Phạm TúMajor platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook have recently started introducing paid subscription plans that limit ads for users. This poses a significant challenge for businesses, forcing them to adjust and reallocate their paid ad budgets within their overall marketing budget. So how can businesses effectively reach customers in this new landscape? What trends will dominate marketing budgets in 2024? This article will analyze and provide some insights for you.
The Rise of Subscription Services and Ad Limitations
In Vietnam, YouTube Premium officially launched in April 2023, and the number of YouTube Premium users has skyrocketed. According to a Google report, the number of YouTube Premium users in Vietnam increased fivefold in six months, from 200,000 in April 2023 to 1 million in October 2023. This clearly demonstrates the popularity of paid services on YouTube in Vietnam. Currently, there are three subscription tiers for YouTube Premium in Vietnam:
- Individual plan: 79,000 VND/month
- Family plan: 149,000 VND/month
- Student plan: 49,000 VND/month
Similarly, Meta has also announced a paid ad-blocking service for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe, with an estimated cost of 10-14 USD/month. It’s likely that the Asia region, including Vietnam, will soon see similar updates.
The blocking of paid ads on major platforms directly signals the rise of Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) – independent content creators with a large following. They will play a crucial role in the marketing strategies of many brands, especially from 2024 onwards.
This trend leads to users being exposed to fewer ads on these platforms, negatively impacting the effectiveness of traditional digital marketing campaigns. Many experts believe this is a major challenge for businesses, as online marketing budgets for paid ads no longer yield high results. With decreasing ad visibility, businesses that haven’t established effective and automated communication and distribution channels will find it increasingly difficult to reach potential customers who have paid to block ads.
New Marketing Budget Trends
In response to this situation, many businesses have started adjusting their strategies, expanding into traditional channels like TV, OOH (out-of-home advertising), taxi ads, and livestreaming. Additionally, diversifying distribution and sales channels is receiving more attention to avoid over-reliance on a single platform.
However, the most notable trend is the shift in budget towards collaborations with influencers, KOLs, and KOCs. Instead of spending heavily on paid ads, many brands have chosen to invest in marketing campaigns involving a large number of KOLs/KOCs on a regular basis.
KOLs and KOCs – Key Factors for Brand Success
It can be said that KOLs/KOCs are crucial in helping brands maintain their presence and engagement with the user community. When brands strategically book collaborations with KOCs, even micro and nano-influencers, they can maintain visibility and build personalized relationships with potential customers. This is a smart and effective strategy in the context of online marketing budgets becoming increasingly limited due to paid services offered by major platforms.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can also consider building in-house KOLs, meaning they create and manage their own communication channels instead of relying entirely on external KOLs. This is a way for businesses to save costs, increase credibility, and build trust with customers.
Conclusion
With major platforms increasingly limiting ad displays, KOLs and KOCs will be a key strategy for brands to maintain customer engagement and achieve sustainable growth. Therefore, 2024 promises to be a “golden age” for influencers, and the budget allocated for KOL/KOC marketing is expected to increase in the coming years.
