A Brief History of Conversation:Advertising in the Social Space

Gordon PetersGeneral Manager, SocialCash.com

Social Ad SummitNew York, New YorkSeptember 15, 2008

Conversation began in tribes

Let’s kill the wooly mammoth and eat it. That is all.

Then the tribes got bigger

Let’s build an army of 10,000, pillage and whatnot, and

spread our message!

And spokespeople emerged

Representatives speak for the people and govern a nation of 1,000,000.

Democracy changed to top-down voicing

“We newspaper owners will manage the conversations for 10,000,000 people.

Companies can buy advertising space.”

Technology brought democracy back

Blogs:

Social News:

Content portals and social news allowed the people to choose their voices

Then came true Social Networks

Conversations are 24/7, and users are sharing and learning more about their friends

Individuals Are Now Publishers, Curators, And Evangelists

Real-time content push

Curation

Evangelism

Today’s Challenge: How Should You Join The Conversation?

Social Networks Tools Ads

Social Networks and open APIs/Platforms creating huge new inventory.

Five Avenues for Conversation and Engagement

Hyper Targeted Ads

Branded Apps (App-vertisements)

Fan Pages

Groups

Events

1

2

3

4

5

Avenue 1: Hyper-Targeted Ads (Platform)

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Avenue 1: Hyper-Targeted Ads (Apps)

Social Banners

Virtual Currency

Sign up Get Texas Hold ‘Em Chips

Branded Virtual Gifts

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Avenue 2: Branded Apps

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Context Optional helps Timberland recruit 100,000 Earthkeepers, who sent 1.75M seeds

Avenue 3: Fan pages

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Fan pages allow for customer evangelism

Avenue 4: Social Groups

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Avenue 4: Social Groups

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Avenue 4: Social Groups

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Avenue 5: Events

1

2

3

4

Targeting

Apps

Fanning

Groups

5 Events

Five “Must Do” takeaways for igniting high-value conversations

Define clear and measurable goalsTry multiple avenues and build a portfolioDon’t fear the mob; cede some control Leverage key metrics to drive growthTest, learn, and iterate

1

2

3

4

5

A Brief History of Conversation:Advertising in the Social Space

Gordon Peters – General Manager, SocialCash.com

Social Ad SummitSeptember 15, 2008