Delicious


 * Delicious﻿ **



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**Overview**
[|Delicious] is an interesting new form of media for advertising. It essentially allows viewers to bookmark their favorite websites, remain organized in their web surfing and view what is being bookmarked the most within the consumer's given field of interest. The site organizes the viewers' favorite/most frequently viewed sites by using [|tags] (a much easier way to stay organized then folders.) Dishing out "delicious" information through this interactive site's social networking creates a lucrative medium for advertisers to gain awareness of their products. Delicious was founded in 2003 by Joshua Schachter and bought out by Yahoo! two years later in 2005. Within three years the websites following continued to grow and by the end of 2008 the company reported more than 5 million users.

Reasons for Advertising through Social Media

There are many reasons for using social media for advertising in todays world of rapidly evolving technology. With the drastic increase in people with smartphones, ipads, and portable notebooks, wifi internet access is available virtually anywhere, at any time, and allows for a 24 hour 365 day-a-year medium of advertising through [|social media]. Social media is a low cost way for advertisers to reach millions of viewers on an almost daily basis.

Limitations

The only limitation of using social media as a form of advertising is that it is exclusively for people frequently surfing the web. In this day and age this "limitation" is not very limiting at all. For Delicious specifically, the main limitation for advertisers comes from the lack of direct advertisement opportunities on the website. In order to draw consumers to their own websites or market their companies products, advertisers have to be more creative. One way this is done is through the Delicious share options, which allow users to post their bookmarks and tags to their websites or blogs. Advertisers may find a website doing this and essentially 'buy' a bookmark or tag linking to their own website which will be posted along with the users other bookmarks and tags.

Another widely voiced limitation of Delicious is the inability of website owners to accurately track the amount of people bookmarking and tagging them through the website. On the Delicious community forum where this concern is often voiced, a Delicious team member explains the reason for this is "[Delicious] tries to avoid features that add to a "popularity contest" feel, or anxiety about hits." However, the addition of such a feature would be helpful to advertisers.

**Cost**

Delicious is a free form of advertising, as it is up to viewer to expose themselves to the advertiser's materials. Unlike TV and Radio advertising, the exposure experienced through Delicious is not paid for by the minute, and does not have to worry about the cost of displaying itself during prime times. As mentioned i the previous section however, there is potential for advertisers to buy a bookmark or tag on a Delicious users website or blog, however whether this is already being utilized is unreported.

**Reach/Frequency**

The success/failure of Delicious' effect on a company's sales is entirely dependent upon effectiveness of the advertising provided on their home web page. The level of frequency/reach is also completely dependent on the viewers' activities. If a company's site is view a lot, Delicious will help reveal that to the consumers by listing it in the "Hotlist". If a company can create an interesting enough web page, Delicious allows for the possibility that the company's brand awareness will snowball larger and larger as more people view it. Furthermore, as more people view the site it gains credibility as consumers are more trusting of eachother than of someone trying to sell them something. Word of mouth is the most effective way to increase sales and Delicious is a great way to create a buzz.

Scheduling Strategies
One of the best parts about Delicious is is not limited by a scheduling strategy. Unlike television ads, where more exposure must be generated financially through the company, the product essentially sells itself; if the site is interesting, it will be viewed more. The advertising does not have to be forced on the consumers, rather the consumers can actively pursue their own interest in the products through delicious.

General Impact
The impact that Delicious has on a company's sales is entirely dependant upon how interesting consumers' find their home web page. If the site is interesting a useful to consumers, Delicious allows for the popularity of the site to snowball larger and larger. As more people view the site, it becomes more "viewed" and therefore viewed as a more credible source for consumers.

Audience
In the past, online forms of media have been limited to those consumers who were high tech and really into surfing the internet and being a part of the cutting edge of technology. Now, the internet is the widely viewed by most functioning members of society. The wave of internet users is heavier amongst the younger population, but many middle-aged and older people are becoming more and more involved with the world wide web as well. Since the younger population is growing in their use of the internet, Delicious is a great way to hook new consumers and build brand awareness amongst the young. Delicious makes surfing the web easier and more fun for people of all ages.



Responsiveness of Audience
Delicious generates awareness, interest, desire, and action within online consumers. If a site is listed on the Delicious "[|Hot List]" or even just with a lot of tags within a given category, it will generate awareness to viewers interested in that category that would have otherwise been unaware of the site. A consumer may become more interested in one product over another if their site is visited more times. Consumers will feel the need to "keep up with Jones's" and view pages other people interested in the same things are viewing. With this interest, comes a desire to purchase the things being advertised on sites. If a company is smart, they make their products available through credit card ordering online. This will allow action from their viewers in their purchasing process.

Successful Advertisers with Delicious
Companies with the best web sites find the best success with Delicious. A company could have a highly functional product with a lot of potential for sales, but if their web page does not advertise the product sufficiently, it will be overlooked by consumers and will not appear as a frequently tagged web page on Delicious. Companies who have successfully advertised themselves on their websites appear on the Delicious [|"hotlist"]

Delicious also allows advertisers to target markets based on their bookmarks. [|Learn more about advertising through Delicious based on bookmarks]

**How to Use Delicious**
Instructional [|YouTube] video explaining features of Delicious, including:
 * How to Guide, Getting Started
 * Sharing Bookmarks
 * Tagging Sites
 * Using other users to help find what your looking for
 * Other general information about Delicious

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More Instructional Videos purtaining to general information about online advertising can be accessed by the link below. Information provided by the National Advertising Initiative.


 * Sources**


 * 1) Anonymous. [|Delicious.com]
 * 2) Anonymous. Small business News: SMB Blogging and Social Media Basics [|Article from Small Biz Trends]
 * 3) [|YouTube]
 * 4) [|Network Advertising Initiative]
 * 5) http://support.delicious.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=1360