
This sent a shock wave throughout all
corners of e-commerce cyberspace. How can you not benefit from having access to
over a billion Facebook users?
The answer is simple: The online
advertising business model doesn't always work... and it shouldn't be the main
business model for your startup.
The
Big Fail
On many levels, the fail of online
advertising is paralleling the fail of traditional television advertising.
Thanks to DVRs, viewers are able to zap through commercials with ease. There
are even devices being specifically marketed that will "hop" over
commercials.
Naturally, this has the broadcast networks
in an uproar. How can they justify ad rates if no one is watching the ads?
The same thing is happening online.
When a user logs on they're on a mission.
They have a specific activity they are engaging in whether that's sending an
email, playing a game or checking their friend’s newsfeed. More than anything,
the internet is becoming a social networking site that is equal parts global
and local community based.
Anyone who is spending their free time on
the internet doesn't want to be advertised to.
A
New Way to Brand
Foisting a message onto an internet user
who hasn't asked for that message is destined to fail.
Why?
Because we don't need a message we can find
for ourselves. A company brand can no longer be built by specific messaging
alone.
It will be built by the number of
"likes" on a Facebook page or amount of Twitter followers. Now that
everyone gets to share their opinions on places like Yelp, a good review is
often more important than a traditional ad.
We share what we like and that's how the
popularity of a product, a movie, a book or a restaurant grows.
Finding
Information in the Cyber Age
The greatest tool on the internet is also
the great undoing of the advertising model. That would be the search engine.
Whether you are a fan of Google, Bing, Chrome or any other search engine, we
know how to get information.
If you want to shop for a new car, a pair
of shoes, an appliance or just about anything else, the first stop will always
be a search engine. The next stop could be one of the many review sites such as
Yelp or Consumer Reports.
Nowhere in that search is advertising
needed or wanted. We're becoming a society of information gatherers. That's
good for the consumer but not so good for the business, unless they find a way
to improve their search engine rankings.
We're also becoming very sophisticated when
it comes to blocking or ignoring ads. Don't want a re-targeting pop-up ad? No
problem... just delete your cookie history.
The more advertisers try to insert their
messages the more the Internet user will find a way to block the ads.
Build
Out the Social Network
So, what is a hapless company supposed to
do to find new customers? Don't fight the internet but put it to work for your
brand. If this is a social medium then find a way to engage your customer base
by starting a conversation.
Suppose you're selling a cleaning product.
Perhaps you can start a conversation by asking folks "What's the worst
mess you've ever had to clean up?" That's not selling your product
directly but allowing folks to join in on a conversation.
Once they are engaged they can be invited to
try the product. In other words, think less about reaching the masses with a
single message and instead redirecting that message as part of a two-way
conversation. That's the power of social media networking.
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