According to Facebook, a social networking site,”Young adults are the primary trend drivers in our society,” and “marketing to young adults on their own terms is critical for [online business] success.”1
If you produce services or products for teens or young adults you might have considered online social networks to be prime Internet advertising space for your company. After all, sites like MySpace and Facebook boast thousands–even millions–of users between the ages of 13 and 25 and isn’t that the veritable gold mine you’ve been waiting for?
Maybe… but probably not.
Internet Advertising the Easy Way or the Smart Way? What will it be for you?
If you want to advertise with MySpace or Facebook it certainly won’t involve any amount of rocket science. With MySpace for instance you simply fill out a short online form2 and a MySpace representative will give you a call and discuss your options. Facebook offers options such as Facebook flyers ($10/flyer), polls (minimum $26/poll), and additional options for companies who want to discuss other options.3
The Internet advertising flyers, banners and polls via MySpace and/or Facebook may prove somewhat valuable but they defeat the main advantage that a social networking site provides and that is word-of-mouth (valid) Internet advertising. After all, teens and young adults go to MySpace and Facebook to see what people their own age are doing, using and choosing, and it is the recommendations of these people that they will trust more than any banner ad or Facebook flyer. So, how can you get these young online users to like your product or service enough to mention it to others?
First, you have to find our what teens and young adults are sharing (what matters to them) and second you have to find out how you can integrate your products and services with that content.
It is then that your Internet advertising campaign can begin to transform itself into Internet word-of-mouth advertising which may indeed be the best type of Internet advertising available.
What are teens and young adults sharing?
As the line between work and play gradually becomes thinner and as entertainment becomes more of a need than a pleasure, it’s obvious that teens and young adults are placing entertainment on the top of their list of priorities.
In fact, according to emarketer.com, “More than any other age group, Millennials spent time online searching for and downloading music. More than half of Millennials also consumed user-generated content online, and visited online gaming and TV sites” and “When members of the Millennial group found a worthy TV show or Web site, they told an average of 18 people, compared to only 10 people for all age groups. In fact, word-of-mouth was the main reason Millennials visited Web sites, followed by TV ads.”4
Does this mean you should hire a singer/songwriter to mention your product or service in his or her songs? Probably not, but by creating entertainment that associates itself with the humor, music, TV or Internet content that teens and young adults enjoy, you are actually investing in Internet advertising that matters to teens and to young adults.
You might try for instance, creating humorous videos on low budgets and posting them on YouTube and other video content sites. Make sure to associate keywords like “teens” and “young adults” (along with the names of your products or services) with the video. You might also try finding creative Internet advertising minds who can create music, humorous commercials or other types of entertainment that can be associated with your products. Once you have the content, you can contact Facebook or MySpace to see how much it would cost to produce your own customized entertainment, which may be a far more effective method of Internet advertising than a Facebook online flyer or a MySpace banner ad.
The trick to better Internet advertising via social networks is to set aside the revenue and the time to find creative individuals who can produce the kind of Internet advertising entertainment that makes teens and young adults laugh, cry, etc.
1. http://www.facebook.com/advertise.php?pwstdfy=6dc981de5d013513e56211ad1cbf08fc
2. http://www.myspace.com/modules/common/pages/sales.aspx?MyToken=7669a06a-8a0b-472a-87f5-00ffdd6e433d
3. http://www.facebook.com/polls.php?ref=adv
4. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1004917
Marci Crane is a copywriter for Main10 in Orem, Utah. For more information in regards to Internet advertising services, please feel free to contact a Main10 representative
Author: Marci Lynn Crane
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Panasonic Lumix G2
10/02/2010
Internet Advertising Via Social Networks – Reaching Teens and Young Adults With Entertainment
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