If you have been following the trends in SEM (Search Engine Marketing) over the last year or so, you are probably well aware that social media marketing is the often hyped, latest digital marketing channel to gain buzz. While most marketers would agree that the full potential of social media marketing has not yet been reached, possibilities do exist to engage the consumer at a very intimate level. The goal is to participate in the conversations that are continuously taking place on social networking and micro-blogging sites like Twitter and Facebook in order to gain positive exposure for your brand, product, or service—without coming across like an annoying sales pitch.
What role does paid advertising have in social media marketing?
Social media marketing, combined with keyword-level targeted paid advertising campaigns, can dramatically improve the results of a social engagement or community-building campaign. Because of the relative newness of social media channels, best practices are in a refinement stage and potential marketing opportunities are beginning to come to the surface.
What not to do—spam. While advertising will have a role in social media marketing, users will be more skeptical of a sales pitch, so be careful to bring value to your social engagement campaigns through advertising, and avoid spamming at all costs. Nothing can destroy a brand’s equity faster than a user being annoyed by your advertising presence.
Here are a couple of ways start advertising in social media channels:
Facebook Advertising
Advertising on the biggest social networking site in existence is full with possibilities that are not available in traditional paid search. There are several ways to place ads on Facebook: search ads (powered by Bing), social media ads, and display ads (purchased through Microsoft).
Let’s focus on social media ads. The key here is the ability to really focus-in on your target audience. Social media ads on Facebook are displayed to the right of the page content and feature a title, small picture, and body text, like the one shown to the right.
The real power of Facebook Advertising is in the targeting options. You can target your advertisement by: keyword, workplace, age, sex, relationship status, geography, education level, languages, connections (groups, pages, events, or applications), and more. The high level of targeting options available allows for mass marketers and niche marketers alike to reach their target audience.
Another powerful feature, and one that helps to integrate with a social engagement campaign, is the “Become a Fan” link on the bottom of an ad. The only requirement is that you must have a Facebook Page (pages are reserved for celebrities, businesses, or organizations) and when you create an ad, the link must go to your Facebook Page. This is particularly important in the early stages of a social campaign as you try to first establish a sizable fan base.
TwitterHawk
Twitter has experienced phenomenal growth over the last year and continues to be tantalizing for digital marketers. Before I summarize TwitterHawk, let me reiterate one thing—DO NOT SPAM. Users will not be receptive to your message if they feel like they are being hit over the head with it.
TwitterHawk describes itself as “a real time targeted marketing engine that will find people talking on Twitter now by your chosen topic and location, allowing you to really hit your target mid conversation with ease.” This means that you simply enter in your targeted keywords and then TwitterHawk searches Twitter and finds tweets containing your keywords. You are able to reply back to those users with a relevant message (tweet). TwitterHawk also allows for geo-targeting, which is a plus for regional or local advertisers.
To avoid the feel of spam, TwitterHawk limits the amount of tweets you can send out to 1 per hour. You can also create up to 5 different draft responses and personalize the response before it is sent. TwitterHawk operates on a cost-per-click model and their site claims an average of $0.02 actual CPC.
Conclusion
Like any well crafted digital marketing campaign, make sure you have defined achievable goals (i.e., 1,000 Facebook fans). For integration with a social media campaign, your advertising should fit with the user’s expectations when on a social networking site and should not be too “salesy”. The idea here is to endear your target audience to your brand, product, or service so you are better able to build a long-term and lasting relationship. Social media marketing is a tremendously powerful way to build or introduce a brand; done tactfully, advertising in these channels can provide benefits that should not be overlooked.
loading...
Great post keep up the good work.
I think we are beginning to see the first salvos in what will become a new boom time for Search & PPC advertising. The twitter/google/bing deals announced last week will have immediate on impact on at least 3 different types of marketers that I can think of. Here is my orginal post http://cliqology.com/2009/10/3-immediate-marketing-opportunities-from-twitter-search-deals/
Great post. I wrote a piece comparing these and a few other opportunities for paid marketing (mostly PPC) within social media communities here: http://www.searchandsocialmedia.com/2009/07/5-ways-to-reach-social-media-audiences.html
Recently, a few more opportunities have emerged on social media sites like Digg, Slideshare and LinkedIn; so this space is expanding!
