Instagram Ad Performance Similar to Facebook

This article compares the ad performance of Instagram to it of Facebook and draws the conclusion that these two platforms have very similar performance in terms of click-through-rate and Instagram is slightly better in the mobile channel.

The study is conducted by Nanigans, a Facebook Marketing Partner and member of Instagram Partner Program, based on the data from its clients that advertise on both social networks from Aug.1 through Oct. 31.

http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/nanigans-instagram-facebook-benchmarks-report-december-2015/631104

The New Wave of Selling on Mobile and Social

original article: http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/29/the-new-wave-of-selling-on-mobile-and-social/

With holiday shopping around the corner, sales are expected to soar, and an increasing number of those will be coming from e-commerce platforms.
Important to note as well, the devices that consumers will be using to complete their purchases: mobile has become increasingly important and m-commerce transactions are exceeding already strong forecasts. This is the result of increased trust and comfort on the consumer side, but also of technological improvements on the retail side: sellers now offer mobile optimized sites and shopping specific apps that facilitate the checkout process and the whole process in general. Retailers and marketers now have access to a wealth of information about their target consumers' preferences and by leveraging that data efficiently, they could lead them to the products they are most likely to be interested in, thus increasing the likelihood of conversion. Social networks offer new possibilities for brands: by offering loyalty programs to users who connect to their brands through their social networks, they can better expand their reach since individuals trust the opinion of their peers more than they do advertising efforts that come directly from the brand itself. Ultimately, by integrating the power of the social platform with the shopping experience, conversions and consumer acquisitions are more likely to occur.

Future of Google+

I read the Forbes and business insider articles:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelhelft/2015/02/26/exclusive-sundar-pichais-plan-to-keep-google-almighty/2/

 http://www.businessinsider.com/google-breaking-up-google-2015-2?utm_term=10+Things+In+Tech+You+Need+To+Know&nr_email_referer=1&utm_content=bufferfae08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

This seems to be a major announcement from Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome and Apps, mentioning Google+ could be broken down into different components.  Primarily, he meant that Google Photos and Hangouts would be separated from Google+.  At the same time, he also assured that none of the Google products are disappearing or closing down. This is especially interesting since from a social media perspective, Google+ could not make any significant impact as Facebook made. In fact, currently Google+ is not even in the top 5 in the list of leading social networks based on the number of active users. While Facebook currently leads with about 1.366 billion active users, Google+ is far behind at number 7 with 343 million active users. Please refer to the following link:

http://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

To understand the future of Google+, it is necessary to briefly discuss the history. I think most would have already forgotten Orkut by now. Orkut was a social networking website owned and operated by Google. The service was designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships, a social media platform. It started in 2004 and soon had many users world-wide especially in Brazil and India until 2008. Facebook also launched later in 2004 and ensured it was the most popular in the US and most of the Europe. Soon, Orkut could not match the advanced features and the tremendous growth of Facebook. At the end of April 2010, Orkut had 19.7 million unique visitors compared to Facebook, with 18 million visitors worldwide. Facebook grabbed the number one position for the first time in July 2010 with 20.9 million visitors, up 179%, a year ago. Since then, Orkut could never catch-up and had to be closed for ever last year in September 2014.

In addition to Facebook’s growth and its ease of use especially with mobile devices, I think another major reason for Orkut’s demise was Google was focusing on Google+ instead of enhancing and saving Orkut. Google+ was born in 2011. Google+ seemed to integrate in a better way as compared to Orkut on mobile devices but still has not caught up with Facebook yet. I think the key advantage is that Google+ provides a way to ensure users signed in to different Google services could have a common identity across all products. For example, if one is logged into his or her Google+ account in Chrome browser, he or she will be automatically logged into Gmail, Google Drive, and the Google's other services. This integrated user experience is critical for Google to ensure it has the accurate customer behavior. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Google+ is still very useful for Google even though it is not having a deep market penetration with active users as compared to the leaders such as Facebook. With that in mind, I think Google+ would soon be re-branded as an integrated platform for Google as compared to a Social Media network.

Reference:

http://knowtechie.com/google-plus-227/

http://marketingland.com/google-breakup-coming-photos-hangouts-119730

 

Linkedin Future

With the advanced and growth of the current free social networks such as Facebook and now with Google +, is there a future for the Linkedin, and especially for its Premium Pay Business Model? Why would users pay a premium service to get all the benefits from Linked In when all the same users are also on facebook and soon Google +.... Everybody is focusing n the effect that Google + can have on facebook and what about the 100 million users that are already in Linkedin? Is there a niche for socializing just for work rather than a general socializing place...? We know from advances that Google + will have different circles from your different group of friends... isn't this replacing the business circle linkedin completely? Plus now you would be able to have free video conference with skype... which would be also very useful for business purposes...

Google have a huge lead in the business world as most people use google for news and business purposes and have also a google account for larger size emails... so is Google + the end for Linkedin?

Career Searching on Social Networks - The Benefits & Risks

Job hunting on social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter has grown even more popular since the onset of the current economic crisis. As unemployment rises and job availability decreases, more people are looking beyond conventional methods to find a job.

Social networks can provide multiple advantages over conventional job search tools. They can potentially provide the most current and accurate information on job availabilities. For example, an employer can send out an update on a new job opening to Twitter subscribers. These job seekers would receive much more relevant and up-to-date information than searching through a head hunter. Social networks also provide a promotional outlet that differs from conventional outlets in that there is more room for creativity and personalization. Job seekers are given a unique opportunity to express themselves in different ways and can promote strengths that typically go unnoticed. This would obviously benefit employers as well. Social networks provide useful information about potential employees that was never available in the past.

