New Online Advertising – Engagement Ads

Cyberspace is evolving . Facebook was the first to implement interactive ads. Digg is considering a similar ‘diggable ad’ to implement in conjunction with their campaign to attract an audience beyond the ‘geek crowd.’

Avid digg users and scoffing, they point to the ‘top diggers’ and their ability to work in groups to control the top content. This method of manipulation can be used to control the advertising. This can be why digg co-founder, Kevin Rose, is focusing on ‘real-wold relevance,’ as reported by Cnet’s Caroline McCarthy.

The new ads take Social Networking to the next level. This type of engagement advertising lets users interact by leaving comments, sharing virtual gifts, or becoming a fan. The interaction appears on the user’s news feeds, or the ad can move up to the ‘top pages.’

The communities are warming up to the new advertising. PPC is good for quick ‘drive by’ revenue, but engagement advertising creates long-term relationships. There is also the opportunity to increase ad efficiency. Lets say a community has 200 people who like Y-brand. Those people create a strong presence on the internet, attracting another 200 000 visitors. When these people brag about, or complain about, Y-brand then people sit up and listen.

How can this work for small business? Imagine having a testimonial page built around an ad on Facebook or Digg where your clients, friends, and associates can sing your praises. Death to the testimonial pages and guest books that rarely convinces anyone to buy a product.

Gord Hotchkiss of the Search Insider suggested that anyone who walks down 8th avenue will see 3000 bits of advertising a day. Now, imagine a group of people gathered around a particular ad. You join the group and get the inside scope. The company didn’t need to pay any money on conversions or ROI, your loyal fans will do that for you.

MySpace co-founder Brett Brewer, the chairman of international social networking ad serving network, visited Australia with a sense of foreboding as the US financial markets tumbled. Brewer Acknowledged that cyberspace will ride the storm like it did multiple times before.

”I am reminded of 1997/ 98 when companies were very reticent to advertise online and only a few like ebay and Amazon were willing to embrace the unpredictability and consequently build multi billion dollar businesses. The same thing is really happening today in 2008. The difference is that its social media that advertisers have been a reticent to engage in. But I really think that the winners that will emerge are those that embrace this, harness it for their brands and build multibillion dollar businesses while mot of the advertising public sort of waits on the sidelines.”

The new hope promised by engagement advertising is giving many small business owners reason to breath a sigh of relief and confidently continue to build their businesses while the ‘real world’ sweats the current crisis.