Problem:
Have you noticed that some of your Facebook friends like certain advertisements? Marketers know what Facebook users like and are using that knowledge to influence users' friends. "Social-context ads" are based on data collected on the likes and friends of Facebook users. When you click on an ad indicating you like it, you give Facebook permission to share that like with all of your friends. Marketers like this feature because it appears as though you are endorsing the brand to your friends. Nike bought ads on users' homepages in 20 countries prior to the World Cup, and Ford uses Facebook's social-context ads to promote the Explorer. Although most ads on Facebook cost as little as a dollar per click to marketers, the total cost of a social-context ad can be as much as $100,000.
Keeping this in mind, respond to the following:
• Which factors do Facebook marketers use to influence consumers?
• Would you be influenced by an ad if you saw that your friends liked it?
• Does traditional marketing have any parallels to this type of online marketing?