Facial recognition technology is becoming the next big thing for personalized marketing and smart phones. An article in yesterday’s New York Times discussed the usage of this technology to do things like have your smart phone scout bar scenes with facial detection software that determines the average age of a crowd and ratio of men to women. From a marketing standpoint, this software will be incredibly powerful for marketers aiming to improve targeting and deliver personalized ads. One company is already taking advantage of this technology to do just that; Immersive Labs, a Manhattan company, has developed a software for digital billboards that uses cameras and facial detection software to determine the age, sex, and attention level of a person passing by. The billboard then displays ads based on this demographic information. These “smart signs” are scheduled to debut this month in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/business/face-recognition-moves-from-sci-fi-to-social-media.html?_r=1&ref=technology
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Make $250K blogging online (Not a scam - I promise)
For more information, you can check out the link but I will give you a real life story. http://successfulworkathomecareer.com/766/make-money-writing-for-about-com/#
We receive these types of emails all the time, work from home (medical billing) and make millions. Or my favorite, that with only $1,000 I can buy real estate and make millions. The truth is that such a scenario exists and it exists in the digital media world we live in. There is no doubt that the Internet is the first place that people go to get information, but who is writing the content and how much do they get paid?
As a financial advisor I met a client, we will call him Ryan, who had a very comfortable job working for Google making $150K a year. Ryan is a single New Yorker originally from Texas, who has a passion for remote control cars. He knows everything there is to know about remote control cars and many times contemplated quitting his job and opening a store selling remote cars and accessories. His job at Google was never in jeopardy in fact he was due for a big bonus at the end of this year. What Ryan did next, with the recommendation of his financial advisor (me), was to quit his job 2 months before receiving his bonus and leaving behind a good salary with a Fortune 500 company.
Was Ryan crazy to do this, during one of the worst job markets in the past 50 years? Or was his financial advisor looking to rollover his 401K?
The fact is that Ryan has been blogging on "About.com" for the past 2 years on topics relating to remote control cars. Instead of opening a store he decided it would be less costly and more enjoyable to write articles for people looking to get into the sport. Because of sites like About.com and our need for information from experts in their respective field, Ryan is making $250K a year and working 5 hours a week. Yes, he works 5 hours a week and making more than 50% of Columbia University graduates. So what does Ryan do for the rest of week, how does it work and can I do that too?
Ryan travels the world with his laptop and since he does not need an office to work from, he can be in Morocco (as he is this month) writing his blog from a huka bar while playing backgammon with strangers. To me he sounds like the James Bond of the digital media world and he is writing about what he loves to do. Steve Jobs would be proud and it is something we can all do with a little homework and a passion/knowledge for a subject matter others are interested in.
From the link above, you can inquire that About.com pays writers to blog on a range of topics from skin care to removing stains from carpets. You first have to select a topic of interest in which you have a lot of experience in and pitch it to About.com. Homework and research at this stage is very important, because they want to know if there is a client base that will read it and whether you are the right person to write about it. If About.com feels it is a good topic, then the interview begin. You might have brought the idea but they interview potential candidates to ensure they get the right balance of writing skills, personality and Internet appeal. The Internet appeal is very important, as your picture is on all their sites and the image of the blogger must resemble the image of someone who would be involved in that topic. Luckily for Ryan, he looks like you would expect someone would look playing in their basement with remote control cars.
One you a selected for that blog, you negotiate the terms of compensation. For example, how many cents per click, base salary, number of new posts, etc... To put some numbers behind this story, Ryan makes .05cents for every click on his blog, $500 for every time her blog gets mentioned on another website and a base salary of $25K a year. As you can see from the numbers, Ryan has over 1million clicks on his blog and has numerous appearances on remote control car websites and magazines. This is not easy and Ryan will be the first to tell you that it took him a long time to figure out who to utilize the Internet to work for him.
This is one story but I am sure there are others like this who have used digital media to make a living while following their passion. It is possible and that is what makes "Digital Media" courses so valuable if leveraged just right.
Miguel Gonzalez
EMBA 2012
We receive these types of emails all the time, work from home (medical billing) and make millions. Or my favorite, that with only $1,000 I can buy real estate and make millions. The truth is that such a scenario exists and it exists in the digital media world we live in. There is no doubt that the Internet is the first place that people go to get information, but who is writing the content and how much do they get paid?
As a financial advisor I met a client, we will call him Ryan, who had a very comfortable job working for Google making $150K a year. Ryan is a single New Yorker originally from Texas, who has a passion for remote control cars. He knows everything there is to know about remote control cars and many times contemplated quitting his job and opening a store selling remote cars and accessories. His job at Google was never in jeopardy in fact he was due for a big bonus at the end of this year. What Ryan did next, with the recommendation of his financial advisor (me), was to quit his job 2 months before receiving his bonus and leaving behind a good salary with a Fortune 500 company.
Was Ryan crazy to do this, during one of the worst job markets in the past 50 years? Or was his financial advisor looking to rollover his 401K?
The fact is that Ryan has been blogging on "About.com" for the past 2 years on topics relating to remote control cars. Instead of opening a store he decided it would be less costly and more enjoyable to write articles for people looking to get into the sport. Because of sites like About.com and our need for information from experts in their respective field, Ryan is making $250K a year and working 5 hours a week. Yes, he works 5 hours a week and making more than 50% of Columbia University graduates. So what does Ryan do for the rest of week, how does it work and can I do that too?
Ryan travels the world with his laptop and since he does not need an office to work from, he can be in Morocco (as he is this month) writing his blog from a huka bar while playing backgammon with strangers. To me he sounds like the James Bond of the digital media world and he is writing about what he loves to do. Steve Jobs would be proud and it is something we can all do with a little homework and a passion/knowledge for a subject matter others are interested in.
From the link above, you can inquire that About.com pays writers to blog on a range of topics from skin care to removing stains from carpets. You first have to select a topic of interest in which you have a lot of experience in and pitch it to About.com. Homework and research at this stage is very important, because they want to know if there is a client base that will read it and whether you are the right person to write about it. If About.com feels it is a good topic, then the interview begin. You might have brought the idea but they interview potential candidates to ensure they get the right balance of writing skills, personality and Internet appeal. The Internet appeal is very important, as your picture is on all their sites and the image of the blogger must resemble the image of someone who would be involved in that topic. Luckily for Ryan, he looks like you would expect someone would look playing in their basement with remote control cars.
One you a selected for that blog, you negotiate the terms of compensation. For example, how many cents per click, base salary, number of new posts, etc... To put some numbers behind this story, Ryan makes .05cents for every click on his blog, $500 for every time her blog gets mentioned on another website and a base salary of $25K a year. As you can see from the numbers, Ryan has over 1million clicks on his blog and has numerous appearances on remote control car websites and magazines. This is not easy and Ryan will be the first to tell you that it took him a long time to figure out who to utilize the Internet to work for him.
This is one story but I am sure there are others like this who have used digital media to make a living while following their passion. It is possible and that is what makes "Digital Media" courses so valuable if leveraged just right.
Miguel Gonzalez
EMBA 2012
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Siri the Death of SEO?
A recent article in Inc. asserts that the new iPhone's Siri may spell the end of current SEO tactics by changing the way customers find businesses. The idea is that, when a user enlists Siri's help to find something such as the closest Italian restaurant, the result could likely be based on that person's current location and data from Yelp rather than search engine results.
Clearly, SEO is not going away anytime soon. And most likely, rather than disappear, it will simply change...like it always has. But SEO and PPC experts are paying notice to Siri. Smart phone "personal assistants" are likely to fuel the trend of more emphasis on local. And it's yet unclear what part PPC advertising might play with such a tool. Will it be possible someday to place bids to affect Siri's behavior? Or would that compromise the assistant's value? It will be interesting to see...
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/siri-and-the-end-of-seo-as-we-know-it.html
Clearly, SEO is not going away anytime soon. And most likely, rather than disappear, it will simply change...like it always has. But SEO and PPC experts are paying notice to Siri. Smart phone "personal assistants" are likely to fuel the trend of more emphasis on local. And it's yet unclear what part PPC advertising might play with such a tool. Will it be possible someday to place bids to affect Siri's behavior? Or would that compromise the assistant's value? It will be interesting to see...
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/siri-and-the-end-of-seo-as-we-know-it.html
Coca Cola's US QR Code Program
Coca Cola’s newly launched US campaign to preserve the Arctic (home of the polar bear : Coca Cola’s mascot), uses QR codes printed on cups, which enable customers to download an iOS game app, which in turn connects to Facebook, allowing the user to play against friends. http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/coca-cola-qr-code-program/
The campaign in partnership the World Wildlife Fund and 7-Eleven (distributors of the cups with the QR codes) is a clever integration of some of the most popular digital platforms currently in use. The game, (Snowball Effect by Coca Cola), which can also be downloaded directly from the App Store, is a simple snowball throwing game, in which you challenge your friends to earn points. Points are also earned by checking in to a 7-Eleven and from the QR codes. As points are earned larger snowballs are unlocked making it easier to play the game.
