Comments on: Should Brands Never Advertise in Social Media?

By: Social Media Advertising

Social Media Advertising — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:03:58 +0000

Thanks for the Information…..I agree with the above thought.Nice conversation is going on and I am very happy to be the part of this discussion….
Elenora

By: DaveMurr

DaveMurr — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:29:47 +0000

Aren’t we always advertising on some level, regardless of the medium in which we choose to engage. Being open and upfront about it is a plus. Coming from a customer service perspective, I am curious why more companies do not implement social media into their client/customer relations. Providing great service through any channel can create word of mouth, which some may consider a form of advertising.

By: Keith Trivitt

Keith Trivitt — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:04:09 +0000

David –

Sorry I’m so late getting on here with my thoughts. Thanks for following up following my comments about your previous post (FULL TRANSPARENCY: I was the commenter David was alluding to who had a beef about his suggestion that companies advertise on social media platforms).

I definitely think you summed it up well with your thoughts in this post, and others have provided some good insight, as well, so I won’t rehash what has already been said.

I believe that as long as advertising by companies on social media platforms is done in a sincere and ethical manner (i.e. not disparaging your competitor), then yeah, I really don’t have a problem with it. Like Scott said with the third comment on here, social media is still kind of in an “Wild West” area right now, so now one is really exactly sure how anyone will react to certain strategies. Based off that statement, and some more thought on my own, I would say if your intentions are sincere and you really are looking to connect with users, potential clients and maybe even your competitors, then by all means, go ahead and advertise on social media platforms.

Great insight as always! Thanks.

Keith

By: Matt Batt

Matt Batt — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:08:38 +0000

Although I haven’t applied this tactic with any of my clients (advertising on message boards) I do agree with your positioning and reasoning in doing so. Your analogy to speaking at a conference or trade show where you are a Platinum Sponsor is a great case & point.

Keep in mind that David isn’t suggesting advertising on any and every message board or discussion forum. He insists that this should only be done – “Forum sponsorships and online advertising aren’t the right way to show up in many social networks, but it is acceptable by the communing members of some. In those instances, I see nothing wrong with suggesting that a client sponsor said message board, for example. The brand is helping provide – financially – the means by which those folks have a place to gather, so there’s value in providing that.”

Kudos for bringing up a very great point about how businesses/organizations might be able to further leverage thier position online.

Matt Batt (@storyassistant)

By: Stuart Foster

Stuart Foster — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:48:17 +0000

I just think you have to be straight up when doing so. Otherwise you run the risk of being perceived as being disingenuous…which is more punishable then death in some circles of SM.

By: Arik Hanson

Arik Hanson — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:50:09 +0000

I think social media channels are just like any other media–if the medium can deliver the audience, there will always be an opportunity for brands to pay to reach that audience. Isn’t that the same concept that’s killing traditional outlets right now? Print subsciber rates continue to plummet. And the advertisers are moving and shifting their dollars to different vehicles. Really, why should these social media outlets/tools be all that different? I think the social media purists are similar to baseball purists, in a way. They’re holding on to these idealistic concepts that dont’ always necessarily jive with reality.

@arikhanson

By: Amber Naslund

Amber Naslund — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:49:15 +0000

What Shannon said.

No, seriously. She nailed exactly how I feel. There is nothing sacred in social media, only varying degrees of what works for any given company. And ultimately, the community votes with their attention and their wallets.

By: Matt Haupt

Matt Haupt — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:36:22 +0000

I agree with Shannon completely. In such a new medium that seems to transform each day it’s hard to say “this is what should be, and this is what shouldn’t be”. To me, I don’t think advertising on message boards wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but does it really matter what I think is a big deal or not? We should be looking at what works and what doesn’t.

By: Shannon Paul

Shannon Paul — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:02:55 +0000

I don’t know why anyone would think that any kind of communication platform or place where people congregate online is such sacred space as to be above commerce.

My thinking is that we’d all be better served if we stopped drawing arbitrary lines in the sand re: right and wrong, and instead focus on observing what works and what doesn’t work. Better yet, maybe I’m better off if everyone else continues to squabble over that while I keep my head down and focus on *what is* (rather than what should be) and get to work.

By: David

David — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:53:49 +0000

Thanks for sharing your insights, Tom. It’s appreciated.

I agree that sponsorships and advertising are different. The original example I gave was to engage on the message board and recommend sponsoring said board as well as advertising within it. The commenter seemed to have concerns with anything beyond just engaging, so I kept both sponsorships and advertising in the conversation on this post.