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SALT LAKE CITY -- Typically, corporations buy ad space on a website, in print or on radio or television stations and would hope that someone who was interested in their product just happened to see it. All that has changed with the invention of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Evin Catlett, the social media manager at Salt Lake City advertising firm Richter7, says young adults -- whom they call "millennials" -- are tuning out ads that used to work before.
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What started off as a great way to keep in touch with friends and family -- and even share fun videos online -- has emerged as a phenomenal marketing tool."People are significantly more likely to be driven to purchase a product if they have been exposed to it on ‘paid search' or through social media than just traditional advertising," she said.
Facebook and Twitter are social media sites, so advertisers should be social with them. Catlett says companies should still buy ads in the traditional ways, but they should lead customers to other sites where consumers can have direct communication with the company.
"Rather than just spitting your message out there and expecting it to trickle down to the right people, you're actually trying to leverage conversations to turn people into brand advocates," Catlett said.
Ad campaigns that have asked for input directly from customers are resonating very well with millennials. One example is the recent campaign from Old Spice. The face of the campaign, the "Man Your Man Could Smell Like," would personally respond to tweets posted on Twitter, and the video responses would be posted on YouTube. [CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEOS]
Advertisers say the campaign has been highly effective, and a number of spinoff and parody ads have followed in its wake.
Another example, although it may not have been as funny as the Old Spice ads, is Domino's Pizza and its request to have customers send pictures of what they received. Domino's even used an unflattering picture of one of its pizzas to publicly address a problem it wants to solve.
Catlett says creating a public forum for customers to allow them to offer opinions and comments on the product can feel more natural and more organic than the typical ad."It's a little more authentic, which is why I think it resonates with this generation a little bit better," she said.
Another effective tool in attracting millennials to your company is "cause marketing," in which the company will make donations to a charitable organization. Recently Pepsi started its Pepsi Refresh Project, which actually took suggestions from the public about which causes should receive Pepsi's support.
But with the benefits of advertising on social websites, there is one big drawback. Ad campaigns have a much shorter shelf life than the traditional ads in print or on radio and TV.
Catlett warns, "You can't necessarily sustain a year-long promotion on social media if you want it to have huge impact the whole time."
Catlett says the average Facebook ad campaign lasts about three months.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
