Digital Element’s Technology Helps Deliver More Engaging, Interactive Ads To Social Networkers
ATLANTA – (April 21, 2009) – Once dubbed the next big frontier of online marketing, the success of social media advertising has struggled under the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to campaign delivery. Backlash from social networkers coupled with recent industry studies are driving companies to seek new methods, such as using Digital Element’s IP Intelligence, to make advertising more relevant and acceptable in this medium.
Approximately 80 million people, or 41 percent of the U.S. Internet user population, visited social network sites at least once a month in 2008, according to eMarketer. However, advertising on social networking sites has been shown to have lower click-through rates than traditional online ads. According to a recent IDC survey, on the Web at large, 79 percent of all users clicked on at least one ad in the past year, whereas only 57 percent of social network users did.
“Although a huge marketing opportunity still exists on social networks, companies need to realize that users are there first to socialize and communicate with their friends, and not to consume content such as the case when someone surfs the Internet,” said Rob Friedman, executive vice president, Digital Element. “We’re talking about a multi-tasking audience with a short attention span. Reaching them requires non-invasive tactics that deliver advertising that is contextually relevant and provides value to them as well as their community.”
Leading social media sites have discovered the benefit of using Digital Element’s IP Intelligence technology to deliver ads that engage and add to online interactions within social networks. Digital Element’s industry-leading IP Intelligence allows clients to perfect audience segmentation and improve content targeting based on a comprehensive set of parameters that include geographic location (country, region, state, city and zip code), connection speed, Internet Service Provider (ISP), language, domain name, demographics, and more.
Geotargeted ads, for example, are proven performers and command a 30 to 40 percent upsell over non-targeted ads.
“In the big scheme of online advertising, the social media arena is still relatively new—and still evolving,” said Friedman. “The ultimate goal is to encourage user interaction, so social networks are always looking for ways to provide their advertisers with a creative means to encourage engagement with their brands.”
Advertising on social networking sites is still growing. U.S. ad spending on these sites for 2009 is expected to grow to $1.3 billion, an increase of 10.2 percent over last year, according to eMarketer.
About Digital Element
Founded in 1999, Digital Element is the industry pioneer of IP Intelligence, a non-invasive, privacy-sensitive technology that automatically uncovers geographic information, connection speed, domain name, ISP, language and other characteristics about online users based solely on their IP addresses. This knowledge enables online businesses to customize content for more accurate and profitable online interactions, making it ideal for targeted advertising, content localization, geographic rights management, local search and enhanced analytics. Digital Element’s patented IP Intelligence solution with its exceedingly accurate geolocation capabilities is used by industry-leading social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, MoQvo, MyLifeBrand, Slide, hi5 and Frappr, as well as advertising networks, web publishers, search engines, e-tailers, analytics platforms, and online enterprises around the world to revolutionize the way people experience the Internet.
Digital Element is a business unit of Digital Envoy, part of Landmark Interactive, a Landmark Media Enterprises Company. For more information about Digital Element, visit www.digitalelement.net.
Media Contact:
For Digital Element:
Carabiner Communications
Jan Sisko
jsisko@carabinerPR.com
678.461.7438