Need A Digital Media Playbook?
Advertising is very much not my expertise. I’ve dabbled, I follow developments, I get to judge commercials like everybody else. But when I need advertising work or even just advice, I go to the pros. Fortunately, I know a fair number of them including my friend Marc Williams, owner of Seattle’s Williams-Helde Marketing Communications.
That’s how Steven Cough, Williams-Helde’s media director, wound up speaking to my MBAs last Wed. night.
“Technology has paved the way for advertising and technology drives the future of advertising,” said Steven. Showing a slide of cave paintings, Steven commented that we started out writing on walls. Advancing through the history of advertising to Facebook, he commented: “And now we’re back to writing on walls.”
Yes, we are. According to eMarketer, Facebook will reach the majority of US web users — 132.5 million — in 2011. (That’s more people than live in Japan, by the way.) By 2013, eMarketer says more than 47% of the overall US population will be on Facebook.
Even more millions writing on walls.
No fools, US marketers go where the masses congregate. They’re projected by eMarketer to spend $3.08B advertising on social networking sites this year with most of it, nearly $2.2B, going to Facebook.
While the future of newspapers as an industry gets debated almost daily, no one is suggesting abandoning traditional advertising tactics. On the contrary, the Merchant Circle Merchant Confidence Index Survey for Q1 ’11 reported mid Feb. found nearly 20% of respondents listed print newspaper as one of their 3 most effective marketing or advertising tactics. Print yellow page advertising was still up there with nearly 23%. Good old fashioned direct mail and coupons were still in the top 3 for nearly 24%. All three were among the top 10 most effective tactics.
The trick, Steven said, is determining what you really need your advertising to accomplish before you get wrapped up in any one ad idea. That’s particularly appropriate advice for budget-constrained entrepreneurs and small businesses. To set some objectives for your advertising and determine a strategy to maximize your spend, you first need a handle on what all the tools can do for you.
In the category of “handy resources that help things make sense” comes a great little Williams-Helde digital advertising tutorial ebook called the Digital Media Playbook. Snag a copy through the link.
Then go ahead and go right back to writing on walls.
