Social Media Marketing - Sponsored Ads

                          ( Mara Corday )

There's no mistaking how common social media marketing has become. Advertising has been around since the dawn of time. 

( I actually began this as a blog yesterday, then never finished it. I almost forgot that I did start to cover this topic, already, and began a typing a post. So the bottom half is what I began writing yesterday, what you read 1st, was what I was about to post today.

So, lol, you'll see a repeat of my outlook and perspective on this, and a repeat of a few facts. )

                           ( Mara Corday )

I love how people who's career doesn't revolve around them doing any advertising, so they put down those that do advertise, and actually have to.  

Believe me, almost every person who doesn't have to advertise, is involved in a career where someone, or the company they work for, had to and has to advertise. Example of a career like that. My husband is an aircraft mechanic. He's never once had to advertise, promote, market, or showcase on social media, to get his education, gain certifications, land positions in his career field and industry. Yet, the school he graduated from, the places that he took his certifications at, and every company hes ever worked for, all advertise. Any company with tens of thousands of employees, buildings, etc., they have an advertising budget and marketing professionals working for them. So for someone in a career where their job requirements do not include social media numbers, advertising and promotion, to be successful in their field, they aren't concerned with sponsored ads, ad campaigns, placing ads in magazines, etc. Because the internet has become so easily accessible, once you have it on your phone, it's free, and can post, promote, etc., on your own, people think that means they actually know something about marketing. Misguided if you think placing a sponsored ad on social media, isn't real marketing, and is any different than a tv commercial, magazine or newspaper ad, or radio ad. Just because you don't have to advertise, doesn't mean marketing and advertising don't exist, doesn't mean your company, or a production you worked on, didn't have to advertise and promote. You can be chosen to be the head actress in a play, I guarantee you that production had an advertising budget to promote the play and build ticket sales. Just like with being a clothing model that's a social media influencer. Certain companies go into partnership with a model, and she receives a percentage or profit, by selling. So she would be advertising alot on her own. Where as other companies only ask for content, you're not required to sell anything, although you are providing content, for them to advertise with, to make sales. But whatever the financial agreement is, the company does most of the advertising and you aren't waiting for someone to buy, so you get paid. Anyhow there are different variations and situations. An actor that's famous and talented, gained fame by doing their craft, the movies do all the advertising. However, almost every movie star, still promotes anything they are producing or involved in. Them promoting the tv show they are on, may not be a requirement, although these days it's extremely common, but they still post and promote it. Building your brand, fan base, knowing your audience, those things can be obtained differently. Many ways to promote on your own, yes. Just make no mistake, marketing and promotion are essential to any and every biz, big or small. It takes knowledge, time, money and resources. You pay for marketing, if you own a biz, and if you want to gain new followers and build a brand. Major, major companies, with a huge marketing budget have sponsored ads all over. Brand new companies, with a small advertising budget, can afford to place ads on social media, and do. Can have 3 million followers and place ads, or 3 followers and start out by placing ads. Gaining followers is done so many different ways. Being involved in a major production, brings you followers. Followers who found you only because that production advertised!!! 

                             ( Mara Corday )

