Interactive Advertising for an Interactive World

We as marketers have entered a new era. Consumers want to connect with the people and topics that truly interest them and because of that have learned to simply skip over the things that don’t. This may seem scary at first, and it should, it’s a major change. We as a society have been made to feel uneasy at the first glimpse of change. However it does present an opportunity to move forward and create sustainable relationships with consumers at all levels of the industry.

As a student at St. Lawrence College, I’ve had the opportunity to begin to learn the basics of interactive and social marketing and how it affects businesses in both a negative and positive light. One piece that helped further my education was the report the team at Pivot put together on the changing landscape of Internet marketing, entitled “The Rise of the Social Advertiser”.

This report outlines how traditional Internet marketing is not having a significant impact on consumers who visit social networking sites. Consumers are simply not looking at the banner or click through advertisements; they are focusing on the aspects of the site that they care about. Consumers come to connect with friends and topics of interest, so the goal of a business in a social world is to be that topic of interest. Having said that, the most important thing I’ve learned so far is to build a long-term strategy and execute it consistently. Keeping up with consumers in the digital world is no easy task, but it’s important.

That is just one conclusion I’ve drawn from the classroom and my various readings. Next week we get to see it first hand in a professional environment. Can’t wait. Thanks again to Pivot for such an amazing opportunity. Excited to put everything I’ve learned into practice.