In order to start the playing the game one has to challenge a Facebook friend, which inevitably leads to a wall post, the idea being you help spread the word. To fully engage with the game, the app has to be given access to the user’s Facebook account, and the device must have location services enabled. Although the game itself is not very entertaining, the interaction among the different digital platforms is interesting in that it gives Coca Cola access to their customer’s social media personas under the guise of social responsibility. According to the article printing the QR codes on cups posed a series of difficulties, yet Coca Cola hopes that in the future they will be able to be printed on cans.
The campaign in partnership the World Wildlife Fund and 7-Eleven (distributors of the cups with the QR codes) is a clever integration of some of the most popular digital platforms currently in use. The game, (Snowball Effect by Coca Cola), which can also be downloaded directly from the App Store, is a simple snowball throwing game, in which you challenge your friends to earn points. Points are also earned by checking in to a 7-Eleven and from the QR codes. As points are earned larger snowballs are unlocked making it easier to play the game.
In order to start the playing the game one has to challenge a Facebook friend, which inevitably leads to a wall post, the idea being you help spread the word. To fully engage with the game, the app has to be given access to the user’s Facebook account, and the device must have location services enabled. Although the game itself is not very entertaining, the interaction among the different digital platforms is interesting in that it gives Coca Cola access to their customer’s social media personas under the guise of social responsibility. According to the article printing the QR codes on cups posed a series of difficulties, yet Coca Cola hopes that in the future they will be able to be printed on cans.
Email Best Practices
We all receive hundreds of emails a day. As marketers we are eager to grab the attention of consumer and get them to interact with our brand-- or even better purchase something!
I came across a recent article featuring some best practice that will increase your key metrics. Since we are all looking for ways to improve our marketing I thought it would be helpful to distill the finding!
#1-- Use the subject line to create a sense of urgency
To boost open rate by about 29% use words like “2 Days to Buy” or “Offer Ends Sunday”.
#2-- Create exclusivity in subject lines
Open rates will improve by about 24% when using “Private Event” or “For Subscribers Only” in the subject line
#3- Facebook Rules (as always!)
Using the “Favorites of Facebook Fans” in the subject line will boost rates by over 30%
#4-- Have one main purpose
May sure all links in an email (except opt-out, privacy information, etc) goes to the same landing page. Doing so reduces the risk that a consumer will be distracted and increase conversion rate by 48%
#5-- Keep images consistent
It's important that the email and the landing page uses the same image. The consistency in the image usage will result in a 19% higher response rate than one that doesn't use the same images.
Hopefully you find some of these ideas useful, I know I already have plans to test them out and see if my data shows the same great gains!
http://www.worldata.com/wdnet8/articles/exclusivityUrgencyEmail.htm
I came across a recent article featuring some best practice that will increase your key metrics. Since we are all looking for ways to improve our marketing I thought it would be helpful to distill the finding!
#1-- Use the subject line to create a sense of urgency
To boost open rate by about 29% use words like “2 Days to Buy” or “Offer Ends Sunday”.
#2-- Create exclusivity in subject lines
Open rates will improve by about 24% when using “Private Event” or “For Subscribers Only” in the subject line
#3- Facebook Rules (as always!)
Using the “Favorites of Facebook Fans” in the subject line will boost rates by over 30%
#4-- Have one main purpose
May sure all links in an email (except opt-out, privacy information, etc) goes to the same landing page. Doing so reduces the risk that a consumer will be distracted and increase conversion rate by 48%
#5-- Keep images consistent
It's important that the email and the landing page uses the same image. The consistency in the image usage will result in a 19% higher response rate than one that doesn't use the same images.
Hopefully you find some of these ideas useful, I know I already have plans to test them out and see if my data shows the same great gains!
http://www.worldata.com/wdnet8/articles/exclusivityUrgencyEmail.htm
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
20 Most Innovative Facebook Marketing Campaigns
The following article talks about 20 Most Innovative Facebook Marketing Campaigns
I really like the Danon Activia campaign and Pringles marketing campaign
http://www.simplyzesty.com/facebook/need-facebook-marketing-inspiration-20-of-the-most-innovative-campaigns/
http://mediacompeople.typepad.com/pringles/2010/05/pringles-application.html
Thanks
Mo Khalid
I really like the Danon Activia campaign and Pringles marketing campaign
http://www.simplyzesty.com/facebook/need-facebook-marketing-inspiration-20-of-the-most-innovative-campaigns/
http://mediacompeople.typepad.com/pringles/2010/05/pringles-application.html
Thanks
Mo Khalid
Fortune 500 Companies and Social Media
I found This really interesting article about how Fortune 500 companies are using social media to reach out to customers.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/03/28/how-are-the-fortune-500-embracing-facebooktwitter-blogging/
Thanks Mo Khalid
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/03/28/how-are-the-fortune-500-embracing-facebooktwitter-blogging/
Thanks Mo Khalid
Email Campaigns during the Holiday Shopping Season
Given the upcoming holidays, I was interested to read about online habits and how best to configure an online campaign to capture the target audience when they are most susceptible to messaging. I think that the Obama campaign's email strategy has always been interest -- engaging titles; short, easily digestible content; clear call to action; and a branded voice for a variety of senders.
As a nonprofit my biggest competition at this time of year for an email solicitation campaign is online shopping. I have yet to find research that highlights any association between online shopping and online donating. Nevertheless, I was interested to understand the prime days for online shopping. Experian recently released a report that looks at online activity in terms of research and transactions as well as the volume of email sent on these peak days. In addition to being valuable information, I find it to be tremendously interesting. Many of the top ten "transaction" days for online activity are not in the top ten for "volume of emails sent" on that day. Given these statistics, one would guess that online retailers should consider adding Thanksgiving or Black Friday emails to their roster.
As a nonprofit my biggest competition at this time of year for an email solicitation campaign is online shopping. I have yet to find research that highlights any association between online shopping and online donating. Nevertheless, I was interested to understand the prime days for online shopping. Experian recently released a report that looks at online activity in terms of research and transactions as well as the volume of email sent on these peak days. In addition to being valuable information, I find it to be tremendously interesting. Many of the top ten "transaction" days for online activity are not in the top ten for "volume of emails sent" on that day. Given these statistics, one would guess that online retailers should consider adding Thanksgiving or Black Friday emails to their roster.
The new Social Media workforce generation
With the rapid expansion of the social media world, recent college graduates are inquiring at job interviews about social media policies, work-from-home potential, and the ability to work-on-the-go. This is not much of a surprise as the Internet era, which began 10-15 years ago, has also connected the world in ways that allow people to be connected and communicate from a "virtual" office anywhere in the world. Whether at home, in the car, a hotel room, or a Starbucks, clients, colleagues, and additional workplace community members can still maintain the same level of communication and professionalism from the individual who is working virtually.
A recent study by Cisco has confirmed the desire by new college graduates to work remotely. In fact, workplace mobility and the flexibility to perform job functions outside of the physical confines of an office environment is such a priority that it surpasses salary (!) in some instances, as noted in Cisco's survey. For more details and findings from Cisco, please visit: http://mashable.com/2011/11/08/work-from-home-2/
Having managed teams in the US and China for multiple companies, I have grown to become a big fan of productivity over clocked hours. When an individual has an employment contract, in which performance is tied to and rewarded based on achieving goals and productivity, it does not matter to me where an employee is working. Of course, within reason. For me, 50% of time at the office, and 50% of time working remotely, is a schedule I grew comfortable with in China. Because for me, performance is measured by productivity. If an individual can work 4 - 5 hours from home and still achieve all objectives as required, I, as a manager, am OK with that. In this day of decreasing financial perks offered by companies due to the Great Recession, workplace flexibility is one of the non-financial perks companies can offer employees. Here's to hoping it takes a strong hold!
YouTube has changed Broadway - What's next?
In a recent article, Mashable explains how YouTube has changed Broadway. Traditionally, casting calls for live theater were "in-person only," even when the TV & film industry have been accepting casting tapes for over 20 years. However, recently, larger productions are incorporating online auditions via YouTube to fill their cast. In fact, just as companies are recruiting their candidates through LinkedIn and Facebook, Broadway productions are beginning to use YouTube for talent research. They have also found that both promoting and documenting their performances on YouTube has allowed for a wider audience. It is interesting that online media is beginning to transform an industry that traditionally has resisted such interference. What could be next?
PROskore thinks that they have found a niche market that will transform the way people do business with each other. Just as producers are starting to look for stars on YouTube, PROskore thinks small companies or professionals will look for each other through PROskore. The premise is to build a professional profile that draws everything into one place - all the information you want about yourself that is currently on the web and more. Then, they rank you based on your connection, reputation, and social influence, and they match you with other professionals looking for your skill set.
