Advertising & Social Networks
I was reading an interesting article in the Financial Times today about Social Networking and it’s effect on advertising. This is exactly why I have been involved with social networking because I do see it as the next frontier for my industry.
My business partners have been dabbling with social networking as well so that we can be better positioned to help our clients achieve results in their interactive marketing campaigns. One thing not really covered in this piece is the interaction between websites and social networks. For example, we are presently assisting our clients in implementing Facebook Connect and Twitter into their websites. If you are a website owner, or involved with online marketing, please feel free to contact us to discuss your needs, we would love the opportunity to consult with you.
Here is the content of the article from the Financial Times:
Social networks threaten advertising growth
By Tim Bradshaw, Digital Media Correspondent
Published: January 15 2009 01:41 | Last updated: January 15 2009 01:41
Two-thirds of advertising agencies are not prepared for the industry changes prompted by social networks and new forms of digital media, a report has found.
The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, which will publish the “Social Media Futures” report compiled by Future Foundation next week, has warned that advertising agencies face growth of just 1.2 per cent a year by 2016 if the industry fails to tackle the changes to the media created by sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Social networks enable consumers to pass on information about products and services, and recommendations from friends are more influential than traditional forms of advertising.
Advertisers are already taking advantage of the trend, with the Cadbury “Gorilla” spot being viewed over 10m times on YouTube as well as being aired on television.
The Dove “Campaign for real beauty”, which advertised Unilever’s cosmetics range, was also boosted by a YouTube video showing a high-speed transformation of a model’s natural face to the made-up and touched-up final version which appeared on a billboard.
But not enough agencies are adjusting to the online world, the IPA warned. In its worst-case scenario, the resulting decline in paid-for advertising space could see £16m ($23m) of revenues lost by the industry by 2016, if agencies fail to create new products and services to cater to the social media world.
However, the report says that two-thirds of that decline could be made up by creating new forms of web content that contains branding messages, and by analyzing the data expressed on the web.
Clients’ investment in new content and rapid data analysis will increase by around 5 per cent, according to the IPA’s survey. Other sources of revenue derived for social networking include consultancy and e-commerce.
“The current downturn will accelerate these trends in agencies as everyone is looking to innovate and stand out from the crowd,” said Moray MacLennan, IPA president and chief executive of M&C Saatchi Worldwide, an agency.
“I don’t think [social media] is a replacement for paid-for media, it is just going to be a challenger for [consumers’] time and attention.”
Social networks themselves are still figuring out how to make money from advertising on their sites. Pricing for generic banner advertising on social networking is relatively low compared to other sites, because their users are logging in for communication rather than commerce.
That has prompted both networks and advertisers to look for more innovative ways to connect with consumers.
“Within this environment, one needs to acknowledge that more often than not you are interrupting private conversations,” said Mr. MacLennan.
Joe Staton, planning director at the Future Foundation, who co-wrote the report, said that marketers needed to secure “permission” to approach users on social sites.
“As people are being more considered about purchasing, they want to go out and find information themselves rather than just receiving it,” he said.
FT.com / UK / Business – Social networks threaten advertising growth
MySpace Ad Platform
I am a little late to the punch on this one but MySpace has launched their own self-serve advertising platform. I am not a huge MySpace fan so this one almost slipped by me. I spent a little time tonight checking it out and I have to admit that their application for building the ads is pretty nice and very simple to operate.
Unlike Facebook Ads, which I am sold on completely, I am not recommending that any of my clients jump into they MySpace marketplace and start doing any advertising yet. Here’s my rationale on that…
You have to take into consideration the market you have on MySpace. Granted, there are a few of us old timers on MySpace but not that many compared to what I am seeing on Facebook. I have been using this comparison of MySpace’s Audience versus Facebook’s Audience. MySpace is like going to a bar, the music is loud and it is dimly lit, Facebook is like going to Starbucks, it’s a relaxed atmosphere where you can interact with more attentive people. Not to mention, the music at Starbucks is worth listening too…
With all of this being said, I suppose if I had a client that was selling a product that was targeting the teenage market I would probably advise them to look into MySpace, unfortunately I don’t have any clients at this time that really fall into that category so I probably won’t have any news to report on how well MySpace’s ad platform works. However, if any of you are using it, I would love to hear your experiences, shoot me a comment…
MySpace Launches “My Ads” Self Serve Ad Platform: Is This Their Google Moment?
