PREDICTIONS - the LSA · 2018-01-03 · PREDICTIONS 2018 This year was big for voice search, AI and and virtual assistants. Amazon’s Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Cyber

PREDICTIONS2018

PREDICTIONS2018

LOCATION-BASED MARKETING,ADVERTISING & COMMERCE PREDICTIONS

FROM AROUND THE INDUSTRY

PREDICTIONS2018

This year was big for voice search, AI and and virtual assistants. Amazon’s Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Cyber Monday. Similarly, Google is focused on delivering “answers” in search results (via featured snippets). These developments have made schema markup and ranking for “position 0” common discussions within the search community.

Location intelligence has also continued making the online-to-offline purchase path more transparent. From cost-per-visit campaign models to location data standards, the industry has made significant progress in 2017. And many experts feel that retail has the most to gain from location intelligence in 2018.

Other topics to watch in 2018 are SMB SaaS and CRM adoption, automation, chatbots, data privacy and security, and much more.

We asked agencies, publishers, martech providers and advertisers to tell us what they expect in 2018. By the deadline, we received many more predictions than we could publish. We’ve grouped a large number of them into several categories to make them easier to consume:

Which predictions do you agree with? Which ones are off the mark? Many of these topics and themes will also be on the agenda at LSA18, April 30 - May 2 in Chicago.

Whatever you think of their accuracy, the views and opinions in this document collectively reflect that dramatic changes are happening in the market.

INTRODUCTION

• Digital Marketing & Advertising

• Local Search

• Location Intelligence

• Marketing Strategy

• MarTech

• National-to-Local

• Retail

• SMB

PREDICTIONS2018

Intro .......................................................................................................................... 2Digital Marketing & Advertising ................................................................. 4Gyi Tsakalakis ................................AttorneySync ................................................ 5Anna Chandler ..............................Go Local Interactive .................................... 6Andrew Shotland ..........................Local SEO Guide .......................................... 7Hannah Will ...................................Location3 ...................................................... 8Nevyana Karakasheva .................OptiLocal....................................................... 9Melissa Palmer ..............................RevLocal ........................................................ 10Michael Rivero ..............................Surefire Local ................................................ 11Local Search......................................................................................................... 12Bernadette Coleman ....................Advice Local ................................................. 13Lee Auerbach .................................Chatmeter ..................................................... 14Garrett Sussman ...........................Grade.us ........................................................ 15Michael Hodgdon .........................Infront Webworks ........................................ 16Amir Alsayegh ...............................Location3 ...................................................... 17Alex Porter .....................................Location3 ...................................................... 18Wences Garcia ..............................MarketGoo ................................................... 19David Markov ................................Surefire Local ................................................ 20Luke Fitzgerald ..............................Wolfgang Digital .......................................... 21Abbey Meixelsperger ..................Yellow Page Control ..................................... 22Chad Richard .................................Yelp ................................................................ 23Megan Hannay ..............................ZipSprout ...................................................... 24Location Intelligence ....................................................................................... 25Gil Larsen ........................................Blis ................................................................. 26Antonio Tomarchio.......................Cuebiq ........................................................... 27Valentina Marastoni-Bieser ..........Cuebiq ........................................................... 28Ocean Fine .....................................Factual .......................................................... 29Steven Rosenblatt ........................Foursquare .................................................... 30 Nicole Reyhle ................................Retail Minded ............................................... 31Brian Handly ..................................Reveal Mobile ............................................... 32Rob Murphy ...................................Swirl ............................................................... 33Ran Ben-Yair ..................................Ubimo ............................................................ 34Gilad Amitai ...................................Ubimo ............................................................ 35Marketing Strategy ........................................................................................... 36Colleen Harris ................................CDK Global ................................................... 37Frost Prioleau ................................Simpli.fi.......................................................... 38Brett Kohn ......................................Thinknear ...................................................... 39

Kris Barton .....................................Gannett | USA Today Network ................... 40Paul Dughi ......................................WAAY-TV | Heartland Media ..................... 41Itai Sadan ........................................Duda .............................................................. 42Rev Ciancio ....................................Yext ................................................................ 43MarTech ................................................................................................................. 44Marc Poirier ...................................Acquisio ......................................................... 45Kelly Shelton ..................................Boostability .................................................. 46Manish Patel ..................................Brandify ......................................................... 47Gil Elbaz ..........................................Factual .......................................................... 48Gideon Rubin .................................Local Data Exchange ................................... 49Jim Halligan ....................................Location3 ...................................................... 50Jara Moser ......................................Nuvolum ....................................................... 51Josha Benner .................................uberall ........................................................... 52Bryan ...............................................Web.com ....................................................... 53Duane Forrester ............................Yext ................................................................ 54National-to-Local .............................................................................................. 55Tzvi Grosman .................................DAC Group ................................................... 56Andrew Thorn ...............................DigitalMaas .................................................. 57Todd Dipaola ..................................inMarket ........................................................ 58Joshua Allen ...................................Location3 ...................................................... 59Tim McLain ....................................Netsertive ..................................................... 60Eli Portnoy ......................................Sense360 ...................................................... 61Retail ....................................................................................................................... 62Bill Nagel .........................................Netsertive ..................................................... 63Jeffrey Dungen ..............................reelyActive .................................................... 64Rich Sutton .....................................Skyhook ......................................................... 65Farzin Espahani .............................Solution21 .................................................... 66SMB ........................................................................................................................ 67Solomon Thimothy .......................Clickx ............................................................. 68Matthew Baker .............................FreshBooks ................................................... 69Lorenzo Pireddu............................GotU .............................................................. 70Pete Nicholls ..................................HubDo ........................................................... 71Stephanie Hooper ........................Infront Webworks ........................................ 72Tricia Jo Score ................................Mono Solutions ............................................ 73David Mihm ...................................Tidings ........................................................... 74Josh Porath ....................................Txtrider .......................................................... 75

PREDICTIONS2018

DIGITAL MARKETING & ADVERTISING

DIGITAL MARKETING & ADVERTISING 2018

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More Paid Local Ads in 2018 I predict we’ll see more paid local ads in a variety of forms. Hopefully, this will come with more control of paid local listings (i.e. managing to local pack positions). I also predict more adoption of Facebook Local. Recommendations from people we know, as opposed to random Yelp power users, will have much more value. I predict this will eventually be monetized too.

