Posts Tagged ‘Advertising’

The world of Socialized Media is maturing and along with it, our knowledge, expertise, reach, and personal and represented brands are only flourishing. It will continue as long as we realize that these new social tools and networks require an entirely new commitment and embodiment of what we personify and how we can be a genuine resource to the people who define the communities that are important to us.

In Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere report, the company observed that blogging is becoming mainstream, leading the way for an Active Blogosphere – defined as the ecosystem of interconnected communities of bloggers and readers at the convergence of journalism and conversation. I’d also add that as the Active Blogosphere further permeates our daily information consumption and distribution processes, that the Social Web equally becomes pervasive. But, it’s so much more than an Active SocialMediaSphere. As networks become densely populated and new communities arise and thrive, we’re experiencing a fundamental shift in content creation, distribution, and consumption, thus creating an Active and Participatory Media society that is inspiring and seeding a more literate and enlightened generation.

 Blogs and social networks are now part of our daily lives.

* comScore MediaMetrix (August 2008)

- Blogs: 77.7 million unique visitors in the US

- Facebook: 41.0 million | MySpace 75.1 million

- Total internet audience 188.9 million

 

* eMarketer (May 2008)

- 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users)

- 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12%)

 

* Universal McCann (March 2008)

- 184 million WW have started a blog | 26.4 US

- 346 million WW read blogs | 60.3 US

- 77% of active Internet users read blogs

 

YouTube = 10 percent of all internet traffic (source: Ellacoya Networks) 

YouTube & Wikipedia among top brands (source: brandchannel.com) 

Five of the top 10 websites are social (source: Alexa)

Over 100 million blogs exist (source: Technorati)

120,000 new blogs launched every day (source: Technorati)

1.5 million posts per day (17 per second) (source: Technorati)Everyone is a Social Media Expert

  You’re a purveyor of new media, but then again, so is everyone else it seems. So what are you going to do to rise above the fray while also delivering true, incontestable value to those you’re helping?  

Are you an evangelist or a consultant?  

Are you an extension of your company brand or are you an employee?  

Are you a leader, follower, or are you meandering through your profession?  

Are you confined to the role of a social marketer or do you represent something with longer-term value?  

At the end of the day, everything that’s transpiring around us is actually improving the existing foundation for our business, from service to marketing to product development to sales to executive management, and everything in between.  

Social marketing revitalizes and empowers every facet of our workflow and its supporting ecosystem. Seeing the bigger picture and tying our knowledge to the valuable feedback from our communities will help us guide businesses towards visibility, profitability, relevance and ultimately customer loyalty.  

In every single case, it doesn’t just take an expert; it requires a champion to make an impact.   You are that champion.

The buzz surrounding Social Networking sites may cause media buyers to shy away from allocating budget to the social networking platforms. Those who are just now getting on board may be “showing up late to the party”, while the current advertisers are experiencing disappointing click-through rates. Despite the mixed reviews, there is still plenty of opportunity to become profitable through media buys involving social networks. The opportunity especially exists for local advertisers, and when it comes to advertising on social networks, local advertisers have the home field advantage.
When purchasing media, it is important to ask partners “what are your users’ demographics?” Every media buy should contain a clear and concise definition of the target audience. Let’s face it, reaching your target audience is the most crucial factor in any internet marketing endeavor, and targeting the right users based on their specific interest or behavior is critical in media buying.
We all know that users of social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, offer up their demographics through their user profile. This allows media buyers to reach audiences based on their specific interests, activities, relationship status, and of course, location. The plethora of user information eliminates the trial and error process of finding that “sweet spot” which is all too common in most media buys. This influx of segmented information enables a more time and cost effective purchase of media.
Historically, Social Networks have been synonymous with branding. Recently, the bigger brand advertisers are straying from social networks in search of niche specific sites. These niche sites are believed to create a more “meaningful” view for big brands. This shift leaves the door wide open for smaller, more localized advertisers to fill the void in Leaderboards and Skyscrapers. Local businesses recognize the fact that they need an online presence, and social networks extend the chance for these smaller businesses to get in the game.
Facebook, for example, does a phenomenal job of allowing advertisers the dynamic feature of targeting geographically. Local businesses can explore creative steps in order to reach consumers, while playing an active role in the community of wall postings, groups, and RSS newsfeeds. Of course, results will vary on a case by case basis and ads certainly need to be tested; but this obviously brings local advertising to the national websites.
Not only does advertising on social media give local shops the national appeal, it also maximizes ROI while allowing advertisers full control of budget. The average cost for one network cable spot ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 and the average cost for one premium network cable spot is $10,000. How much exposure could the same amount provide a local advertiser on a Social Site? Facebook’s Social Ads are priced on either a CPC or CPM basis – advertisers are able to choose a daily budget and a maximum CPC or CPM, and there is no set cost for these advertisements.
Social media consumers are often seeking specific information in a low-pressure environment. Studies show that contextual advertising can increase a campaign’s ROI in this medium. Facebook’s users are accustomed to this type of informative content which can turn casual browsers into serious buyers. Although these social sites may be the future of local advertising, it is still important for local businesses to spread advertising dollars across the old marketing mix. Using the newspaper, radio, or magazines to point consumers to their site will spike interest. This multi-channel marketing will also enable a more branded appeal while pumping up traffic to stores, and will ultimately lead to increased sales.
No matter if you are looking to purchase media for a local bookstore, bike shop, dating service, or night club, social networks offer the opportunity for local advertisers to roll with the big dogs and score the big sales!
References:
“B2B Buyers Dig Social Media” Marketing Pilgrim, February 24, 2009 ( http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/02/b2b-buyers-dig-social-media.html )
“Exclusive PMN Research: Brands Struggle To Reach & Engage Younger Gen Y’s Within Social Networks” Social Media Today, March 4, 2009 ( http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/78154 )

