A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the growing trend of online marketing, but also the challenges that exist in an industry that is constantly changing.
The NY Times article profiled the fish oil pill company MegaRed’s attempt to developing a Facebook marketing plan.
“The idea was to come up with a big, sweeping campaign to market MegaRed, a premium alternative to fish oil pills, to users of the social network,” the article said. “Each ad had to be so compelling that it would get people to stop scrolling through their news feeds — what Facebook calls a thumbstopper.”
However, the messaging from Facebook appeared to be inconsistent and left the company’s owner scratching his head.
“The advantage of advertising on the world’s largest social network was that it could do something television ads could not: Using sophisticated analytics, it could help him find people who were already buying fish oil or other products that suggested they were concerned about the health of their hearts, and perhaps persuade them to switch to his brand,” the Times reported.
However…
“Ever since it began selling ads 10 years ago, Facebook has been combating doubts about its value to marketers. Search engines like Google offer advertisers a direct link to people seeking out particular products, while television remains the dominant way to reach a mass audience. Now, Facebook claims, it can provide the best of both.
“With its trove of knowledge about the likes, histories and social connections of its 1.3 billion users worldwide, Facebook executives argue, it can help advertisers reach exactly the right audience and measure the impact of their ads — while also, like TV, conveying a broad brand message. Facebook, which made $1.5 billion in profit on $7.9 billion in revenue last year, sees particular value in promoting its TV-like qualities, given that advertisers spend $200 billion a year on that medium.”
Facebook and other social media sites are becoming popular destinations for ad dollars. However, it has yet to become a silver bullet.
“Marketers are starting to become believers in the value of Facebook, shifting more of their budgets to the service from other media channels, especially print and direct mail,” the Times reported. “The company just reported unexpectedly strong growth in revenue and profits for the second quarter, prompting investors to send its stock to record highs.
“Still, Facebook has changed its pitch and the products it offers advertisers so often that many marketing executives are wary. A few years ago, the company was telling brands to increase the number of people following their pages. Now it says fans are largely irrelevant. Until late last year, it was promoting the power of ads in which people’s likes and comments about a brand were turned into endorsements sent to their friends. After legions of user complaints — and a class-action lawsuit — Facebook switched gears again. Now it boasts about its ability to pinpoint potential customers on their cellphones and Facebook.com based on its data about them. The company’s newest offering uses those profiles to serve targeted ads inside other companies’ mobile apps. Facebook is also pushing new video ads that would compete with TV for marketing big events, like movie openings.”
The Times article highlights the value of Internet marketing, but it also shows the challenges that exist in simply shifting your marketing plan to the Internet.
If you are looking for a way to expand the marketing reach of your career college of trade school, you are wise to consider an Internet marketing approach. However, simply throwing your money at Facebook and Internet ads is not an effective approach. You need a strategic plan that is tailored to your school and allows you to quickly monitor its progress, allowing you to know exactly how effective your strategy is.
Paradigm Digital specializes in helping your career college develop a strategic Internet marketing plan that is based on results, not guesses. Our approach maps out a clear strategy and puts it into practice.
Internet marketing is a smart move for your career college, but choosing a proven leader like Paradigm Digital to help develop your strategy is an even smarter call.