Looking at it from the point of view of brands, however, it is not just about trends but also about ESG ratings with financial purposes and sustainability reports to which companies must necessarily adapt. In this dimension, engagement, loyalty and community activities can give concrete support to brands in achieving specific purposes.
Digital 2024: our view on the latest Italian market data
We Are Social has published its annual report “Digital 2024”. We report some data adding our interpretation of the loyalty and engagement world:
has increased by 9.6% , exceeding 6 billion dollars. The increase is use a bulk sms service to compile your list certainly driven by an increase in advertising costs but also by more relevant planning, especially on social media. Where it is confirmed that the average time spent on content has increased, both for information and entertainment. However, brands are at a crossroads: with the imminent cookie apocalypse, part of the budgets have also been frozen to evaluate new investment strategies, especially with respect to the construction of proprietary assets so that lead
generation is not an end in itself, but also leads to the ferrying of the people involved in environments in which to stimulate relationship and retention activities. The first walled gardens in Italy have already arrived, we will see the developments in the coming months
Never before has brand reputation played such a key role in users' purchasing intentions: 56% of people search for information online and on social media before making a purchase . Furthermore, a recent Forrester study reveals that the touchpoints that lead a person to purchase reach as many as 27! Users' customer journeys are becoming longer and longer with all the risks associated with the process. It is therefore important to build a coherent brand positioning across all touchpoints, but above all it is essential to work on engagement, loyalty and trust processes.
WhatsApp is confirmed as the most used and preferred social platform in Italy at a cross-generational level, with a usage rate of 90.3% . But it is not only a tool for communicating with your family/friends network, it also becomes a tool for rapid interaction between brands and users, even during engagement and loyalty activities, thanks to a very powerful reach that almost reaches 98%!
We have analyzed many challenges and seen many opportunities, some still in a very embryonic phase that will be driven by market evolutions.
The key word that must accompany brands in this multifaceted landscape is certainly "diversification". Diversify strategies and investments based on the target, based on the objectives but also with respect to the tools to be used. Build coherent paths that position the brand uniquely, but at the same time give it the opportunity to dialogue cross-channel with people, fueling lead generation on the one hand, but without forgetting to start working seriously on issues of continuous engagement and retention because let's not forget that we have entered the era of the TRUST REVOLUTION.
