Since we have been having conversations about large businesses taking over social media as an advertising platform, I think it’s time to back up a bit and consider the basics of advertising.
What is advertising? Advertising is a way to persuade a targeted group to do something in regard to ideas, services or products. It can take many different communications forms. The purpose is to drive the targeted group into behaving in a certain way. Advertising can be about buying products, but also about things like selecting a political side and voting. The driving force pays for the advertising and places it in mass media settings, including but not limited to television commercials, direct mail, magazine, newspapers, bill boards and, of course, social media websites, email and text messages.