Interesting stats coming out about the intersection of advertising and social networking. A recent Ad Week article discussing the findings of a recent IDC report, "US Consumer Online Attitudes Survey Results Part III," addresses an important issue: how can marketers better reach social network audiences through traditional advertising?
Quite frankly, this debate surprises me on one level, and yet doesn't surprise me on another. It surprises me only because we have heard the mantra--or is it a loud and unanimous declaration?--over the past few years that the way audiences receive and manage marketing messages has changed, and the same ole' thing won't work with social media. In a world where active listening is a necessity, this message doesn't seem to be getting through.
IDC's study found that only 3 percent of social network users are OK with publishers using their contact information for advertising. This is a powerful signal that people don't want their Facebook experience perverted by corporate messaging, and companies that do not listen may face some blowback and achieve exactly the opposite of what they wanted to do.
Does this mean that there is no place for marketers in social networks? I don't think so. I think it, though, that the traditional approach must be reevaluated. Perhaps it is a function of asking a new question: instead of asking how to make traditional marketing more effective in today's world, marketers should be exploring how they can best understand and engage an audience that increasingly eschews traditional advertising. Or, "how do we engage people, get them talking and spark sustainable word of mouth"? And this starts with listening, understanding, and accepting that what once worked so well simply isn't going to work any longer.
Quite frankly, this debate surprises me on one level, and yet doesn't surprise me on another. It surprises me only because we have heard the mantra--or is it a loud and unanimous declaration?--over the past few years that the way audiences receive and manage marketing messages has changed, and the same ole' thing won't work with social media. In a world where active listening is a necessity, this message doesn't seem to be getting through.
IDC's study found that only 3 percent of social network users are OK with publishers using their contact information for advertising. This is a powerful signal that people don't want their Facebook experience perverted by corporate messaging, and companies that do not listen may face some blowback and achieve exactly the opposite of what they wanted to do.
Does this mean that there is no place for marketers in social networks? I don't think so. I think it, though, that the traditional approach must be reevaluated. Perhaps it is a function of asking a new question: instead of asking how to make traditional marketing more effective in today's world, marketers should be exploring how they can best understand and engage an audience that increasingly eschews traditional advertising. Or, "how do we engage people, get them talking and spark sustainable word of mouth"? And this starts with listening, understanding, and accepting that what once worked so well simply isn't going to work any longer.
