This just in: Social networkers are savvy shoppers and searchers. But we already knew that, right? With 43% of the online community using social networking sites, it’s obvious that marketers should take advantage of this far-reaching advertising medium. What’s not so obvious, is how to reach these calculating, discerning, lightning-fast multi-taskers on the Web. Hit them over the head with a giant, flashing display ad? Not so successful, a January 2009 InsightExpress study finds. When InsightExpress asked its 1,593 respondents how willing they were to see advertising on their social network, not surprisingly, they were less willing to view marketing messages on sites where it is currently most obvious. Take note — MySpace, Facebook and Classmates were identified as the networks with the most obvious advertising, while LinkedIn has the least number of individuals who think the advertising is obvious.
So get creative! Engage those surfers who spend an average of $101 per month online. Interact with that single, 29-year-old woman who is searching for the best deal on her new TV. The Insight study suggests that opt-in ads seem to be the best route for advertisers to leverage the opportunities provided by these platforms, with 40% of social networkers condoning this practice. Only 20% of respondents gave behavior-based campaigns the green light. Response to the concept of randomly generated ads depended on the site, notes Insight, with 23% of LinkedIn, Facebook, Classmates, MySpace and Reunion profilers saying this approach was acceptable, while 43% of Cafemom, Twitter and Flickr users found it acceptable.
Now you might be asking yourself where else can I get involved in the search lives of these chatters and online buyers, and possibly spread more word-of-mouth? Netpop’s December 2008 survey reports that approximately 29%, or 40 million U.S. broadband users, are regular contributors to the Web, specifically through social networking sites, and are spending increasing amounts of their online time communicating with each other, both one-to-one and one-to-many. Here’s where your clients need to be to get those networkers working their mouthpieces, according to Netpop:
- Search engines
- Brand or manufacturer sites
- Online-only retail sales
- Auction sites
- Social networking sites
And now it comes down to the who. Unfortunately, not the band, but Netpop says single, employed women, aged 18-39 and living somewhere between Indiana and the Atlantic Ocean, or along the West Coast are the top social networkers. Typical social networkers spend, on average, 36% of their time connecting with at least 18 other people on a weekly basis.
Get to them. Sneak up on them and surprise them with creativity; incite their curiosity. Make them think they discovered your client. And speak to them now, while it’s hot. Heed Netpop VP of Research Cate Riegner’s advice: “Brands that experiment in social advertising now will be in the best position to leverage these important media channels when the economy turns the corner.”
[Access both surveys from: Loechner, Jack. "Advertising to Social Networkers Tricky." Center for Media Research. Feb. 26, 2009.]
Friday, Feb 27, 2009
Courtney Huckabay