Interesting post on Bokardo re Social Network Ads
not making too much money, his hypothesis is:
Why is it that Google monetizes so well on Search while having a hard time on social properties? Given an equal amount of views on Google vs. MySpace, shouldn’t they be able to get about the same number of click-throughs and thus ad revenue?
The difference, of course, is that when people go to Google, they’re actively looking for something. That something isn’t on Google. They are performing a search activity. Thus their task will be to click on a link that seems to promise what it is they’re looking for. It may be the organic results, or it may be an ad that seems close to what they want.
When people are on MySpace, the activity they’re doing isn’t search. It’s something akin to “hanging out” or “networking”. Their task is almost the opposite of search. They are already on the site they want to be on. They don’t need to click on links to take them where they want to go.
In other words, the context is entirely different. When you’re in search mode, you are playing by different rules.
Without any theoretical data to back me up, that sounds about right re my own experience and empirical observation. With respect to the fond hopes around Fan-Sumers, or Forrester's wish that our "buds" will be marketing vectors he note:
Social network audiences are less like searchers and more like homebodies. The ads that will work best aren’t those where people have to leave the site, but those which allow you to stay and keep hanging out. But trivial things like games and contests can only be novel for so long…
In addition, since we are dealing with social capital as much as economic capital, the advertisements don’t make as much sense. Imagine if every time you talked with your friends they were trying to sell you something. They wouldn’t last long as your friend.
Maybe its just me, but I resemble that remark! I do think the Social Marketeers are letting either (i) their enthusiasm or (ii) their lust for client loot get in the way of giving clients the sensible advice that This Stuff Just Won't Work That Well. As Bokardo notes, the media context is quite nuanced:
....we need to investigate what contexts people are in as they use our web applications. Are they looking for something, or would they use our service as part of the activity of looking for something? Are they primed for ads? If not, then we’re better off providing value in some other way, like increasing productivity, etc.
In fact I'd go further and hypothesize that, rather than Social Networks being the death of "Awareness Ads", they will actually be the only types of Ads that will work medium term - Banners etc are less obtrusive or intrusive for now - and it will take several cycles to get non-intrusive "personalization" to work without totally turning off the customer base.
There was another very interesting little snippet as well:
This simple list also suggests why Google is investing a ton of energy into mobile, because when people are mobile we’re in unfamiliar places with the same old needs. We’re searching not only for our destination, but services that will help us along the way. So that’s why every time you turn around there’s some new quiet feature in Google Maps, because maps and mobile are the future of advertising.
(Tip of hat to
Drew Benvie for direction)
