Facebook "Mad Men"

When a person signs on Facebook, many things happen. On their "newsfeed," they see all the new pictures from the last night out, they see all the funny status updates their friends have to offer, but they also see tons of videos embedded from Youtube all over the site. Any Facebook user can notice that each of these videos have something appealing to offer to at least somebody. Sometimes these videos work as advertisements when they aren't even trying to be, and the people who share them with their friends are in fact acting as advertising agents for companies they have no affiliation with. Advertisers have caught wind of this phenomena, and it is leading to a change in marketing as a whole.

The key reason that Facebook is becoming such a marketing juggernaut is because of the ability of customer feedback. In a matter of minutes when an Ad is put on Facebook, people from all around the world can voice there opinions on said Ad, and put the Ad up on their on page or on their friend's. This puts greater pressure on a company to make Ads that appeal to the public than in times before the Internet, where they could get away with Ads on TV that did not resonate especially with the public. Today companies have to answer to their critics; who is now the common man, unlike the past, when the only negative feedback they could receive would be from others in the media with a public forum; those on TV and in newspapers.

But the negatives of customer feedback are greatly outweighed by all of the positives that come with it. The speed of which a great Ad can circle throughout Facebook is unprecedented. With the millions of users that use Facebook everyday, and the rate of which information is shared, Ads can spread at a ridiculous rate. The article below points out that when Nike put out their "Write the Future" Ad for the World Cup up on Facebook, the rate at which it spread was astounding. I for one remember seeing the Ad for the first time on Facebook, and wanting to buy Nike products immediately. I wanted my friends to marvel at the tremendous work of art. In the old days I would have had to tell my friends about and wait till the random chance that it appeared when they were watching the TV, but because of Facebook, with only a few clicks, the Ad is waiting for them the next time they sign on. Today, with the capabilities of cell phones and iPods, you don't even need a computer to see the Ad, as many new portable devices have internet access and high quality video players ready for use. This is the reason why companies are drifting towards Facebook as a means of advertising their products.

From the financial standpoint of Facebook, expect the money train to keep on rolling. With the realization of the benefits that come from using Facebook as a primary Ad agent just dawning on companies, expect more companies to centralize their marketing strategies around Facebook, and more and more money to be pumped into the company. It certainly is a good time to be one of the Facebook "Mad Men."

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_40/b4197064860826.htm