Direct Response advertising has always been the ugly workhorse of the marketing world. I don’t think any agency ever made the cover of Creativity magazine for their brilliant use of the phrase “call now.” However, direct response ads draw traffic and do lead to sales for certain target segments. In fact, direct response TV spending hit $5.1 Billion in 2007. 

If your business has found success using direct response ads in the past, you may want to explore how to utilize social media to augment your marketing efforts. One easy way to get started is by using Facebook’s new Direct Response ad units. They’re currently still in testing with Chick-fil-A, but I’m assuming they’ll be a big hit and we’ll see something similar offered to the rest of us within a few days or weeks. 

Nate Elliott, principal analyst at Forrester Research, thinks that this type of direct response ad unit will work best for packaged goods companies and retailers.

“If a marketer is looking to launch a new product, or change a consumer's opinion of a product, then [sampling] is a good strategy,” he said. – pulled from http://www.dmnews.com/facebook-debuts-direct-response-ad-units/article/148027/

 

Sampling is a great tactic for promotion. Integrating these new direct response ads can be a great way to provide real value to your existing Facebook fans and draw new fans who can continue to receive exclusive offers from your brand in addition to other news feed updates that otherwise improve their lives.

As they say, “It’s better to be first than best.” So, start thinking of how social Direct Response ad units might help you out before someone else beats you to it.