News on social media 'provides online ads boost' 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, October 08 2010 by Mark Richards

 

Managed pay per click strategies implemented alongside news stories are a very effective means of boosting return on investment, new research suggests.

 

Adverts that are displayed alongside news stories published on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook show significantly better brand metrics, according to a study by CNN.

 

The news agency used a combination of neuro-marketing techniques, semiotic analysis and news tracking to test the effectiveness of online news marketing ads, revealing an interesting halo effect.

 

News that was recommended brought with it a higher engagement with embedded advertising by readers, compared to randomly consumed content.

 

CNN International senior vice-president of ad sales research Didier Mormesse noted that the commercial benefits of social media space, in addition to the value of online news content, are fast becoming apparent to advertisers.

 

He added: "Knowing the typology of shared content is significant as the information could be used by agencies as a guideline to mould creative and therefore make their advertising more effective to consumers."

 

The survey revealed that people were 19 per cent more likely to recommend a brand advertised alongside a news story they had been recommended by friends through social media, compared to other ads.

 

There was an even stronger emotional response evoked towards adverts from news readers themselves, who were 27 per cent more likely to favour the brand themselves than adverts alongside other kinds of content.

 

The survey also revealed that the majority of news sharing happens on social networks, suggesting that those internet marketing consultants interested in targeting audiences through news should focus on sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

 

Email sharing also proved a favourable medium, with 30 per cent of those surveyed sharing content with friends this way.