Gyi TsakalakisFounder


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Google’s Improved Attribution Metrics to Move Marketers Beyond Last-Click Models

Google Attribution will have the greatest impact on local in 2018 because it will allow marketers to use and understand user information across the sales funnel and across channels to better advertise to their local customers than has been previously possible. The model uses machine learning to understand how different touch points increase the likelihood of conversion, taking local search far beyond the current, inaccurate last-click conversion model.

Anna ChandlerSEO Manager


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Embrace Fragmentation Even as Google, Facebook and other large players consolidate their lock on the bulk of local queries and ad inventory, there will continue to be valuable opportunities for smaller players to focus on massive (and not-so-massive) underserved niches in the local marketing space.

Here are some specific predictions:

1. There number of articles on “how to optimize for voice search” will grow exponentially even as the number of methodologies for optimizing for voice search will stay basically flat at “answer questions clearly”

2. Google will rebrand “Google My Business” to “Google’s Business” to better align with its pay-to-play strategy

3. Facebook will keep devouring share in local search and continue to attract more and more SMB ad dollars

4. Apple Business Chat will be a yuge opportunity for multi-location brands and by the end of 2018 will start to see penetration at the SMB level. It will usher in the WeChat-ification of the US while Android fanboys will not be able to resist bitching that “Google has been able to do that for years.”

Andrew ShotlandSEO


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Growth in Facebook Business Recommendations

Facebook’s new business recommendations will account for 35% of the business review market share, taking away a large amount of business from Yelp.

Hannah WillAssociate Account Director


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Monetization of Local Packs to Expand Beyond Home Services into More Categories Google will proceed towards monetizing the local packs in all local verticals. With the local packs for home service providers going all paid and then spreading those Home Service Ads to a broader range of service area businesses, it won’t be long until Google begins monetizing on all local businesses.

The pay-to-play access factor to the 1st page in Google will become universal throughout all local verticals and pretty soon paid online marketing will be a crucial SEO service that local businesses should invest in in order to be visible on page 1 for their keywords.

What that means for businesses is that they should double down on their strategy towards client retention and encouraging word-of-mouth as means of compensating for the higher barrier to entry to page 1 of Google SERPs. Channeling the digital efforts towards keeping current customers engaged as to reorder or refer the business to their peers, as well as ensuring optimum online business profile while avoiding citation inconsistency will be among the major things to keep an eye on for the local businesses.

Nevyana KarakashevaManaging Partner


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Emphasis on Organic Search Rankings Will Decline as Ads Dominate SERPs

The shift has already begun. Consumers are more and more focused on instant results, finding answers and getting what they want immediately. This means that making sure your business is optimized for local search will be more important than ever.

As Google continues to move its focus to local search ads, local listings and now an introduction to new Local Services Ads, the all-important real estate at the top of the search results page will become even more coveted than it has been in past years, soaring to the top of everyone’s priorities lists.

The emphasis on organic search rankings will diminish as the local three-pack and local product and service ads will dominate the top of the page. For these reasons, all businesses will need to have a mobile friendly webpage, correct and complete directory listings, and be ready to serve local services and local inventory ads.

Melissa PalmerDirector of Corporate Marketing


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Instagram to Become the Most Valuable Social Platform in 2018

No doubt in my mind that Instagram will become the most valuable social media platform in 2018. As of 2017 they reported a total of 800M users each month, in the past few months they have implemented multiple tools to engage more customers, increase leads and they’ve facilitated selling online with their direct purchase and call to action buttons.

Michael RiveroAccount Manager


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LOCAL SEARCH

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Map Listings Will Drive the Future of Local Search

In the good ‘ole days, online maps were something you generated and printed off your computer to get turn-by-turn directions to your favorite local business. GPS then changed the game by instantly bringing directions to drivers through devices like Garmin and services like Onstar. Map apps on mobile devices took things a step further by providing simple, on-the-go directions to the average driver’s fingertips.

Today, it seems the first thing most drivers do is pull up directions to their destination via various types of mapping technology – e.g. mobile devices, in-dash navigation systems, or even solutions like Apple CarPlay. Having immediate access to turn-by-turn directions has become more than a luxury: it’s a necessity in today’s fast-paced world.

As proximity continues to narrow and the use of mobile search on-the-go rapidly rises, optimized map listings will play an even larger role in determining which businesses a consumer visits. While submitting business data to the major data providers and maintaining accurate listings on directories around the web, businesses will also need to start improving trust, accuracy, and optimization if they want to thrive in this modern society. The future of search is ever-changing, and the businesses that adapt will be the survivors.

Bernadette ColemanCEO

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Augmented Local Search My prediction that with the rise of virtual reality (VR) and the fall of Google Glass, there will be a hybrid that shows reality merged with local businesses. From organic displays to advertising, the online will merge with reality and enter the new world of shopping. Bar code scanners in the glasses, along with facetime and Amazon price matching. Using your fingers to shop will be so 2017. Your eyes will do all of the heavy lifting.

Lee AuerbachVP

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Informational vs. Social (a.k.a. Google vs. Facebook)

2017 has been fun for local. And now, it feels like there’s a bit of a space-race in local between Google and Facebook. The interesting thing about it is that they’re coming at the issue from two completely different paradigms. Google aims to be useful, practical, efficient. Facebook wants to be social. Google’s knowledge panel is objectively helpful. Facebook’s recommendations are based on your social network for the most parts (and the things that you’ve liked).

I predict this year we’ll see a continued maturation of both networks (with its knowledge graphs, Google is very much a network). They will both become more effective in the ways that they’re designed to be effective.

For Google, that might mean more high quality local results - a better understanding of what you objectively are searching for. Google is going to continue replacing lead-gen and other middleman companies with their own booking services. For Facebook, that will mean more social discovery and connection - a stronger offline to online connection between Facebook and the community.

