I read with interest a post recently sent from a Facebook group asking whether ads on Facebook would still qualify it to be referred to as Social Media Marketing?
Recently Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, opened up advertising on Facebook taking the approach of ‘social actions’ of its users. (1)
Zuckerberg stated “The core of every user’s experience on Facebook is their page and that’s where (all) businesses are going to start as well. Social actions are powerful because they act as trusted referrals and reinforce the fact that people influence people. It’s no longer just about messages that are broadcasted out by companies, but increasingly about information that is shared between friends. Social Ads can appear either within a user’s News Feed as sponsored content or in the ad space along the left side of the site.”
Some people say taking this next step is evolutionary. It first started with banner ads, then online giants like Craigslist used classifieds, and the third was Google ( & most search engines ) with the use of search advertising.
These same people will say that ads do not make the cut as “social media marketing.” An ad is still an ad…as has been said its “brand speak versus being consumer speak.” Since social media is conversations WITH the community, this somehow disqualifies Facebook’s ads. Somewhere in the conversation we supposedly loose the sanctity of the conversation economy. As David Armano wrote about recently in Business Week, “Conversation leads to relationships and relationships lead to affinity,” Armano continues. Affinity, in turn, results in communities. “This is why anyone who plays a role in growing brands needs to become a conversation architect.”
David Armano continues, (the) “Conversation architects move marketing beyond the idea of one-way messaging. Traditional marketing efforts were founded on this tried-and-true format and are still prevalent within the industry. Consider the example of a typical creative brief template, which usually says something like, “What are we trying to communicate?” Can you see the old-world residue in the word “communicate”? It lacks the dimensions of experiencing something and having an ongoing two-way dialogue. “What are we trying to communicate?” implies a one-way conversation. Maybe we should ask ourselves: “How can we facilitate?” (2)
Others such as Brian Solis do a nice comparison in Conversational Marketing Vs Market Conversations.(3)
So I ask, after all this conversation about conversation, does it really matter if ads qualify as social media marketing? No. It’s about as silly as the Soup Nazi yelling to keep people in line. Keeping the “purity” of social media marketing just for the sake of purity truly won’t amount to “a hill of beans” if you can’t pay your bills. Business is in business to make a profit. Ads help make a business profitable. Trying to hold out and avoid ads is like being the last one on the Titanic and refusing a life vest because you’re a good swimmer. In the end, as a matter of survival, it really doesn’t matter does it…only surviving does.
I like what Celine Ruffet Directeur France at Qype added, “Indeed I think you can use Facebook to promote a brand in many different ways including social media marketing but which is the most difficult part of the job!
Many brands are doing a page + ads on Facebook without any “social” way of thinking. This is usually the social part of their marketing plan.
As an example, some brands are using their logo on their page which is absolutely not a social way to act ! A basic recommendation is to create a “real profile” with of photo. To do social marketing, people need to be involve in the process (an artistic director, a boss, a beautiful PR girl…)
In order to discuss & create an exchange with the community, you need to personalise your communication on Facebook and live like a “human being” not a brand! Invite people to take a drink, create micro events in an apartment, put some photos, videos, say personal stuff on your life… People absolutely need to feel it is “real” and “exclusive”. ” (4)
As Matthew Ray of http://www.ourdrivetoalaska.com says “you need to reach your audience at a social level! Discuss, learn from them as they learn from you.”
(1) http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=9176
(2) http://www.briansolis.com/2007/09/conversational-marketing-versus-market.html
(3) http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2007/09/19/can-marketing-be-conversational/
(4) http://www.linkedin.com/newsArticle?viewDiscussion=&articleID=18141582&gid=66275&trk=add-news-lnk-cThOon0JumNFomgJt7dBpSBA


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