Bonding Versus Branding

Facebook has updated its Sponsored Stories advertising model. I read a couple of stories about this move in today’s (Feb. 3, 2012) Wall Street Journal. What has changed is that instead of appearing on the right side of the page like any display ad, starting this month, Sponsored Stories will now appear as part of the News Feed. The article - The Man Behind Facebook’s Marketing - says that this move “essentially allows marketers to pay their way into being relevant.

I’m not quite sure why I find this so stunning, but it may have to do with the fact that social media was about authenticity, and consumers connecting to brands because they wanted to be connected, not having the brand pushed in front of them.

Which was supposed to be the difference between social media versus traditional media engagement - bonding with your audience rather than branding with them. Creating a relationship with them rather than selling to them. I am wondering how Facebook users are going to react, if they will notice that they are being sold to, and if so, if they will have a positive response or a negative backlash. It will be interesting to see what happens.