Everyone talks about target groups. I did it hundreds of times with my clients when I worked in advertising. It was important. And it still is. But recently, while we executed a Social Media campaign, I realized something: knowing your target group is not sufficient any more. Think about facebook: everyone knows that facebook advertising has a terrible sales conversion. The same is true for MySpace, YouTube and many other social networks or sharing sites. The reason can hardly be found in the concept of target groups: these are the right people, targeting is more precise than in TV, and they are in general willing to buy your stuff. But then, why does Social Media advertising fail?

We conducted a non-representative study and pondered about the results. And here is my take: I call it the target mood paradigm. If you target the right people, but in the wrong situation, they are the right people in the wrong mood. When I talk to my friends, I don’t want to hear about your great car, or mobile phone, or bathroom tissue – this is, as long as I don’t talk about it with my friends. 

It is all about hitting the right target mood!

While this realization might be as old as marketing itself, it becomes much, much more relevant with media downfall, and the shift towards Social Media. Because now, you as a marketer need to choose where you engage people. And the bottom line take-away is: don’t just enter the blogs and conversations where you meet the right people, but the content areas in that they are in the mood for taking the decision you want them to make. And: don’t just aim for viral power and reach, but consider in what context and mood people view your content. YouTube is one of the best examples: while many achieved huge reach with funny little clips, it becomes nearly impossible to translate this reach into tangible business results. Because the funnier you are, the more your clip becomes a piece of entertainment, and puts people in the entertainment and sharing mood. The most unlikely mental environment to take a purchasing decision...