Social networks are still somewhat of a mystery to marketers. How do you effectively reach people without intruding on their privacy or personal space? How do you carve up audiences, or is behavioral targeting more effective? What is the most effective medium to communicate with consumers? These questions are going to be top of mind today at OMMA Behavioral in San Francisco as Tim (@schigel) participates in a panel called “The Social Media Challenge: Playing Nice in the New Sand Box.” The panel – which starts at 2:45 p.m. if you happen to be at the show and want to swing by – will explore effective ways to market to folks through social media and on social networks, with insights from Tim, as well as execs from Catalyst:SF, Research in Motion, Networked Insights, Peerset and Organic.

We firmly believe that the best way for marketers to break through the social networks is by concentrating on audiences. Defining and segmenting social audiences give marketers and advertisers the combination of flexibility and success in identifying who they’re reaching and why they’re reaching them. Our recent ad campaign with Mederma is a great example. By segmenting out slivers of audiences based what people were sharing and who they were sharing it with, then connecting the dots – and people – between the two, we were able to help Mederma reach their influencers and increase intent to redeem coupons through better targeting.

Like we said recently:
Knowing more about these audiences, publishers can increase the value of their display inventory, and by reaching these audiences, brands can tap into social engagement around relevant topics. At ShareThis, we believe influence is no longer about 10 people screaming at 10 decibals on Twitter. It’s about the millions of consumers who are interacting around trends on the web.

Swing by the panel and say hi to Tim before or after, and certainly be sure to share your thoughts with the panel. See you there!

/heidi
@heidiperry1