Written by
Digital marketing expert at Gaasly, helping businesses grow in international markets.
Did you know that the United Kingdom is Europe’s largest digital advertising market, and one of the largest and most thriving around the globe? Year after year, UK businesses allocate billions of pounds to advertising their brand to an ever-growing (and demanding) digital audience.
If you are planning a business expansion to this country, then you don’t want to miss this guide. Keep reading to discover some of the most astonishing facts about digital advertising in the UK, and how you can follow the latest trends to succeed.
Gaasly is a local digital advertising agency in UK with local experts. We do online marketing to help you generate more sales in the United Kingdom. Feel free to reach out if you want to be assisted in your expansion in England, Scotland and Wales with highly skilled local advertisers. In the meanwhile, enjoy your reading with a warm coffee ☕️
If you want to gain a better idea of how crucial digital advertising is for UK businesses, it can help to take a look at some of the figures relating to ad revenue and spending. As you might expect, TV, direct, mail, magazine promotion, and other traditional methods of advertising have been on a steady downward trajectory since 2015.
Adding the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, the traditional advertising market continued to suffer. On the other hand, digital advertising began reaching unprecedented milestones. For example, in 2020, UK companies spent more than 60% of their budget on digital advertising, nearly 53% of which was represented by digital video advertising. The country’s overall digital advertising spend rose to a striking £10.5 billion in the first half of 2021 – 49% more than the same period in 2020, and 42% more than in 2019. It’s safe to say that these figures will continue to increase both this year and in the near future.
In the United Kingdom, around 57.6 million people use social media actively, as data from February 2022 has revealed. This means that the social media penetration rate in the country is 84.3%: a very significant number, only destined to keep rising.
We have put together a handy list below, showing the overall usage of the main social media platforms in the UK.
However, when it comes to social media usage, no two users are the same. Demographics seem to be one of the main factors to determine who is using what, as our list below easily demonstrates:
Within social media advertising, it’s interesting to note that the UK is giving particular prominence to influencers. The popularity – and effectiveness – of influencer marketing and advertising in the country skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic. In this period, influencer contact became the most popular type of content on most social media platforms, representing around 46% of all content, swiftly followed by shopping-related content, at 39%.
Aside from social media advertising, however, another interesting and successful digital advertising tool is represented by the display market. In the UK, this has grown by up to 55%, with video being particularly popular and rising to 70%, generating total revenues of £2.3 billion in 2021: 79% more than in 2019.
Another element that is worth mentioning, in the universe of digital advertising in the UK, is podcast advertising. With the podcast format consistently surging in popularity – in 2021, over 19.1 million UK people listened to podcasts, compared to just 8.9 million in 2017, and forecasted to reach over 28 million by 2026 – advertising your brand through these channels can prove immensely effective and budget-savvy.
If your business is currently performing great in your home country, you might want to simply replicate what you are doing. However, you should try not to fall into this trap, or you are headed for an almost certain huge car crash. Why?
Because a non-native marketer simply can’t match the cultural knowledge, understanding, and communication skills of a native one, resulting in adverts that are nowhere near as powerful, compelling, or persuasive.
Working with native marketers, on the other hand, means that you can take advantage of their insider’s market knowledge, better understand consumer profiles and buying trends, and master the local language and other communication techniques - for what concerns both visual and written content. Therefore, if you want to reach your UK target audience with digital advertising that truly works, your best bet is to team up with local, native marketing and advertising experts.
Setting your business up for success when planning your expansion to the UK means knowing exactly how, where, and to whom you should advertise your brand. Native marketers can allocate resources effectively by avoiding hit 'n' miss actions and using appropriate content adapted to the targeted audience.
For even more help, resources, and information, be sure to visit our website or get in touch with the team at Gaasly today.