Alphabet shares fell about 7% after Google’s parent company reported revenue that fell below analyst estimates for its first-quarter 2019. The drop wiped more than $60 billion off Alphabet’s market cap (see link below).

Big news, or not?

Well, it's no secret that Google's dominance in paid search has been under threat as the 'intrusive' marketeer moves ad spend into 'Social Channels' along with the rise of installs for Apps, but the next disruptive shift will come from 'Social Commerce'. 

The impact has also been felt by improvements by brands and companies with much improved organic search related activities e.g 'off site content strategies'. Combine this with our ability to recall brand names, and go direct to the website has grown exponentially these last 10 years, add into this the always prevalent 'ad fraud' that can't be audited (agencies don't like audits) and its not only you and me that are turning away from online ads. 

Is all this just further signs of digital maturity and yet more evidence in the growth of Smart TV's to skip ads, 'ad blockers' and GDPR?

And based on recent data from Data Reportal it seems that usage of Apps is having a huge influence on what and how we use the web, and inevitably search and paid media adverts;

Firstly, they support the hypothesis that mobile users are increasingly turning to dedicated mobile apps – rather than to the mobile web – to achieve their desired outcomes on mobile devices.

This trend is evident in the latest app store data, too. App Annie reports that mobile app downloads across the Google Play and iOS stores have grown by 10 percent year-on-year, with smartphone users downloading a total of 30 billion apps in the first 3 months of 2019 alone – that’s more than 3,850 downloads every second.

If it fits your narrative I guess you could say that it does, but I'm genuinely convinced that there is something bigger afoot, elements of which are being driven by the recent 'Gartner' report on the changes in behavior around the 'traditional buying funnel'.

Many of those key drivers of disruption are now also being attributed to the growth and maturity around 'social media', but companies and brands still think its the place to promote intrusive adverts and spammy content.

Clearly I have a vested interest in the direction of this narrative, and now as 'Marketing Poacher turned Social Selling Gamekeeper' my strategic view has altered completely, however if you put that to one side there is overwhelming evidence that audiences (you and me) are skipping and blocking ads like never before. 

So how does a company and brand stay front of mind, be seen as authentic, relevant, and trustworthy in a fast moving digitally connected world, where over 83% of people trust referrals and recommendations from family and friends over what a brand 'tells' them?

We talk a lot about 'Social Selling' at DLA Ignite, but what we really focus on is working with you to build relationships that can help 'influence' the social buying process, we want you to 'stand out' from your competitor, so that when the prospect is thinking about that purchase and looking for a vendor, we obsess (with you) in making sure it's your company that's front of mind.

With 68% of the due diligence research being done by the prospect before any direct contact with a vendor is made, its social media that seems to be the reference default and NOT Google. This means that more and more people are tuning into social media to find our more about your company and its employees. 

The impact on your brand and company is already being felt, if your competitor has a greater understanding around how to utilise the power of Social Media and you don't, well, its goodbye and goodnight to you. 

At DLA Ignite we specialise in helping companies and the internal 'Change Makers' deliver on these points, and I'm pretty sure we can help you as well. 

We have a tried and tested methodology, we don't do it for you, we hold you and your colleagues hand throughout, ensuring we not only 'teach' you what to do, we also make sure its firmly embedded into your firms and employees DNA.

We don't do retainers, we are not an agency that creates and produces copy/content, and we definitely don't sells ads for you.

We are active 'practitioners' of what we do, we already know and can evidence the ROI of a robust and internally aligned 'Social' strategy.

Part of that evidence it that you are reading this blog, just like many others - including your competitor!

We also don't do outbound pushy, salesy marketing, so if you would like to explore more, please contact the author of this blog.