It’s no secret that businesses- even here in Mississippi are re-allocating advertising dollars away from traditional media into new media such as web and social media.  Everyone is aware of that fact.  What sometimes escapes the novice marketer or business owner is the “why?”.  Why is this trend occurring and continuing to gain momentum?

First, understand that web and social media is an entirely different animal than traditional media- apples and oranges.  It’s a “talk with” mentality instead of a “talk at” mentality.  Big difference.  As such, you approach web and social media with a drastically different rulebook.  Different goals, different expectations, different methodology.

But if you had to compare social media and traditional media side by side..apples to apples, if you will…what would that comparison look like?  I’ve run some numbers with the aim of providing a possible scenario.  The left column shows data drawn from the media kits of VIP Magazine and parent company Clarion Ledger (available here, and here, respectively).  The right column shows data drawn from the Facebook ad-creation interface.  My goal is to present the reach, cost, and benefit of targeting the same demographic via Facebook or VIP Magazine.

The above comparison is about as “apples to apples” as we can get.  There are some obvious nuances in each product’s data, as it is made available to the public.  However, it is certainly enlightening.

VIP is a great publication- a staple of Jackson Metro print media.  We’ve had many clients over the years to buy ad space in VIP with great effect.  Truly, the above table could be drawn to compare Facebook with any print publication, but I had to pick one in order to draw an effective, specific example.

The targeting (male/female/income) is fairly similar.  The difference, obviously, is that with a print publication, it just is what it is.  With Facebook, you can pick and choose the demographic you want to target.  In the above table, I tried to pick the demographic that most closely resembled the readership of VIP, as stated in the media kit.

The size of the market is worth noting.  Clarion Ledger states that the market reach for ALL of their products (Clarion Ledger daily, Sunday, VIP, Healthscene, Rankin Ledger, etc.) is 79% of all adults 18 and over in Hinds, Rankin, and Madison Counties.  I’m not sure how this is verified, or how consistent it is.  But, for the sake of this table, we gave them the benefit of the doubt and applied ALL of that to VIP.  The Facebook data is fairly cut and dry.  In their database, they have a certain number of registered users that fit within the specified geography and demographics.  Not much fudging on that number, and it updates in real-time as you select your ad targeting criteria.

There is some difference in the average age.  The average age of Facebook users is a world-wide statistic.  I’m assuming it applies evenly here in Mississippi.  The same is true for the male/female split.  The above table assumes that Mississippi numbers reflect worldwide numbers.

For cost comparison, I chose to limit the length of the campaign to 30 days.  For VIP, the lowest price you can find is a 1/4 page black and white ad.  The single-month rate is $600.   Personally, I always felt that the 1/4 page ads weren’t nearly as effective as the 1/2 page or full page ads…but to keep costs down, we’ll stick with the 1/4 page in this example.  On Facebook, you can choose whatever budget you wish.  I chose $10 per day, or $280 for the month of February.  When you select your budget, the projected results update in real time.  Since this is results-based advertising, your budget impacts results.

Obviously, distribution differs between these two examples.  VIP relies on drop points and subscriptions.  Facebook places your ad in the right-hand margin of the page for users you’re targeting.

Now, to results:

Let’s assume that,as Clarion Ledger asserts, 79% of all adults 18 and over in the tri-county area seek out, pick up, thumb through the magazine, and see your ad.  That’s potentially 268,442 pairs of eyes in a given month.  Let’s be generous and assume that ALL of those individuals do this at least 3 times in the month of February.  That’s a possible 805,326 impressions in the month. (Not exactly a typical metric for traditional media, but again, we’re comparing apples and oranges, so bear with me…)

On Facebook, the 103,200 users in the 50-mile radius of Jackson are projected to generate 40,000 ad impressions per day.  That’s a total of 1,120,000 impressions in the month of February.  More than that, those impressions are projected to generate 19 visits per day to your web site or Facebook page.  Again, these numbers update in real-time as you configure your ad.  You see them before you buy.  And, in practice, they are surprisingly accurate.

With regards to any guarantees of these results, VIP offers none.  In fairness, they can’t.  It’s impossible to accurately measure results from a print ad.  When results can’t be measured, they can’t be guaranteed.  Facebook is setup on a pay-per-click or pay-per-impression model.  You choose which one before you buy.  You only pay for actual web site visits or actual impressions, whichever you choose.  So the guarantee is inherent.

Facebook also offers on-the-fly measurement, as the image below shows (image is from an actual campaign, not based on the table above).  You know exactly how your ad is performing at all times, and can make adjustments to the targeting, geography, ad copy or imagery, etc., at any time throughout the campaign period.

As previously noted, a print ad cannot be accurately measured.

So, in conclusion, the above example hopefully- or at least partially- demonstrates WHY businesses are moving their money to the web.  It’s measurable, it’s effective, and, dollar-for-dollar, it produces a better return.  As this example shows, this Facebook ad would produce more impressions and measurable results within a very similar demographic at less than half the cost.  Even considering Facebook’s notoriously low click-through ratios, this still produces a residual branding effect greater than that of the print ad.

So, now that you have some demonstrable data, you can choose for yourself whether to join the social revolution or continue to work the traditional angle.  There’s a time and a place for both, and I hope this apples-to-apples example helps to break down the difference between the apple and the orange.