Lead-Foot Advertising
In rush to show results from social media advertising, many companies are using tools that have been newly made available to them by those same social media companies who are in a rush to show revenue increases from advertising sources (I’m talking to you Facebook and Twitter) that ultimately annoy — not engage — the users of those social media sites.
Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
The speedometer on your car goes far beyond what the posted legal speed is to drive on the streets or highways. The automotive manufacturers have enabled you to drive at speeds beyond what is recommended (or legal!), but will ultimately take no responsibility if you drive over that posted limit and end up getting a speeding ticket.
The same can be said for social media advertising
Facebook, Twitter, et al. have provided a myriad of ways for advertisers to annoy, interrupt, and harass users of their own sites. They will gladly take the money of those advertising companies in exchange for letting them broadcast to their users — what they won’t take responsibility for in the long run is the penalty that will be levied against their brands for pressing down on that advertising accelerator.
Users of social media (especially those on Twitter and Facebook) have actually made their preference for particular brands known by Liking a page or Following their tweets. They’ve given their personal permission for hundreds of brands (of their choosing) to reach out to them, participate in a conversation, exchange ideas, receive special offers, etc.
What an incredible and valuable privilege gifted to these brands directly from the consumer!
That permission was earned by those brands, but few take real advantage of the relationship offered by these loyal consumers. Instead, they and other brands who have not even attempted to form or abide by relational boundaries set forth by the very consumers they are trying to reach, stomp down on the gas pedal in a rushed attempt to speed-up the process.
They Promote Tweets and spray Sponsored Posts by the thousands (or should I say by the CPMs) onto the walls and into the feeds of people they are trying to attract and entice into doing business with them. They bask in the numbers provided to them by the social media advertising reps who boast of unique impressions and and clicks — never revealing that most of these clicks will be to block the brand and its future messages, and the impressions? All BAD.
Yes, you can rev-up your marketing mobile to 100 Miles Per Hour and scream down streets blasting your stereo at full-volume hoping to make an impression on innocent bystanders. But the important thing to keep in mind is that unlike the state highway, on the Information Highway every citizen has the power to pull you over and revoke your license to drive down their little patch of the road.
