Comments on: Can Social Media Really Be Monetized?

By: Gab Goldenberg (linking to his facebook ads archives)

Gab Goldenberg (linking to his facebook ads archives) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:32:35 +0000

Social media ads work. Executives claiming otherwise haven't experimented sufficiently, read sufficiently or have some other issues holding their shops back.

WHo claimed it was media? Well, a "media-buy" is really just fancy talk for putting your message alongside something else the user was really interested in (the news, a sports event etc) ... just like their conversations. OMGZ!!

By: Eric Reid

Eric Reid — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:26:56 +0000

The problem isn’t really one of users that are unresponsive to advertisers – it’s that advertisers seem to be refusing to treat people on social sites as robots whose only purpose is to help them get a decent conversion rate.
If social networks are going to be used for this kind of one-way advertising, efforts have to be made to target the traffic correctly. We’ve actually had some success with Facebook’s advertising solution. We can target people with specific interests, so it’s something they’d be interested in, and we can make offers they would particularly be interested in.

By: Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:03:35 +0000

A successful social network advertising model is one that puts social networks users in control of the advertising messages. When that happens, brands will be inserted in the online conversations of the users. Until then, advertisers will remain frustrated and social networks will continue to offer poor advertising options.

By: Carlos Thomas

Carlos Thomas — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:58:31 +0000

This is an interesting topic. Social media marketing (not advertising) is definitely a boon for the small business owner. But ads on Facebook, and in general, are not really going to do it anymore. How can Facebook capitalize on the money small businesses (and other businesses – when they catch up) stand to make from networking through their website?

By: Jeff Howard

Jeff Howard — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:05:55 +0000

I think social networks will never be the jackpot of advertising. They will follow a slow progressions of creating better targeted ads by creating platforms which give rich connections to people and the people around them.

By: Virginia Nussey

Virginia Nussey — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:19:43 +0000

I hadn’t thought of that — an excellent point. The ads currently on Facebook do smell a bit spammy and the placement in the news feed seems misplaced, if not irritating. I wonder if the opt-in nature of Facebook Connect, which isn’t actually an ad program at all, will be viewed more positively by users. Thanks, Jonathan!

By: Jonathan Bentz

Jonathan Bentz — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:43:04 +0000

I think one reason advertising on Facebook isn’t working as well as hoped is because the earliest adopters of the format were affiliate marketers, so the ads immediately smelled like spam. Placement of ads in the news feed certainly doesn’t help, either, because people are busy doing something already when they see those ads. Perhaps advertising on Facebook should be seen more from a branding perspective than an ROI angle?