And finally, naturally there will continue to be emerging networks, that tackle local from other unique perspectives. Thus, when businesses are marketing to local, they need to be prepared for the opportunities and take advantage of the features being added to these networks helping them to succeed.

Garrett SussmanContent Marketing Manager

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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The Year of the Featured Snippet or 0 Position

With the more results showing up for the “featured snippets” in Google SERP’s, the momentum will move local in 2018. Local website owners will do themselves justice by answering common local questions, related to their products or services in their blogs. I can see the trend of the featured snippet going largely from financial, mathematical, time, transitional, status, requirements, health, and DIY processes queries to more with local, info, help, and factual intent in 2018.

Michael HodgdonMarketing & SEO Director

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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The Rise of Predictive Search As local intent becomes more focused on the who, what and where around you (see: near me searches), Google, Bing, and Yahoo will start providing search predictions based on search history, location and query. Offering you the next closest search. (Example: “Gyms near me” searched on Dec 20, 2017 = a predictive search of “New Years fitness resolutions for 2018”)

Amir AlsayeghSenior SEO Strategist

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Facebook to Become 2nd Largest Local Search Player in 2018

Facebook will emerge as the 2nd largest player in the local search space, with new business services emerging from agencies and SaaS players to optimize rank on terms for Facebook local search.

Alex PorterCEO

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Facebook Local Will Be Taken More Seriously by Everyone

Facebook Local has great potential to really compete with other locals like Foursquare and Yelp this coming year. Even though it’s “one more app to download,” its simplicity and social centricity (without causing social overload like the Facebook app), will become attractive to local businesses that have an event calendar, and will incentivize users to share their location, publish stories, find out where friends are going and filter out the overwhelming number of events (especially in major cities). In the near future I could see users being able to acquire tickets to an event through the app and Facebook making improvements to the search radius.

Wences GarciaCEO and Co-Founder

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Ad Blocking Advances Local Search Ad blocking plugins and mobile apps have gained traction in recent years. As their usage continues to rise, organic local search will begin to dominate over digital advertising networks. The importance of consistent, accurate local search information will be illustrated once more.

David MarkovAccount Manager

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Expect Sustained Ranking Volatility in Local Search Results

Looking at how some of our clients’ localized rankings, SERP features and voice search results have evolved throughout 2017, we fully expect there to be a sustained period of ranking volatility and an effort to improve local with more personalized results, particularly for mobile users on the go with queries like ‘near me’ to finally be nailed down and better served by the Google algo. We don’t expect much of a formal announcement around this, rather a more subtle, ongoing shakeup similar to what we’ve seen with ‘Fred’ this year, but with a cool new name…let’s try ‘Sally,’ not enough female names representin’ in the algo naming convention soup - you heard it here first!

Luke FitzgeraldHead of SEO

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Snapchat to Become a Local Search Player There is still no single source for consumers to find out all of the events and happenings that are going on near them right now. Facebook events, Twitter, print publications all play a part in this, but no one is really owning this space. With Snapchat evolving into the stories on the map, I think brands will soon start inserting themselves into this organic ‘event’ space. It’ll be a smart way for brands to be a part of a group decision to go to one restaurant over a brewery with a marketing incentive or just a live view of what is happening in that space.

Abbey MeixelspergerDigital Consultant

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Antitrust Enforcement Will Level the Playing Field

An investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct by Google will be readdressed in the US, either by a multi-state group of attorneys general or the Federal Trade Commission. Local search will be a major emphasis of the investigation, which could have immediate and long-term effects that will level the playing field, and boost innovation across the search industry.

Chad RichardSenior Vice President

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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Local Search Automation, Organic Ranking Gets Harder, More Privacy Concerns

We’ll see more automation from local search. More services that used to happen on websites will be brought into the SERPs: appointment booking, purchases, reservations, etc. Businesses who play along will be rewarded (with rank), and those that don’t will lose out.

Organic ranking will grow increasingly difficult and competitive, as Google tries to encourage more ad buys. Will local businesses all agree to pay-to-play? Probably. But this also means they’ll be on the lookout for new ways to shine. I predict that email will continue to grow, as it’s one of the few marketing mediums that provides (almost) guaranteed visibility. And businesses may seek out new channels for local branding as well. Reviews will continue to be important for local businesses, as they’re one of the most prominent ways that Google ranks organic results. I predict that the few top local organic spots will be taken by businesses who can make their customers very happy.

Facebook and Google will continue to invest in ways to understand their audiences. I think 2018 will see a continuation customization, and privacy invasion, in tech. It’s pretty well known now that our phone or in-home assistants are always “listening in.” There have been concerns, but whether this leads to a shift in behavior is to be seen. I think that if this shift does take place, it would have to happen in 2018 or 2019, before these practices become solidly mainstream and accepted among consumers. Of course, disrupting Google or Facebook would be a gargantuan task, and I wouldn’t bet heavily on it happening in 2018. Then again, Uber seemed too big to fail a year ago. If 2017 has taught us anything, it’s that powerful brands, and powerful people, are not immune to collective judgement. And if either of these brands had to pull back their advertising practices, it would have a huge effect on local search.

Megan HannayCo-Founder

LOCAL SEARCH 2018

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LOCATION INTELLIGENCE

LOCATION INTELLIGENCE 2018

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Cost-per-Visit (CPV) Will Become the Industry Standard

In the past year, we’ve seen the emergence of a powerful new marketing metric: Cost-per-Visit (CPV). With this model, brands pay for an ad only when a consumer that’s been exposed to it visits a specific location. Using the CPV model not only helps brands increase foot traffic and boost sales, but it also helps foster a more trusting relationship between brands, agencies and tech vendors.

In 2018, CPV will continue to gain momentum as the metric of choice. Tech partners that want to compete will need to abandon click-based measurement schemes and work towards building more honest and transparent relationships with advertisers.

Gil LarsenVice President, Americas


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Antonio TomarchioCEO

Predictive & Prescriptive Analytics Will Advance Location Intelligence through

2018Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving quickly and through advances in predictive and prescriptive analytics over the next two years, we will see some swift advancements to AI systems that touch location data.

