Pitfalls in marketing to teens online

With Facebook's decision to allow advertisers to display ads based on information users post on their profiles, the debate over online privacy has gained new momentum, especially since today's teenagers are living out a big chunk of their lives on social networking sites.

Advertisers can now target underage consumers with relative ease, raising obvious ethical questions. However, even if there were no such worries, marketers would need to be aware of pitfalls in trying to reach young consumers online.

Privacy advocates fret about marketers abusing the rich treasure trove of very personal data being posted by teens these days. At present, the only law that regulates online marketing to children is COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires parental permission before any commercial entity can collect personal information from a child under 13. However, there's no law that governs marketing to older teens.

Privacy groups are also advocating for a "Do Not Track List". This would give consumers of all ages the right to opt out of marketing efforts wherein a Web site places "cookies" on a user's computer to monitor their surfing habits and deliver ads deemed appropriate to that behavior. However, again, there are no special protections here for teens.

Yet while there's little to stop marketers from targeting the young, there are practical reasons why these efforts may backfire with teens. With these in mind, there are practical ways for marketers to find and target a more receptive audience of young consumers.

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