Social Media = Advertising Honeypot
August 5th, 2009
Brands are obsessed with “going where the conversation is happening” or “going where users live” these days. Ad rags give advice for using Twitter to clueless marketing types. Every ad campaign has a checklist of touch points on the “social” web. Every RFP demands an itemized list of social networks that will be a part of the campaign. Twitter is the new Flash intro.
Generally, the presence of brands and their representatives on social sites is well-tolerated. Everyone is used to the fact that brands are jumping in. We consumers have large, high-res displays and we’re great at building selective blindness. When brands participate in social media, though, we don’t necessarily need that blindness. They’re automatically invisible unless we want to see them.
The Honeypot
A honeypot is an attractive trap used to embargo a threat. In information security, a dummy server might be placed on the periphery of a network and left somewhat hackable. The dumber crooks break into the honeypot, thinking they’ve silently compromised a network, only to be kept at arm’s length and watched. A thriving, sensitive network might exist right behind the honeypot, but the attacker never knows. He’s satisfied with himself for breaking in and stealing (what he thinks are) the keys to the castle.
On social sites, we only engage with brands if and when we want to. We don’t bother following @zappos if we don’t want to interact with Zappos. The model keeps the power dynamic shifted the way it should be: in the favor of the consumer.
In a way, a brand presence on Twitter is the antithesis of display advertising. Rather than covering every visible surface in a shotgun effort to sneak into the minds of consumers, social media advertising is more passive.
Twitter and Facebook are honeypots for brands, keeping consumers protected from the annoying noise we see everywhere else. We reach in and pull them out when we want, but otherwise keep them at bay.
Twitter is better at this role than Facebook because Twitter lacks display ads. I think that fact alone makes us love Twitter, where we simply tolerate Facebook.
An Olive Branch
So, to brands, I say, welcome. Don’t screw it up, and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. You’re not “going where the conversation is happening” – you’re going where people are, and letting them talk to you if, when, and how they prefer. Play by the rules and you will, over time, build a community. You’ll earn a voice. Just don’t be insulted if we tune in and out at will. It’s better for all involved.
An Example
Ok, so R/GA is about to bring Taco Bell all up in our grills on Facebook and Twitter. God save us from the chalupa and volcano nachos.
Luckily, I can opt out by not opting in. We all can.
It feels good, doesn’t it?