Predictive analytics now tap into location data to help marketers answer questions like “What kind of footfall can I expect at this store location?” This subset of AI will continue to grow in 2018, giving marketers even better insight into such questions. This is because AI and machine learning need a strong data foundation to be actionable and produce greater results. Data from smart TVs, IoT devices and location technology will fuel these machine learning capabilities in 2018.

Beyond predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics will lead to the next big transformation in AI, which will have a huge impact on location data intelligence. For marketers, prescriptive analytics will answer questions about why a certain event is likely to happen. Going back to the footfall example, Best Buy might receive intelligence that explains why a certain location for a new store might not be suitable. This extra added insight can help businesses to curtail risk and make more educated business decisions.


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Social Change & Natural Disaster Planning to Benefit from Location Data Next Year

In 2017, we saw some interesting ways that location data is being applied to impact social change and aid in times of natural disasters. For example, Facebook began sharing anonymized location data with disaster relief organizations like UNICEF from users in affected areas, such as where people are marking themselves safe and from where they are fleeing.

Cuebiq also worked with our partners at GasBuddy to help those in Florida prepare for Hurricane Irma by providing GasBuddy hourly updates on dwell times at gas stations across Florida and neighboring states for the length of the emergency, which allowed GasBuddy users to assess wait times at specific gas stations.

Universities such as MIT, Ohio State University and Washington University also tapped into location data for various applications like city planning, hurricane research, desegregation and improving social inequality efforts.

These applications will grow in 2018 and will have great impact at the local level as researchers seek location data sources and as data builds for the initiatives that are already underway. Other industries we will likely see location data playing a major role in 2018 include transportation planning, disease tracking, and evacuation planning for times of disaster.

Valentina Marastoni-BieserVP Marketing


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A Bigger Focus on Data Quality in 2018 If 2017 was the year of decoupling data and media, then 2018 is the year that brands and agencies push for data quality from their providers. Quality data is hard to come by and brands and agencies will weed out the good from the bad, choosing their data providers more carefully, and figuring out what works.

Location intelligence providers can expect to hear questions like the following: Is my first party data as valuable as I think it is? What types of 2nd or 3rd party data do I want to work with and for what tactics? What’s my process for testing data sources? Who do I need my DMP to work with?

Ocean FineVP, Agencies & Strategic Partners


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Marketers Will Become More Selective about Location Data

With new innovations in tech, there’s an ever-increasing amount of data available for local and national marketers alike, but not all data is created equal. What marketers choose to leverage in our data-heavy world can greatly impact their business’ bottom line.

I predict that in 2018, marketers will turn their focus towards data quality and hold their data partners and providers to higher standards and increased transparency to ensure fresh, first-party (opted-in) data that drives meaningful consumer engagement and better business results. Marketers will move past vendors throwing out big numbers and verify whether a company that is shouting out numbers can actually back it up.

Steven RosenblattPresident


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AI Will Help Strengthen Location Based Promotions

AI continues to deliver stronger clarity for businesses, and as we look ahead to 2018, AI will further strengthen marketing efforts by introducing enhanced insight that will enable brands to make more efficient, more real-time decisions. Incorporating AI into business planning can offer more dynamic and personalized ways to connect with customers and engage in a local marketplace.

Nicole ReyhleFounder & Author


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The Importance of Quality Location Data Quality of location data will become more important. This doesn’t just mean accuracy of the location data, but also the accuracy of the points of interest that location data is matched against. Location quality scoring will become a trend and will initially be disjointed with multiple parties providing various methods of scoring, but companies should align for a common standard in partnership with industry trade groups.

Brian HandlyCEO


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Indoor Mobile Location Scales to New Heights

Thanks to a new generation of WiFi access points, LED light fixtures and payment terminals (most of which now come standard with embedded BLE broadcasting capabilities), many retailers now have a full set of indoor location signals deployed across their stores. With this infrastructure in place, they are finally able to generate first party indoor location data at scale.

2018 will be the year that retailers harness the full power of this strategic asset. Watch for value to be created from this data in a variety of ways:

Omnichannel personalization: As retailers connect indoor location data to CRM data they already have, their understanding of individual shopper interests and preferences will increase exponentially. And this deeper understanding will drive more personalized communication across every marketing touchpoint.

In-store mobile services: Savvy retailers have already moved well beyond basic signal-triggered mobile offers to more advanced indoor location use cases. Watch for broad-scale rollouts of next-generation retail experiences including personalized sales support from in-store associates, streamlined order ahead and buy online pickup in store processes, automated check-in for in-store service appointments, and mobile apps that transform into virtual concierges when you enter the store.

Online to offline attribution: Indoor location signals will play a key role in enabling retailers to measure and optimize the impact of their online marketing efforts on retail store foot traffic. With this closed loop feedback system in place, retailers will see greater returns from their digital media investments.

Rob MurphyVP Marketing


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Standardization of Location Data 2017 was a landmark year from a standardization perspective and probably the best indications that location intelligence is here to stay. Additionally, we saw better regulations and user friendly initiatives being adopted by different players in the ecosystem. Despite the highly anticipated IOS11 change to the blue bar which would have given Apple users more control of their data was ultimately not implemented, it still served as a strong indication on where the industry is heading.

Android Vital (toolkit for developers) has implemented more standards around battery saving guidelines that have pushed the industry to become more mindful on when to call the operating systems location services for data. In addition, the MRC and IAB became more assertive in sharing best practices, which will probably lead next year to a MRC accreditation process for the collection of location data. I will not be surprised if we will also see MOAT/IAS/DoubleVerify rolling out some sort of verification and measurement solutions for location data.

As high-quality data becomes more commoditized and democratized there will be more focus on the tools that will allow marketers and mainly retailers to use this data as core components of their entire marketing strategies from planning to engagement to performance measurement.

Ran Ben-YairCo-Founder & CEO


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The Rise of the Location Data Platforms & More Real-Time Location Intelligence Use

Cases Next year, we will see the rise of the platforms and a shift from selling data as a service (DaaS) to selling tools and platforms on SaaS models that will empower marketers to leverage the unique insights that location technology and data offers. This will mainly be adopted for non-direct advertising purposes such as retail analytics, customer journey analysis and other predictive models that will aim to help marketers to better understand their customers.

