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GM’s move to cancel their $10 mil advertising package with Facebook was well reported in media and blogosphere around the world, but we rarely heard the whole story.

The real story is that GM is still “friends” with Facebook, they are still investing $30 mil a year by producing content for their Facebook page. Their page is bursting with videos, pictures and stories.

It’s Supposed to be Social

Honestly, I always thought that advertising on Facebook wouldn’t work, and that’s mainly for one big reason – it’s inherently wrong and it’s contravening with the whole idea of social media, especially Facebook – it’s supposed to be social.

When you are at a social gathering, whether on Facebook or in real life, on your child’s basketball game, you are there to socialise – not to sell or being sold on. Social media is a great tool for content marketing, for inbound marketing (pull vs push marketing) so selling there is just not appropriate. They are again interrupting you, you were there to chat with family and friends, exchange the photos, etc, not to buy stuff.

This is the reason why Google ads are working and Facebook ads are not (according to WordStream research), when on Google you are looking for a product or a service and advertising at the moment of buying decision is welcome, it’s actually perfect moment – you are not interrupted.

Content is King

GM released the following statement on the matter:

… we are reassessing our advertising, but remain committed to an aggressive content strategy with all of our products and brands, as it continues to be a very effective tool for engaging with our customers.

Facebook was struggling for years to come up with a monetising format and to prove ROI for facebook ads.

So, it’s only logical move from GM to move their resources where their mouth is. Apart from their Facebook page, GM has also a very vibrant You Tube channel called “gmblogs”. They opened their channel in 2006 and now features over 300 videos, more than 3 mil views and 1,700 subscribers. The YT channel is actually content creation fuel for their group of blogs gmblogs that includes 7 different blogs.

What’s in common for their You Tube channel and their blogs is storytelling, powerful stories told by ordinary people, their staff, their customers and others.

Storytelling is that secret sauce that good video production has compared to average video.

Companies have long emphasized the role of content for providing customers and prospects with useful information and meaningful insight, and the rise of digital distribution and production channels over past years has certainly propelled content marketing to new heights and investments.

With distribution channels (You Tube, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and other networks) now leveling the playing field, by being available to businesses of all shapes and sizes, it is the right time for you to take advantage of this powerful marketing tool.

Storytelling and content is so important and critical to attracting and retaining customers, so every business’ first goal should be how to integrate them into their PR, marketing, social media and overall corporate image.

Please tell us what are your challenges in creating more content for your business.

Video4Marketing blog is powered by Digital Video Vault, your video production specialist.

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