Ten, maybe even five years ago, consumers’ catch-all buying options largely came down to Walmart and Target. People had firm opinions about which was better, and it was easy to make jokes about how they made buying extra “stuff” too easy.
I know I would go into Target for a gallon of milk and some vegetables, yet somehow, I would end up with some new dish towels, lightbulbs, a pair of flip flops and a roll of wrapping paper (and that was just one trip!). Suddenly, Amazon showed up and became a one-stop shop online. A subscription to Amazon Prime upped the ante on just how random and prolific our purchases could get without ever leaving our homes.
While Amazon is still arguably the most well-known option, there is another choice on the horizon that most of us now constantly utilize without even knowing: Social Media advertising!
The genius of advertising on places like Facebook and Instagram is that most of us are already there anyway. Products are advertised in a targeted, organic fashion, so the products and services we see are never random. In fact, they often seem like just another trusted friend on our feed.
This month, Instagram took their advertising a step further: they began running ads on their reels. This means I can see a clip of my friend’s baby eating squash for the first time, just before an ad pops up for a new bracelet that’s just my style that I didn’t even know I needed. After tapping on “Learn More,” and (of course) buying the bracelet in about 20 seconds, I can go back to meandering through my Instagram feed until the next perfect-for-me ad comes along.
Isn’t this the ultimate in convenience? I don’t ever need to leave my home. I don’t need to open a separate app. I don’t even need to think about what I might want, because Instagram’s algorithm has already been paying attention and does that for me!
Ironically, in a world where people have their heads stuck in their phones and devices, the future of advertising is personalized and social. The world of marketing has come full circle. From prioritizing personal relationships and word-of-mouth advertising, to reaching as many consumers as possible through mass media advertising, now marketing has once again conformed to advances in technology and social interaction by merging the two. The future is bright for those businesses who can keep up with both aspects!