We will also see an acceleration in the usage of real time location intelligence technology and data outside of MarTech in areas such as real-estate, city planning and social studies.

Gilad AmitaiCo-Founder & COO


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MARKETING STRATEGY

MARKETING STRATEGY 2018

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Content Strategy Becomes about Questions Not Keywords

With the rise of voice search and answer boxes in 2018, SEO and content strategy is no longer going to focus on keywords or ideas, but content that answers the searchers questions. Your website needs to be positioning your brand as the local answer for customers. Success in SEO should no longer focus keyword rankings but visibility when the questions happens.

Colleen HarrisEarned Marketing Lead Analyst


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Measurement Matters Most…Still Advertisers must ensure they’re achieving ROI on their media spend, which requires using measurement tactics that truly show the effectiveness of their advertising. In 2018, Simpli.fi predicts that localized advertisers will have to move past the faulty “last click” measurement and adopt conversion-based metrics, like cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and measuring foot traffic driven to a physical location.

This is especially true as mobile advertising continues to dominate the industry and secures greater budget investment. Advertisers must embrace measurements that relate to sales and push their partners to adopt conversion-based metrics like CPA and location visits so they can track the important role that mobile advertising spend has on their business.

Frost PrioleauPresident and CEO


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Disparate Data Streams Come Together to Impact Big Brands & Local Advertisers

Weaving the data together: For years, access high-quality data has been hampered by walled gardens, hesitation from large brands to share data, and privacy concerns. The emergence of data marketplaces, improved transparency, and the desire of app publishers to monetize through data rather than ads is driving a wave of data streams into the market. Location data, behavioral data, and transactional data are being shared across the ad-tech, brand, and publisher ecosystem in ways that will enable the development of better user experiences, analytics and targeting.

Large brands will lead: Fortune 500 brands that have been pouring money into mobile have the most at stake with regard to data. By sharing sales and transaction data with their partners, they will enable a new level of tracking that will continue to improve ROI measurement, and justification for their mobile spend.

Local advertisers will benefit: Smaller advertisers traditionally haven’t had the scale (or time) to dig into data and analytics. The growth of high-quality data sets and the development of toolsets for large brands will start to impact smaller advertisers as technology vendors extend their products beyond the Fortune 500 use cases. Local advertisers will benefit from better ROI measurement and targeting.

Brett KohnPresident & GM


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Storytelling Across Digital & Offline Touch Points Will Make a Comeback in 2018

Many hyped digital trends are starting to finally gain traction, whether it be omni-channel marketing, social advertising, voice driven search, automation and more. Marketers from companies of all sizes are starting to put these tools to work for them, and certainly in the years to come, more achievable best practices will form. These advances and other factors are elevating the importance of storytelling, and building an authentic connection with consumers.

The various touch points created by existing and emerging marketing solutions have enabled businesses to reach consumers through multiple mediums. However, from a consumer perspective, it has become more challenging to contend with these various sources and their trustworthiness. Information is increasingly consumed in micro, fragmented touch points; whether it be information shared through social networks, curated daily news services, SMS communications, email, mobile apps and more.

Also, in this era of “fake news,” the consumer is forced to be more aware of the trustworthiness of the source. While connecting with consumers at these various points in the buyer’s journey is important, it is equally important that those messages tell a cohesive and compelling story; otherwise it’s just fragmented information the consumer is forced to navigate.

In the end, consumers will gravitate towards companies and stories that are trustworthy, and easy and consistent to digest. To that end, we believe that 2018 will be the year that storytelling gets renewed focus. It takes both technology and a personal touch to build the trust and brand integrity necessary to authentically connect with consumers, and ultimately drive conversions.

Using first-hand customer data to better understand target audiences, progressive marketers are developing a digital marketing approach that delivers the right message, via the right digital medium. It is this synergistic strategy -- modern technology coupled with compelling storytelling -- that will decide who excels in 2018.

Kris BartonChief Product Officer


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The Marriage of Online & Offline Data Blending real world location data via phones, purchase information, and aggregated online data, retailers and advertisers will have incredible insight into consumers. Using this data, ads can become more relevant, personalized in addition to being geo-targeted in real time.

Paul DughiVP/General Manager


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Website Personalization Will Become the Driving Force in Local Lead Conversion

In the past few years, rule-based website personalization has proven to be one of the most cost-effective tools for helping SMBs convert more local leads. This has led to a radical shift in web design strategy, which has been driven by consumers that are tired of static, unengaging websites and now expect dynamic experiences that speak to their individual needs. Typically, this is achieved by changing a website’s content in some way depending on certain triggers like time of day, visitor’s physical location and more.

In 2018, SMBs will wake up to this new reality and website personalization will become the new norm as digital agencies and web professionals realize how easily this technology can be implemented on their clients’ websites thanks to incredible innovations by key technology providers.

Itai SadanCEO


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Rise of the Digital Knowledge Manager 2018 will see the rise of marketing’s newest role, the digital knowledge manager. Manager in this use is an action not a title. This person works between all relevant departments to collect, organize and publish to the internet everywhere a brand lives, providing all the information and facts about a business that a consumer of that business could search for online. I think this article explains it more in depth and with better justice than I can do: http://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2017/09/01/meet-marketing-s-newest-role-who-the-digital-knowledge-manager

Rev CiancioDirector Small Business Success

http://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2017/09/01/meet-marketing-s-newest-role-who-the-digital-knowledge-manager

http://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2017/09/01/meet-marketing-s-newest-role-who-the-digital-knowledge-manager


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MARTECH

MARTECH 2018

45

Greater Adoption in Local Inventory Ads & Machine Learning/AI

Local Inventory Ads: Already underway and gaining steam, local inventory ads are going to gain massive adoption by the end of 2018. Local inventory ads are different than product listing ads. Like other types of Google Shopping ads, they will show a product image based on user searches; however, they will also show the product availability and the proximity of the nearest store stocking this product. Users who click through end up on the store’s Google My Business Page that includes other helpful store information like directions, hours etc. Local inventory ads drive local foot traffic and potentially more meaningful customer relationships, while product listing ads are more suitable to drive online sales. The increase in local inventory ad adoption to come in 2018 is significant because it generates meaningful opportunities to those businesses who sell locally and want to continue to do so.