If you wish to be a successful Internet marketer you will want to avoid these 8 mistakes:

1. Failure to prepare properly. Many Internet marketers are simply lazy and will not make the effort to prepare properly. Refrain from being overly anxious as if you’ll miss the boat if you do not market your website immediately. Use however many days it takes to setup all the appropriate advertising accounts and advertisements properly. This will make your administration more efficient and enable you to fly through your schedule tasks effortlessly each day. The net result is that your marketing efforts will be far more productive than if you were to take a haphazard approach.

2. Failure to implement an advertising strategy. You must have a plan with well defined goals if you wish to have positive marketing results. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Do not try to recreate the wheel. Find out what successful people are doing and do the same. Regarding goals, write them down. When you achieve a goal mark it as “completed” and replace it with another. By doing this very simple step you can monitor your effectiveness and progress.

3. Failure to be professional. Some of the ads on the Internet are of embarrassingly poor quality. Be professional in your business approach and in the design of your ads. If you lack the ability to produce professional ads then find a resource that can. The quality of your website and advertisements is a reflection on you. Also, when dealing with customers always be courteous and professional even when they are not. If you are professional you will shine above the rest and earn customer confidence.

4. Failure to implement and adhere to a disciplined schedule. If you don’t have a realistic schedule in place then you will not be disciplined in marketing your ads properly. Consistency not volume is the key to success in marketing on the Internet. A schedule allows you to be consistent and also forces you to be disciplined. The Internet is not a “get rich quick” environment. It takes hours of dedicated and consistent work. You must be committed to putting in the time if you wish to have good marketing results.

5. Failure to utilize the right tools. There are some very innovative tools on the Internet to make the operation of your business more efficient. Many of them are very affordable and they will save you from having great frustration. Some marketers take the approach of being a “penny wise and a pound foolish.” In saving their pennies they are losing out on making the bigger dollars. Don’t ignore the many tools which are available.

6. Failure to build a downline. Your downline is the cornerstone of your business. A downline is your customer list or they can be referrals that join certain advetising programs through you serving as an affiliate. Verious advertising sites offer you some type of compensation for bringing them referrals. Don’t ignore the value of these referrals. Some Internet marketers are so anxious to advertise their product they fail to have an understanding of the bigger picture. A big downline can save you money in your advertising and enbable you to advertise more effectively. When soliciting always get the email address of your customer for future solicitations and sales.

7. Failure to track ads. Much time is wasted on unproductive sites and ads. If you’re not tracking them you will continually work in ignorance. You must have a measure of what is working and what is not. Is the program that you are participating in yielding the desired results? Are your ads well written and effective in drawing customers? You will never have the answers to these important questions unless you track your ads. You can waste a great deal of time on poor advertising programs and bad ads if you never track the results.

8. Failure to understand the advertising medium. You must understand how each type of advertising program works if you’re going to be an effective marketer. Whether you use pay-per-click advertising or membership driven sites like safelists, traffic exchanges and text ad exchanges all have their own personality. Not only do you need to understand the mechanics of each but also the general personality of their membership.