Is advertising through social media the best way to spend marketing dollars?

The relationship between social media and advertising continues to grow as more organisations see the advantages of communicating with consumers through this evolving channel.

The 29 July, 2011, edition of AdNews reported that advertising through Facebook is under huge demand from Australian advertisers even through there hasn’t been significant growth in the number of Facebook users. In the 12 months to June 2011, it was estimated that between $35 and $40 million was spent by advertisers in Facebook. In addition to this, Facebook recently increased its minimum monthly spend from $10K to $15K.

The question is – is advertising through Facebook a really effective way to spend advertising dollars? Is there a better and authentic way, of reaching consumers through social media that isn’t just a small ad down the right-hand side of the Facebook screen? If industry predictions are correct we will see a rise in the amount spent on Facebook by advertisers. The key benefits offered through this site include response effectiveness and improved targeting. This means that Facebook users should be not only seeing ads in Facebook that appeal to them, they are also ads that make them want to respond.

Interestingly, Hussein Fazal recently explored Facebook advertising and discussed whether it has the ability to overthrow Google in generation of revenue. Fazel discusses hyper-targeting where the use of Facebook intelligence and some serious mathematics means ads placed on Facebook are based on what the user has shown to be interested in. There is also the advantage of re-targeting ads through Facebook which can give strength to a campaign.

However, I am yet to see an ad on Facebook that has made me want to chick, have you? I’d love to hear your examples of successful/effective/creative advertising you have seen on Facebook or elsewhere in social media land!