Machine Learning/AI: Similarly, the data science revolution is already well underway. Companies who provide intelligent MarTech based on sophisticated machine learning/AI algorithms will continue to steal market share away from those that don’t. The reason is because ML/AI has the capability to outcompete humans and turn marketing limitation into strengths, depending on its intended purpose. Implications aside, machine learning is already changing the way we work for the better and that trend will continue to dominate in 2018. Marketers have a real opportunity to get in early on machine learning technologies now, before this level of performance becomes the new standard.

Marc PoirierCEO

MARTECH 2018

46

Chatbot Usage in SMB Space Will Surge Small business owners care a lot about saving time, saving money, generating leads and sales, and delivering exceptional customer service. They are also very busy and don’t have a lot of time to devote to each of these areas. Enter Chatbots. Chatbots help in each of these areas and it compliments other digital marketing services. It is affordable, easy to set up and use, and it works. For these reasons and more chatbot adoption in the SMB space will surge. It will become the “next big digital service” for small businesses in 2018.

Kelly SheltonVP of Marketing

MARTECH 2018

47

Messenger Bots, Personalized Reviews & Voice Search’s Impact on Store Locators

Messenger Bots Will Become a Local Search Norm: Aside from the fact that Facebook has taken major strides this year to hone in on “local,” the platform’s growth with Messenger has been noteworthy, to say the least. In 2018 and beyond, users will come to messenger bots to connect with brands and find information about nearby locations quickly and simply through the social app’s interface. Brands will need to make social messenger a focal point to remain relevant to these social-local customers.

Brands Will Be Forced to Personalize Reviews: Brands to this point have just begun responding to reviews (sometimes not even all). With the sheer volume and content of reviews across channels today, brands will need to take the extra step in integrating smart technologies that can populate automated content that is “smart,” contextual and capable of fostering long-term brand loyalty.

Locators Will Take New Shapes and Forms: With conversational search being one of the most quickly growing trends among mobile users, traditional mobile-friendly locators will no longer suffice. Local search will start in the home, and customers will expect that their in-home assistants will provide rich, relevant, location-based content upon their request.

Manish PatelCEO

MARTECH 2018

48

Blockchain Will Be a Tool to Tackle Fake Information

When information spreads through the internet, people tend to believe it, regardless of whether it is true. How can consumers figure out the original source, its level of trust, and whether the information was corrupted? Blockchain can be a key technology in solving this problem.

In 2018 we will see several significant initiatives in which blockchain is used to ensure that consumers know exactly who produced any given piece of content, or generated any point of data — ensuring that every fact can be traced to its publisher and matched to a set of independent sources of verification. Blockchain’s distributed consensus is a key technology that will help us beat fake information.

Gil ElbazFounder and CEO

MARTECH 2018

49

It’s Time for Local to Get Smart About AI in 2018

Many large companies are using AI and machine learning. Retailers who use AI will see a 6-10% boost in profitability in 2018. If your business relies on delivering marketing or media to local markets and you do not embrace AI, you will lose ground in 2018 to those who do.

AI and machine learning are not just new technologies for your toolkit. They are the future of decision support for your entire enterprise. Once companies commit to AI they must find ways to connect their data sources and third-party vendors to fully leverage the power of the new paradigm.

This year many companies will look for cost-effective ways to implement and use AI. Those who are successful will realize that they have a huge opportunity, and those who struggle to integrate AI will realize there is a huge threat to their business.

A peek ahead to 2019...AI systems learn from IoT consumer insights, empowering marketers to target qualified prospects with the right message, via the right channel, at the right time.

Gideon RubinFounder and CEO

MARTECH 2018

50

Voice Search Analytics Coming in 2018 Marketers in the current state of voice search are making a good deal of assumptions. When analyzing search query data, an account manager may be able to pinpoint device but not context. A best guess can only estimate that a long tail search, or if ‘ok google’ ends up in the data set, that a search’s true origin is voice activated. I predict, in 2018, that the engines will give marketers segment data on voice search to differentiate from typed queries, and even the ability to customize messaging or apply bid adjustments to voice.

Jim HalliganHead of Paid Search

MARTECH 2018

51

Voice Assistants Will Drive Next Evolution in Search

The rapid growth of voice search by general consumers is the next evolution in search. The machine learning driving useful actions out of our virtual assistants is growing into its big shoes. In its understanding of the intent of users and its ability to interact with our real world, makes for a usefulness that cannot be denied. From smart cars to appliances, our assistants follow us from home to work and are becoming part of daily life. The race to provide value and convenience for local searches will be the next big thing for AI being used in the real world.

Jara MoserDirector of Digital Knowledge

MARTECH 2018

52

Voice Search Will Not Live Up to the Hype…Yet

Voice Search will not live up to its hype. Most consumers will realize that voice assistants are not convenient enough to search for products and services provided by local businesses. Marketing Managers will adapt and realize that they don’t need a dedicated strategy for local voice search (yet).

Josha BennerCoFounder & CSO

MARTECH 2018

53

Machine Learning Growth & Facebook vs. Google

Machine Learning SaaS companies will start taking jobs from lower-tier SEOs and agencies where much of their work will be automated. Technical SEO will be a cornerstone (still), but an inability to work with large data sets will lead to SEOs churning out of the industry.

Mid-to-late 2018, Facebook will start eating Google’s lunch in local. With refined targeting and a robust local discovery platform Facebook will start taking traffic from the big G and blurring SEO and paid further with laser-focused demographic-targeting-campaigns that encompass all online and offline mediums.

BryanStrategic Marketing Analyst

MARTECH 2018

54

Voice Search Takes Over in 2018 2018 is going to be the year when consumers make the biggest shifts into using voice search, changing the landscape for businesses everywhere and redefining loyalty. With device and mobile sales at all-time highs, expect to see more transactions started (and completed) through voice interaction and loyalties shifting to services/products that are convenient, vs. known by brand names.

