Chauhan&1&

Priya Chauhan
TA Zack De Piero
Writing 2: MW 3:00-4:50
April 15, 2015
The Genre of Social Media Advertising
Media is constantly asking you to buy something, act in some way, believe something to
be true, or interact with others in a specific manner, writes Laura Bolin Carroll in Backpacks
vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. This is precisely what advertising does;
advertising is a form of marketing that is used to communicate about different products or

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:36 PM

Comment [1]: Starting&right&off&with&a&
quote&from&a&readings?&&Nice&move!&

services to a customer enticing them to buy it. Using social media sites to advertise is often noted
as one of the best kinds of advertisements because it delivers a message about a product or
service to people globally. Social media marketing is a form of Internet marketing that
implements a numerous amount of networks in order to achieve branding goals. There are a
numerous different types of social media sites that advertise including Instagram, Twitter and
Pinterest. Although advertising is seen as one specific genre, it is important for marketing teams
to know how the conventions vary when used on different websites.
Many companies have started using Instagram as a marketing technique because Instagram
caters to a particular interest. Ads have helped many companies double their followers because it
lets users know the company is online and available to show their newest items. In Instagram, the
advertisements are usually tailored to what one is interested in. Many social media applications
save and track the searches; this way the ads filter toward a specific persons likings. When an
ad appears on a users Instagram it will always have the word sponsored next to the name of
the company or account. Companies are clever with the way they use pictures to present the

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:40 PM

Comment [2]: Im&not&quite&sure&what&
youre&arguing&here.&&Remember:&your&
reader&is&most&likely&going&to&be&expecting&a&
thesis&statement&at&the&end&of&your&Intro&(or&
occasionally&2nd&paragraph)&that&clearly&
detail&what&point/argument/stance&
theyre&taking&and&what&evidence&theyre&
basing&that&on.&&Right&now,&I&dont&know&
where&youre&taking&me.&
&
What&about&Insta,&Twit,&Pin&are&you&hoping&
to&convince&me&of?&
Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:45 PM
Comment [3]: Im&not&sure&what&you&
mean&by&here.&&Do&you&mean&personalized&
interests?&&If&so,&what&ones?&

Chauhan&2&
message for them; the ads commonly feature an appealing photo and an intriguing caption. For
example, a Michael Kors ad does not necessarily talk about the current sale they are having;
however, it will have a picture of one of their best selling watches, then a short and concise
caption. One particular ad quoted, World Food Day may be over, but were still watching,
showing, supporting, sharing. #WatchHungerStop. This ad focused primarily on the aspect of
World Food Day, showing that their brand cares about the worldnot just fashion. These ads
are great ways of promoting a brand as philanthropic. To ensure that many Instagram users see
the ad, marketers are sure to include hashtags. For instance, hash-tagging their name so it will
appear on different news feeds. Although Michael Kors captioned the photo about World
Hunger, their picture was vibrant and surely engaged the audience. Another example of an

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:45 PM

Comment [4]: This&comment&is&in&
reference&to&the&whole&paragraph:&
&
When&I&see&thiseven&before&I&start&
readingI&think,&Ahhhhhhh!&&Attack&of&the&
pageSlong&paragraph!&
&
See&if&you&like&this&metaphor:&
&
Pretend&your&whole&paper&is&a&big,&juicy&
steak.&&Do&you&want&your&reader&to&enjoy&
that&steak&in&easyStoSchew,&digestable&bites?&&
Or&do&you&want&them&to&start&eating&the&
whole&thing&in&one&piece&(think:&zombie).&
&
Paragraphs&are&like&those&bites.&&Give&your&
reader&your&argument&in&little,&digestable,&
oneSideaSatSaStime&bits.&
&
Readers&need&to&be&able&to&see&the&different&
parts/pieces/bites&of&the&argument&that&
theyre&chewing&on.&&
&

Instagram ad is Levis. They use a photo of an adventurous friend group on top of a beautiful
mountain with a view captioned, Wear them wherever the road takes you #LifeinLevis. Often
times the ad will have thoughtful quotes, clever saying or have nothing to do with the adlike
Michael Kors. A common convention with all of the ads was the captions were very short and
concise. They do this to intrigue the viewer with the ad, not irritate them by taking up much of
their newsfeed space. By reaching out to customers, they are building a well-known brand,
which is ultimately what each company wantsto be a household name.

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:47 PM

Comment [5]: Youre&making&solid&use&of&
textual&evidence&here,&Priya.&&Im&just&not&
100%&certain&about&the&evidence&is&pointing&
towards.&&&
&
The&visual&impact&of&Instagram?&&The&
branding&of&hashtags&and&company&
names/slogans?&&&
&
Whats&your&#1&goal&with&this&paragraph?&&
And&how&does&it&contribute&to&your&
argument?&

Twitter ads are yet another paid promotion that brands use to amplify messages, target
potential customers, and grow their follower base. When it is on ones newsfeed it will usually
say promoted by followed by the companys name. This indicates they have paid twitter to
deliver this tweet to more people than actually follow them. Interactions on Twitter, information
provided when we first sign up, and twitters relationships with ad partners help make promoted
content more relevant. For instance, a DJ on twitterwho retweets music and radio stationsis

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:50 PM

Comment [6]: Alright,&so&I&think&this&
whole&paper&is&about&how&social&media&
advertising?&&And&the&different&rhetorical&
appeals&they&make&on&customers/viewers?&
&
I&still&need&to&know&what&youre&arguing&
though.&&Theyre&all&effective?&&Theyre&
effective&in&different&ways?&&

