The (majority) opinion of my sophomore Marketing students regarding Facebook ads is that they are likely to be ignored. (April 12, “Millennials Skeptical About Facebook Ads“)
It’s not that ads aren’t welcome in social media, they just don’t register. Beyond just not getting attention, some students say Facebook ads can be a nuisance. In the words of student, George C, “The consumers’ tolerance for pestering advertisements on social networking sites is relatively small.”
The results of an intriguing research study by neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus, revealed Facebook ads can not only be effective, they can be more effective than TV advertisements.
The commercial tested was “Trip For Life,” part of VISA’s multimedia campaign built around the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Click here to see the ad tested) Neurofocus conducted these tests for its own research purposes, not because they were commissioned by the advertiser, which lends extra credibility to the findings. The results were surprising. Facebook ad placement outperformed the TV and web site performance on overall effectiveness, purchase intent (tied with TV), and messaging. The only place TV was a clear winner? Brand perception.
Intrigued, I asked my students a follow up question, “What companies, products, and services do you think would benefit from advertising on Facebook or MySpace.com?”
Not surprisingly, students were most likely to indicate apparel brands and retailers. Their reasoning: These brands are available online and already familiar to young adults. Other frequently mentioned categories were technology, educational institutions and movies/entertainment.
Alex I: “Companies or organizations that should consider advertising on Facebook and MySpace could include: Universities, employment websites such as Monster.com and clothing stores with online shopping capabilities such as Nordstrom and Nieman Marcus. A study done by the New York Times indicated that 45% of the individuals using social networking sites were also likely to make a majority of certain purchases such as clothing and electronics online as well.”
Katie H: “Food products and clothing retailers would be good companies to put their ads on the social sites. These products rely on ad frequency to remind people to purchase the goods. The clothing industry also uses positive peer advertising to get customers. When people see a clothing line on a social site that millions of their peers use, they will be more willing to purchase the products, too. Coke, American apparel, NIKE, Inc, and American Eagle have used Facebook and other social sites to advertise to their target markets.”
Nneka E: “Nike and other shoe stores that sell common shoe brands and styles would be great advertisers for social netowrking sites because they are already popular amongst consumers. If a consumer sees a creative advertisement for a shoe style that he or she is interested in, they can go online to nike.com to place their order befcause chances are they possibly already own one pair of Nikes or are at least familiar with the sizing. Pouplar clothing store for all age groups would also be a great category for social netowrk advetising. Popular stores for men and women such as Express, Victoria’s Secret and Forever21 can benefit in a way similar to Nike.”
Sarah C: “I think the companies that would most benefit from advertsing on Myspace or Facebook would be companies that provide online products or services such as games or shopping and companies selling music or promoting bands and artists. These types of products are easiest for online customers to access after seeing an advertisement.”
Jackie B: “Companies that would benefit from advertising on Facebook or Myspace are those that meet the wants or needs of the 14-25 age group. These companies could include cosmetic products like ProActive, technology companies like Apple, other websites like SparkNotes and upcoming movies.”
Some students indicated that interest in Facebook or MySpace ads could be enhanced by targeting messages to specific interests:
Veronica B: Companies can use the location, interests, and relationship status of individuals to advertise their products and services. For example, local college and universities can advertise to students based upon their recorded location. Dating services, travel and resort agencies, airlines, banks and credit card companies, music groups and concerts, and electronics companies can greatly benefit by advertising to younger individuals based upon their recorded interests.”
Danielle D: “Some companies and products that I think would benefit from advertising on Facebook or MySpace are music companies and band promotions, Apple’s iPod, television shows and movie promotions, political events and campaign promotions and sports promotions. I also found that Facebook targets to college students that can be specific to their universities through scholarship promotions, storage unit promotions, airline promotions, “ND Off-campus housing.”
A few students indicated that Facebook has the added benefit of peer to peer advertising, although others indicated this could be ‘creepy’ or off-putting:
Alex K: “One major benefit of Facebook is that it can promote a product in the user generated content section if a user’s friend becomes a fan of the product. This creates a word of mouth added benefit.”
Parker K: “Some companies are encouraging happy patrons to write testimonials about the product on Twitter and Facebook. With the advent of Twitter posts being displayed in Google searches, this may be a brilliant plan. If an advertisement does its job of piqueing interest, the positive testimonial can come in to finish the task, instilling desire and action.”
Tim G: “Advertisements on Facebook can be tailored to the interests that you have posted on your profile, making for a much more personalized experience with a company. However, this experience can sometimes not only be creepy, but off-putting. Advertisements for “Cute Cathlolic Singles near Notre Dame!” do not appeal to most individuals. The best advertisers will match you to your interests without the consumers’ knowledge. An ad on Facebook saw my passion for soccer and asked if I wanted better soccer coaching. The ad was personalized for me, but was not overbearing.”
Nick G: “Advertisers should consider tailoring ads to consumers based on their interests to draw more attention to the products or services to be advertised. Banks and investment companies like Chase and ETrade might benefit from advertising on the social networks as well to attract more consumer loyalty by using relationships, e.g., my friends do their banking at Chase, so I will too.“
Finally one student suggested that the more the ads look like the content that students are on social networks to see in the first place, the more effective they will be.
Claire K: With each of these different products and services, their choice of promotion should include some type of media to watch or listen to rather than requiring clicking through to another website. Viewers are on the social networking sites in order to view media and content in the first place and have no intention of searching for products by going out of their way to surf through a website. By using fun media that entertains the viewers as well as informs them of a product or service, companies can create an interest or buzz about the product. These areas or products and services are also similar and related to the media that users are viewing on the social networking sites to begin with.“
I read these responses as permission for at least some advertisers to experiment with advertising on Facebook, albeitly cautiously, and in the most targeted possible way.
While Gen Y may not welcome ads on Facebook and Myspace, they do think some advertisements are appropriate and relevant, especially if they offer an immediate way to follow up on the interest by clicking through to a web site or learning more about the product or service. Another way to add relevance is to offer entertainment value.