Duane ForresterVP, Industry Insights

MARTECH 2018

55

NATIONAL-TO-LOCAL

NATIONAL-TO-LOCAL 2018

56

Winning Brands Will Have Local Content Strategies

In 2017, we continued to see the exponential growth of hyper-local “near me” searches or comparable searches without “near me”. In fact, nearly one-third of all mobile searches are related to a location. While optimizing your website for local success and managing citations across the web are necessary tactics to capture volume and leads from Google’s SERP, creating local content is still an underutilized strategy that can lead to improvements in discoverability, reach and engagement metrics, as well as offline sales.

Tzvi GrosmanDigital Strategist and Content Writer


57

Localization & Personalization of Search Results

My prediction for 2018 affecting local businesses, is the increase to personalization and localization of search results. Google My Business is now asking users to answer questions about their locations. This user generated content will begin to play a stronger role in the localization of search results.

Searchers are now adding modifiers to search queries to refine the search even further. Examples are searches like “Coffee shop near Circular Quay with free Wi-Fi and great coffee”. How do the search engines know if the coffee shop has Wi-Fi or great coffee? Wi-Fi is an attribute which can be added to a GMB Page and great coffee can be evaluated from the review data.

With the rise of voice search via Google Home, Alexa, etc., these devices will have people adding these kind of modifiers when they search. People will begin to search strings of words and phrases rather than short keyword searches. Conversational search queries will increase significantly in 2018. The search engines are optimizing for relevant results that allow for immediate action. If you are not adding this rich content to your website, local properties, etc., you will be left behind by the end of 2018.

Andrew ThornFounder and CEO


58

Data Is the ROI Driver First party, closed-loop data will continue the unstoppable march toward ROI. Tons of innovation and disruption has led to a confusing marketplace. As marketers can more easily test, learn, and grow what drives offline results, they will increase spend in those areas.

Todd DipaolaCEO and Founder


59

More Brands Select AOR’s for Managing National & Local Advertising

Around mid-2015 there seemed to be a cultural shift toward leveraging “specialized marketing experts” by franchise and multi-location brands, which resulted in brands onboarding 3-5 vendors or SaaS platforms to manage channel-specific strategies. This resulted in the creation of multiple marketing strategies that often lived in silos, rather than true integration. As a result, national marketing efforts failed to complement hyper-local strategies, resulting in wasted spend and poor multi-channel optimization.

As agencies and vendors improve their ability to use data in highlighting why scaling national/local integration is best achieved by a single, experienced partner - while also leveraging the right technology to scale efforts - my prediction is that the pendulum swings back toward brand/corporate marketing teams seeking out the best partner or agency-of-record to manage both national and local programs, across all marketing channels.

Joshua AllenDirector of Marketing


60

Brand-to-Local Marketing Will Explode Consumers have changed. In 2018, brands will wake up to the reality that they need to earmark funds to integrate a technology platform that becomes their connective tissue to their local retailers. This technology will deliver a workflow to make it possible to have total brand, product, and messaging control with the click of a button, ensuring that national marketing campaigns will funnel buyers in the doors of local retailers. The platform will also enable instant co-op redemption, as well as the deployment of promotions during key selling periods, with transparent results reporting as well as local analytics to see where improvements and new investments can be made to power awareness, consideration, and decision.

Tim McLainSegment Marketing Manager


61

Brands Will Emulate Amazon’s Use of Data to Make Smarter Decisions

Marketers have a growing dilemma that will become a central theme in 2018. Consumers have so much choice that every offline visit has turned into a fierce battle among a crowded set of competitors. This means that for retailers and restaurants, growth is incredibly hard to come by.

At the same time, marketers’ budgets are being cut and their teams are being reduced. So in essence, a marketer is being asked to grow and do more, in a harsh environment, with fewer resources. This was a challenge in 2017, and will become an even bigger challenge in 2018.

The best way for marketers to succeed will be to execute precise strategies and optimize every last dollar and every last effort. In 2018, savvy brands will continue to learn from and emulate the best practices of digital leaders like Amazon and build real data capabilities -- not just talk the talk, but actually work with data solutions that will help them drive real decisions, real optimization, and real action based on concrete proof rather than gut, touch and feel.

Eli PortnoyCEO


62

RETAIL

RETAIL 2018

63

Convergence of Physical & Digital Retail Experiencess

A recent Google report said 82 percent of customers use their smartphone to make a purchase decision in-store. This convergence of digital and physical shopping will continue to keep marketers “on their toes” in 2018. Not only will they need to use digital touchpoints to drive foot traffic, but they need to deliver a unique experience once the shopper does enter their door.

We’re going to see more local retailers focus on developing communities to create these unique experiences for their shoppers. This year, CNBC reported that Walmart began to implement in-store parties for holiday campaigns, and Forbes also reported on Nordstrom’s creation of “Nordstrom Local,” which only provides services, no inventory. Marketers who can produce this seamless experience from “click-to-brick” will be poised to win more customers and in turn, grow their business.

Bill NagelCo-Founder & Chief Marketing Strategist

RETAIL 2018

64

eCommerce Practices & Analytics to Influence Retailers’ Physical Operations

Over twenty years ago, pioneering online stores borrowed from their brick-and-mortar counterparts familiar concepts such as the “cart” and “check-out”. Since then, e-commerce has evolved to become a fearsome foe to brick-and-mortar, benefiting from relentless innovations in web technologies. Has the student become the teacher? Might brick-and-mortar benefit by borrowing now familiar concepts from their online counterparts?

Imagine concepts such as “landing page,” “session” and “page value” applied to a physical store. Plausible? Over the past few years, several companies have floated the notion of a Google Analytics for the physical world. And in 2017, we at reelyActive applied this notion quite literally, offering an accessible and well-documented trial for any retailer brave enough to try!

Our prediction for 2018 is that pioneering retailers — especially those who began life online before establishing a physical presence — will begin to model their physical operations after their established e-commerce practices, measuring and continuously improving both using a single set of web tools. We’d expect the tipping point to occur when online/offline conversions will (finally) be reliably captured in an industry-standard way. And while that’s perhaps too optimistic a prediction for 2018, those most readily adapted to exploit the inevitable opportunity stand to shape the future of retail.

