The real loser of the Super Bowl may very well be hashtags. And yes, the Falcons #blew it. Back in Super Bowl 48 57% of all the commercials shown included a hash tag to try to bring users from the TV to social media accounts. Since then, it has gone downhill for this effort, and this year really took a nose dive. Last year’s Super Bowl had 45% of all ads featuring a hash tag, and this year’s Super Bowl 51 dropped down to just 30%!
While hash tags are used across many social media platforms, they really became most popular on Twitter. As Twitter continues to experience problems, it seems that major marketers are moving away from the trend.
This, however, doesn’t mean that digital is losing popularity. Website URLs are moving up in ads, appearing in 41% of ads this year. It may be the start of a trend where companies encourage consumers to go to their website directly rather than using the social media accounts as a stopping point.
Not surprisingly, the trends in digital marketing often change quickly based on what is working at the moment. Keeping up with the trends of major advertisers can be very helpful for marketers at all levels, who can take advantage of the research and experience of the larger companies.
