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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?

by Patricio Robles 30 September 2009 10:12am 1 comment

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.

by Tom Stewart 30 September 2009 08:49am 0 comments

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.

by Patricio Robles 29 September 2009 09:05am 5 comments

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.

by Meghan Keane 29 September 2009 01:09am 3 comments

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.

by Meghan Keane 22 September 2009 18:55pm 1 comment

George Clooney, Facebook and prostate exams

Celebrities and social media seem to go together like cheese and wine for good reason: social media is one of the most powerful mediums for celebrities to connect with fans, increase their visibility and maintain their personal brands. Oh, and stoke their egos.

From Ashton Kutcher to Lindsay Lohan, Michael Phelps to Shaquille O'Neal (oh, and Kanye West), the celebrities you love (or love to hate) are increasingly on Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media platforms. But that doesn't mean that everyone in Hollywood is starstruck with poking and tweeting.

by Patricio Robles 21 September 2009 09:03am 3 comments

Who does Facebook have to thank for its newfound profitability?

Display ads in social media have been getting a bad rap for awhile now. While many brands have had success marketing on social networks, purchasing display ads in the space does not always appear to be a great investment.

But this week, Facebook announced that it has positive cash flow for the first time. The company met the 300 million user milestone this month and has reached profitability ahead of schedule.

While the company has gotten some bad press for the slow growth of its ad business, clearly some companies are finding success by investing in Facebook display ads.

So what advertisers are making bank on the social net?

by Meghan Keane 18 September 2009 21:29pm 0 comments

Facebook Lite simplifies, complicates Facebook

If you've used Facebook, you've probably lamented a few things. Despite the fact that Facebook generally has a clean interface, navigating all of its features is not the easiest thing in the world. And Facebook isn't the most responsive website either.

In an effort to simplify the experience and make it faster for those who don't have a high-speed connection (or a lot of time to waste), Facebook has launched a version of its website called Facebook Lite. Currently it's available to users in the United States and India via lite.facebook.com but most expect it to be rolled out globally sooner than later.

by Patricio Robles 11 September 2009 09:04am 7 comments

Q&A: The marketing duo behind New York's social media hotel

roger smith hotel blog The Roger Smith Hotel may be the most social media savvy hotel in New York -- if not the world.

There's a blog. A Facebook fan page. A YouTube Channel. Over 3,000 Twitter followers. A Flickr photostream. And two guys behind all these efforts, both of whom winnowed their way into overseeing online marketing for the property following stints in food and beverage services at the hotel.

We caught up with Adam Wallace, the hotel's new media marketing manager, and his sidekick Brian Simpson, whose official title is still assistant food and beverage director, to find out how they built a family-run, independent hotel into a digital force to be reckoned with.

by Rebecca Lieb 09 September 2009 20:14pm 13 comments

Q&A: Marc Schiller, CEO of ElectricArtists

Marc Schiller is CEO of ElectricArtists, a groundbreaking digital agency in New York with a client roster that has included such major and broad-ranging clients as American Express, Starwood Hotels, A&E Networks, The History Channel, USA Network, Microsoft, Netflix, and The Los Angeles Lakers.

The company has created some of the most innovative and original work in the social media arena, from the first marketing presence in Second Lift back in 2006 to the much more recent Trackingtwitter, a site that tracks (and rates) major brands and products on Twitter.

Marc spends a great deal of his time considering how social media influences marketing, and how marketing can leverage social media. He'll share some of that thinking with the attendees of our Peer Summit in New York on October 8.

Being the impatient types, we asked Marc if we couldn't have a sneak peek now as to what he'll be sharing with the audience next month. Happiily, he obliged.

by Rebecca Lieb 08 September 2009 14:00pm 0 comments