The online space is definitely becoming a vital part of society. From Facebook to Twitter to YouTube to LinkedIn, will PROskore be the next standard in social media? It offers a powerful value proposition but currently lacks scalability. If it achieves critical mass it could potentially transform the way we do business.
For more information on PROsckore - go here:
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Dropbox the next social media?
With the use of Dropbox continually growing, the company founders have future plans "to see little Dropbox buttons everywhere" in 18 months.
Purely from a technological product perspective, the utility of Dropbox' cloud storage capabilities is undeniably useful across any educational, professional, and personal capacity. But as with any technology product, will it have enough staying power to last 3, 5 or 10 years from now?
From a service perspective, the company has an edge that if managed correctly, could be grown into a powerful social media tool. Since files are shared with a distinct group of people, Dropbox has the ability to collect a specific set of information that is precisely relevant to that group of people.
Not knowing what the future may hold solely for cloud storage, there is no doubt that social networking and social media will continue to thrive in some form or another. Having effectively made its presence known and continuing to expand, Dropbox can leverage this market presence and its inherent networking capabilities to catapult it into the social space, and assure its staying power for the future.
Purely from a technological product perspective, the utility of Dropbox' cloud storage capabilities is undeniably useful across any educational, professional, and personal capacity. But as with any technology product, will it have enough staying power to last 3, 5 or 10 years from now?
From a service perspective, the company has an edge that if managed correctly, could be grown into a powerful social media tool. Since files are shared with a distinct group of people, Dropbox has the ability to collect a specific set of information that is precisely relevant to that group of people.
Not knowing what the future may hold solely for cloud storage, there is no doubt that social networking and social media will continue to thrive in some form or another. Having effectively made its presence known and continuing to expand, Dropbox can leverage this market presence and its inherent networking capabilities to catapult it into the social space, and assure its staying power for the future.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Sponsored story ads on Facebook
Social media marketing has been extremely effective because of its ability to engage people. Facebook it pushing this element to another level by introducing sponsoring ads.
According to Wall Street Journal, Facebook tells advertisers that sponsoring a post increases the chance friends will notice it, since new postings in the news feed push others down and off the page.
Only 20% of free messages posted by companies to users ever actually get seen on the site, Facebook says. Buying sponsored stories is a way to dramatically increase the odds that a piece of content will get seen. Moreover, Facebook says that some of the early users of sponsored stories have found that users are more than twice as likely to click on sponsored stories than typical Facebook ads.
Not Using Social Media Properly
This week we talked about how companies should use social media properly. Ad Age recently commented on how Ford failed to properly leverage Facebook for its Ford Focus campaign.
(see article - http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ford-blew-facebook/230815/)
From the onset it appears that Ford understood the value of using social media and drove nearly 10K likes to its fan page. After reaching those fans, Ford should have harnessed the power of their fan's social networks. The fans acquired were the perfect to aid Ford in spreading their message. Heck, they could have gotten 10K friends to be brand advocates and endorse their cars.
This misstep cost Ford in a more intangible way. They lost the opportunity to develop brand advocacy and loyalty. They also lost the opportunity to quickly and cheaply grow their fan base. If you assume that each fan has on average 140 friends, they could have broadcast an advertising message to 1,400,000 people (10K fans x 140 friends each). This word of mouth could have translated into an ever growing number of consumers becoming fans of the page. And, if Ford was a little more forward thinking they could have used this forum of fans to provide instant feedback on the car, have them vote on new commercials, provide special deals/offers for individuals looking for a car, etc.
From this example we should walk away remembering that Facebook offers brands an opportunity to not only reach a targeted audience but then tap into their large social networks and leverage the power of consumer word of mouth!
(see article - http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ford-blew-facebook/230815/)
From the onset it appears that Ford understood the value of using social media and drove nearly 10K likes to its fan page. After reaching those fans, Ford should have harnessed the power of their fan's social networks. The fans acquired were the perfect to aid Ford in spreading their message. Heck, they could have gotten 10K friends to be brand advocates and endorse their cars.
This misstep cost Ford in a more intangible way. They lost the opportunity to develop brand advocacy and loyalty. They also lost the opportunity to quickly and cheaply grow their fan base. If you assume that each fan has on average 140 friends, they could have broadcast an advertising message to 1,400,000 people (10K fans x 140 friends each). This word of mouth could have translated into an ever growing number of consumers becoming fans of the page. And, if Ford was a little more forward thinking they could have used this forum of fans to provide instant feedback on the car, have them vote on new commercials, provide special deals/offers for individuals looking for a car, etc.
From this example we should walk away remembering that Facebook offers brands an opportunity to not only reach a targeted audience but then tap into their large social networks and leverage the power of consumer word of mouth!
Facebook Stalking Goes Viral
Halloween is over, but Facebook privacy scares will go on. Director Jason Zada created eerie viral buzz this year with his "Take This Lollipop" video project (TakeThisLollipop.com) which puts Facebook privacy issues front and center.
The web page is very simple: a blue lollipop (a non-coincidentally Facebook blue) with a Facebook Connect button. Once you log in and give it permission to access your profile information, the ride begins. I don't want to be a spoiler, but suffice it to say that the video incorporates your photos and location information to take stalking to a new extreme.
The site was featured on The New York Times and Forbes.com. So far, over 8.5 million people have liked the page. Personally, I had fun recruiting friends for the experience and seeing their reactions. Ad Age reported that the piece was polarizing inside of the Facebook team, which is understandable. While it's extreme in its depiction of the dangers of Facebooking, the viral nature of the video is some indication that at it resonates with people at some level.
http://adage.com/article/digital/reach-beats-frequency-facebook-s-layout/230718/
The web page is very simple: a blue lollipop (a non-coincidentally Facebook blue) with a Facebook Connect button. Once you log in and give it permission to access your profile information, the ride begins. I don't want to be a spoiler, but suffice it to say that the video incorporates your photos and location information to take stalking to a new extreme.
The site was featured on The New York Times and Forbes.com. So far, over 8.5 million people have liked the page. Personally, I had fun recruiting friends for the experience and seeing their reactions. Ad Age reported that the piece was polarizing inside of the Facebook team, which is understandable. While it's extreme in its depiction of the dangers of Facebooking, the viral nature of the video is some indication that at it resonates with people at some level.
http://adage.com/article/digital/reach-beats-frequency-facebook-s-layout/230718/
Friday, November 04, 2011
Chapstick in a social media death spiral
Chapstick's first mistake was to post an offensively stupid picture on the internet. But what really got chapstick in trouble was the way they handled the backlash of comments. Chapstick had initially allowed for open comments on their facebook page, but when negative comments started coming in, instead of addressing the comments, Chapstick responded by simply deleting them. Posters got enraged that their comments were disappearing and in-turn posted more. The story got out that Chapstick was censoring comments and that drew in even more angry people Soon enough the censors at Chapstick were unable to keep up with all the deleting and the page deteriorated into a hate page. Chapstick finally got the clue, posted an apology and started addressing the comments with a bit of humor. This shows the importance of being able to address mistakes gracefully in a connected world where everyone has a voice. Companies need to understand that media-empowered customers do not respond favorably to censorship and if companies try and overpower the public, the public will always win.
Google Ponders Pay-TV Business
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Google is considering a move to offer paid cable-TV services to consumers. These services are traditionally provided by companies such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, DirecTV, etc. through coaxial cables, fiber optic networks, or satellite. In order for Google to provide this service, they plan to use a high-speed internet service they are planning to build in Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS. Google has hired a former TV executive, Jeremy Stern, to lead the project and has had discussions with content providers Walt Disney, Time Warner, and Discovery; however, the discussions have been exploratory in nature and no decisions have been made.
Google has been considering a move into TV for years and has launched other efforts that threaten the traditional paid-TV business model such as Google TV, a software that can be installed on TVs and set-top boxes to find and watch content from the internet, and the recently announced deals with celebrities and production companies to create 100 free ad-supported channels on YouTube.
Google’s plans to expand this paid-TV offering beyond Kansas City are unclear, but if successful this could completely transform and undermine traditional TV as we consume it today.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904577016352676478994.html
Google has been considering a move into TV for years and has launched other efforts that threaten the traditional paid-TV business model such as Google TV, a software that can be installed on TVs and set-top boxes to find and watch content from the internet, and the recently announced deals with celebrities and production companies to create 100 free ad-supported channels on YouTube.
Google’s plans to expand this paid-TV offering beyond Kansas City are unclear, but if successful this could completely transform and undermine traditional TV as we consume it today.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904577016352676478994.html
Google Changes Search
We've been discussing in class the different factors that contribute to search and, interestingly, Google's dominate role in both the development of modern internet search, but also it's control over the industry. It's an issue clearly covered extensively in our reading by John Battelle and the lectures.
