Social Network Ads Down - Social Marketing Up?

Writing by Brick Marketing on Tuesday, 27 of May , 2008 at 6:39 am

The projection for advertising on social networks has been reassessed and the prognosis is that it will not grow as quickly as first thought. Following on the heels of a slower than projected growth in mobile advertising and the environment it does not look too rosy. Social marketing on the other hand may just fill in some of the blanks.

Speculation surrounding the cause of this downturn is varied, however if you have been involved in marketing at all then you will see some of the symptoms. One sniff of a recession and business owners start to look at their belt lines and wondering how they can tighten them; marketing is generally one of the first to go along with employees. Those involved with social marketing may save themselves if they can prove to be successful.

However, a report from WebProNews makes an interesting point:

“Tapping into consumers’ conversations and spreading brand awareness virally has proven more challenging than companies originally thought.”

There is no magic formula for success in the social marketing field. It is a case of being subtle, persistent and building a reputation, often around the individual first. The branding can come later if at all. Often the reputation for the individual is the key following up with the subtle control of conversions and branding issues.

For others, the focus is on openly trying to build a brand. Social marketing in an open style is has more barriers to overcome, chiefly from a resistance to the introduction of commerce into an essentially social environment.

With social advertising budgets possibly set to fall, the need for an ongoing social presence in some format will be essential. The one thing is a guarantee at this stage is that no matter what you do, your competitors are going to be actively engaged in one form or another. Social marketing and social networking should not be ignored; in fact they need to be harnessed to deliver as much in the way of brand awareness and traffic as possible.

                      Category: Social Networking                      

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