Google: Capturing social advertising in a systematic way
Oct 12th, 2013 by michellecheung2
The tech giant Google has recently come up with a new solution to help businesses amplify the power of social media influencers. After the policy takes place on Nov 11, the profiles, pictures and recommendations of ordinary people on products, services, and brands will show up in the company’s ads as endorsements. For instance, if I review video on Youtube, my name, photo and comment will show up in ads on any of the 2 million Web sites that are part of the company’s display advertising network. Google said its new advertising policy would apply only to the 390 million people who have signed up for Google Plus, the company’s social network. Companies and marketers welcome this new practice because they believe that customers value word-of -month endorsements on products and services from their friends and family members. However, there is, of course, a lot of concerns on privacy although users have an opt-out option, and an option to limit the reach of their advertising endorsements.
On the consumers’ perspective, Google said that the launch of “shared endorsements” will help them make better choices as they will be able to see the comments and opinions made by their friends and family members. Also, I think there are some people who are active on social media and enjoy seeing their own opinions become more influential. It is also interesting to note that users under 18 are excluded from this feature. This term is required for legality purposes. However, knowing that social influences from peers are particularly valued among teenagers, this term is indeed limiting the power of social advertising.
Source: http://cmo.com/content/cmo-com/home/articles/2013/10/11/google_to_put_user_p.frame.html