Thanks again,
Ian
Thanks for the comment, Scott.
We certainly seem to be experiencing a convergence of digital media – I’m excited to see how newer properties like Twitter, and other social sites, blend into the fold of the Internet as a whole (and in relation to the current search model). As a marketer, it should be recognized that any change in user behavior presents great opportunities to those who realize a shift and are able capitalize on it.
Ian – looks like you have a very forward-thinking blog, I’ll make sure to subscribe to it.
Thanks for the kind words.
Could you please define “spam”? I see these so called “experts” hitting my email time and time again with their offer. Isn’t that spam? What about those automated tweets when you follow someone that asks to be your life long friend..oh and by the way, want to learn how to XYZ (their business)? How do you reach your target market with an offer other than what you sell? In our industry the products and their use is plain and simple. Nobody wants to read about them. Any help would be appreciated.
Fantastic, Steven. Thanks.
Nancy- I think the first step is probably listening to the target market. Figure out what their needs are, and how you can help them in a way that is relevant to your product or brand. You don’t have to shout about features or benefits. Within social media, generosity of thought and valuable links are currencies of choice. Consider some of the ways that your product could be used, or the different types of people that use it, and think of ways that you can help provide insights and valuable content to those people. If you sell baseball bats, you don’t need to talk about bats, you can talk about the World Series in a unique way. I’d love to follow someone on Twitter that told me the detail’s of each players bat when he steps up to the plate (e.g. brand, type of wood, weight, etc.)
Within search it’s about being relevant to what people are seeking based on the intent indicatd by the keyword. For example, no one wants to read about Clorox, but the company created an H1N1 facts and prevention page on their site and they are promoting it when people search for Swine flu related keywords.
http://pharmasearchsocialmobile.posterous.com/clorox-and-lysol-running-swine-flu-h1n1-paid
Hope this helps spur your thinking!
Ian
Hi Nancy – thank you for your questions.
When I refer to spam, I am speaking about a repetitive robotic-like unsolicited marketing message that relies on high bulk to achieve success (and is probably annoying). Spam can be effective; spam also alienates en masse.
Like any tool, automation is not a replacement for human creativity and intuition. Automation is a force multiplier that allows for a more efficient expansion of your marketing strategy. The TwitterHawk tool that I mentioned does let you personalize any response before it is sent, so you could review possible engagement targets and tailor the message before you send it.
You probably do not want to speak directly about your product offerings (as you mention they are somewhat dull, and the goal is engagement). Instead, why not figure out what your target audience is talking about and what their needs may be and offer advice? The point here is to give the user value or insight about what your product could offer them without speaking about it directly.
To boil it down, before you respond via tweet, ask yourself: “If you received the message, would you be annoyed by it or would you consider it to be valuable?”
Steven-
I think you make a good point here and in your response to Nancy. You hit it nail on the head, in my view. If you are not adding value, you are not offering a lasting and sustainable marketing effort, and will be tuned out by those you are trying to reach.
A great question:
“If you received the message, would you be annoyed by it or would you consider it to be valuable?”
To build upon it further, as a follow up questions:
“Will this help in building trust on the social web?”
Keep it coming!
Thanks for the input, Twine.
You’re right about building trust. We also need to remember that the consumer is a stakeholder in the brand – and this involvement is amplified in the social space. If we recognize the importance of the consumer voice then (as Ian mentioned above) we need to listen closely to what is said. This can ultimately enable a company to provide products and services that the consumer actually wants to buy.
Steven,
Great article– I like to think of Facebook PPC as the third search engine behind Google and Bing. At over $500 million in annual revenue, Facebook is closing in on Google’s $20 billion share– and fast!
Love to hear more about your experience with Facebook, compared to the other engines. I wrote up my experience with one client here: http://www.dennis-yu.com/the-3-types-of-facebook-traffic-what-is-best
Thanks Dennis!
I liked your analysis on your blog – bounce rate in relation to CPC of traffic from Facebook and Google. Maybe through more niche ad targeting in Facebook you could get that high bounce rate to come down and get even more value from your Facebook ads.
Thanks for the comment.