Realtime is a new category of advertising, built on the realtime sharing revolution that's taken over our lives, from the early days of MySpace, Flickr and Delicious, to the heyday of Facebook and Twitter today. Despite the enormity of user engagement (over 500 million active users around the world), traditional approaches to advertising have not worked in this medium.
Users are unhappy because the ads aren't relevant, and advertisers are unhappy because they can't get users to engage (click through rates on social networking sites are abysmally low).
Enter Realtime Ads. Realtime ads are the perfect way for an advertiser to connect with a user in a social environment, from realtime search on OneRiot, to Promoted Tweets on Twitter, to social networks like Facebook and MySpace, to media sharing sites like Twitpic and Blip.fm. The opportunity is massive, measured in the hundreds of billions of page views per month.
What is a realtime ad?
An ad is 'Realtime Relevant' if it matches the user's behavior of consuming information and sharing that information with their friends. Realtime ads are created as they become relevant across the realtime web. Realtime ads can be Tweets, search ads or display ads that contain content that is relevant right now. For a primer on how the technology works for realtime ads, check out my previous post.
It can be timely commerce - from a special deal on flowers just before Mother's Day to the hottest HDTV on sale just before the Superbowl. It can be content, from TMZ getting their content in front realtime web users as it's published, to American Express talking about the best iPad apps for business users. It can be lead-gen ads for mortgage companies to engage future customers by providing good advice on how to best take advantage of the latest tax incentives.
Realtime ads are 'Realtime Relevant.’ They matter to you right now. When you see them you want to consume the content and share it with friends. Realtime ads are the perfect way for an advertiser to connect with users in a social environment.
Who is a Realtime Advertiser?
Realtime advertisers span the universe of all traditional advertisers. They include:
- Big brands like Coca-Cola and American Express
- E-commerce sites from Amazon to your local flower shop
- Publishers like Huffington Post and TMZ looking to build their brand as a content destination for realtime web users
- Insurance and mortgage companies driving leads by creating compelling content around their products
American Express is an excellent example of a brand that understands the way to connect with users of the realtime web. They create content everyday that is relevant to their small business audience. From “Top iPad Business Apps” to “What Twitter's New Ad Model Means for Small Business” American Express' content is shared hundreds of times a day across the realtime web. American Express can now use realtime ad technology to push their hot content out into the realtime web as it becomes relevant. They build their brand by creating ads that users want to consume and share with their friends and colleagues right now.
Amazon has products that are ‘Realtime Relevant’ every day. From Sarah Palin's latest book to iPad accessories and Mother's Day presents. Realtime ad technology knows when to put the right products at the right time in front of the realtime web audience. On any one day there are hundreds of ‘Realtime Relevant’ products being sold on the web. They are the kinds of products people are talking about today (from the Nexus One to the Tesla Model S).
Publishers can use realtime ad technology to build their brand on the realtime web. Realtime ad technology gets their hottest content in front of users seconds after it is published, ensuring that their content gets shared and becomes viral before their competitors. The brand value of being the first place people heard about Michael Jackson dying or the Tiger Woods affair is invaluable to publishers.
We all hate those dancing mortgage ads on social networking sites. By using realtime technology, mortgage companies can finally become a relevant, value-add to the social experience. Using realtime ad technology, a mortgage company can start creating content that helps users of the realtime web understand the latest in tax incentives, how the economy affects your mortgage, and day-to-day pricing changes. Using realtime ads, even mortgage companies can create ads that matter to you right now.
Why Advertise in Realtime?
If a brand or ecommerce site want to connect with users in a social or realtime environment, they need to advertise in realtime. With over 500 million users and growing fast, the realtime web represents one of the biggest underserved markets in history. For the brands that take the lead here, it represents a land grab of epic proportions. Imagine being the authority for business advice across Twitter and Facebook as American Express is driving towards. Or the ecommerce site of record for a new generation of buyers who live on the realtime web.
The question is not “Why advertise in realtime?” The question is, “Who are the brands and businesses that are going to be built off the realtime web?” If you want to be of those brands, you need to move fast because it is happening right now.