Ads On Social Networks
Advertising on Social Networks is something that I have been following pretty closely because I see so much potential there. Turns out my hunch on social media advertising that I posted a few months back has turned into a reality, it works.
Did you know that 40% of consumers have made purchases based on advertising they saw on social media websites, that’s incredible. With that being said I need to state for the record that in the social arena my money is on Facebook, I am all in. Their social platform is open to developers which makes it more appealing to me as a business owner but it’s also gaining ground on MySpace by leaps and bounds in terms of users. I am not saying stop your Google or Yahoo advertising either, I am just saying add Facebook to your arsenal too!!
If you are a website owner and are considering adding social networks to your advertising budget this next year, please drop me a line, I would love to discuss your strategy with you, I think that this is an arena that I can help you out in because I am a student of social networking and have some ideas that I don’t think are out of the bag yet.
I was reading a post by Mike Sachoff on Webpronews this weekend and decided to repost it here. He references a recent report by Razorfish group in his post.
Forty percent of consumers have made a purchase based on advertising they saw on a social media site, and 76 percent said they were comfortable with advertising on social networks, according to a new report by Razorfish.
“Connected consumers embrace social media, are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly dabbling with emerging communication offerings like Twitter,” said Garrick Schmitt, Razorfish Group Vice President of Experience Planning and FEED editor.
“We find that consumers are more open to advertising as part of their everyday experience than commonly assumed.”
The report found that 65 percent of connected consumers say that retail loyalty programs influence purchasing decisions.
Loyalty services like Amazon’s Prime or Best Buy’s Reward Zone are key for retailers to do well in the competitive online environment.
Web sites that offer personalized recommendations strongly influence connected consumers. Over half (65%) said that they have made a repeat purchase on a site that featured an automated recommendation based on their previous purchase.
Schmitt said that 60 percent of consumers use widgets on Web sites, and close to half watch videos on their mobile devices.
“The uptake of widgets, mobile devices and social media tells us that marketers need to design experiences for consumers across a world of fragmented digital media,” he said.
Web 2.0 Non-Profit Marketing
At Pleth we work with a wide variety of clients, from Fortune 500 enterprises to Small Businesses. We do our best to stay up on the best ways to market our clients websites to their target audiences.
Lately, I have been working on a couple of projects for some non-profit clients, primarily churches. One of the things that I have been urging these clients to become more active in is social networking. I have even made this same recommendation to many of our private firms and business clients, I feel that strongly about the social networking aspect of the web today.
In doing some marketing research for a non-profit today I ran across this website that has some great resources available such as a “best practices” guide for Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and a few others. This is a great resource and I am sure that I will share this quite a few times with my clients down the road, here’s an excerpt from the Facebook Marketing Guide:
1) Use your organization’s logo as your profile photo.
Facebook Pages are the perfect opportunity to further showcase your logo and build brand recognition. When possible, configure your logo image for your Facebook Page so that it is in the shape of a square or at least a full rectangle. Very narrow logos are unreadable in your fan’s “My Pages” and are severely cropped when you send “Updates” on Facebook. View Example: Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
2) Keep text to a bare minimum.
Your website is where your fan’s will go to read more in-depth information about your organization. On your Facebook Page, keep text to a bare minimum. When editing “Detailed Info” under “Company Overview” enter 1-2 paragraphs about your organization and under “Mission” enter your organization’s mission statement. Don’t use the products section. If you have an online store, list it under the “Website” category. View Example: The Humane Society of the United States.
3) Link to your website, blogs, social networking profiles, etc.
When editing “Detailed Info”, in addition to your website, list links to your organization’s profiles on MySpace, YouTube, Change.org, or blogs that your organization maintains. View Example: ACCION International.
The Change.org App allows you to add “Donate” and “Subscribe to e-Newsletter” buttons, as well any actions your organization has created on Change.org, to your organization’s Facebook Page [View Example: Amnesty International]. If one of your fans on Facebook donates, subscribes, or takes action, you can then download their supporter and donor data through your Nonprofit Admin Account on Change.org [Sign up].
The Causes App allows individuals and nonprofits to fundraise for their favorite causes/nonprofit organizations. Many nonprofits on Facebook already have created numerous Causes [View Example: National Peace Corps Association]. Since Facebook Pages are compatible with Apps, you should add the Causes App to your Facebook Page in order to centralize the Causes that your organization has created in one place on Facebook.