Chauhan&3&
most likely to see an ad from a radio station tweeting, #NewMusicTuesday has something for
everyone: @CalvinHarris @andrewbird, @officialCoF, @TobyKeithMusic. This promoted ad
will show up on various peoples news feedsincluding anyone who follows the @ musicians
and anyone who tweets with the same hashtag. Most of the time, there is a featured image or
video along with the tweet because, according to Twitter, including these shows a higher chance
for more engagement with the ad. Much like Instagram captions, the tweets are not long and
intricate because it is counter-productive to have a lengthy tweet; the viewer is less likely to look
at these tweets. Twitter is full of short sentences and thoughts, which is why ads follow the same
general concept. Tweets influence conversations in a way that can help build a company, which

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:50 PM

Comment [7]: Good&observation.&

is why twitter is a clever social media site; it allows people to tweet and share what is happening
around them instantaneously. An example of another ad that was promoted on everybodys
twitter was the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. In order to notify people the movie was coming out,
Focus Features paid twitter to endorse it. The amount of social media advertising the movie
proved to be effective because the movie made roughly $165 million. These example ads were
all written with compelling content, such as the announcement of an upcoming product, a sale or
an event, all of which leads to more knowledge of the brand.
Pinterest, another social media site that companies advertise on, has conventions of
advertising that also make it unique. Ads on Pinterest tend to blend into users news feed; most
viewers do not even notice the ad because it looks like something they would pin or search. On
an advertisement, Pinterest discourages putting any events or sales on the caption; they view this
as counterproductive because each pin is free standingit lasts forever and does not go away
when the promotion disappears. Also, within the captions, one will not see any sorts of prices on
the picture or caption because a pin can be viewed internationally and there are different

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:55 PM

Comment [8]: Whenever&you&bust&hard&
hard&statistics&like&this,&you&need&to&back&it&
upie,&show&where&it&came&from.&

Chauhan&4&
currencies used in each country. Unlike, Twitter and Instagram, there is no use of hashtags
because it makes the pin seem as if it has an overall lower quality. For example, a pin from
Nordstrom would be viewed more as chic, current, and to the point if it just pinned a picture of a
current photo shoot for the Fall 2015 line rather than having a pin in all capital letters saying,
THE #FALL #2015 #LINE WILL BE #OUT SOON! PRE-ORDER AT #NORDSTROM
TODAY. Pinterest captions, for the most part, are generally describing what is in the photo;
these captions can be long and have the opportunity to give full details. By using more
descriptive words, the pin will show up on more news feeds and come up when people are

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:56 PM

Comment [9]: I&like&how&youre&
comparing/contrasting&these&sites&within&
the&paragraphs&themselves.&&The&similarities&
and&dissimilarities&become&clearer&this&way.&

searching for things. Although they are long, the Pinterest ads are also straightforward about
products; they accurately reflect the brand, the offered product, and service.
All three of the social media websites target a specific viewer. They track what one looks
at and filter the pins according to their likings. A main difference between Instagram and Twitter
versus Pinterest is how they caption pictures or tweets. Twitter and Instagram focus more on the
present and interacting with people in real-time. Their objective is to promote things such as
sales, different promotions, and when new merchandise will be for sale; however, Pinterest ads
do not contain this. Because of the nature of Pinterest pinshow they can go around for years
and never stop it makes promoting sales invaluable to the audience. Most likely by the time
the pin gets around to viewer the sale will have already ended. Another difference, in the three, is
the way captions are written. Although these ads all fall under the same genre, the style of
writing differs from site to site. Instagram and Twitter ads tend to steer away from using
descriptive words, whereas Pinterest ads have more freedom to illustrate the features of a photo.
A common characteristic all of them share is indicating that they are ads and not an actual
account one follows. Each of them uses words such as sponsored or promoted. This genre is

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:57 PM

Comment [10]: This&is&interesting.&&I&want&
to&find&out&more&about&it.&&!&
&
PSnice&use&of&dashes.&

Chauhan&5&
chiefly used to promote a company and build a brand. By using ads as a marketing technique,
many of the accounts double their follower base within a span of weeks. Promoting brands is the
objective of social media advertising. Comparing all these different advertisements to one
another allows one to see what each realm has to offer. Many of the conventions overlap with
one another which is helpful because identifying these can make one a better marketer.
Studying genres can be very valuable because it teaches one the conventions and rules of
what one can and cannot do with a genre. For example, if one was had a career in marketing, it
would be valuable for them to complete in-depth research about this particular genre of
advertising. Examining what works, what does not work, and what makes for a more effective ad
would be beneficial to a marketer. Also, by knowing a genre, one will have an easier time
targeting the desired audience. Specifically for advertising, the marketer is trying to narrow their
target to a specific audience; therefore, the marketers would need to familiarize themselves with
this genre. In her essay Navigating Genres, Kerry Dirk brings up a valid point; she wrote, I
hoped that a similar type of essay already existed so that I would have something to guide my
own writing. She identified that when writing, people look towards a template to guide them in
writing their own piece; this template they look toward is often part of an explicit genre. Many
marketers should be doing this to jump-start their careers in advertising on social media. Social
media is a powerful tool given to businesses; it allows them to connect a message to the
customer. Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media sites have all changed the game
of advertising. &

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:59 PM

Comment [11]: Yep!&

Zack De Piero 4/17/2015 6:59 PM

Comment [12]: Who&is&this&person?&&Why&
is&it&worth&listening&to&their&ideas?&
&
It&makes&for&stronger&writing,&I&think,&if&you&
can&key&your&reader&into&why&youre&
bringing&this&person&into&the&discussion.&&&
&