It’s that time of year again - Bang’s sixth Digital Marketing Report is back and bigger than ever! With the success of our 2018 report, we hope to present even more insights into the state of digital marketing in WA this year. Read on to find out more about the report in previous years, what to expect in 2019 and why you should participate in our report survey today!What is the WA Digital Marketing Report?In 2014, Bang Digital launched the annual WA Digital Marketing Report, specifically designed to inform businesses on digital trends. A first of its kind report in WA, the aim is to help businesses benchmark themselves against others in the state and gain an edge over the competition.Highlighting the importance small, medium and large businesses place on digital marketing and the challenges they face as the landscape continues to change at a rapid rate, the report presents WA businesses firsthand knowledge on the state of the digital marketing industry. Recap of last yearTo give you an indication of what to expect from this year’s report, some of the major shifts we identified in the market in 2018 included:1. Social media marketing stayed on topSocial media marketing was identified by WA businesses as the most widely used marketing activity in 2018. According to the report, 97% businesses engaged in social media marketing and almost all had a Facebook business page.2. Content marketing was on the riseThe 2018 report identified some major shifts in the market, including how 83% of businesses saw content marketing as the top emerging digital trend they used or planned to use in the financial year.3. Personalisation was at the coreVideo content development, UX and customer journey mapping were all listed as future focuses in 2018, as businesses began to move towards more personalised forms of marketing.4. The majority of businesses measured their marketingAlmost three quarters of organisations surveyed said they measured the success of their digital marketing activities, with Google Analytics the preferred method of measurement across businesses of all sizes in 2018.5. In-house won over outsourcing76% of businesses surveyed said they manage their social media in-house, with large businesses more likely to use a mixture of internal and external management for their social media activities than SMEs in 2018.6. Time was an issueThe time it takes to manage digital media was reported as the biggest challenge facing companies in 2018. Specifically, they reported major concerns regarding finding the time to:
7. Digital marketing budgets increased54% of businesses planned to increase their digital marketing budgets in 2018. This was a 15% jump year-on-year, indicating the importance businesses place on having a strong online presence. It will be interesting to see if any of these trends progress in 2019, or if we identify any new ones in our upcoming report that might challenge the collective thinking...What’s the difference this year?In our fifth year embarking on the report, we hope to continue to shed light on how digital marketing has helped WA businesses achieve their digital marketing goals. We also want to share insights on:
Then, we want to take it one step further and offer strategies to implement these insights that are easy to manage and useful for WA businesses both big and small. Finally, we will also be focusing on industry specific trends to deliver the most insightful and in-depth report so far.Are you a business executive or marketing professional in Western Australia? Have your say! Click here to complete this year’s survey.
