LaughlinOutLoud

One of the more important questions that was asked revolved around how the internet was changing the – proverbial – game. Now, this could have been an hour show in itself. But my admittedly abbreviated list of what the Super Bowl advertisers should do actually applies to a far wider audience. Three best practices that are still under-practiced:

Make sure your content is easy to find. If it’s a message that resonates, people have proven that they will seek it out. According to Nielsen, 98.7 million people watched the Super Bowl last year. Visible Measures reports that the Super Bowl ads were watched online a collective 99.5 million times. Reach and frequency, redefined. And, this year, Google is making it even easier to share the ads users love with its Ad Blitz page.

Make sure you’re optimizing your search engine marketing. And, when possible, think beyond the basics. If the consumer has forgotten your name, but remembered your ad, make it easier for them to find you. Last year, only about 2/3 of the brands advertising optimized search around the game. Opportunity lost. This year’s opportunity lost? Likely Facebook. Only half the brands that have spent $2.8 million for thirty seconds of airtime are using the social network to build pre-game buzz.

Make sure your website is ready for the increase traffic. The last thing you want to do is successfully drive everyone to a site that is not built to handle the onslaught. HomeAway, a vacation rental website, reportedly invested $1 million in the infrastructure of their site prior to this year’s Super Bowl, their first appearance. That’s the power of Chevy Chase.