Social Networkers Lukewarm to Ads; Opt-In Most Appealing

Only 40% of social networkers say they would be receptive to opt-in advertising on their networks, and an ever lower number (20%) find behavior-based campaigns appealing, according InsightExpress research, reports MarketingVOX.

The survey, which was undertaken to determine how willing people are to see advertising on social networks, generally finds low levels of overall interest in all forms of social network advertising.

In contrast to opt-in and behavior-based ads, however, acceptance of randomly generated ads varies according to which network they are viewed on, the survey found. Social networkers were least likely to say they wanted to see ads on sites where they already are prominent. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of users on Facebook, Myspace, Classmates.com, LinkedIn and Reunion.com would want to see randomly generated ads, but that number rises to 43% among users of CafeMom, Twitter and Flickr users, who appear to be more receptive.




“Recognizing the rapid growth of social networks and social networking audiences, advertisers have focused on creative engagement and how to apply their brands within a new environment,” said Drew Lipner, VP/group director-Digital Media Measurement at InsightExpress.

Facebook, MySpace are Gateways

InsightExpress found that 43% of the online population has reported using a social network site and 71% of these users maintain profiles on at least two or more. The research also reveals that Facebook and MySpace are the primary gateway social networks - the ones with which users begin exploring social networking before potentially branching off into other sites:

* Of social networkers that have only one profile, 46% chose MySpace and 36% chose Facebook.
* Those with two or three profiles were broken down thus: 78% are on MySpace, 71% on Facebook, 22% on Classmates.com and 11% are on LinkedIn.
* Of those with four or more profiles, 92% are on Facebook, 89% are on MySpace, 60% have a Classmates.com, 40% use Reunion.com, 33% have a LinkedIn, 11% have Flickr, and 10% have Twitter.

“The broad and exciting acceptance of social networking also reinforces the distinct need to develop targeted and relevant campaigns for this channel with the help of advanced measurement tools,” said Lipner.

Last month Netpop Research predicted potential opportunities for social network advertisers during the economic downturn.

About the research: The research was conducted by InsightExpress between Dec. 15, 2008 and Jan. 12, 2009 using RDD telephone sampling methodology. A total of 1,593 respondents completed the survey, and the results were weighted to reflect the online population.

Source: marketingcharts

Web Ads More Memorable in Context

Ads that run on websites with related content are 61% more likely to be recalled than ads running on sites with unrelated content, according to Condé Nast and McPheters & Company, which recently released additional data from a relevent study about ad effectiveness in various media.
This new information is the result of a more in-depth analysis that looked at the effectiveness of internet banner ads that were aligned with the content of the websites they appeared on vs. those that were not.
Examples of ads in context are food ads running on food sites, entertainment ads on entertainment sites, etc.

The study also revealed that social network, shopping, and food sites generate the highest recall levels (29% to 39%).

Additional findings from the analysis:

* Recall of ads varies by site type.
* Search and portal sites generate the lowest recall levels.
* There are large differences in recall by product type.

“While we have long known that context is important for print advertisers, we welcome proof that the same is true online,” said Drew Schutte, SVP and chief revenue officer for Condé Nast Digital. “These results reinforce the importance of a marketer being associated with category-specific websites with established brands.”

About the study: The research used McPheters & Company’s AdWorks methodology to measure recall for 400 ads on a variety of websites. Ads were segmented by whether they appeared on websites with related content. Recall of ads was measured among internet users who were directed to surf the Internet at will for 30 minutes. McPheters & Company fielded the survey at CBS Vision’s Television City lab facilities in Las Vegas.

Search Marketing Spending and Trends

Search dominated by paid placement, more SEO to come.

New data provided by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), based on research conducted by Radar Research, sheds light on how search marketing dollars are being spent.

In 2008, $13.5 billion was spent on search marketing. The space was mostly made up of paid placement and search engine optimization (SEO), with a sliver going to technology providers whose software assisted in the execution of search campaigns. Paid search ads saw 88% of the total pie, SEO only 11%.


The ratio of paid placement to SEO will change in the future.

“Internet users prefer organic listings to paid search. They generally find them more relevant—or simply more acceptable—than advertising,” said eMarketer senior analyst David Hallerman. “Therefore, they tend to click on organic results more often than on paid search ads.”

SEO is also cost-effective and works across all search engines. In addition, an optimized site doesn’t drop off the first results page even when a marketer’s spending slows or stops, as paid search does.
“Marketers are realizing that even if optimization’s effects are not as obvious as paid search advertising,” added Mr. Hallerman, “SEO delivers longer-term results that support any search marketing campaign.”

Search marketing spending will thrive in the coming years. SEMPO estimates that $14.7 billion will be spent in 2009.


Other sources are not quite as bullish, but they only cover the US, so it not surprising that the figures are lower. Myers Publishing, Credit Suisse, Oppenheimer and Co. and Barclays Capital all had lower 2009 projections, $13.0 billion, $11.6 billion, $11.6 billion and $11.2 billion, respectively.

eMarketer currently estimates that search ad spending in the US will reach $12.3 billion in 2009. But revisted figures are due out soon. Watch for them.

Yahoo Shows Rich Search Ads With Images and Video

Yahoo is introducing a new type of search advertising that integrates images and video in paid listings, the company plans to announce Thursday.

Search advertising typically shows only text advertisements and links. Marketers usually devote part of their online budget to search — which shows text-only advertisements and links — and part to display, the banner and box advertisements that show images or video.

By introducing video and images, the new offering from Yahoo, called Rich Ads in Search, gives search some of the advantages of banner advertisements. “It moves the advertising experience from just the blue links, to a more engaging experience for advertisers,” said Tim Mayer, the vice president for search monetization and distribution at Yahoo.

Yahoo has been trying to win back paid search advertising from the market leader, Google. Yahoo’s market share in paid search has fallen from 13.8 % in 2004, to 10.5 % this year, according to the research firm eMarketer. In the same time period, Google’s market share has more than doubled, from 32.8 % in 2004, to 67.7 % this year.

Yahoo’s strength has been its display advertising, where it sells boxes and banners on its highly trafficked pages. However, as the recession has deepened, many advertisers have shifted money to search, which gives them direct, measurable results.

Yahoo’s strength has been its display advertising, where it sells boxes and banners on its highly trafficked pages. However, as the recession has deepened, many advertisers have shifted money to search, which gives them direct, measurable results.

Yahoo is charging a monthly fee for the service, versus the auction-based pricing of search advertising, which Mr. Mayer said Yahoo might use in the future. For now, it is allowing only certain large, brand-focused advertisers — which have existing commercials or logos — to participate in the program. SoBe, Pepsi and Home Depot were all part of the pilot program.

Carol A. Bartz, the new chief executive of Yahoo, has not specified her plans for Yahoo’s search business.

“Maybe we should divest of some things, maybe we ought to focus a little more on the company,” she said in a conference call last month with investors. “So, yes, everything’s on the table,”

But, she added, “this is not a company that needs to be pulled apart and left for the chickens.”