Companies using behavioural targeting on social networks risk doing ‘untold damage’ to their brand and could soon see the practice outlawed by the EU, social media agency Yomego has warned.

Although it has been heralded as the light at the end of the tunnel for the likes of Facebook and YouTube who still need to prove their commercial viability, the promise of behavioural targeting is already unravelling according to Yomego MD Steve Richards.

He says that not only does it not fit into the new world of social media, where people use to the power of community to rebel against sneaky advertising and overt sales messages, but also that EU laws will almost certainly put an end to this form of marketing.

He says:

“As Facebook, Google, Phorm and others have been pouring money in to behavioural targeting there has been a growing concern amongst many sections of both government, NGOs and industry groups about how these systems work.
 
“This has been brought to a head recently in the UK by Phorm’s secret trial with BT, now being looked out by the European Union.

“But there is a bigger problem, especially from an EU perspective. European law on data privacy is amongst the most stringent in the world and all members have to have laws that match the EU directives.
 
“If not already killed off by the Phorm trial, the 2002 European Privacy Acts will almost certainly be the end of behavioural targeting before it starts.”
 
Unlike traditional forms of media, Richards points out that the web is an active experience, where a user actively chooses where to go and what to read or watch. In this environment ads are more naturally seen as an annoyance getting in the way.

Things have gone so far that browser Firefox has an ad blocker available as a free download which removes all adverts across every website.
 
Even adopting the opt-in route used in email marketing is not going to work in the long run.

He adds that social media dictates a completely different approach:

“Why, as a web user, would anyone choose to give advertisers all of their details for nothing?

“And why would I choose to have my browsing experience interrupted by advertising at all? I am more likely to be switched off a brand that pursues me like this causing untold damage to that brand’s reputation.

“Ultimately, passive, lazy advertising does not work in the social media space – indeed, it can do more harm than good and no amount of behavioural targeting will make the difference in a world that is shaped and reshaped by the consumer on an almost daily basis.

“If advertisers want to engage with online audiences then they need to get creative. Far from being a no-go zone, social spaces offer the lure of huge traffic and plenty of opportunity to get involved, but brands need to regard them not as traditional websites. The people who inhabit them regard these spaces as places to express themselves and connect with people.

“If brands want to join in with the engagement then they must be sympathetic to the nature of social spaces. Any activity must be able to provide a benefit to the community, not simply attempt to sell them something. Successful social media strategies add value, presenting brands as facilitators, enhancing the experience for the end user. Rather than jump onto someone else’s network, more and more brands are choosing to create their own community spaces – and some are even being brave enough to take their logos off!”