All the cool kids are playing in the social networking playground. Even the big kids want in. Fortune 500 and mainstream brands. They want to be cool. They want to be where the smart kids are. So they grab their ads, their banners, their messaging and head outside.
But the kids don't care. They don't click. They don't bite. Dammit. Wonder why?
It's simple actually. Kids - even grown ups - in social networks are there for a reason and it's not to "engage with ads." It's to engage with other people - peers - humans - people they like to get to know or meet. When you shove commercial products (read: ads) into that experience you run a big risk. "Excuse me, do I know you?" If I don't - bugger off. I'm here to interact with humans. Could it be that simple? Yes, I think so.
So what's an advertiser to do? Well, for once, you got to understand how people use a social network. Social networks are utilities - or tools - that help people accomplish things such as "finding old friends" or "finding peers with similar interests." Facebook, for example, is not an entertainment medium. Yeah, I know some people think the games and widgets are really just entertainment, but think about it: You don't sign up for Facebook to play games. You sign up to connect with people and play in the social playground. It's not about entertainment. It's about connecting with other humans.
Let's say you're a beverage company and you want to get to "25-year-old males who love sports." Good news: They are all on Facebook. The opportunity? Create tools (applications) that allow them to connect socially with relevant places (bars) or people (women who love sports!) I would develop location based applications - such as a competition to "challenge your buddy to a fist-fight" (that's a joke - but hey it could work!) or "rate the best drinking holes" (where the best looking women are). The point is, you don't engage this audience with ads and you don't splash your logo everywhere. Focus on what they care about and you're miles ahead of everyone else.
While the major advertisers are sorting through social networks - trying to build ad serving models and argue at conferences about "how to make ads work in social networks" - you have a shot at making an impact. If you want to build a cool brand - you need to do cool stuff. No one cares about ads. That's why we've been buying TIVO for years now.
If you think I'm crazy, I want to hear from you. If not, check out my next post where I yell at "Ad Agencies and their Micro-sites."
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