What we have not explored is how other mediums-- specifically social media-- are impacting the way Google develops search going forward. An interesting article ran in the New York Times this week about Google's revision on Thursday of it's search algorithm.
Recognizing the real time value of Twitter and Facebook feeds, Google is now trying to make search results more timely. It's reported this will impact 35% of all searches.
Any news junkie, or in my case journalist, will tell you the frustration they've often felt when searching for breaking news via Google. Heading to a site like Twitter will give you much faster real time information-- even more so than established news sources. Google, of course, is trying to capture a share of this market.
Google makes up to 500 algorithm tweaks each year. This one change, however, is significant in that it will impact a great number of users. It also acknowledges that when it comes to search, Google ain't the only game in town. Competition often breads greater efficiency.
New York Times:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/google-changes-search-algorithm-trying-to-make-results-more-timely/?ref=technology
What we have not explored is how other mediums-- specifically social media-- are impacting the way Google develops search going forward. An interesting article ran in the New York Times this week about Google's revision on Thursday of it's search algorithm.
Recognizing the real time value of Twitter and Facebook feeds, Google is now trying to make search results more timely. It's reported this will impact 35% of all searches.
Any news junkie, or in my case journalist, will tell you the frustration they've often felt when searching for breaking news via Google. Heading to a site like Twitter will give you much faster real time information-- even more so than established news sources. Google, of course, is trying to capture a share of this market.
Google makes up to 500 algorithm tweaks each year. This one change, however, is significant in that it will impact a great number of users. It also acknowledges that when it comes to search, Google ain't the only game in town. Competition often breads greater efficiency.
New York Times:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/google-changes-search-algorithm-trying-to-make-results-more-timely/?ref=technology
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Aurasma - Marketing in Augmented Reality
I went to the NY Tech meetup last month (awesome group of innovative, intelligent people that are doing incredible things in Tech... and Bloomburg stopped by!) and saw a really cool demo I wanted to share here: Aurasma.
Aurasma is "the world's first visual browser." I don't know what that means, but here's what happens. You open the app on your mobile device and point it at ANYTHING. Say you point it at a magazine ad for Revlon. The ad recognizes the magazine ad and overlays the ad with Revlon's latest TV spot (the video is literally playing in the shape and size of the magazine ad). On the backend, I think they're actually linking that image to the content manually, but once that becomes more automated (like AdWords), the possibilities are exciting. It would change the way we think about 360 marketing campaigns and branding.
It opens up a surreal world of curated, relevant and real-time content and in my opinion, blows QR codes out of the water.
Check it out (they could use a new name :) http://www.aurasma.com/what-is-it.jsp
Aurasma is "the world's first visual browser." I don't know what that means, but here's what happens. You open the app on your mobile device and point it at ANYTHING. Say you point it at a magazine ad for Revlon. The ad recognizes the magazine ad and overlays the ad with Revlon's latest TV spot (the video is literally playing in the shape and size of the magazine ad). On the backend, I think they're actually linking that image to the content manually, but once that becomes more automated (like AdWords), the possibilities are exciting. It would change the way we think about 360 marketing campaigns and branding.
It opens up a surreal world of curated, relevant and real-time content and in my opinion, blows QR codes out of the water.
Check it out (they could use a new name :) http://www.aurasma.com/what-is-it.jsp
Amazon Prime's Lending Library
Like the loyalty programs that airlines offer, it seems that Amazon is slowly moving towards a similar loyalty program. Amazon’s Prime members will have the benefit of subscribing to a new program that loans eligible customers a free e-book every month. The program, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, is open to Kindle users who are also members of Amazon Prime, the $79-a-year fast shipping and video-streaming service. Customers can keep a selection for as long as they want but it will disappear if they choose another book the next month. This I suppose is a very basic and monitored format of the public library system—now digital.
On offer will be over a 100 current and former New York Times bestsellers, although the author states doing a background check and 20 of the top were not on the lending library. This new system is also causing an issue with publishers who obviously won’t make any royalties from the “free lending” system. Amazon was also rumored to be starting an “all-you-can-eat program” that would allow Prime subscribers an unlimited number of e-books for a set fee, but that seems delayed with the issues related to the publishers.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/for-amazon-prime-readers-a-lending-library/?src=me&ref=technology
Advertisers Follow Audiences into Games
As online gaming continues to gain popularity across multiple genres, advertising has found its place amongst the gaming clutter.
Roughly $1 billion will be spent this year on ads in games in the United States, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the figure is predicted to increase by a third in the next four years.Roughly $1 billion will be spent this year on ads in games in the United States, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the figure is predicted to increase by a third in the next four years.
The advertising is traditionally in the form of banner advertising but some advertisers are integrating the ads into games itself. The way that advertisements are shown is called "freemium" where gamers watch an ad instead of paying for a game upgrade.
Google has a product to meet this need - Google's AdSense for Games - which allows advertisers to display an ad before, during or after a game.
Just yet another form of advertising for brands to utilize for either brand awareness or driving purchasing behavior. Whether or not these are effective are yet to be determined.....
http://www.technologyreview.com/business/39004/?mod=chthumb
Roughly $1 billion will be spent this year on ads in games in the United States, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the figure is predicted to increase by a third in the next four years.Roughly $1 billion will be spent this year on ads in games in the United States, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the figure is predicted to increase by a third in the next four years.
The advertising is traditionally in the form of banner advertising but some advertisers are integrating the ads into games itself. The way that advertisements are shown is called "freemium" where gamers watch an ad instead of paying for a game upgrade.
Google has a product to meet this need - Google's AdSense for Games - which allows advertisers to display an ad before, during or after a game.
Just yet another form of advertising for brands to utilize for either brand awareness or driving purchasing behavior. Whether or not these are effective are yet to be determined.....
http://www.technologyreview.com/business/39004/?mod=chthumb
Secret and Not-so-Secret Sales Tricks on the Marketing of Apps
The term 'there's an app for that' clearly shows that we are inundated with smartphone applications for pretty much everything. Recently Jello-O launched a 'Jiggle It' app where one can see a Jell-O cube jiggle to your iTunes library.
While apps like these are entertaining, one question that I had is regarding how long these apps will last once the novelty wears off. One app creator has addressed this issue, discussing in detail the sales of his tennis game app, including drivers of app sales and rationale for sales declines.
Overall, reducing the price from $1.99 to $0.99 obviously drove sales. Another 'trick' called out was to push updates, which change the 'release date' to the updated date. This results in the app moving to the top of the iTunes list, which in turn drove sales.
Enjoy!
http://www.markj.net/iphone-hit-tennis-sales-stats-marketing/
While apps like these are entertaining, one question that I had is regarding how long these apps will last once the novelty wears off. One app creator has addressed this issue, discussing in detail the sales of his tennis game app, including drivers of app sales and rationale for sales declines.
Overall, reducing the price from $1.99 to $0.99 obviously drove sales. Another 'trick' called out was to push updates, which change the 'release date' to the updated date. This results in the app moving to the top of the iTunes list, which in turn drove sales.
Enjoy!
http://www.markj.net/iphone-hit-tennis-sales-stats-marketing/
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Womply
Of late Groupon has received plenty of criticism from both customers and merchants; businesses indiscriminately give discounts, and users receive coupons of little interest to them. Essentially, Groupon’s business model appears to lack the value inherent in more granular targeting. Womply, a new start-up, which just recently launched in DC, has taken Groupon’s core premise, but tweaked the model so that both consumers and businesses can capture value from discount offers. http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/02/womplys-new-deals-startup-loads-local-offers-onto-your-credit-cards/
The system is linked both to Facebook and to different financial institutions, it works by tapping into a user’s Facebook profile data to offer discounts independent of crowd-sourcing. The customer then reserves the offer, goes to the merchant and pays full price, but is credited the discount within 2 days by the credit/debit card issuing company. It is not yet clear how efficient Womply is at targeting customers and ensuring that they receive offers that are of interest. However, with the amount of online data available they should have no problem creating a discount system that benefits both merchants and customers.
Shopping Just Got Speedier
Square, a virtual wallet app that allows customers to make purchases at certain merchants using only their name, went through a bit of an upgrade this week. The app has launched a new geotracking fipunctionality that allows customers to opt in for certain establishments so every time they are within a certain radius of that business they are on a sort of pre-qualified shopper list. So, there's no need to activate the app at point of sale to make a transaction. Customer profiles, which contain a photo for security purposes, will automatically populate on the merchant's app and the shopper can just give his/her name to make a purchase.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/02/squares-card-case-ios-app-adds-support-for-geofencing-twitter-integration-for-merchants-and-more/
Despite some security concerns around fraud, this is further transforming the payments industry and could push payment providers (including my current employer!) into a serious share loss situation. Square, as well as a number of similar European players, are the ones to watch as we are further enveloped into a digital society.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/02/squares-card-case-ios-app-adds-support-for-geofencing-twitter-integration-for-merchants-and-more/
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Hollywood Reporter: YouTube Channels No Threat?
