Digital Advertising in 2011

The Social Influence

In 2010 the face of digital marketing continued to evolve with many new developments and potential directions ahead in 2011. A recent article in the Business section of Mashable, the top source for news in social and digital media, discussed predictions for the future of digital advertising.

Most notable for those of us in the automotive industry may be their #3 prediction: Influencers Will Be the Celebrities of the Social Web, the idea that many consumers are making decisions based on what they are reading on social sites, like reviews and comments on Facebook, Twitter, and others.

In our previous interview with Stephen Higgins, Social Media Manager for AutoNation, he stressed the importance of being in those spheres because of the influence the simplest comment on a social media site can have on consumer behavior.

The prediction that companies will be turning more and more to social media to market their brands rather than using outside marketing tactics is not a new idea, but certainly increasingly true as we move into the next year. Not having a presence in those areas is something consumers are starting to notice, expecting that even the smallest company or store will not only have a website, but also a Twitter account, LinkedIn, Facebook Fanpage, and more.

Facebook “Likes” may also be a more important factor in influencing consumers than the industry has yet to fully realize. The video below that was included in the Mashable article sums up some of the reasons why Facebook is so important.

Kraft Foods: How Oreo Learned to Fish Where the Fish Are, presented by Beth Reilly from GasPedal on Vimeo.