Mark Traphagen

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+Post Ads: Socializing Advertising Across the Web

This is bloody brilliant.

Almost exactly a year ago I stuck my neck out and made a bold prediction: we would not see in-platform advertising on Google+ in 2013...and maybe never. Read that post at http://goo.gl/ntXGUE

In that post I said part of the reason I didn't think we'd see in-stream ads on Google+ (as Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms have been forced to do) was because of the way Google+ is ingeniously tied into the rest of Google. The social data gathered here for logged in users is very valuable to Google in enhancing the effectiveness of its other revenue-generating products, such as AdWords in Google Search.

But now comes +Post Ads, and they've gone beyond what even I imagined: Google+ ads that aren't on Google+!

+Post Ads allow brands to pay to push their Google+ posts out into Google's extensive "display" or "content" advertising networks. This means that highly targeted engaging and interactive content will appear where we would traditionally see static banner ads on a web site. 

A great example of how effective this could be is the example in the video shared by +Eli Fennell below. Recently +Toyota USA worked with Google+ to create an interactive environment utilizing Hangout technology where users can collaborate with friends and family to collaboratively design their next Corolla. That content was awesome enough in and of itself.

But now thanks to +Post Ads, that post will appear on targeted websites across the web. Because these are social media content posts, not traditional ads, they have built in appeal. They become part of the fun and/or information of the site on which they appear. People will _want) to view these and share them with their contacts (which they can easily do, since these are live Google+ posts!).

Those of us who have understood the value of Google+ from the beginning have always talked about the reach it can give you beyond the social platform. Now that reach has been given to advertisers, all while continuing to keep Google+ ad free!

This just may be one of the biggest innovations in online advertising since the first banner ad appeared.
Eli Fennell originally shared:
 
+Post Ads: Social Advertising Done Right

On the heels of the Toyota Collaborator Hangout App, +Toyota USA and Google+ are launching a new feature for social advertising: +Post ads.

Paid social advertising has traditionally focused on inserting ads deeper and deeper into the stream of social interactions.  The problem with such an approach is the same problem +Mark Traphagen describes as going into a party and shouting, "Hey everyone, I work for (insert company name here), do you want to buy some stuff?"  When authentic social interactions are taking place, that is not the time to go into sales mode.

+Post ads take the opposite approach: instead of forcing ads deeper into the social stream, they boost the social stream into ads outside of the social network proper, inviting new audiences into the discussion.

Such an approach, if successful, not only benefits those who use it, but also frees the social network it is attached to so it can remain ad free, and for this reason among many, I wish the endeavor great success.  Social networking can be a part of paid advertising, but in my opinion, paid advertising has no place on a social network itself, and +Post ads seem to strike that right balance.
Toyota reaches new customers with +Post ads and Google
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17 comments
Eli Fennell
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Thanks for sharing +Mark Traphagen, and for adding some great thoughts of your own.  This is the perfect example of what +Mike Allton and I recently called "spontaneous collaboration".
Vic Gundotra
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+Mark Traphagen  Glad you and +Eli Fennell and +Mike Allton understand the benefits of the 'web being your stream'. I'm excited about where we are taking this. Next few months should prove to be very interesting. 
Eli Fennell
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+Vic Gundotra Yes, sir, we are I think all on the same wavelength on this one.  And if this is only the start of even more exciting months to come... then I cannot wait to see what you have up your sleeves.
Mark Traphagen
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+Vic Gundotra I stood up and cheered when I saw this. Very embatrasing for my office mates, but I didn't care. I banked on Google+ from day one because I believed I perceived the genius of your business model. 

It's nice to have that not only confirmed, but confirmed with sheer brilliance that exceeded my original expectations. 

You managed to crack the code of providing a social platform that is enjoyable and largely free of spamminess while still monetizing and providing value for businesses. Brilliant!
Mick Sharpe
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It certainly is inspired. One major benefit I see is that the content that is displayed is actually valuable content for the display network. The advertisers will have to be creative and engaging (in true G+ style) to have any kind of success. As +John Dietrich and +Sean Murray point out this can only be good for Google drawing more people in to the Plus.
Ben Fisher
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What is so brilliant here is that not only do the ads not interrupt the social stream but the benefit to advertisers may be a lower CPC if they are truly creating compelling/engaging content. - Huge opportunity!
Robert Ottinger
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2014 is going to be a great year on G+ and I cannot wait to try running some of these ads.  
LeGrand Johnson
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I love how this is completely out of left field but absolutely perfect. Great job, Google
Paul Goldston
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So pumped for this. What a brilliant execution. The power of FB sponsored posts is well understood. This takes the concept of that ad unit out of a closed platform and onto the GDN and beyond.

It's so incredible to be able to work at an SEO, PPC and social agency and witness the three disciplines converge right in front of our eyes. This will help breed even better content from an SEO and social perspective and will allow us to push the content through paid outreach to larger audiences. While we've been doing this for a while already through traditional display ads, the integration will be much more seamless and engaging through this method. Love it!!
Jon Dunn
 
Very clever on two levels... Advertisers get to promote rich content and branded messages while acquiring new audiences, G+ gets advertised while Google get paid...
Joshua Berg
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I got this news late +Mark Traphagen as I've been out working on my new story, but this is gonna be big. Just shared your share.
Bill Gassett
 
+Mark Traphagen has this rolled out yet for the little guy? Interested to hear what you first one will consist of?
Kacee Erhard
 
+Mark Traphagen Thank you for keeping us up to date, as always, and thank you for such a sweet image of you jumping up and cheering. You really make my day with your enthusiasm. It's contagious!
Sarah Uyeyama
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That's all well and good but it looks as if Toyota could use a little coaching from +martin shervington to increase their engagement. :)
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