advertising

Social Media and Future of Advertising

What is the future of advertising in Social Age?

Well, we may get as many different answers as the number of Social Media gurus and Advertising pundits out there, which by the way is not a small number!

“Nature of commercial message is not going to look like a display ad, it’s going to provide functionality and a different kind of interface for the user to act on something. People in Social context don’t want to be interrupted, instead want continue to be engaged and want functionality that eases a task they are about to engage in”.

Watch this excellent panel discussion and listen to what four real experts have to say on this subject. The experts are:

I like what Irwin Gotlieb says: “Nature of commercial message is not going to look like a display ad, it’s going to provide functionality and a different kind of interface for the user to act on something. People in Social context don’t want to be interrupted, instead want continue to be engaged and want functionality that eases a task they are about to engage in.”

Enjoy the video and do share your thoughts on what advertising will look like in Social Age.

Harish Kotadia

Social Media… maturing as an advertising medium

I’m really looking forward to the day when social media matures as an advertising medium. I feel as though social media advertising is currently pigeonholed into the same boat as mobile (which has been in the same boat for the last four years): it’s about one to two years away from maturing as a medium for advertising. That doesn’t mean that social media (or mobile, for that matter) is not a strong marketing medium. It just means we have to be honest about what needs to be fixed — or else bad ads will continue to happen to good people.

We also have to be clear on the differences between advertising and marketing. Advertising is defined as a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services. Marketing is defined as an integrated communications process through which individuals and communities are informed and persuaded that their needs can be met by products or services.

The primary difference, when you break them down, is where your money goes! Advertising really means paying to broadcast or display a message, whereas marketing refers to all the differentiated components that allow a brand to convey a message to a consumer, of which advertising is just one tactic. Marketing is the umbrella term.

Currently, social media ads are inexpensive, untargeted and not as effective as they could be. Social media is great at marketing (when used properly), but it currently falls down when it comes to paid advertising. From a marketing perspective, it is a great way of engaging/interacting with a consumer through presence and seeding: creating a presence for the consumer to interact with and inserting (seeding) into existing conversations that may be of relevance to the brand.

The Party and your Marketing Mix

Here is a neat way to look at some key aspects of the Marketing Mix… thru the eyes of a party setting. So imagine that you, your friends and a famous athlete are all at a party together and in the same room.

Direct Sales/Marketing takes place when you see a famous athlete at a party. You approach them and say, “I am the best sports agent in the business. You should sign up with me.”

Advertising takes place when you are at a party with a group of friends and you pay your friend money to approach the athlete, point over to you and tell the athlete that “you are the best sports agent in the business.”

Public Relations takes place when you see a famous athlete at a party. You notice the athlete’s needs by opening the door for them, picking up their bag and offering them an appetizer. They thank you and then ask you your name… you tell them and say… “by the way I am the best sports agent in the business.”

Brand Recognition occurs when you are at a party and the famous athlete seeks you out, then comes up to you and says, “we need to talk, I hear you are the best sports agent in the business.”

Where are you in the Marketing Mix of a party? Do you know?

Ryan T. Sauers

http://www.sauersgroup.com/ http://www.sauersblog.com/