By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive

Despite all of the talk about audience engagement, most advertisers, marketers, algorithms, and bots, miss one overarching factor, the human psychology.  The mind of a person, colored by moods, remembrances of events past, and fear of potentialities yet to be lived, can’t be predicted or relied upon. 

One person’s floor is another person’s ceiling.  One end-user’s idea of a compelling ad is another end users idea of garbage.  We are seldom a consensus. 

I believe search will always be king because it makes us feel empowered.  We are taking actions that we have decided to take to find something.  And that is a different psychology from the person who goes to Facebook to read their feed, and to update their status. 

In theory Facebook should deliver a great ROI because of all of the data available to marketers.  But it’s folly for an advertiser to think their offer or their ad will transform a person who is in an open receptive, gathering, frame of mind into a hunter who will click through an ad and take the actions necessary to complete a conversion.

In all probability people visiting Facebook don’t even have something as basic but necessary for a conversion as a wallet with them when they go to Facebook.  I haven’t seen data regarding this; it’s my surmise.   

If they’re visiting from 8-5 during the day, then they are probably doing some quick surfing from school or work.  This is not a psychology positioned to convert.   

If they’re visiting during the evening, then they are connecting with friends, family, and peers.  Again; they have the wrong psychology. 

In addition, Facebook ads are positioned in the worse possible place, the right hand side of the page, when the eye naturally falls and engages from the left.  Right side banners always have the lowest CTR and CTC rates. 

Click here to read an article with numbers to support the assertion that Facebook (and Twitter) deliver a mediocre ROI.