SHOULD SOCIAL MEDIA BE PAID FOR?

Some thought son the recent light-hearted debate held by IAB and WOM UK, titled “Should social media be paid for?”, by senior account exec Jess.

The room was asked to vote before the debate, with the majority already believing that brands should be able to pay for advertising and sponsorship within the social media space…

The FOR argument? Social media advertising (eg, advert boxes for Facebook fan pages) allows brands to reach out to fans, direct them to where the content and interaction is happening, and helps drives awareness. Consumers don’t mind as the ads are not too intrusive - cue imagery of how pub coasters (the ones with adverts on them) act on the table in the pub; they are there to serve a purpose/drive awareness but they are not intrusive to the conversations happening around them.

The AGAINST argument? If you have paid for something, you didn’t earn it. Blogger is just a publishing tool and Twitter just a technical platform. Adverts and sponsorship don’t belong in the social media arena as the audience should join Facebook fan pages themselves and brands should earn interaction and buzz…

Unsurprisingly the after-debate vote was unaffected and the majority still believed that brands have the right to pay for advertising in social media space to help drive awareness… but only if they provide brilliant content and interaction.