I'll make a confession. I was actually in the middle of reading the Hollywood Reporter's "holier-than-thou" proclamation that YouTube poses no threat to the entertainment industry, when I got distracted by a video box on the side and instead stopped to watch Antoine Dodson sing "Chimney Intruder." I laughed so hard I watched it twice. And that, my friends, is why YouTube IS a threat to traditional entertainment companies.
On Friday, YouTube announced their plans to launch 100 channels with original programming. The idea is largely celebrity driven with content expected from stars such as Jay-Z and Madonna. It's true, online advertising makes up a $2 billion industry and though robust is still dwarfed by television sales. However, what the Hollywood Reporter fails to recognize is that online content will someday soon merge to simply be considered "content" as television sets become more and more absolete and people increasingly watch programming on mobile devices. The digital divide is nearing an end.
The Hollywood Reporter is, no doubt, part of the old guard of media elite. The short sightedness across the entire industry, however, is frightening. As Sun Tzu the great war strategist once wrote: "If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." YouTube (and parent company Google) are hungry. They control the majority of online ad revenue. It is only a matter of time before they dictate content as well.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youtube-channels-no-immediate-threat-255841
On Friday, YouTube announced their plans to launch 100 channels with original programming. The idea is largely celebrity driven with content expected from stars such as Jay-Z and Madonna. It's true, online advertising makes up a $2 billion industry and though robust is still dwarfed by television sales. However, what the Hollywood Reporter fails to recognize is that online content will someday soon merge to simply be considered "content" as television sets become more and more absolete and people increasingly watch programming on mobile devices. The digital divide is nearing an end.
The Hollywood Reporter is, no doubt, part of the old guard of media elite. The short sightedness across the entire industry, however, is frightening. As Sun Tzu the great war strategist once wrote: "If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." YouTube (and parent company Google) are hungry. They control the majority of online ad revenue. It is only a matter of time before they dictate content as well.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youtube-channels-no-immediate-threat-255841
More transparency on Google
Google is making changes to its service to create more transparency for consumers using the ubiquitous search engine. Searchers will not be able to click on a link labeled "why these ads" next to ad results on their search pages. The information on this link will explain to them how they received the particular ads that they did, which are targeted and personalized based on their destination, amongst other factors.
For the first time, Google will also allow consumers to adjust which ads they receive by accessing a new "ads preferences manager" and selecting certain advertisers they would like to block. They will also be able to turn off ads personalization completely.
Google's goals with these new features, it seems are in line with its overarching goals with ads in general, namely that they should provide users with relevant and useful information. The more Google can personalize the ad results users receive, the more valuable they will be, the more clicks they will receive, and the more valuable those clicks will be, all resulting in greater revenue for Google and continued market dominance in search.
For consumers, the end result, in Google's ideal world, may be a set of search results where the ads are as attractive to the consumer as the organic results, as opposed to the current situation where roughly 15% of clicks are on sponsored results as opposed to organic results.
For more information on these new changes and a video from Google, click here:
http://mashable.com/2011/11/01/google-why-these-ads/
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/increasing-transparency-and-choice-with.html
For the first time, Google will also allow consumers to adjust which ads they receive by accessing a new "ads preferences manager" and selecting certain advertisers they would like to block. They will also be able to turn off ads personalization completely.
Google's goals with these new features, it seems are in line with its overarching goals with ads in general, namely that they should provide users with relevant and useful information. The more Google can personalize the ad results users receive, the more valuable they will be, the more clicks they will receive, and the more valuable those clicks will be, all resulting in greater revenue for Google and continued market dominance in search.
For consumers, the end result, in Google's ideal world, may be a set of search results where the ads are as attractive to the consumer as the organic results, as opposed to the current situation where roughly 15% of clicks are on sponsored results as opposed to organic results.
For more information on these new changes and a video from Google, click here:
http://mashable.com/2011/11/01/google-why-these-ads/
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/increasing-transparency-and-choice-with.html
iTunes mysteriously loses Amazon's Music App
Does it surprise anyone that the Amazon Cloud Player iPhone app has "somehow" disappeared from iTunes? Hardly.
Despite the recent news that this actually happened, and Apple has not yet admitted it and has blamed the glitch on transfer and communication issues, this is hardly a surprise. Microsoft and Apple have been playing these games with each other's devices and operating systems for years, and to this day, it remains difficult to view Adobe PDF files and related Adobe files on Apple products due to the challenge in a smooth deal between Apple and Adobe Systems. So while this news about Amazon's Cloud player has actually become "news" is not a shock and in fact, provides a bit of humor to my day. Another recent article discussed the potential that Jeff Bezos may be driving Amazon to be the next true innovator of ideas, gadgets, and future-focused technology since the unfortunate recent passing of Steve Jobs. Amazon is poised to become a bigger player in the space in the next 5-10 years, and while Jobs' corporate culture and legacy will remain at Apple for a long while, it remains to be seen if new Apple leadership can instill the same kind of focus on innovation in the corporate culture throughout the firm.
Social Media for Better Customer Service
Social Media is seen as the next phase of efficient marketing. From Facebook Ads to social targeting, companies are competing to capture share of voice in the viral space. Some companies develop interactive Facebook applications while others utilize sweepstakes and discount offers. Yet social media has proven to work effectively for another purpose - customer service.
Mandarin Oriental has a great success story in which a customer left a Facebook post on the Mandarin Oriental Miami wall saying he was looking forward to his visit. Mandarin Oriental looked him up, realized he had a high Klout score and responded with a personal forecast - knowing he was fleeing the freezing Boston weather. Mandarin Oriental also provided a special note and snack for the customer upon arrival. The result? A blog post from the customer about his wonderful personal customer experience.
A recent article published in Mashable reiterates the fact that social media is a great outlet for customer service. When done correctly, social media is a good way to defend your brand. One example includes KLM launching a 24/7 customer support on Twitter. Xbox justifies its Twitter service professionals through cost saves from call centers. Other companies can benefit from leveraging social media for customer care and incur re-engineering saves. When engaging customers online, the Mashable article gives some good advise. Respond with empathy, defend your brand, but don't feed the trolls. With a 140 character limit, remember to be engaging but continue to defend your brand. At the same time, ignore the trolls that are just looking to pick a fight. Who knows, Maybe social media customer servicing will become a norm of the future.
For more advice on customer servicing best practices in social media go here:
http://mashable.com/2011/10/28/social-customer-service-brands/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Digital Marketing for the Millennial Generation
Mashable has a great post today on tips for marketing to the millennial generation (17-34 year olds): http://mashable.com/2011/10/27/marketing-millennials-digital-natives/.
I found this post to be particularly interesting as I think that many of the stratgies described as the current best practices for this generation will become (and quickly are becoming) best practices for a much wider swath of the population. As consumers continue to purchase and adopt more digital devices (smartphones, tablets, blackberry for work, laptop for home, etc.) and become more and more plugged in to mobile content, I believe these best practices trends will easily start to extend into the 34-45 year old category and beyond, and certainly to the next generation of children.
Of the particular trends the writer highlights, I would reiterate the importance of the following: an overwhelming degree of multi-tasking, a need and desire for engagement and involvement in brands and consumer products (rather than passively watching TV commercials), the power of social media communities and interactions, the importance of search and SEO, and a constant yearning for the newest and next best thing.
The one trend that the writer touches on and which I believe will be crucial for digital marketers, is the need for curated and condensed content tailored for the particular user. The better digital marketers can figure out a way to provide users with valuable and tailored content, the more successful they will be as we continue to be more and more satured as consumers and the internet becomes more fragmented and overwhelming by the hour. This is underlined by the importance of search but also in tailored advertising content and in particular I believe that digital marketers want to find those sites that are opinion-leaders in curating and condensing news, trends, events, etc. to keep us consumers up to speed. These types of sites, in my opinion, will be a huge draw in the coming years and in the next phase of the internet.
I found this post to be particularly interesting as I think that many of the stratgies described as the current best practices for this generation will become (and quickly are becoming) best practices for a much wider swath of the population. As consumers continue to purchase and adopt more digital devices (smartphones, tablets, blackberry for work, laptop for home, etc.) and become more and more plugged in to mobile content, I believe these best practices trends will easily start to extend into the 34-45 year old category and beyond, and certainly to the next generation of children.
Of the particular trends the writer highlights, I would reiterate the importance of the following: an overwhelming degree of multi-tasking, a need and desire for engagement and involvement in brands and consumer products (rather than passively watching TV commercials), the power of social media communities and interactions, the importance of search and SEO, and a constant yearning for the newest and next best thing.