Folks who are biz minded, come on social media for biz, these days even brand new companies are investing in, and have a social media advertising budget. I see brand and companies with 10 followers, others with 10 million, and all in between. Advertising has been around since the dawn of time. Currently social media is one of the top ways to advertise and promote. More now, than ever. I'm just not shocked to see sponsored ads anymore, from people with hardly any followers or companies and name brands with millions. An advertising budget is so so common. Even if you have all the time in the world, there are still more people to reach, people you personally, can't reach. Marketing professionals, marketing companies have been around a million years, these people specialize in that exact field and have the resources, plus credentials to back it up. Proof of what they can do. I think because of the easy access to the internet, free access to Facebook, able to post as much as you want, create pages, groups and advertise as often as you want, it clouds folks minds and outlook on professional advertising. There are people who've had pages several years and have millions of followers, or hundreds of thousands. Appears that it took them all those years little by little. Maybe they saw a burst, an increase in followers because of a single project, production, or a working with a single person, but overall it still took many, many years. There are others that have had their pages just as long and have few followers, or no where near 100k, 1 million, etc. All a matter of perspective and priority based upon goals. Some people make money by doing their craft, then share it, others make money by posting on social media, by the amount of traffic they can generate, the amount of followers they have, or content they can produce for social media advertisers. I know people with hundreds of thousands of followers and don't make a single dime from any of them. They are also not making money sponsoring brands, doing social media influencing for companies, or charging fees for website membership, etc. They are getting paid from their craft directly. A successful professional pinup photographer, a highly successful pinup model whose paid to shoot or model for companies, a professional performer, an actor, a stylist, designer, and more. These are people who are professionals making money and producing away from social media, minus their amount of followers. Yet, they still promote and post their work. On the other end of the spectrum, I know pinups and fashion models making a living or good income, every single month soley by social media. They have just as many followers as those above, and that's their base to influence and show companies their marketability, social media. They very much care about their number of followers, traffic and making money directly from or because of their fans. Sponsored ads, paying a social media marketing company, numbers and stats being important, the need for any and all brands and businesses to promote and advertise, marketing budgets, marketing resources and knowledge, working with people who have a huge following and cross promotion, all those things are NOT brand new. 

                             ( Mara Corday )

Paying a social media marketing company, placing sponsored ads, small businesses who can now afford to advertise,.... the new age of advertising is here, has been here a minute and is not going away. 

I've recently made so many connections, for my career as a pinup model. Since branching out into being a social media influencer and fashion influencer, I have to network and build contacts, of that nature, on my own. The companies I now model for and promote, I found them by seeing their sponsored ads.

I look up fashion, cooking, pets, and pinup mainly. So my search engine has that information, and I follow many pages, with those themes, so that's also why, sponsored ads from those types of businesses pop up, as I'm scrolling along. 

This is with everyone. If all you ever look up, and the only pages you follow are cooking and chef's, then those are the types of ads you'll see. So sponsored ads, very much work and are effective in many ways. Maybe I'll visit their website and enroll in classes, maybe visit their website and by clothes, maybe visit that page and begin to follow it, maybe we'll work together. So many things can come from sponsored ads. 

I've seen ads for clothing companies, beauty product companies, and looked up key words to find those types of businesses. Out of say 50 that I found and contacted, 3 got back to me with interest, and now I'm modeling for 3 companies. They didn't find me, I found them. 

And the very first thing they want to see? Not my resume, no. Don't want to know about my education, formal training, certifications, where I graduated from, how long I've been a pinup, or stylist. They aren't initially curious about my 43 magazine covers I landed, the over 700 times I've been published, or if I'm established in the pinup industry. 

They want to FIRST see my social media pages and accounts. Now, keep in mind, obviously my fan base may have come from my success as a pinup model, stylist and columnist. My fans may, mainly be pinup based, maybe not. But these companies want to see the amount of followers, amount of traffic and interaction. 

Within an agreement to provide content for a company, they aren't solely relying on a model to post heavily and promote often. Yes, as a model you will obviously promote, but your agreement as a social media influencer may include producing content, that the company will heavily use for advertising. 

Because of how much competition is out there to represent companies, they do want to see your numbers, amount of followers and how active you are on social media. They may do, way, way more advertising than the model, but a clothing model whose also a social media influencer, fashion influencer, will be posting, blogging and promoting often. 

Very different than an actress who's on set all day rehearsing, filming, etc. If you are a social media influencer, being active is a definite requirement. Producing new content and posting, is essential and a requirement. An advertising budget is common and standard. 

Vintage Stylist Dianna Prince 

Columnist Dianna Prince

Pinup Talk host Dianna Prince 

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