Social Advertising: The New Brand Promotion Tool
Posted by Gwen Richardson on Thu, Sep 01, 2011
When Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were launched several years ago, the sites began as online destinations where consumers could go to network with friends, communicate using casual updates, and upload videos of fun and leisure activities. As these sites have amassed millions of users worldwide --Facebook says it has 750 million active users, more than twice the U.S. population -- they have now become an essential part of any growing business' marketing strategy.
Known as social advertising, communication with customers via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by marketing a company's presence on these sites started as a trend and has become a virtual wave. Major corporations now include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube logos on their web sites, in their print advertising and even on billboards.
But small- and medium-sized companies are not far behind and are getting in on the social advertising phenomenon by creating their own Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and blogs. Some houses of worship, such as Fallbrook Church in Houston, are using Facebook for community outreach. And many self-employed professionals, like authors, are abandoning their web sites and using Facebook to promote their books and communicate with their readers.
Yes, it seems that everyone who has a brand is opting to promote it through social advertising. At a recent advertising conference, Google executives declared that the future of display advertising will be interactive, social and customizable.
Large companies, however, have moved beyond logo and static ad placement to more aggressive and innovative forms of advertising through these vehicles. One company offering the next "new thing" in Internet advertising is a firm called Flite, whose cloud-based ad platform incorporates high-definition graphics and links to social advertising sites, all without leaving the Web page where the ad appears.
One recent online ad that Flite produced for the cosmetics giant Lancome, features a rotating, three-dimensional bottle of its bestselling Tresor perfume on the left side. On the right side are links to Lancome's Facebook wall (showing recent posts), Twitter account (showing recent tweets), and a YouTube ad video -- and all can be viewed within the ad itself.
According to Flite, these types of interactive ads invite consumers to spend more time connecting with the company and the product, resulting in greater brand loyalty and up to a 10 times increase in return on investment when compared to typical display ads.
Another firm, Kontera, encourages its clients to give their brand a "social boost," and has developed technology known as "in-text advertising." In this form of social advertising, marketers pay to have hyperlinked keywords placed in an article or blog post; the ads appear in a pop out window on the same page, featuring a brand’s social networks.
Meteor Solutions, a company based in Seattle, Wash., has patent-pending technology it calls Tag & Trace. This innovation allows companies to track content as it is transferred among "friends," and identifies the social audience that the content reaches. Using their Meteor Social Audience Marketing suite, companies reach their social audiences with targeted advertising, motivate them with exclusive content and special rewards, and measure and optimize performance with state-of-the-art analytical tools.
More innovations are certain to hit the market as social advertising continues to grow in influence and become ubiquitous. Yet, the most important thing is that your company understands the impact of social advertising and takes advantage of its benefits to spread your brand. Don't be left on the sidelines in this wave of the future.