5 Digital Advertising Platforms To Watch

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In the past years, Google has dominated the digital advertising realm through its Adwords platform.

However, as technology blossomed, it changed the way we interact and live. The burst of social media sites is one phenomenon we’re all witnessing at the moment. Mobile, too, is seen as the next big trend.

Each trend never failed to command a massive number of users (duh it’s a trend!) and with the company of user data, it makes these technologies perfect platforms for marketers to perform their work and reach out to millions.

As tech savvy marketers, below are 5 technologies, which we’re keeping under our radar.

1. Facebook Ads

Facebook’s new open graph concept, which is primarily all about the “like” button, would gather rich data on its users’ behavior and likings. The current Facebook ad platform is already pretty impressive, providing niche targeting for advertisers. With additional behavioral data, its ad platform can only get better. Its fast growing user base is also another factor that commands marketers’ attention (check out Facebook’s story in an infographic).

2. Promoted Tweets

Twitter’s Promoted Tweets has made little impact since its launch (as it seems), but is one factor that could possibly change the digital marketing landscape. Its resonance measurement has brought great balance between users and advertisers. Ads that remain on Twitter’s search results are the ones that have resonated well with users. Through this metric, advertisers can understand what works and what doesn’t; thus improving effectiveness and efficiency in their advertising investments. However, in our opinion, there is still much work to be done before Promoted Tweets can reach its full potential.

3. “On-game” Ads

Farmville’s creator, Zygna, offers a new incentivized ad approach to engage social gamers. In each ad, users will be asked to work on brand-related tasks. The tasks could range from filling in a survey form, watching a video, to performing a shout out. In return, users will be rewarded with virtual currencies to fund their virtual desires.

4. Foursquare

Businesses can leverage Foursquare at zero cost but it wouldn’t be surprising if Foursquare were to introduce a location based ad platform in the future. Currently, with only more than a million registered users, Foursquare needs to work on building a larger user base. This channel is one to watch because Foursquare has the potential to integrate both social and business elements into its mobile ad platform. On the contrary, it was recently reported that Facebook has planned to launch its location feature next month. With over 100 million users accessing Facebook through mobile phones (100x more than what Foursquare has), this move is certainly a strong threat to Foursquare.

5. iAd

Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch’s market penetration prowess has been phenomenal. According to CEO Steve Jobs’s latest iPhone OS 4 keynote, 100 million of these devices are out in the market. In the same keynote, Steve Jobs also introduced the iAd platform, where he promised that the ads are going to be both interactive and emotional. The demos certainly has his back, but this ad platform doesn’t come cheap for early adopters. Promoting your business through iPhone applications is another way to grab mindshare. Publishers (e.g. The New York Times) and travel related industry (e.g hotels.com) have taken the lead in mobile app advertising.

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