5 Digital Marketing Predictions For 2015

Every January over on Moz’s blog, Rand Fishkin makes a set of predictions about digital marketing for the upcoming year. These posts are fun, interesting, relevant and valuable, which is everything you want content to be in 2015. Since we like the idea of pushing ourselves to think outside the box, we’re going to publish WSI’s 2015 digital marketing predictions. Rand’s been at it since 2010, so he has the experience and track record, but we have a different perspective, which hopefully adds something new to the exercise.

To keep us honest, here’s how we’ll score the predictions when we look back next year:

Oracle (+2) – when we’re so right it’s like we channeled that nice lady from The Matrix

Oracle In-Training (+1) – we didn’t quite see the whole picture, but hey, we still saw the future

Clear As Mud (0) – we weren’t right, but we weren’t wrong, either

Just A Bit Outside (-1) – we tried to paint the corner of the plate, but the ump didn’t give us the call

Swing And A Miss (-2) – like a batter who expects fastball and gets a curve, we weren’t close

In next year’s post, we’ll tally the results. If the score is positive, we’ll jump for joy and buy doughnuts for the office. If the score is negative, we’ll put our tail between our legs and go back to the drawing board. Here we go:

#1: Honesty And Transparency Will Be Strategically Implemented And Statistically Measured

As straggling brands begin to realize that the balance of the business-to-customer relationship has shifted to the customer, 2015 will see everybody scrambling to promote honesty and transparency within their marketing. The problem with this is that it’s not very honest or transparent to pretend that your business has been a proponent of transparency…unless it’s the truth. Rather than trying to shout about honesty, smart marketers will begin to work transparency into the fabric of their strategies in hopes that consumers will notice on their own. The hard part for many marketers will be resisting the urge to spoon-feed messages of ‘honesty and transparency’ to their audiences; if you’re authentically honest and transparent, you’ll be able to measure it with your bottom line.

#2: Global Social Ad Spending Will Increase By Over Two Billion Dollars In 2015

That’s right, two BILLION dollars. In reality, the numbers suggest that a one billion dollar increase in social ad spending in 2015 isn’t much of a stretch, but we think the increase is going to shatter the projections. Why? Well, we sort of touched on it in our Social Ads: How To Make A Big Difference With A Small Amount post. Social ads are cheap and effective, but for some reason, that fact has remained a secret (or been ignored). In 2015 however, more brands, small businesses, and even freelancers will realize that social ads are an affordable marketing option. We expect social ad spend in 2015 to reflect this collective realization.

#3: Google+ Won’t Die