Facebook just announced a new advertising platform based on serving relevant, targeted ads. And Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, recently emphasized relevant targeting is the future of online advertising. In the past week Google also made two announcements: (1) a new platform called OpenSocial to make it easier for developers to build applications that work across multiple social networks, and (2) they will launch a similar platform for mobile phones.
These breaking news stories exemplify a broader industry trend to develop technology that enables communication of direct and relevant messages – from person to person, from brand to consumer. What does this mean for marketers?
Open platforms present a new set of challenges and opportunities to marketing professionals. Better communication technologies encourage the likelihood of a campaign “going viral” from consumer to consumer, but a clever video or website is not a recipe to drive offline purchasing behavior. Many viral campaigns in fact backfire, leaving advertisers wondering how to put out fires in forums, product review sites, and among consumer advocacy groups.
Fortunately, consumers are in many ways more open than ever before to receiving marketing messages – so long as the messages are relevant and beneficial to them. For example, I love watching movie previews. Sure, I know they’re 2-3 minute commercials, but I don’t care. I want to know about releases relevant to myself as a moviegoer, and I want to be entertained. Same thing goes for new products, sales, clothing line launches, etc.
The key to marketing in the changing landscape of the internet is to communicate messages in your audience’s preferred medium (email, SMS, websites, blogs, social networks) that are relevant to their needs as consumers. The recent suite of features Spongecell just released automatically collects valuable information on every user’s interaction with your promotion:
• Type of promotion they encountered (concert, sale, store opening, for example)
• How they engaged it (Add to personal calendar, invite friends, set reminders, email opens)
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Our targeted marketing filters then allow you to use this information to communicate targeted follow-up messages. We really see these features pushing the envelope alongside other industry trends on the technology side. We are also excited to provide the next generation of online marketers with a new tool set to communicate with the growing population of consumers who want to receive relevant messages from their favorite brands.