The Interactive Advertising Bureau, the US trade body for the online advertising industry, has just published its first ever social media buyer’s guide.
Some will argue that social media cannot be bought, and as such is earned media. The idea that earnt media and paid media are distinct is something we always try keep front of mind in a transparent way. The importance of transparency has been keenly debated of late.
We tackled this issue in a recent presentation, and argued that advertisers can earn peer-to-peer messaging through a well-executed and well-coordinated social and paid social media campaign.
For example, a brand may buy video views as paid media on a cost-per-engagement basis through our Viral Ad Network, but generate additional video views as earned media through viral pass-along of the video.
It’s good to see a major trade body defining a nascent part of the market, given it’s sometimes tricky to measure and evaluate the direct cost of activities such as social media PR outreach compared to other more established forms of communications.
As the guide itself says: “It is accepted today that any effective social media campaign should have an owned and paid media plan as its foundation in order to achieve earned media objectives.
“Earned media may or may not have direct cost associated with it, and it can include PR, outreach, and activities initiated by users over and above any specialised paid-for engagement such as word of mouth (viral), pass along, repeat usage.”
The publication of the guide is timely given that as many as two-thirds of 133 chief marketers surveyed by the IAB said they planned to increase social media budgets in 2010, which if true should trickle down to the UK market.
If you want to download the guide, follow this link.
Hmm if my post appeared to be stating that social media couldn’t be bought, I’ve misrepresented myself. I wasnt trying to talk specifically about social media, I was aiming to talk about earned media. My problem is when bought media masquerades as earned – when there’s a lack of disclosure. Once it was clear that the GoViral videos are clearly marked as sponsored, I retracted my concerns about that element – if it’s made clear that it’s been paid for, that it’s bought and NOT earned, then that’s fine. Sam with the Viral Ad Network – when it’s clear that it’s an ad/paid-for placement, no probs! But just because you appear on a blog doesn’t make it earned, if you’ve paid to be there. Lots of earned media might result as a consequence of this, just as you might get lots of earned media if you broadcast a particularly provocative or interesting TV ad.
Being bought doesn’t make it NOT social. If you can comment and exchange viewpoints, have a discussion about the content then that seems pretty social. So for me it’s not about social media not being able to be bought. It’s about earned media and bought media being separate things (although vastly interrelated) and the need for open and honest disclosure.
I’m not anti bought media – it totally has its place! I’m just anti-dishonest behaviour where people are paid to blog and tweet about brands in return for payment without disclosing, which is incidentally against the law, but which it appeared GoViral were trying to encourage.
Bought, owned and earned can and should all live very happily together – let’s just be honest about what we’re doing
Hell yeah! Just popping by to say “a well-earned comment, that”
And there’s nothing more satisfying than reporting a very transparent, interrelated viral lift from bought media (which is the awesomeness of tracking). The prime awesomnimity coming from tracking how content placed on a site is then mutually transacted by being satisfyingly spread by its readers – something everyone should gaze over when thinking about reach away from impressions.
I think my excitement goes up to even pee myself a little bit more when doing the same from reproductions/replications of stuff.
Hey Katy –
Thanks for your comment .. the issue of transparency is a hot topic!
btw … i’ve slightly tweaked the post so the link to your blog post is in a different place so it doesn’t appear that i have placed your views out of context
cheers!
So here’s a question about the framework: look at sites like OfficeMax ElfYourself and GAP Cheer Factory (and, frankly, the several sites that Impossible Software is enabling). These sites enable a visitor to create a personalized video. In most senses, this is owned media: the site and the template for the video are owned by the brand. However, one must consider what happens to the video after the user leaves. Certainly, it’s sent to friends… so it’s “viral” and therefore earned. Unlike viral videos, though, this is a bit more than an awareness tactic. The hook of personalization creates an implicit call to action: go back to the owned site and you, too, can elf yourself or create a cheer.
So is this owned or earned?
Interesting Dan and yeah – totally earned ’cause always in the first instance the user chooses to go to the owned site upon the advocacy of the user who shared it with them.