Ad publishers on major web platforms are expanding the standard display advertising format to include social actions that leverage the user’s contextual experience.
The newest example is Google’s click-to-call functionality, which will allow users of selected smart phones to call businesses directly from a Google ad. And Facebook’s social ads already offer advertisers three alternatives to the standard click: event RSVP, gift giving, and becoming a fan.
Contextual advertising features are available to more than the major platforms. Sites like Twitter, Foursquare, and YouTube – all thriving, user-driven communities – could integrate their own social actions into advertising. Larger platforms like Google and Facebook will bear out this experiment.
Adding social actions to advertising increases potential affinity between brands and consumers by:
- providing a smoother user experience
- presenting brands on a human level
- offering consumers a sense of control
We’ll discuss how the features of contextual advertising accomplish this in future posts.
