It’s true that not all of online advertising does nothing. We should expect, if nothing else, online advertising to continue to serve the primary and original purpose of advertising, which is generating choice awareness, and certainly my own experience backs this up: I am aware of any number of products and services only because I saw ads for them on Facebook, Google search, SlateStarCodex, etc.. To the extent that advertising helps people become aware of choices they otherwise would not have become aware of such that on the margin they may take that choice (since you make none of the choices you don’t know how to make), it would seem to function successfully, assuming it can be had at a price low enough to produce positive return on investment.
However, my own experience in the industry suggests that most spend that goes beyond generating more than zero awareness is poorly spent. Much to the dismay of marketing departments, you can’t usually spend your way through ads to growth. Other forms of marketing look better (content marketing can work really great and can be a win-win when done right).
However, my own experience in the industry suggests that most spend that goes beyond generating more than zero awareness is poorly spent. Much to the dismay of marketing departments, you can’t usually spend your way through ads to growth. Other forms of marketing look better (content marketing can work really great and can be a win-win when done right).
This experience has been corroborated by countless reviews (summarized in my other comment), so I agree with you.
It’s true that not all of online advertising does nothing. We should expect, if nothing else, online advertising to continue to serve the primary and original purpose of advertising, which is generating choice awareness, and certainly my own experience backs this up: I am aware of any number of products and services only because I saw ads for them on Facebook, Google search, SlateStarCodex, etc.. To the extent that advertising helps people become aware of choices they otherwise would not have become aware of such that on the margin they may take that choice (since you make none of the choices you don’t know how to make), it would seem to function successfully, assuming it can be had at a price low enough to produce positive return on investment.
However, my own experience in the industry suggests that most spend that goes beyond generating more than zero awareness is poorly spent. Much to the dismay of marketing departments, you can’t usually spend your way through ads to growth. Other forms of marketing look better (content marketing can work really great and can be a win-win when done right).
This experience has been corroborated by countless reviews (summarized in my other comment), so I agree with you.