IAB Unveils Social Media Buyer’s Guide

How-To Primer for Marketers and Agencies

CARLSBAD,CA (February 22, 2010) -- The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced the release of its “Social Media Buyer’s Guide,” a resource that guides marketers and agencies through the social media advertising buying process.

The announcement was made at IAB’s third Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: Revenue the Next Wave, in Carlsbad, California, where leaders across the digital media landscape have converged to address the most critical issues facing the industry.

The “Social Media Buyer’s Guide” offers marketers and agencies a handbook that explains how to buy social media advertising.

The IAB Social Media Buyer’s Guide:

* Details the steps involved in planning a social media campaign to meet both strategic and tactical marketing objectives
* Defines the different social media platforms that are in the market
* Provides case studies to illustrate successfully executed real-world campaigns
* Summarizes the pricing models available to purchase social media and the metrics used to evaluate success.

“We developed the ‘Buyer’s Guide Series’ because there was a need to offer marketers and agencies clear, concise guidance on planning and buying emerging, high growth interactive platforms,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP, Industry Services, IAB. “By detailing the essential elements of a successful social media campaign, we make it easier for brands to really leverage the power of social media.”

“The Social Media Buyer’s Guide was developed to be a toolkit that demystifies social media for marketers and agencies and helps them create successful social media campaigns,” said Nichole Goodyear, CEO/President & Co-Founder, Brickfish, and a member of the IAB’s Social Media Committee.

“From an agency perspective, the ‘Social Media Buyer’s Guide’ will go a long way in answering questions that our clients have when they consider social media,” said Anna Banks, Group Director, Strategy, Organic, and a member of the IAB’s Social Media Committee. “This guide will be a terrific tool to help educate our clients so that together we can make informed decisions and execute effective social media campaigns that engage consumers—that’s our goal.”

This document can be found on the IAB website at: www.iab.net/sm_buyers_guide

The IAB Social Media Buyer’s Guide builds upon a solid foundation of guidance previously released by the IAB Social Media Committee, which includes:

* Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions - http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics
* Social Advertising Best Practices - http://www.iab.net/socialads
* User-Generated Content & Social Media Platform Status Report - http://www.iab.net/ugcplatform

About the IAB’s Social Media Committee:
The Social Media Committee of the IAB is comprised of more than 150 member companies dedicated to helping develop and expand the social media space as a viable advertising platform. The committee works to educate marketers and agencies on the strength of social media as a marketing vehicle. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at:
http://www.iab.net/social_media_committee

Source: The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)