What to Watch for in Advertising as 2012 Arrives

As the year 2011 comes to a close and 2012 arrives, there are three major things to watch for in the advertising world in the new year. Those three trends are that social media is on the rise, video advertising is rolling right along, and smarter analytics are taking over the industry, according to MediaPost Publications.

Advertising demographics are changing as technology continues to advance and the digital natives are growing up quickly. As this occurs, advertisers need to change how they approach these audiences. Those used to the digital world pretty much expect people to send them what they are looking for, either through family and friends or advertisers. This is instead of searching for what they are looking for on their own. Advertising revenues have leaped incredibly, which should reach $8 billion in 2012, because of this technological advancement. Advertisers need to realize that they cannot just throw any old ad effort out to the public today. They will need to use Facebook and Twitter correctly and in a related context to customers.

If a company’s first idea into advertising is using social media, then video advertising is an excellent method to use. Advertisers always follow the money, and video ads are making companies money these days. The video ads used included pre-roll and in-stream, but there are many other types coming along in the advertising world. The quickest growing digital type of advertising in 2011 was video advertising. Advertising companies are not duplicating the ads that work on television and then placing them on the internet. Video advertisements will be more creative and will have better content in 2012, especially since most videos being posted on the internet are being done by the public.

Advertisers and marketers who are looking for an excellent return on investment are constantly looking for better metrics. Some of the best advertising campaigns used today are interactive for the consumer, which means they get to click on buttons, and run the ad themselves when viewing it. Ad interaction also includes news tickers, gaming portals, and search boxes. User behavior is becoming a more popular target for advertisers these days because of those interactions by consumers. Advertisers use pre and post click data accumulated on the internet by their consumers to figure out this information. There have also been an increase in new technologies that can acquire the reader engagement and retention of consumers on the internet. These technologies could make digital advertising a revenue builder for companies beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

As 2012 gets closer, take some time to really pay attention to advertisements on the internet, on your mobile phone, and on your tablet. All of these devices provide advertising companies with outlets to post ads, especially ones that are targeted specifically for a certain group of people. 2012 should be an interesting year when it comes to advertising and the revenue generated from it on the internet.