Social Media is Like Old School Advertising

Photo Credit: la.curbed.com

Social Media is very similar to old-school advertising concepts. No, we don’t need to all order an Old-Fashioned and start modeling ourselves after Don Draper. The thing that many can’t seem to grasp is that social media has been around for years, but has evolved. It’s an enhancement tool that you use as another platform for your overall marketing communications strategy.

Face it: Advertising has a seat at the social media strategy table. I’m not saying multiple people are executing – that’s for the social person designated to that brand. They also lead the strategy table. The concepts that advertising has built itself on – and now thrives on – are imperative to make your social strategy work.

Direct-response marketing

Direct-response marketing is a form of marketing designed to solicit a direct response which is specific and quantifiable. This was widely used with the popularity of infomercials that still occurs. The infomercial promotional method was focused on crafting the perception of product quality. Guess what? We do the same thing in social with brands.

For C-Suite and corporate brands, one must have quantitative results. You interact on a daily basis with those supporters and naysayers of your brand. See, direct-response. Now, splitting it into hard and soft metrics in a way that will make sense to both a.) your agency/corporation and b.) C-Suite is the next step – but you have to understand measurement first.

Sidenote: I’m curious to see how Open Graph and the lead-generation model of Twitter can play into this.

Location-based media

Traditional advertising was also based on the location of the ad and what would draw a person to it. This could include billboards, transit ads and sandwich boards. New versions of location-based media have shifted to video monitors, taxi tops and aerial banners.

Now, we have Foursquare, Gowalla, Whirrl and other geolocation services on the scene. You now even have Microsoft Tag, which allows a company to set up “tags” (mobile barcodes) in a venue for people to swipe with their smartphones. The argument is there that the location-placed media concept is right in line with social. It’s why agencies have to work closely with an interactive media department on their social media efforts. We have special mayor discounts on Foursquare, ways to leave different prizes on Gowalla, etc.

Freebies

Sorry, all. Your freebies, giveaways and promotions are nothing new. They have been around for longer than anything else. Newspaper advertisements toted about ‘Buy 1, Get 1 Free” or “Buy This, Get This As Well” type model. Society as a whole loves free stuff. We live on coupons, sales and the drive to have everything we want for less.We just have new platforms and creative ways to ADVERTISE it. With every brand I’ve worked with, we pull in the advertising department in charge of pushing the message out. Brand positioning should be the same across the board with these two sectors.

The shift is there. It’s up to us to take methods we know have worked and apply them to a new realm. We are creatures of habit, so let’s make it new again.

Do you agree? Disagree? What would you add?

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BJ Global Direct

Direct Response marketing seems to be getting more and more attention as people realize how great it is. Thanks for sharing.
jasonpkeith

This is an interesting take, and I agree that social media is taking on many of the core (old school) principles of advertising and marketing. But I think that we could expand this and talk about how, despite the multiple forms of media (advertising, social media, direct mail, email, etc.) the end goal is and always has been direct response for the majority of companies.

At its core, marketing is about getting someone to identify with a product or service, and act upon the message as quickly as possible, hopefully in a positive way. The venue doesn't really matter, it's just what people happen to be using at the time. The transition of marketing over the years has been staggering. Newspaper ads gave way to magazine ads, which gave way to direct mail and catalogs, which gave way to television ads, then came email marketing, and now social media. There will definitely be a next big thing (mobile?). The truth is that ALL marketing and advertising is built on "old school" principles, including the examples you mentioned with social media like "free." As a member of a company that has embraced and done free maybe better than anyone else, I can attest to its success. But there are also a number of other principles of marketing that nearly every company follows like the 80/20 rule, segmentation, branding, etc. But no communication method will alter the basics, so to speak.

The issue to focus on isn't the vehicle, it's the message and/or the offer. People don't respond to the method you're using they're going to respond to the actual message/offer. Just because you're a company using Twitter, or Facebook, or Foursquare doesn't mean you'll see results. The DR message and emotional connections are the most critical aspect of marketing and vital to success. Sometimes the most simple lines can be the most effective. Sure you have to use the communications vehicles your customers are using, but you need the right message, just like Don Draper did.
laurenfernandez

That's definitely the point I was trying to get across - that platforms fall, but the basic concept is always there. You hit it on the head with the direct response - and the foundation is definitely built upon old school mentality.

Thanks for expanding on my initial point with a great response. Thanks, J! :)
Valerie Gonzalez

Hi, Lauren. Lovely post! I would have to agree, advertising has a prevalent role in social media. We're already seeing more and more traditional methods of advertising being applied to social media websites that are effectively reaching consumers; the keyword being "effectively." If it's working, why not embrace it? Anything else would just deter us from moving forward.

Advertising departments and PR teams alike have proven we're capable of adapting to a new business model. At that, we've recognized you can modify advertising methods to reach consumers in new ways. So, let's take that, work together, and continue to grow.
laurenfernandez

I like your point about Ad and PR proving they can adapt to new business models. In this field, you have to. also, the effective point - just because you're on the platform doesn't mean you are doing a great job with it.

Thanks for stopping by with such great insight, V!
Ken Mueller

Let's add radio, and to some extent, television, to this. At some point broadcasting became narrowcasting, with neatly defined radio formats (and even narrowly focused cable channels). Each of these comes with a very specific, and often narrow, demographic, which allows for niche targeting, something that Social Media can do very well.

And let's go back even further. As a radio historian, the early days of radio and TV didn't feature commercials as we know them. The programs featured one sponsor and one sponsor only, and the call to action was incorporated in the body of the program, not as a 60-second spot. A family might be sitting around the table and they might be eating Wheaties or drinking Maxwell House coffee.

In other words, the ads were fully integrated into the content. Seamless. A very "social media" sort of concept!
laurenfernandez

Ken, I loved this comment. I tried doing a bit of digging on the history of media, and there was so much there that it would have taken much longer to get through than anticipated.

It's interesting how advertising used to work - and I think we are getting back to that original concept.

Thanks for sharing! Great comment.
Ken Mueller

Well you got to see my radio geek come out. I spent 13 years as the Radio Curator at the Museum of Television & Radio (Now the Paley Center for Media) in NY/LA. I spent those years studying all aspects of radio (and television), including advertising, both the history and the contemporary and sociological aspects.

Now I better stop before I become even geekier...you've got me going!