The Advertising Side of Social Media

I've spent 20+ years in the advertising and marketing world. Most of the paid work was in radio, but I've also done other forms of media and consulting along the way.

Last month I met with a guy who sells web advertising.

And it got me wondering about the "ads" I see when I'm online.

Most I ignore.

I know, there is a part of my brain that remembers even what I choose to ignore, but most web advertising is designed to move us to take action.

Click so they can measure and track you.

But the problem is they really don't have a good system of measuring and tracking.

And they are producing ads online that are pretty bad.

As bad as the home-made jobs that I see on cable tv.

What's even worse is that the ads lead you to crummy websites, if anything at all.

And then when business owners think a Facebook page is all they need to be online and money will start rolling in... we've got some talking to do.

There is interest in Social Media Advertising, as the following survey shows, but to me it's like putting a really cool sound system in a beater that can't hit 40 mph?!

From Mediapost:

No Magic Bullet For Replicable Social Advertising Success

The Trends in Social Advertising, research from the Pivot Conference in late Spring of 2011, was conducted by the Pivot team to measure the interest in and utilization of social advertising. An invitation to the online survey was extended to marketers and agency professionals via email, blogs,Twitter and Facebook.

Of those businesses that responded to the survey, 60% anticipate that social advertising will be very valuable to them. Another 32% view social advertising as valuable, regardless of the level of satisfaction with past efforts.

Value of Social Advertising Over Next Two Years (% of Respondents)
Value	% of Respondents
Very valuable	60%
Valuable	32
Somewhat valuable	8
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

Consumers increasingly spend time in social networks and less in their email inboxes and visiting traditional websites. As such, brands continue to race to social media sites in the hopes of connecting with consumers when their attention is focused on conversations relevant to those brands. Part of the challenge however, is earning the attention of consumers not just once, but also building a relationship with them over time.

Digital advertising, such as banners and keyword buys, has long provided businesses with products to generate opportunities for clickthroughs, but these products are proving ineffective in social networks. In a phenomenon dubbed "banner blindness," consumers are learning to ignore many forms of digital advertising in favor of the desired content within their area of focus. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen demonstrated through heat maps where eyes are focused on a website screen. Consumer attention is shown to zero in on text and not the banners around it.

On the social web, banner blindness is even more prevalent. In social networks, content populates the social streams of consumer profiles. If we apply the heat map model to social streams, attention may mirror the behavior in traditional web sites. Advertising blindness is a real threat within social networks, but at the same time, represents a new opportunity to rethink paid media, says the report.

Of the respondents in the 2011 Pivot social advertising survey, 85% were either currently experimenting with social advertising or planned to do so within the next 12 months.

Current Involvement in Social Advertising
Involvement	% of Respondents
Currently conducting	67%
Not now; plan to within 12 months	18
Not now; no plans to do so	15
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

Businesses appear to find social advertising successful or worthy of investment. 54% are satisfied or very satisfied with their experiences within social advertising to date.

Satisfaction With Social Advertising
Satisfaction	% of Respondents
Very satisfied	11%
Satisfied	43
Somewhat satisfied	45
Not satisfied	1
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

The Pivot study learned that the major social platforms dominate social advertising plans. 93%, 78%, and 61% of those surveyed have already deployed campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube respectively. Within the next 12 months, businesses will explore social advertising programs beyond these networks to include Foursquare, LinkedIn and YouTube. Despite its popularity in media and on Wall Street, brands aren't ready to advertise on Zynga. Only 2% use Zynga, with 49% stating they've no plans to so. However, 13% of respondents do plan to advertise on Zynga within the next 12 months.

Platforms Deployed for Social Advertising Campaign (Base: Respondents Currently Conducting Social Advertising)
Platform	Have Deployed Campaign	No, ButPlan Within 12 Mos.
Facebook	93%	5
Twitter	78	9
YouTube	61	20
LinkedIn	44	21
Foursquare	16	26
MySpace	7	2
Meebo	4	2
Zynga	2	13
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

For brands to experiment in social advertising, they must find the available products make sense to them. Facebook ranks at the top for the services it offers. YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare do not fair as well, however. Marketing professionals, executives and brand managers state that social advertising products on these services are mostly just good and fair as opposed to excellent.

Ratings of Paid Program Offerings
Platform	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Facebook	31%	38	23	2
YouTube	16	30	16	3
Twitter	11	25	25	5
LinkedIn	6	18	35	3
My Space	1	4	16	11
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

Objectives for social advertising appeared all over the map in the survey, as brands evaluate various outcomes. At 17%, a brand using social advertising to support product introductions or other announcements is the current most common outcome. 13% are seeking to engage existing customers. Tied at 12%, deploying social ads to increase the size of the community or drive traffic to outside destinations. 11% of respondents designed social ads to build brand awareness.

