Can you believe 2016 is just about over? It’s been a whirlwind year, to be sure, with an endless array of announcements and advances in the tech space. Back in December of last year, we made some bold predictions for the digital world in the year to come. Twelve months later, we thought it would be fun to revisit those prognostications to see how we did. Let’s take a look.

1. Programmatic ads aren’t delivering the promises everyone hoped for.

While we’re certainly seeing many programmatic ads, and their numbers are expected to climb, it hasn’t been the panacea that the online display-ad industry had hoped for. Our point about many of these ads being clicked on by bots still rings true, and the move toward matching programmatic buying platforms with online influencers is being met with healthy skepticism. Too many of these ads play as inauthentic, with computer sharers seeing ads aimed at one another or marketers not properly segmenting their campaigns with targeted creatives.

2. There’s a real hesitation to share personal information online.

With so many news cycles dominated by reports of data breaches, email leaks,
and Yahoo’s announcement that one billion user accounts had been hacked, it’s no wonder consumers are more wary than ever of sharing information online. It almost makes you pine for the days of those quaint emails from authentic Nigerian princes… almost.

3. Customer support and social media teams will merge.

As predicted, more customer and social media management tools are blending their offerings, adding support to social tools and vice versa. Twitter made headlines when it rolled out tools that would allow companies to provide more efficient service to their customers, to the point where Net Promoter Scores and CSAT surveys are highlights of one of their new features. A report from Conversocial notes that while customers may not yet be using “social as their primary channel for brand engagement,” the two service offerings are more closely aligned than ever.

4. Digital media agencies and PR agencies continue to be Jacks of all trades.

Agencies, like so many companies using the tools referenced above, are also looking for means by which social sites can be used to incorporate customer care. They’re seeking more measurable ways to help them better engage customers online. Agencies have been tapped to expand the marketing services they provide, and we’ve been similarly tapped to help with that service, as in the case of a digital marketing agency with which we’re working to provide social customer care for a major restaurant group. As the social landscape changes at a quicker rate, more and more brands are turning to digital PR agencies to help with areas they hadn’t thought of before, such as social customer support and online review monitoring.

5. Community and online moderation will grow.

We don’t mean to toot our own horn, but our own experience has shown this to be undoubtedly the case. In 2016, we began providing moderation services to our first airport, our first European country, our first fitness streaming service, and our first major fast food restaurant chain. More and more clients are approaching us with a greater understanding of the inherent value of top-tier moderation, which we’re more than happy to provide.

Want to make your digital predictions for 2017? Sound off in the comments section below!

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