The one trend that the writer touches on and which I believe will be crucial for digital marketers, is the need for curated and condensed content tailored for the particular user. The better digital marketers can figure out a way to provide users with valuable and tailored content, the more successful they will be as we continue to be more and more satured as consumers and the internet becomes more fragmented and overwhelming by the hour. This is underlined by the importance of search but also in tailored advertising content and in particular I believe that digital marketers want to find those sites that are opinion-leaders in curating and condensing news, trends, events, etc. to keep us consumers up to speed. These types of sites, in my opinion, will be a huge draw in the coming years and in the next phase of the internet.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Social Networking Behavior of the Broadway Consumer – Using Social Media Strategy to Discover Your Audience
A September 2009 article on “The Situation,” a blog for entertainment marketers, illustrates an early example of successfully using analytic tools to gain an understanding of a target audience in order to craft a social media strategy. While the article is already outdated in its discussion on whether or not a brand should be on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, its methods for tracking consumers’ social media usage are still applicable to many industries.
The study examines how Broadway ticket buyers differ in their usage of social media and whether or not these users are new audiences or just the same ticket buyers already targeted through other marketing efforts.
The part of the study most relevant to our discussions on analytic tools centers on trying to discover how the behaviors of those social networking users varies from other online users. Using analytic tools, the researchers tracked how users on Facebook and Twitter acted after clicking on a link that directed them to the official Broadway musical website. They compared these statistics against general web traffic to the musical’s websites via regular Internet usage.
Those visitors to the official websites that clicked through from Facebook or Twitter visited 30% more pages per visit and spent 40% more of their time on the page compared to regular Internet visitors. Also, visitors through social networking were more actively engaged in all aspects of the site, checking out information about the cast, the show’s story, and news before moving into the ticketing phase. Twitter was responsible for more referral visits to the official website than Facebook, although Twitter users spent the least time on the website. This is really not surprising considering the very nature of Twitter is speed and brevity. The Facebook visitors proved to be an audience that was looking to learn something new and become engaged, while Twitter users are “all about quick hits of actionable content.”
Monday, October 24, 2011
Can a tech company surpass big oil?
Recent discussion as to the battle of Apple and Exxon Mobil for the top spot in global company size by market cap has been heating up recently. It's not much of a surprise to many that Exxon Mobil has been at the top for awhile, with the global dominance in energy and oil, and a market cap near half a trillion dollars. But with the rise, especially in the past decade, of Apple's clout on the tech market, many believe Apple can take the top position. Despite the passing of the iconic Steve Jobs, the culture and mindset of the Apple ecosystem can and will continue to dominate innovation, content creation, sales and distribution, and tech device market (including both and hardware & software) for many years to come. The question is if the company is truly worth beyond half a trillion dollars, and if so, what is the true valuation of Apple?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Consumer Behavior on Twitter Helps Marketing - Study Review
A really interesting study that I came across on Social Quickstarter discusses ten quick facts that you should know about social behavior on Twitter. These quick facts were derived from a more comprehensive study that was conducted by Constant Contact and Chadwick Martin Bailey. The study's results are crucial to understanding a brand's consumers on a specific social network such as Twitter and it can allow a company to better target their consumer base in their digital marketing plan.
The most important takeaway from the study is that it found that 60% of brand followers on Twitter are more likely to recommend the brand to other friends, and also 50% of these same brand followers are more likely to buy from the brand. These numbers are huge, and we all know that any increase in customer loyalty is great news for brands. The study analyzed the behavior of 1,491 consumers ages 18 and older throughout the U.S and some of the interesting insights from the study are:
- Only 21% of Twitter users follow brands on Twitter, and of those, 79% follow fewer than 10 brands
- When it comes to a consumer’s decision to follow brands on Twitter, exclusivity and access to promotions reign
- Brand interaction on Twitter is still largely a one-way process
- While 84% of followers read tweets posted by the brands they follow, only 23% claim to tweet about the brands they follow
- Twitter users even use Facebook more than users who stick solely to Facebook — 60% of Twitter users use Facebook more than three hours per week, compared with 49% of Facebook users overall
If companies understand the profoundness of these results, they should tailor their social media marketing plan to 1) increase their followers on Twitter and 2) tailor their Twitter campaign to the needs of these consumers through the content, exclusivity, and access to the promotions it provides. For more information check out the study slides below and go to Social Quickstarter by Constant Contact.
Facebook Advertising uptade
Facebook is currently introducing a new platform for advertisement which differs from all advertisements that were on the social platform before. The very first ad application Beacon of Facebook was clumsy and very inefficient. It showed to all the friends of a person which purchases he made even if those were very embarrassing.
Now Facebook launches new channel for advertising, in particular, it makes the brand pages better and more engaging. Initially Facebook allowed companies create pages of their brands and did not charge anything for it. The idea behind this was that people as well as companies could communicate freely and if brand wants to represent itself as a page and does not want to post any ads, it should not be charged. But instead of creating entertaining and really insightful content on their pages brands were just bombarding their fans and customers with announcements, deals and ads.
From now brands will improve their pages, create better content and communicate with their customers on a new level. They can create campaigns both online and offline and make them viral. Now brands will become friends of their fans and their friends. Companies can send messages and create posts as well as people do. This measure will help brands become more trustworthy, because customers tend to believe their friends online much more than they trust advertisements.
To accomplish this Facebook will used ad units and metrics to both control and measure actions of brands online. Essentially new ad units are advertising messages like those that regular people share in their walls with their friends and set of metrics will help each brand track traffic on their pages and figure out what content attracts the most attention.
Now Facebook launches new channel for advertising, in particular, it makes the brand pages better and more engaging. Initially Facebook allowed companies create pages of their brands and did not charge anything for it. The idea behind this was that people as well as companies could communicate freely and if brand wants to represent itself as a page and does not want to post any ads, it should not be charged. But instead of creating entertaining and really insightful content on their pages brands were just bombarding their fans and customers with announcements, deals and ads.
From now brands will improve their pages, create better content and communicate with their customers on a new level. They can create campaigns both online and offline and make them viral. Now brands will become friends of their fans and their friends. Companies can send messages and create posts as well as people do. This measure will help brands become more trustworthy, because customers tend to believe their friends online much more than they trust advertisements.
To accomplish this Facebook will used ad units and metrics to both control and measure actions of brands online. Essentially new ad units are advertising messages like those that regular people share in their walls with their friends and set of metrics will help each brand track traffic on their pages and figure out what content attracts the most attention.
The Social Enterprise
Social media is changing how we connect and share in our personal lives and increasingly in business. Companies get insights to innovate from the chatter on social media platforms, and they use all the various digital marketing channels to better target their customers. Salesforce.com has led the way in introducing the Social Enterprise, which pulls all of the social media benefits together. Their new product, the social enterprise, is a platform that synchronizes their sales CRM, underlying customer service database, online footprint (using their newly acquired Radian6), and Chatter which is their internal social communication platform (internal Facebook for an enterprise). By synchronizing all these various products, it allows companies to become more connected to their customers than ever before, and in turn they will be fully digital end to end. The experience a customer would have is total access across any device, anywhere, and the ability to get the same feeling regardless of when, where, and how they access the brand.
Companies have to create a social enterprise in order to have a strong business model in this digitally growing world. This is also extremely essential in their digital marketing campaigns which will be aided by all the data they pull from online, services, and simply better understanding their consumers and their needs. Weaving a social context into a business is quickly becoming a prerequisite for success. I believe that Salesforce.com has a great product on its hands that many companies will follow, so they need to show the world how powerful the Social Enterprise is to lead the market into the next years of transforming businesses into the new social reality.
Twitter and ads
According to eMarketer.com, high power Twitter users tend to be significantly more responsive to online ads than lower power users (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008654). The article showed that people who uses Twitter more than 100 times a month saw more than 1,000 ads, and 20.40% interacted with at least one ad a month. On the other hand, of the users who only logged in between one and nine times a month and saw fewer than 100 ad impressions, only 1.57% the time will they respond to at least one ad. The article further explained ads on Twitter look similar to content on the social network and therefore are theoretically more engaging to users.
What we can learn from the above result is that users uses Twitter as a way to find better deal, both via their own followers and people they follow. To enhance the interaction, marketers should directly offer people who already show interests in the ad and offer them coupon and encourage these group of people to retweet the offer. Perhaps this is an even more effective way to reach target audience than a massive online exposure?
Saturday, October 22, 2011
QR Codes are the Next Fad in Marketing? Maybe!
Branding in a QR Code: Surprisingly there’s a certain amount of error correction built into QR codes, so some companies have been adding a logo or other design elements into their QR codes (see image below). Just make sure that you test your “enhanced” QR codes before releasing them. A “broken” QR code will frustrate your audience and damage your brand.I guess we will have to wait and see the fate of these codes, but I believe that QR codes are going to become one of the key integrators that will help bridge the gap between print ads and digital media. Rich explained QR's appeal well in his blog when he said "QR codes can provide additional information, including photos, reviews, directions and event dates and times. There's a certain amount of fun and surprise with QR Codes, so that you can take advantage of a "what's behind door number one" mentality." Whenever I se a QR code I wonder what is 'behind that door'. If you have seen these codes or have used them please share your experiences in this blog's comments. It would be great to learn more about then and the different ways they have been used.
