biggest challenges for 2019 and how smart businesses can work around them.

There were a ton of changes in digital marketing in 2018 – some bad and some good. And ready or not, we need to learn from those changes and hit the ground running in 2019. So let’s take a look at the biggest  issues that you should consider for your 2019 digital marketing strategy.

Data Privacy

The fight for data privacy had a HUGE impact on people and businesses alike in 2018. Not only did we see new regulations but also a crazy amount of data breaches and scandals.

GDPR

European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulations ( GDPR ) was released in March of 2018 and will continually require changes in how data is stored and accessed for digital products used by EU citizens.

Make sure that you are in compliance if your business is involved in sales of products, goods, or services to EU citizens. Businesses that are found to be in noncompliance can face fines and penalties. This means ensuring that your data is stored securely, provide ways for customers to delete their data from your systems, and that you provide contact information for those with questions or requests.

Facebook

Facebook has come under tremendous fire in 2018. The largest outcry coming over the Cambridge Analytica breach that affected 87 million facebook users and resulted in the notification of all 2 billion+ users for protecting their information. With other breaches and exploits reported throughout the year and congressional hearing to boot, you can start to see how this issue could affect your digital marketing strategy for 2018.

Facebook has come under tremendous fire in 2018. The largest outcry coming over the Cambridge Analytica breach that affected 87 million facebook users and resulted in the notification of all 2 billion+ users for protecting their information. With other breaches and exploits reported throughout the year and congressional hearing to boot, you can start to see how this issue could affect your digital marketing strategy for 2018.

All of the breaches and scandals have contributed to the migration of user’s away from the Facebook platform itself, if not from Facebook as a company and ad platform ( ahem – Instagram ). Businesses may be advised to adjust their ad spends accordingly to target other social platforms ( ahem – Instagram ).

Ad Blocker Resistance

Another result of the data privacy issues is the increase in the use of ad blockers. If you are not familiar with the term, an ad blocker is a service, browser, extension, or software that prevents advertisements from showing up on a users browser or application. This makes it harder for businesses to target and reach their ideal target audience.

Don’t worry, PPC and other digital ads are still going to be a major part of digital marketing strategies in 2019. It is something to be aware of and is most likely to impact businesses who have a target market consisting of younger audience groups ( 16 – 34 ) as they are typically more data privacy aware.

How do you target consumers who use ad blockers?

If your audience is indeed in that demographic you may be well advised to adjust your PPC strategy. Here are a couple of ideas that might help.

PPC – Search Network

Ad blockers are primarily effective against display and video advertising. They are typically much less effective on search networks. And google likely had well over two trillion searches submitted in 2018.

Native Advertisements

A native advertising is basically a paid article or video that doesn’t really look like an ad. Instead, the content looks like it belongs on the platform or channel that the user is on.

When using native advertisements you would typically source websites, blogs, networks, or even youtube channels that match the interest of your target audience. You would then pay that blog, network or channel to display or create content on your behalf that matches their voice, visual style, and other characteristics of their normal ( native ) content.

Video Sponsorship and Influencers

Video is going to be a BIG player in the digital marketing space for 2019. Businesses can use this to their advantage by sponsoring content creators and influencers that their target audiences consume. By placing their promotion within the video itself and not as a displayed ad you can still be seen and heard as it is part of the content itself.

Here are a couple of ways you can use video sponsorships and influencers:

• Video lead in product promotions and mentions
• Video outro product promotions and mentions
• Product placement
• Product reviews

New Google Ads Features to Look Out For in 2019

New is good right? Google has released a number of new features and changes last year and will continue to roll these changes out in 2019. And yes, these new features are good but will still require you to make some tough decisions.

Dynamic Ads

Google rolled out dynamic ads in 2019. Dynamic ads basically apply keywords and phrases dynamically into the title copy for your ads. This can be very helpful if you have a large inventory of ads or are simply missing out on some keyword opportunities.

In our tests we have found dynamic ads to be pretty effective at obtaining solid click through rates. But you will need to monitor them closely and keep an eye on your conversions. After all a high click through rate that doesn’t convert isn’t a good thing.

Local Ads with Shopping and Contextual Shopping

In 2019 you will start to see a ton of  new features come out for Google Business and location based ads. Business that take advantage of these new opportunities have a great opportunity to stand out from the competition.

Growth in Alternative Ad Networks

Google has dominated the digital ad space and will continue to do so in 2019. However, do not discount the capabilities of alternative ad networks as they can often provide big wins for your business. Bing and Yahoo search are likely to be the biggest winners in this space.

Why should you consider Bing / Yahoo Search in your digital marketing efforts?

There are many reasons to consider adding Bing / Yahoo ads to your digital marketing plan this year. But here are some of the biggest.

Bing and Yahoo Searches

Thanks to the agreement in 2015 you can create and manage ads for both search engines. The number of raw searches on the two engines are still much less than Google, but depending on your target audience you can still have some solid return on investment for your ad spend.

LinkedIn Profile Targeting

If you are in the B2B or Human Capital space you may want to consider a good dose of Bing Ads. In October of 2018, Bing announced their beta integration of using LinkedIn profile data for targeting ads. This could allow for some pretty solid targeting of your B2B or HR ads.

Is your digital marketing plan ready for 2019?

Whether your answer is yes, no, or maybe – Fuzzy Duck can help. Setup a free consultation and let us review your digital marketing strategy and plan for the new year!