Monday, October 11, 2010

Facebook and Permission Marketing

'Permission Marketing' is a slogan coined by marketing guru Seth Godin, contrasting the conventional marketing methods that he calls 'Interrpution Marketing.' In short, 'Interruption Marketing' is mass advertising via tv, radio, magazines, or any other venue designed to reach as many people as possible. The problem with such marketing is that it vies for attention--a commodity that potential customers have increasingly less of. The ubiquitous problem of 'clutter' in the marketplace causes this conventional mass marketing to be more expensive and less effective than it ever was before.

'Permission Marketing' is the remedy. This form of marketing gets permission in one way or another from each of its customers to offer the sale of its products. Instead of throwing out advertisements to the masses and hoping it sticks with a few, 'Permission Marketing' cultivates individuals into loyal customers. More than anything, the internet has made such relationship marketing possible. Through email an blog subscriptions, social networking sites, and access to search engines, marketers have never had an easier time advertising to qualified customers.

As Godin's book was written in the infant years of the internet, Facebook was not yet instituted. Now, it seems, the controversial social networking site is ubiquitous. Unashamedly ad-supported, Facebook is the ultimate format for 'Permission Marketing.' Ads tailored specifically to each user's interest can be bought. And, I must confess, I notice them when I'm browsing my wall. Facebook is an advertiser's dream come true--it allows the marketer to send a relevant message to an individual blatantly interested in the offering.

Can 'Permission Marketing' go too far, though? What happens when 'Permission Marketing' becomes so ubiquitous that it is just another form of 'Interrpution Marketing?' In giving so many marketers simultaneous permission to advertise, each Facebook user is being overwhelmed with a more sophisticated level of clutter.

Perhaps nothing illustrates this point more than Facebook's recent policy on its 'Facebook Groups.' Instead of opting in to a group, users can now be added to any group by any of their friends--forcing them to opt out if they do not wish to be part of the group. In one respect, this policy gives marketers a wider array of customers to market to but, in another respect, it just creates more unqualified customers. It takes the 'Permission' out of 'Permission Marketing,' rendering it less effective.

Perhaps it's time for another book, Mr. Godin. 'Permission Marketing' is becoming cluttered. The internet is losing exclusivity and becoming just another venue for mass advertising. We have yet to see how marketers on Facebook and other social networking sites will navigate through this ever-increasingly sophisticated terrain of the internet.

No comments:

Post a Comment