Advertise Online? Make Sure Your Content Leaves No Scope for Trolls!

Internet Advertising has a new threat. No, this threat is not from the black hats, neither is it from a new updates of the search engines. This threat comes directly from the very users which Internet Advertising target (or at least the cheeky ones). These are the very funny, very witty (but from the brand’s point of view, very unwanted) Trolls. Trolling has the capability to hit your ad so hard that it becomes a major task to proofread it against any such possibility.

A troll is any internet user who comments or modifies any posting on the internet (including ad campaigns) with an intention to cause disruption or sabotage the post. A troll usually finds loopholes in the graphics or the ad copy and wrecks havoc with slight modifications or by pointing out the discrepancy with their comments and re-tweets. The way to prevent them from doing so is to ensure that the copies and design do not resemble anything which is offensive or defeats the purpose of the campaign. Campaigns which are highly localized should also take the local anecdotes and customs into consideration. For example, an Internet Advertising Campaign, using a series of images and targeting the Middle East, should be careful as Arabic, the prevalent language there, is read from the right to left.

The trolls have increased the importance and scope of proofreading. The leading Internet Advertising Agencies take special care on this front. A trolled ad campaign often tends to be a complete disaster as it usually gains more popularity than the original ad itself.