I’ve heard a number of news stories lately decry that advertising is dead. Curated content and social media are the only future they warn. As is often the case, this oversimplifies the trends to the point where we miss the nuances that marketing directors and CMOs really need to consider. Consumers will always need and want to gather information in two broad ways:
- I know what I want – I’m searching for a product or service, so I want quick, relevant answers. In this arena, we are increasingly looking for better answers than a Google search can provide. So we dig a bit further into content or our social networks for education and guidance.
- I’m open to new ideas – I’m pleasantly surprised to find things that fit my interests. As long as we’re human, most of us will remain curious, looking for new and better solutions. This is where well-targeted advertising will always thrive.
I finally found a thought leader that articulates how the Internet is evolving to satisfy both of these basic needs – to better match the way our brains are wired. I suppose it’s no accident that he runs a company trying to ride the crest of this wave. Shared Verma is CEO of Piqora (previously called Pinfluencer). In a recent Forbes article he explains how the web is shifting from a world of text and links to a visual world of things and objects he likes to call the “Pixel Web.” Through Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr (and many more sites) we now upload millions of images every day, we express our interests, our loyalties, and we surround ourselves with the people, groups and companies we care about. And yet, Verma acknowledges that he still want to discover new things, not isolate ourselves with the familiar.
He points out how the “Pixel Web” makes it easier for us to “see a lot without clicking a lot” and that smart companies are in turn making it easy for us to share and catalog their products and services. Instead of banner ads bluntly trying to push us immediately to a transaction, marketers must work to get their products into the top of the sales funnel – which now exists on people’s Facebook pages and Pin boards where they are sharing, discussing and working through their buying decisions.
Verma’s company, Piqora, offers a service that allows marketers to track, evaluate and monetize their use of the “Visual Web” as well as key influences and advocates. We’re taking a close look at Piqora at our agency… We do think Verma has his finger on the pulse of consumer behavior online today.
Read Sharad Verm’s full post written for Forbes here.