Social Advertising Objectives
Objective	% of Respondents
Build brand awareness	17%
Engage existing customers	13
Increase size of community	12
Drive traffic to online destination	12
Support product intro/announcements	11
Sell products	9
Gain feedback and intelligence	9
Generate leads/build data base	9
Generate video views	4
Shift sentiment	4
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

Experimentation with social media must now give way to measurable business impact, opines the report. For social advertisers, the greatest obstacle they face is demonstrating ROI, with 42% and 44% claiming it is either a significant or occasional obstacle. Securing budget is next with 34% and 53% reporting it as a notable or periodic challenge. Getting executive signoff follows

Obstacles to Social Advertising (% of Responses)
Obstacle	Significant	Sometimes	Not an Obstacle
Demonstrating ROI	42%	44	14
Securing budgets	34	53	13
Getting exec sign-off	21	43	29
Finding skilled specialists	12	56	32
Targeting preferred audience	9	44	45
Source: PIVOT conference, May 2011

The report concludes by suggesting that social advertising is evolving and is forcing creative professionals to think outside of a box that may not, in fact, yet exist. The study did not find a magic bullet to replicable success. The guide for best practices in social advertising is being written as we go. Additionally, the culture of each social network behaves uniquely and requires a customized approach.

As revealed in the report, ROI is important for future funding. Additionally, overcoming banner blindness is essential to success. Without designing metrics or outcomes into the campaign, it will be difficult for marketers to prove value to executives. Without designing personalization and relevance into social advertising programs, it will be difficult to prove value to consumers.

For additional information from PIVOT, please visit here.

Look, I'm not against advertising.

But you better have your follow up and follow thru in place first.

And that's where my company can help. At Cirrus ABS, I have 30 other professionals who know their stuff when it comes to designing a net-centered strategy including a website that will be found without extra advertising, by real people who are searching online for answers to problems you can help them with.

My email: SHoward@CirrusABS.com



ScLoHo is Scott Howard, a Solutions Consultant with Cirrus ABS.

You can contact him here:

Social Media is Mainstream

Friday I posted a story about the Online Revolution extends beyond Social Media. Click here to read more.

But Social Media continues to explode as I'm sure you'll agree after watching this 4 minute video:

The Online Revolution

There is a very good reason why I made a career move this month.

The move to Net-Centered Marketing, one of the hallmarks of my new employer, Cirrus ABS, has become mainstream in the business world.

Led by the growth of Facebook to 600 Million users and a goal of 1,000,000,000 (A BILLION), Social Media is impossible for small and large businesses to ignore.

But interestingly, not only is social media, but other forms of internet communication are growing at a remarkable rate according to this survey from Mediapost:

Social, Mobile and QR Codes Coming On Strong As SMB Marketing Mix With EMail

According to a new survey by Pitney Bowes, 76% of small businesses agree their ideal marketing mix includes a combination of physical and digital communications. 72%, say they would do more of it if they had the right customer communications management tools.

68% say they are choosing new channels such as email, and 54% say social media, because they are found to be cost effective in communicating information to their current and potential customers as compared to all other options. 51% say they cannot get further engaged in multi-channel communications due to limited resources and time.

Though the most popular marketing tool used currently is email, during the last year the most popular new channel being added by small business owners is social media, with 20% of those surveyed just beginning to use it, while 12% added mobile marketing. The newest tool to enter the marketing mix is Quick Response (QR) codes, which have become increasingly visible. While some respondents acknowledge a lack of understanding and perceived complexity toward them, among those using them, almost half are using them on their business cards, 45%, and integrating them in direct mail, 44%.

New Marketing Tactics Used By US SMBs In The Past Year (% of Respondents; April 2011)
New Tactic	% of Respondents
Social media	20%
Advertising	12
Mobile marketing	12
Email	11
QR codes	9
Direct mail	8
Other	16
None	25
Source: Pitney Bowes, SMB Owners Report, May 2011

Debra Thompson-Van, Vice President, Marketing, Pitney Bowes, observes that "... small business owners are increasingly challenged to effectively communicate with their customers and prospects in ways they want to be reached.... discovering that a combination of marketing channels is most effective in reaching prospects and customers... (and) need tools that are easy to implement and more information on how to use them... "

The study found that, while 68% of respondents used email and 60% used advertising most often, social media, with 50%, and direct mail, with 44%, are a tight third place.

The findings say 58% of small businesses surveyed use multi-channel marketing, and that traditional and new digital marketing methods are co-existing to create effective campaigns. Though business owners are integrating various channels, there continue to be barriers to integration for many.

Please visit Pitney Bowes here for additional information.