Marketers still struggle with wrapping their heads around the value of social media, and how to best connect their brands with communities. Because the online world moves at near light speed, our tendency is to jump in, or endlessly noodle over, the latest media trends and technology. The thing is – it takes time for these hatchlings to mature. But according to Forrester, 75% of Internet users now participate in social networking at some level, so if you were waiting to see if it's a flash in the pan, I think it's safe to say social media isn't going anywhere.
Social media ad dollars are also on the rise, with just over $1.4 billion estimated this year. While this is just a small fraction of the $24.9 billion online spend, it’s up 55% from last year. MySpace and Facebook snagged the largest portions of the advertising pie, but Twitter, Tagged, and Ning lead the race in audience growth (Nielsen Online). And it’s not just the youngsters anymore – Forrester found that 35 – 44 year olds are now jumping on the social bandwagon as well.
Despite Facebook’s “Beacon” faux pa earlier this year, a recent Forrester report shows 29% of users prefer targeted ads, while only 13% of users are worried about sites tracking their behavior. The trick is to not cross the “creepiness” line, which Facebook did by broadcasting shopping behavior without permission.
The thing is, consumers might be OK with trading their information for relevant ads, but perhaps advertisers and media providers are still missing the definition of “relevance.” While it's remotely relevant that I surfed game design schools, it’s not something I care about. By contrast, social networking sites have access to a bottomless well of demographic and psychographic information, some “declared," other "inferred." But lack of sophisticated targeting algorithms, or perhaps lack of a quantity of quality advertisers, still results in members getting ads that have nothing to do with their interests.
Who has the targeting information that could actually provide a relevant advertising experience users want? My money goes to the “known and trusted merchant.” Amazon knows everything I want – it’s in my wish list. IMDB and Netflix know my movie interests. Expedia knows where I like to go, and L.L.Bean knows I only shop with them at Christmas. If technology could provide a solution to integrate the advertiser data into the targeting equation, consumers might begin to actually feel "engaged." TruEffect continues to develop solutions to create the most optimum engagement between advertiser and consumer, anywhere they meet on the web.
So, what of the wonderful opportunity to intimately engage with your customers on social media? It still has a way to go, but in light years……. It might not be such a long wait.
– Layne Salter
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