Why Facebook could be the next big news publisher
Facebook's growth, it seems, is limited only by the scope of Mark Zuckerberg's ambition. It began as a social networking site trying to keep up with MySpace, but Facebook is now circling its own orbit.
All that's stopping Facebook from becoming the pre-eminent news publisher for its 300m users is Zuckerberg's desire to do it.
The 10 commandments of social optimisation (#SOCOP)
What is social optimisation? For me, it’s about how you structure your business in a way that increases engagement and participation.
Social optimisation (‘SOCOP’) is broader than social ‘media’ optimisation (optimising your presence on third party sites) and bigger than social ‘search’ optimisation (boosting your universal search results). I think of it as an umbrella term that combines both of the above strategies, and then some. It covers the wider businesses issues like customer service, usability and organisational structure.
While there remains a lot of hype in the social space we are starting to hear about some excellent results from companies that have embraced their communities, wherever they choose to hang out. We believe that a user-centric, community-focused business is one that will go a long way, assuming that a few other basics are put in place (such as competitive pricing and amazing service).
So to help you to see the light, I have defined 10 commandments that should help you to plan and structure your business for a more sociable future...
Facebook cracks down on ads, developers left out in the cold
There are more opportunities than ever for developers today but that doesn't mean that making money is always easy. Some of the most attractive platforms for developers are far from perfect and fraught with risk.
Some Facebook app developers were reminded of that this weekend when their applications were shut down without warning due to ads served up by the third party Facebook ad networks many of them rely on to generate revenue.
Facebook affiliate ads could star you
There are plenty of embarrassing pictures teenagers willingly post of themselves on Facebook, but when marketers start using those shots for marketing purposes, things can get sticky.
Especially when they end up on a site like Jailbaitgallery.com and then back in a Facebook ad. Oops.
10 steps to help you become a social media ninja
Agile and precise, packed with skills of stealth, quick reactions, passion, and specialist tactics for whatever the circumstances demand. This generally sums up what people imagine ninjas to be all about and, in digital marketing, everyone wants to be one, in one form or another.
But what pointers do you need to follow to train yourself to engage in the ongoing battleground of social media?
Is Nielsen overhyping Facebook?
An interesting post by Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch details how
Nielsen has been "gushing" about Facebook since it partnered with the
giant social network on a service called BrandLift, which is designed to help advertisers measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns on the site.
One report Nielsen issued after it teamed up with Facebook highlights just how much time consumers are spending on social networks, and Facebook in particular. Another provided data showing that affluent consumers are more likely to be using it than MySpace. The obvious question: is Nielsen presenting objective data to advertisers or is it overhyping its newest partner?
Don’t blame social media for bad behaviour
One of the questions I often get asked by journalists, who know I’m interested in the psychology of technology, is how social media like Facebook and Twitter change the way we communicate. Being journalists, they usually want me to say that we can no longer interact properly with each other thanks to technology.
I know some brain researchers have made some scary claims about social media but all the evidence I have seen suggests that it is just another way of keeping in touch.
Yahoo's new ads promote Google, Facebook
Yahoo's new $100m advertising campaign has launched. It's multichannel and combines television, print, radio and digital. Online, chances are you've already come across some of Yahoo's ads. They're on a variety of popular websites and in many cases, they're very visible.
I ran into one on CBS Marketwatch and couldn't help notice: Yahoo is promoting GMail/Google and Facebook in a large rich media expansion ad unit.
Zynga: Powering Facebook ads through virtual goods
Facebook advertising has been flush with good news lately — the company just announced that it is profitable for the first time and advertisers are increasing their buys across the network. But a new report showing that Facebook ads result in more engagement than display ads on other sites isn't the only reason people are investing in display ads on the network.
According to Lotame, social media ads result in fewer clicks but more engagement from consumers. But the real killer app for Facebook — for now — is virtual goods.
Social gamer Zynga is making a killing on the social network, and the company is scratching Facebook's back in return — pouring millions into ads to increase its user base.
Facebook partners with Nielsen on BrandLift
Facebook may have made it into the black this month, but proving to the press and marketers that its ads work is another story. To hasten that process, the social netowrk has teamed up with Nielsen to to poll users on the ads they are served and package that data for advertisers.
Nielsen's polls provide skewed samples across platforms — because viewers that opt-in to respond to them are not emblematic of all viewers — but it should still provide a good proving ground for Facebook ads.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