Can't Touch This?
We've spent a fair amount of time talking about search engines and how Google and Bing command a majority of the market. Small search engines have cropped up in the past but nothing nearly as exciting as WireDoo-- MC Hammer's newest search engine.
Don't worry, I was pretty skeptical when I first read this and thought it was just another rapper trying to have a resurgence in the media. In fact, WireDoo is built on a slightly new concept "relationship searches". Unlike Google or Bing, whose searches are based on keywords, WireDoo is supposed to provide a "deeper" search result. Essentially they are touting it as the search engine that knows really what you are looking for (without you even asking!). So for example, if you are searching for BBQ Chicken recipes in addition to serving you results for making a killer bbq chicken you'd also have search results about decor for a backyard bbq, the best beers/wines for bbq, top ten hot sauces, backyard furniture on sale, etc. To me it sounds like this search engine will give you all the results you need to throw a successful bbq party. Heck, it might even remind you that you arent really ready yet (do you have gas for your grill? do you have a cooler for the beer?).
Needless to say, I tried to give it a try. The site is still in Beta mode, but I've signed up to get a notification when it is ready. It will be interesting to see if this deep search truly performs and surfaces relevant and related content. I'd like to see if MC Hammer can take on the search giants, and maybe have something new to sing about!
http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/wiredoo/
Don't worry, I was pretty skeptical when I first read this and thought it was just another rapper trying to have a resurgence in the media. In fact, WireDoo is built on a slightly new concept "relationship searches". Unlike Google or Bing, whose searches are based on keywords, WireDoo is supposed to provide a "deeper" search result. Essentially they are touting it as the search engine that knows really what you are looking for (without you even asking!). So for example, if you are searching for BBQ Chicken recipes in addition to serving you results for making a killer bbq chicken you'd also have search results about decor for a backyard bbq, the best beers/wines for bbq, top ten hot sauces, backyard furniture on sale, etc. To me it sounds like this search engine will give you all the results you need to throw a successful bbq party. Heck, it might even remind you that you arent really ready yet (do you have gas for your grill? do you have a cooler for the beer?).
Needless to say, I tried to give it a try. The site is still in Beta mode, but I've signed up to get a notification when it is ready. It will be interesting to see if this deep search truly performs and surfaces relevant and related content. I'd like to see if MC Hammer can take on the search giants, and maybe have something new to sing about!
http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/wiredoo/
The age of dotBrands
On January 12th 2012, the internet “real estate” is set to change with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will start taking applications for it’s “top-level domain program” which initially resulted in what we today know as .com, .org, .net, .uk, .ip, etc.
In January, any brand name itself could become a generic top-level down domain extension, supported by an application fee of $185,000, a sufficient justification to have a brand name domain extension the ICANN claims.
The ICANN claims that “dobranding introduces a whole new way to surf the web, enhancing companies’ SEO strategy, heightening protection against interlopers and cybersquatters, and letting brand names serve as web addresses with the potential for a variety of sub-domains.” Marketing Week in the UK has suggested that Deloitte, Canon, Hitachi, Motorola, and Unicef are applying for .brand web addresses.
The website quotes ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom: “ while his organization has established the guidelines and will handle the application process, it is companies’ responsibility to educate consumers about usage. The introduction of a .brand domain is almost like a logo change, and new marketing will need to be done. But I think word will spread pretty fast. You are talking about some pretty major entities in the world that will have their name after the dot and their collective marketing power greatly exceeds that of Icann.”
Fiona Graham from the BBC Technology News also reports that the suffixes such as .car, .think, .coke and .canon don’t have to be roman letters, so for example, they could also be Chinese characters. Some rules do apply - for instance, they must have at least three letters (Icann is holding onto the remaining two letter domains in case new countries are created and require a two letter abridged version).
Dr Jonathan Freeman, a lecturer of psychology at Goldsmiths University in London said that perception will have a lot to do with the dotbrand’s success: "Reassuring consumers is going to enhance the online behaviours and transactions. They'll feel a lot more happy dealing [with] it." Despite this, he anticipates consumers will not immediately take to the new naming conventions.
Understandably, smaller brands are uneasy due to the high price barrier to entry. The entire domain system will also have to advance from its current 200 million names to support 2 billion names in the future. It will be interesting to see how brands will use this to build on equity and how consumers will adapt to changing the way in which they search.
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/10/21/gTLD-Dot-Branding-Deloitte-Canon-Motorola-102111.aspx
Radian6 - Social Media Monitoring and Engagement Platform
Radian6 provides the leading social media monitoring and engagement platform for marketing, communications and customer support professionals. It offers several products to enable organizations to get the most from their social media efforts. Companies can use the Analysis Dashboard to uncover the top influencers and trends as well as which conversations are having an impact online. It allows them to monitor and engage with the online community easily. Companies can use it to know who is talking about them and derive more information from what they are saying with the Radian6 Insights platform. It allows them to take the pulse of their brand on the social web quickly and easily. Radian6 has clients from a variety of industries – higher education, technology, healthcare, non-profits, manufacturing, consumer goods, and many more. Their client base spans the globe and includes half of the Fortune 100. Client size ranges from smaller regional businesses to global corporations and all sizes in between.
Cloud computing giant Salesforce.com has acquired Radian6 in 2011 for approximately $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, net of cash. In addition, approximately $10 million in stock and $4 million in cash will be issued to Radian6’s founders. Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce said "With Radian6, salesforce.com is gaining the technology and market leader in social media monitoring. We see this as a huge opportunity. Not only will this acquisition accelerate our growth, it will extend the value of all of our offerings."
Sources:
http://www.radian6.com/
http://www.salesforce.com/radian6/
http://seekingalpha.com/article/300567-salesforce-com-this-decade-s-most-profitable-short-opportunity
Friday, October 21, 2011
Measuring Sentiment on Twitter
It is obvious that social media is becoming increasingly important for marketers. A recent Booz & Co. and Buddy Media survey of managers from Fortune 100 companies found that 28% of respondents predicted that social media will be more than 20% of digital marketing spend within three years, 27% predict it will be between 10%-20%, and 32% predict it will be between 5%-10% in three years. By comparison, in 2011 67% of respondents said that social media made up less than 5% of total digital spend.
When asked what they were going to do with the increased spending, respondents answered as expected: creating more content, hiring employees, integrating social media with the overall marketing plan, etc. However, what I found particularly interesting is that 56% planned to use social media to generate consumer insight and 35% are doing so already. Given this, it is important to understand what types of analyses companies can pursue to collect insights from social media.
As a partial answer, I recently came across a sentiment analysis done by Jeffrey Breen, an airline consultant, of the airline industry using twitter data. Mr. Breen used the statistical package R to extract the 1500 most recent tweets mentioning each major airline, and estimated sentiment by counting the number of positive and negative words in each tweet. He then scored each airline based on the number of positive and negative words associated with them and ranked them against one another. His results were surprisingly similar to the monthly rankings produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. This is just one example of analysis that can be done to obtain insights from social media and I am curious to learn about others.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008648
http://jeffreybreen.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/twitter-text-mining-r-slides/
When asked what they were going to do with the increased spending, respondents answered as expected: creating more content, hiring employees, integrating social media with the overall marketing plan, etc. However, what I found particularly interesting is that 56% planned to use social media to generate consumer insight and 35% are doing so already. Given this, it is important to understand what types of analyses companies can pursue to collect insights from social media.
As a partial answer, I recently came across a sentiment analysis done by Jeffrey Breen, an airline consultant, of the airline industry using twitter data. Mr. Breen used the statistical package R to extract the 1500 most recent tweets mentioning each major airline, and estimated sentiment by counting the number of positive and negative words in each tweet. He then scored each airline based on the number of positive and negative words associated with them and ranked them against one another. His results were surprisingly similar to the monthly rankings produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. This is just one example of analysis that can be done to obtain insights from social media and I am curious to learn about others.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008648
http://jeffreybreen.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/twitter-text-mining-r-slides/
NY Times wants to deliver Web Ads to the bathroom
http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/08/mirror-mirror-the-new-york-times-wants-to-serve-you-info-as-youre-brushing-your-teeth/
The New York Times wants to create a new bathroom mirror to deliver you the news as well as a daily dose of ads in the morning. As computing and internet access moves away from the traditional computer and into different types of delivery devices it makes one wonder what the next medium for digital advertising will be. TV's, E-readers, Game Consoles, even refrigerators and microwaves are starting to get connected to the internet and I wonder if all these devices will soon start becoming new delivery channels for digital advertising. If internet advertisers think they can target an audience now, imagine being able to advertise skin products to someone who has just woken up and is shaving in the mirror, or grocery delivery to someone who just opened their empty refrigerator. As connected devices become more common I believe that we will see some very interesting changes in the digital advertising space.