This native App of Facebook essentially allows you to run a blog on your Facebook Page. Like a blog, notes are listed chronologically and allow fans to post comments. In addition, new Notes show up in the Mini-Feed on your page. Be sure the drag your Notes section to left of your page so that the first sentence of your Note can be read. [View Example: The Sierra Club]
7) Add the Profile Box App or the Profile HTML App to insert HTML into your Page.
The Profile Box App is a simple tool that allows you to add images, links, and tables and forms that are written in html to your Facebook Page. This allows you to use Facebook Pages to drive traffic to your website and recruit online activists and donors. Another App that allows you to insert HTML into your Facebook Page is Profile HTML App. [View Example: Harvesters] Don’t know HTML? View this HTML Tutorial.
Use your Facebook Page to drive traffic to other social networking sites.
In the era of Web 2.0, at the very least nonprofit organizations should be using Facebook, Change.org, MySpace, and YouTube in their communications and outreach strategies. Using the Profile Box App, add the Web 2.0 icons below to your organization’s Facebook Page and website to drive traffic to your communities on other social networks. [View Example: Carolyn's Compassionate Children]
9) Add the YouTube Video Box App.
Since YouTube is one of the most visited websites in the world, add the YouTube Video Box App to import and display the videos that your organization has already uploaded to YouTube. This will increase the video views on your YouTube Channel as well as increase your nonprofit rank on YouTube. [View Example: Harvesters]
10) Add the Blog RSS Feed Reader App.
The Blog RSS Feed Reader App allows your organization’s RSS Feed or any other RSS feed to your Facebook Page. The App automatically downloads your most recent blog posts and post them on the right side of your Facebook Page. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website and your blogs also show up in the News Feed on Facebook.
If your organization does not have its own RSS Feed or organizational blog, you can use the RSS Feed from your MySpace blog. [View Example: DIOSA | Communications]
11) Send out one or two Updates per month.
Just like in e-mail marketing, if you send out too many Updates on Facebook to your fans, your run the risk of crossing that thin line of being that “nonprofit that sends out too many updates”. The option to “Opt Out” is front and center in your fan’s Inbox > Updates and can be done with one simple click. When it comes to online communications, less is more. Just like in e-mail, your fans will opt out less and read your emails more if your organization only sends them out once or twice a month.
The Inbox > Updates is unique on Facebook in that only one Update is displayed no matter how many Updates a nonprofit may have sent out. Still, the total of sent Updates is listed on the right side of your fan’s Inbox > Updates. It doesn’t look good if your organization has 5-10 Updates listed while others are at one or two. Individuals on Facebook don’t check their Updates as often as they do their Inbox, so if they have 5 or 10 waiting it is just too much information to digest. Again, it’s a thin line but one or two is a safe bet.
12) Link to your website(s) in Updates.
Whether is a link to your website or your organization’s MySpace Profile, use Updates to increase traffic to your organization’s website, blog, or social networks. IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have the “http://” in front of the website URL [such as http://www.wildaid.org] so that the link is automatically hyperlinked in your Update so that individuals can visit the website with one simple click.
13) Do not leave your “Cause” donation amount at $0.
Most people are unwilling to be the first to donate to a Cause on Facebook. To get the donations rolling and add crediblilty to your Cause, donate $10, $25 or even $50 to your organizations Cause.
14) Use contests to increase the activity on your Facebook Page.
Using the Facebook Discussion Board, the Notes App, your website, and/or your blog, hold contests asking people to become a fan, post comments on your wall and/org donate to your Cause/Change.org social network within a certain time frame and then reward them with a free membership or gift. [View Example: Catholic Relief Services].
15) Thank your donors with Wall Comments!
Web 2.0 donors are a completely breed. They don’t want your organization to waste time or resources sending print thank you letters. They much prefer that a staff person at your organization post a thank you comment on their Wall! They will appreciate the public acknowledgement.
PLEASE NOTE: This is your only option in thanking your donors if you use Causes since the App does not provide the nonprofit the contact information of your donors.
As I mentioned, this is some great information for Facebook. DIOSA also has some great information available for MySpace and the other social networks out there, it’s definitely worth checking out…
