Social network advertising: not your father’s banner ad

Uncategorized 1 Minute

When i visited the San Jose Mercury News yesterday, what did we talk about? Advertising and how newspapers were going to make it online.

Well, one trend we’re seeing big time is the move to social networks. Facebook alone has more than 100 million people on it. When you add MySpace, Microsoft’s new network, Hi5, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, Twitter, and others, these networks are seeing some sizeable traffic.

But how do they monetize? Well, Facebook has been seeing a bunch of ads lately.

Problem is banner ads just aren’t working well anymore. Most users ignore them and the smartest users use software that blocks them from being seen at all.

So, how do you overcome those problems? Make ads that people play with and want to talk to their friends about.

That’s what Kevin Barenblat’s firm, Context Optional, does. One of his Facebook apps is driving 60,000 users a day to the website that sponsored it.

In this two-part video we take a look at both the kinds of apps that Context Optional is building, but in the second part we look at the whole Facebook marketplace.

Part I, six-minute video.
Part II, 10-minute video.

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Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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36 thoughts on “Social network advertising: not your father’s banner ad”

  1. Pingback: Weekly Digest of the Social Networking Space: Nov 26, 2008

  4. hmmm…

    But the bottom line is that no matter how entertaining the ads are – are they driving prospects to buy???.

    Giant companies still manage to get their tech products reviewed by many to blogs – so ads really are not that vital when you have permanent viral marketing. However, for the vast majority, having innovate ads that don’t generate an measurable, immediate ROI (especially in THIS economy), may not really be helping your finances all that much. šŸ˜

    Of course, one benefit is branding and even getting exposure for possible venture funding, but there is no guarantee that will happen.

    Like

  5. hmmm…

    But the bottom line is that no matter how entertaining the ads are – are they driving prospects to buy???.

    Giant companies still manage to get their tech products reviewed by many to blogs – so ads really are not that vital when you have permanent viral marketing. However, for the vast majority, having innovate ads that don’t generate an measurable, immediate ROI (especially in THIS economy), may not really be helping your finances all that much. šŸ˜

    Of course, one benefit is branding and even getting exposure for possible venture funding, but there is no guarantee that will happen.

    Like

  8. What is Microsoft’s “new network”? Am I that far out of the loop or is Microsoft just not that newsworthy anymore? What is that, link me…

    Like

  9. What is Microsoft’s “new network”? Am I that far out of the loop or is Microsoft just not that newsworthy anymore? What is that, link me…

    Like

  10. What’s the attraction of social networking? What’s the attraction of Twitter? I’ve logged into Facebook, MySpace, Wayport, and Twitter multiple times. Still don’t get it. What’s the attraction? Why does anyone find these sites of interest? I just don’t get it.

    Like

  11. What’s the attraction of social networking? What’s the attraction of Twitter? I’ve logged into Facebook, MySpace, Wayport, and Twitter multiple times. Still don’t get it. What’s the attraction? Why does anyone find these sites of interest? I just don’t get it.

    Like

  12. Thanks for telling this dude……..hit on banner ads really have decreased a lot….this may be quite helpful….i’m gonna try it now !
    And have u tried it yourself too?

    Like

  13. Thanks for telling this dude……..hit on banner ads really have decreased a lot….this may be quite helpful….i’m gonna try it now !
    And have u tried it yourself too?

    Like

  14. Pingback: Yks blog » Blog Archive » Weekly Digest of the Social Networking Space: Nov 26, 2008
  15. Pingback: Yks blog » Blog Archive » Weekly Digest of the Social Networking Space: Nov 26, 2008

  16. Well now that I know I’m not supposed to follow that seagate ad in the upper left of this page …

    Really I went here:
    http://www.contextoptional.com/index.php

    They have flash running a bit in the upper left on nine images of something they have done and it goes so fast you cannot read it and if you try clicking on one of the images it double loads one over another … and it that is to convey what they do???

    I waited a while and it seemed to then work as planned. Maybe it is a slow download or something? But it was run-away and annoying and I’d never have stuck around if I wasn’t planning to complain about it …

    Like

  17. Well now that I know I’m not supposed to follow that seagate ad in the upper left of this page …

    Really I went here:
    http://www.contextoptional.com/index.php

    They have flash running a bit in the upper left on nine images of something they have done and it goes so fast you cannot read it and if you try clicking on one of the images it double loads one over another … and it that is to convey what they do???

    I waited a while and it seemed to then work as planned. Maybe it is a slow download or something? But it was run-away and annoying and I’d never have stuck around if I wasn’t planning to complain about it …

    Like

  18. Hi Scobleize,

    Does Social media really works to rank well in the SE’s?

    Yes, Social networking sites like facebook, myspace and twitter will really helps your business to grow well in the market.

    Thanks Scoble… having Survey on these sites…

    Cheers šŸ™‚

    Like

  19. Hi Scobleize,

    Does Social media really works to rank well in the SE’s?

    Yes, Social networking sites like facebook, myspace and twitter will really helps your business to grow well in the market.

    Thanks Scoble… having Survey on these sites…

    Cheers šŸ™‚

    Like

  20. Pingback: @the_gman Search Engine Marketing Professional « Tweetabix
  23. Pingback: Monetize? « i need a reality check
  26. Pingback: Kan Facebook overleven? | kl!xpaan

  27. Bah, banner ads are going anywhere for a good long while, especially on non-social sites. Too much branding to give them up. I still see excellent CTR on plain ol’ static image banners. As long as they continue to produce good revenue I am not going to dispense with them.

    Allen

    Like

  28. Bah, banner ads are going anywhere for a good long while, especially on non-social sites. Too much branding to give them up. I still see excellent CTR on plain ol’ static image banners. As long as they continue to produce good revenue I am not going to dispense with them.

    Allen

    Like

  29. Not sure why a lot of the posts above are so negative on this. Facts are banner advertising on Facebook, MySpace, and etc are horrific. CPMs there are microscopic so anything that engages users is a huge improvement.

    Thanks for posting.

    Like

  30. Not sure why a lot of the posts above are so negative on this. Facts are banner advertising on Facebook, MySpace, and etc are horrific. CPMs there are microscopic so anything that engages users is a huge improvement.

    Thanks for posting.

    Like

  32. Pingback: Scobleizer: Social network advertising: not your father’s banner ad –

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