This last point relates to the disadvantage of social networks. Social networks can provide so much detail, it is difficult to selectively keep some information private. For instance, an employer can learn about a job seeker's friends, activities, social behavior, political/religious beliefs, personal photos, etc. Without careful editing, a social network can easily ruin a potential employment opportunity.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/12/news/economy/social_networking_jobs/

New Business Models in the Music Industry Focus on the Role of Internet Marketing in Turning a Profit

Last Thursday, Myspace announced that it had teamed up with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group for a new online music venture which will allow visitors to browse the entire digital catalogs of all three music companies, as well as stream songs and purchase downloads.
Meanwhile, rapper Jay-Z, like Madonna and U2 before him, has signed a major ($150 million) deal with the concert promoter LiveNation, leaving behind his current record label, Def Jam Recordings, which is owned by Universal Music Group.
Both events have led to a great deal of speculation in the media as to what sort of structural changes are signified by these new business models, and how they will ultimately effect the overall functioning of the music industry.
On Valleywag, Jackson West argues that Myspace Music will fail for the very reasons that LiveNation will succeed: digital music is no longer a “product” but really just a form of advertisement for “branded events and merchandise”. I find this notion deeply problematic from the point of the view of the artist, whose product is, or at least should be, some form of art, and not a “brand”.
However, LiveNation is not the only one guilty of exploiting music as a vehicle for advertising. MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe tells PaidContent.org: “We will be able to develop many new streams of revenue, [. . .] “MySpace is a global company with 26 offices around the world and over 500 people dedicated to ad sales,” he said. The music will provide a foundation for display ads, streaming, music sales, ring tones and other forms of merchandising”.

Hyper-connected generation rises

Hyper-what?

that's right. we're part of a new generation, well those kids just younger than us at least. People are becoming hyper connected. That means every part of your daily activity can now be shared with your friends. From when you wake up to what you're eating, where you're going out, what TV station you're watching when, and when you are asleep.

This may seem a bit bizarre from the view point of do you really want people to know so much about you. But human psychology tells us that we do have a need for other people to feel connected to us, and whether this is at a superficial level or not. Jaiku is one such "microblogging" service that allows friends to inform each other of their activities across a range of devices. Comments can be sent and received via a cell phone or the web.

See for more details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6637865.stm






http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6637865.stm

Young warned over social websites

Well, there you have it. A watch dog group in the UK has warned that young adults could damage their careers with details about themselves on social networking websites.

This is a real spoiler. If we all become conscious of what we're putting up because we think a nosy employer, school or parent will check us up, the beauty of online freedom is eroded. Social networking sites let you be you, and broadcast that image to your friends around the world. But when faced with a situation like this, people may button up and social networking websites lose their cache.

Personally, even though there is some concern in terms of posting those drunken club pictures, I think as society evolves, we will learn to separate professional and personal lifes. It will become less taboo. But until that times comes, better watch those postings while job hunting - you've been warned!

See the BBC article for more details:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7108627.stm

Slashdot is trying

According to this screen capture posted in digg, it seems that Slashdot.org is beta testing a new functionality that will bring together the outstanding user generated content with the social network effect.

The name would be Slashdot Firehose where users would be able to rate and vote posts like in digg. I guess that there are two main objectives:


a) Increase the time that users expend on slashdot.org, social places usually present a higher time per user on the page ratio

b) Create a better segmentation of the users that will lead to more advertisement dollars getting into slashdot.org

Health as a Social Bond

Here's a community idea that actually makes sense: it's not just another MySpace clone. PatientsLikeMe aims to build communities around "life-changing diseases". I think this is a great idea for a lot of reasons.

Above all, it's a great cause - which also makes for a highly motivated community. Anyone who has been seriously ill knows the first thing you do is seek out the experiences and advice of others - not raw medical knowledge, but how people like you have coped and adapted to the impact of this kind of thing. Sadly, the information out there tends to be clinical - raw medical definitions and info - or downright depressing. The people who post tend to be the most awful stories - not those who would form a natural support group.

That these communities can share support and stories of coping, as well as information, is heartening. It also, quite frankly, makes for a lucrative demographic for medical marketers. People with life changing diseases often have lifelong medical needs or special needs of some sort: diet, travel, etc. So it would seem to be a good cause and a good business.

"Facebook" at work

Looks like you'll see more people goofing off at work with IBM's new social networking software for Lotus.

From the WSJ: IBM unveiled social-networking software that works like Web sites such as Facebook but is safe enough for corporate use. At a meeting of its Lotus software customers Monday, IBM unveiled a suite of software products called Lotus Connections that includes software for posting personal profiles, Web logs, or blogs, and lists of Web bookmarks and will allow for creating online communities and online work collaboration.

The Connections suite will compete with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows SharePoint Services, a five-year-old product with 85 million users that added social-networking features in its latest version, unveiled in November. Peter O'Kelly, research director for collaboration with Burton Group who was briefed on the product plan, said "this is going to start the next chapter of competition between IBM and Microsoft for the hearts of information workers."

Steven Mills, IBM's senior vice president who heads the software group, said, "We've been pleasantly surprised by how well this has resonated with corporate buyers." He said many companies have seen employees start using free Web-based social-networking software because it makes it easy to share information with colleagues.

WSJ

A New Social Network - Based on Pictures?

Have you ever wondered if you could be connected to a social network based on your preferences for visuals? Imagini is attempting to dissect your Visual DNA which can ultimately help advertisers target certain clusters and also help you connect to others online who share similar interests as you. The Social Network is, of course, in it's Beta stage. Try it here

According to today's WSJ, looks like it's already being tested by clients such as MSN, Vodafone and British shopper-loyalty program, Nectar, "which has used Imagini's software to gauge reaction to ad campaigns and identify clusters of consumers."

Seeing that I'm a lazy guy and spurn marketing research questionnaires, this is a much easier way to let companies know who I am and what I like.