Jeffrey DungenCo-Founder and CEO

RETAIL 2018

65

Location Intelligence Will Be Critical to Predicting the Future of Retail

One prediction is that companies will use location intelligence for predictive analysis to characterize the scope of the retail apocalypse as early and accurately as possible. Location intelligence will be used to identify trends such as potentially opening a brick and mortar location in a place where a competitor is closing or not closing a store where a competitor is closing can be a huge advantage. From what we see in our retail analysis, a ton of brick and mortar stores are closing because of the Amazon factor. Amazon and more evolved logistics are going to shake up a ton of stuff in market in 2018.

Rich SuttonVP of Geospatial

RETAIL 2018

66

More Local Retailers Are Going to Embrace Buy Online & Pickup In-Store Offerings

We just had the biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales of all time and the majority of it happened online. As local retailers try to increase their online presence, click and collect will be hailed as the new way to go shopping because it empowers individuals to buy and pay for goods online and conveniently pick them up at a local location.

It’s the perfect bridge between online and in-store retail because it allows customers to find exactly what they’re looking for online - and use price comparison tools while checking out reviews - at the same time it increases the possibility of customers make additional purchases at the store.

Farzin EspahaniVP of Growth & Marketing

RETAIL 2018

67

SMALL BUSINESS

SMB 2018

68

Strong Personal Branding Will Be the New Social Strategy

The social landscape will change and move towards even more paid initiatives. Branding will become critical for SMBs that want to rise above the noise. Branding will begin with CEOs and founders maximizing organic social channels such as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram to establish a brand and fuel business growth. It’s through strong personal branding that companies will stand out and go beyond the pay-to-play game that social channels are moving towards.

Solomon ThimothyCEO

SMB 2018

69

Podcasts Will Mature as Core Channel to Reach SMBs

While social media advertising continues to grow at a healthy rate and targeting tools are making it more effective, many B2B marketers will shift dollars to podcast advertising because the audience is hyper-targeted and host recommendations are akin to friend referrals.

Podcast advertising spend will likely double in 2018. If you haven’t heard of 99% Invisible, Planet Money, Being Boss, Waking Up, Unemployable, Six-Figure Side Gig, and many more, you’re likely to know these podcast brands in the future.

Matthew BakerVP Strategy

SMB 2018

70

SMBs Will Start Adopting AI Solutions & Chatbots

AI has been dominating the digital marketing conversation for a while and through dedicated Facebook ad formats, we can finally say it is now accessible to most marketers, including SMBs. That is why my prediction for 2018 is that even local SMBs (not just big global brands) will start adopting more AI solutions, such as chatbots, to make managing the online conversations with customers and potential clients more effective, timely and cost-efficient.

Customers are increasingly getting in touch with SMBs online, but the businesses often struggle to keep the conversation responsive, especially when most customers are expecting 24/7 service. Chatbots save time and efficiently respond to clients’ questions and needs. For example, Chatbots can offer the possibility to request a callback, to book an appointment, to view the product catalogue or a restaurant menu.

Chatbots also help in re-engaging with inactive customers and in obtaining information about the customer base and their preferences. It’s a win-win situation, because the customers get prompt replies, while the SMBs can focus on their core business and be assured that the clients who end up booking an appointment or visiting will be truly interested in the business’ offering.

Lorenzo PiredduCEO

SMB 2018

71

It’s Time For SMBs to Get a CRM in 2018 Many small businesses are still working from spreadsheets or all manner of “stuff.” Digital marketing is no longer digital marketing. As Clive Sirkin at Kimberley Clark said in 2012: “…we don’t believe in digital marketing…we believe in marketing in a digital age.” It is now time to get customer data into a proper CRM, care for it and nurture it as a golden egg. Local clients expect businesses to know them, to recognize them, to cater to them, and the “hello” when the shop doorbell rings is not enough. You need a digital shop door to ring. Game over - sort out your clients’ CRM.

Pete NichollsDirector

SMB 2018

72

New Google My Business Features to Help SMBs with Local Search

Google My Business will continue to change and advance into a more developed online tool for local business. Google has been committed to making Google My Business work for local business owners. By utilizing all the new features that continue to be rolled out, local businesses will benefit in the local search results.

Stephanie HooperDigital Marketing and SEO Manager

SMB 2018

73

Big Data for Small Business Digital service providers and technology companies are going to find ways to make big data small. That is, leverage data across their clients in order to derive insights that can be used to improve the individual local business’ marketing efforts.

Tricia Jo ScoreHead of Global Sales

SMB 2018

74

“Promote Mode” Is a Complete Failure for Twitter

It’ll either be shut down by the end of the year or undergo such a massive overhaul that it’s unrecognizable. I’m all for software MVP’s but this is in no way even a viable concept, let alone product. For starters, I don’t know of a single small business owner whose primary marketing goal is “more Twitter followers.” And the extremely weak interest- and location-targeting options compare poorly even to the least-sophisticated display advertising alternatives. While I enthusiastically root for any alternative to Google and Facebook’s duopoly, Twitter can and should do much better than “Promote Mode” in competing for SMB marketing dollars.

David MihmFounder

SMB 2018

75

2018 Is the Year of MORE for Online Reviews

More Impact: For SMBs seeking to acquiring and retain customers, online ratings and reviews are and will increasingly be critical milestones along this path.

More Categories: Consumer ratings and reviews will have more of an impact on SMBs across more and more categories beyond standard categories like restaurants.

More Mobile: The continuous shift to mobile, by consumers and businesses, will increase the number of reviews that are given and responded to on mobile devices while “on the go.”

More Gorillas: As the duopoly steps up its involvement in the online reviews arena by generating and aggregating more reviews, expect 2018 to be the year of ratings and reviews.

More Reviews: A surge in reach or review platforms and sources and improved accessibility we will definitely see more reviews across the board in 2018.

Josh PorathFounder and CEO

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PREDICTIONS - the LSA · 2018-01-03 · PREDICTIONS 2018 This year was big for voice search, AI and and virtual assistants. Amazon’s Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Cyber