Welcoming Government Interventions, Thank you
3 FTC case decisions in the past three months will greatly affect mobile app developers and compaies.
- Emily Apps: The FTC announced its settlement in August 2011 with W3 Innovations for collecting children's personal information without parental consent. Per the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, companies cannot collect online personal information of children under 13.
- AcneApp: The FTC accounced its settlement in September 2011 with the marketer of AcneApp and AcnePwner for deceptively claiming their apps would treat acne without substantiation.
- Frostwire: The FTC announced its settlement in October 2011 with Frostwire for unlawfully creating a peer-to-peer application that would publicly share personal files stored on a user's mobile device immediately upon installation. This sharing would occur without authorization and violate privacy acts.
I think that all three of these decisions by the FTC are commendable and necessary. Too often the government institutions are considered to be too lax (certain environmental specifications) or overly meddlesome (foie gras ban: seriously? tax payers' moneys were going towards hours of hearings/legal documentation/meetings about whether one should be allowed to sell liver?), but in this case they are spot on. With the changes in technological innovation improving exponentially, the limits are boundless as to what mobile apps will do for us next. Its extremely important that the correct foundations and guidelines are provided - ie, that children are protected, companies cannot falsely claim product results, and privacy is strictly enforced.
My only one dissenting opinon would be in regards to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act: the act only protects those children under 13; this means that children in highschool and middle school are not protected?? Should this age limit be at least 16, possibly 18?
source: http://mashable.com/2011/10/21/apps-ftc-settlements/
- Emily Apps: The FTC announced its settlement in August 2011 with W3 Innovations for collecting children's personal information without parental consent. Per the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, companies cannot collect online personal information of children under 13.
- AcneApp: The FTC accounced its settlement in September 2011 with the marketer of AcneApp and AcnePwner for deceptively claiming their apps would treat acne without substantiation.
- Frostwire: The FTC announced its settlement in October 2011 with Frostwire for unlawfully creating a peer-to-peer application that would publicly share personal files stored on a user's mobile device immediately upon installation. This sharing would occur without authorization and violate privacy acts.
I think that all three of these decisions by the FTC are commendable and necessary. Too often the government institutions are considered to be too lax (certain environmental specifications) or overly meddlesome (foie gras ban: seriously? tax payers' moneys were going towards hours of hearings/legal documentation/meetings about whether one should be allowed to sell liver?), but in this case they are spot on. With the changes in technological innovation improving exponentially, the limits are boundless as to what mobile apps will do for us next. Its extremely important that the correct foundations and guidelines are provided - ie, that children are protected, companies cannot falsely claim product results, and privacy is strictly enforced.
My only one dissenting opinon would be in regards to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act: the act only protects those children under 13; this means that children in highschool and middle school are not protected?? Should this age limit be at least 16, possibly 18?
source: http://mashable.com/2011/10/21/apps-ftc-settlements/
The Power of Twitter Followership
Not so surprisingly, when customers follow brands on Twitter, they are more likely to buy that brand as well as recommend it to others. A study by Constant Contact and market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey revealed at 60% of followers will recommend a brand and 50% will actually purchase that brand. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
But the more interesting read for me was about actually becoming a followed company. Only 21% of Twitter users actually follow brands, and when they do, it's usually less than ten of them. Actually about 35% only follow one or two brands. But once, you have a follower, you usually keep them. Unfortunately, most followers only really read what their favorite brands are tweeting as opposed to tweeting about them themselves. There is definitely an opportunity to create a dialogue and gets customers further engaged with brands.
http://mashable.com/2011/10/20/twitter-brands-purchase-intent/
But the more interesting read for me was about actually becoming a followed company. Only 21% of Twitter users actually follow brands, and when they do, it's usually less than ten of them. Actually about 35% only follow one or two brands. But once, you have a follower, you usually keep them. Unfortunately, most followers only really read what their favorite brands are tweeting as opposed to tweeting about them themselves. There is definitely an opportunity to create a dialogue and gets customers further engaged with brands.
http://mashable.com/2011/10/20/twitter-brands-purchase-intent/
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Google Analytics Launches Flow Visualization
Google Analytics has upped the ante with a new feature called Flow Visualization. Flow Visualization will provide for a much more dynamic and insight-rich Analytics view of a site's traffic.
Visitors Flow will provide a visual representation of how visitors flow through your site, where they go, and where they drop off with the goal of providing answers to key questions on the success of various page initiatives.
Goal Flow gives site owners the ability to define goal steps for users to follow and then track how users flow through and where they drop off.
The goal of these new features is to take what we have discussed in class to a new level, namely to provide advertisers and site owners with more information in a more intuitive and easy to follow format as to how users reach their site, what they do when they are there, and, most importantly, what new site features, promo campaigns, etc. are the most effective.
As advertisers and web site owners, we want to know what we are doing that is working, how users are interacting with our site, where they are leaving, what promotions are falling flat and what are succeeding. By being able to visually follow users' pathways to and through our site Flow Visualizations is likely to become a highly valuable and utilized tool by site owners.
For more information:
http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/google-analytics-launches-in-depth-flow-visualizations/
http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/10/introducing-flow-visualization.html
Visitors Flow will provide a visual representation of how visitors flow through your site, where they go, and where they drop off with the goal of providing answers to key questions on the success of various page initiatives.
Goal Flow gives site owners the ability to define goal steps for users to follow and then track how users flow through and where they drop off.
The goal of these new features is to take what we have discussed in class to a new level, namely to provide advertisers and site owners with more information in a more intuitive and easy to follow format as to how users reach their site, what they do when they are there, and, most importantly, what new site features, promo campaigns, etc. are the most effective.
As advertisers and web site owners, we want to know what we are doing that is working, how users are interacting with our site, where they are leaving, what promotions are falling flat and what are succeeding. By being able to visually follow users' pathways to and through our site Flow Visualizations is likely to become a highly valuable and utilized tool by site owners.
For more information:
http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/google-analytics-launches-in-depth-flow-visualizations/
http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/10/introducing-flow-visualization.html
Legal Risks of Social Media
According to recent research reports, http://www.kpcb.com/internettrends2011, the popularity of social media has continued to increase. In the US as of June 2011, time spent on social networking sites surpassed time spent on other internet portals. It is no wonder that businesses across all industries continually attempt to be at the forefront of this trend in order to capture the attention of these users. The hospitality industry is no different; although hotel properties were slow to see the impact of the internet on their bottom line, they have since embraced social media: blogging and tweeting about their properties, creating Facebook fan pages and YouTube channels. Perhaps because of this slow response or more likely due to the nature of the interaction with their customers (who usually share vacation information, tips, photos, etc. online) hotels need to more closely monitor the legal implications of their online presence, especially when dealing with social media sites.
How To Manage Legal Risks of Social Media, http://hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/6715/How-to-manage-legal-risks-of-social-media, clarifies some of the new legal risks inherent to social media: an employee that tweets a hotel photo with guests in the background who would rather not be seen at the property, conflict of interest with travel bloggers, navigating the different privacy laws in each region. Of course, these risks are not specific to hotels, however since the inception of social media, hotel properties have traditionally been on the other side constantly suing or threatening to sue other sites. TripAdvisor has been the primary recipient of hotel ire, last year a group of 700 hotels threatened to sue the site for slander, and most recently the site was sued by a hotel that earned the number 1 spot on TripAdvisor’s ranking of America’s dirtiest hotels. As independent hotel properties become more internet savvy, and increase their presence on social networks, they may not have the resources to mitigate the legal risks that they too will face using these channels.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Value of Facebook Fans
Companies are increasingly using Facebook sweepstakes to gain more fans (aka "likes"). In fact, this past March, Expedia launched a sweepstakes that offered more than $1 million in prizes, including five trips that cost more than $100,000. What was the outcome? Expedia gained over 1 million fans. However, in general, the "sweepstakes fan" is looking for something free and doesn't always care about that brand. Therefore, it is now Expedia's mission to turn these fans into valuable customers.
Facebook will provide analytics around fans. It aggregates demographic information to give an idea of where these fans are from and even general age and gender data when there are enough fans. This allows companies to better target the audience they first acquired through the sweepstakes. The challenge for companies is to actually engage their fan base and integrate this into their overall marketing strategy. Looking at Expedia's facebook page, it is now trying to provide value for its fan base including discount to hotels. It is also trying to further engage its base by developing games and curated blogs.
A recent imedia article describes some best practices for campaigns that specifically target fan acquisition. Interesting ideas include developing a polling system for engagement, allowing fans to opt-in to communication such as SMS or email, and even using other types of media such as TV or print to drive to the Facebook page. Ultimately, a fan base is useless unless they become engaged advocates of the brand.
For more tips on how to turn Facebook fans into engaged customers go here:
http://www.imediaconnection.com/article_full.aspx?id=30235
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