Personal Media Ads – When real customer relationships replace advertising algorithms

In the almost infinite cosmos of digital marketing, a truly exciting web channel is emerging: Personal Media Ads.
But what’s behind this fancy term?

What is Personal Media Ads all about?

In contrast to other advertising channels, Personal Media Ads turn the customers themselves into advertisers for the companies. Customers send relevant and authentic recommendations to friends and family. These messages are based on proven word-of-mouth marketing. They build trust, increase brand awareness and bring in lots of new customers. Just what every marketer wants, right?

Consisting of three keywords, Personal Media Ads can be described quite simply as follows:

 

And here’s the whole principle explained: Customers know best who in their environment might also be interested in the service they consume and send the purchase recommendation to actual, potential new customers. This is why the personal aspect is particularly important here. Targeting can hardly be more precise than through personal recommendations. These authentic recommendations are then sent as directly as possible to their acquaintances via the usual communication channels by satisfied customers reporting a positive experience. Almost like analog word of mouth, only more direct, faster and measurable. The advertising texts in the form of a personal message are pre-prepared by the companies and automatically uploaded to the messenger of satisfied customers and forwarded directly to their contacts with one or two clicks. The resulting personal purchase recommendation corresponds to a highly effective advertisement – or a “Personal Media Ad”.

Why should a marketer be interested in Personal Media Ads?

Compared to traditional advertising channels such as Social Media Ads, Personal Media Ads have a number of exciting advantages:

1. Content

• Social Media Ads: Impersonal
• Personal Media Ads: Specific and personalised by a friend, acquaintance or family member

2. Attention

• Social Media Ads: Ignored and overlooked
• Personal Media Ads: 99% open rate, as it is received via Messenger

3. Targeting

• Social Media Ads: Data-based
• Personal Media Ads: Relationship-orientated

4. Effectiveness

• Social Media Ads: Becoming less and less effective
• Personal Media Ads: A word of mouth impression leads to 5x more sales than a paid impression (Nielsen 2022)

5. Marketing

• Social Media Ads: By the company itself
• Personal Media Ads: The company’s customers market its products

Future significance of Personal Media Ads

The future of Personal Media Ads promise exciting opportunities for businesses. In a digital world where you are inundated with ads, and only few of them are remembered, companies need to stand out. Or can you remember the last ad you were served?

We know that this is exactly why word-of-mouth marketing has become so important. For the first time, Personal Media Ads offer the opportunity to actively harness and optimise the power of word-of-mouth. By leveraging personal relationships and distribution by customers themselves, Personal Media Ads become an effective and trusted method of capturing satisfied customers directly after their experience. However, it does not replace traditional advertising methods, as Personal Media Ads can only be properly utilised in the after-sales phase.

Personal Media Ads in the marketing mix

It makes sense to keep a close eye on this emerging form of advertising and consider how Personal Media Ads can be cleverly integrated into your own marketing strategy. The goal? A stronger bond with customers and increased sales. After all, Personal Media Ads demonstrate exactly what we have long known – that satisfied customers are the best advertising ambassadors. And instead of investing most of your budget in increasingly expensive advertising, a targeted Personal Media Ad strategy can be a more effective and cost-effective addition. After all, what could be better than happy customers acquiring new customers themselves?