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Facebook growing up. Advertisers to fall in love

Published on February 5, 2010 7:47 PM | | Comments () |
For a long time I believed that Facebook was moving too slowly in addressing the needs of marketers. The pages for brands was but a rudimentary step in the right direction and the analytics behind the pages were simplistic at best. I'm excited to see that it is changing now and I believe that marketers are going to flock to Facebook (and with their dollars) and not just because of the huge user base but increasingly because of the specific advertising products and analytics that the platform is offering. In a sense Facebook is truly entering the marketing world now.

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One small example, of this is how they're testing the ability to show case impressions and clicks. This is hugely valuable for both marketers and individuals alike. Big brand and personal brands (meaning you as an individual) care about this and I believe it'll spur even greater use of the Facebook fan pages and the newsfeed. What is especially interesting is if this information is made completely transparent as the image above seems to imply. The next step to telling you the number of impressions and clicks that a post has gotten is to tell you the number of people that have purchased the product. As e-commerce rolls out across the Facebook landscape, I can see that being a metric included as well. And knowing the number of people who have purchased a product (as a percentage of impressions and clicks about it), will be a huge influencer for purchases. Photograph and inspiration for this post is courtesy Loic Le Meur.

Risks with Twitter Advertising

Published on November 22, 2009 5:33 AM | | Comments () |
adly-logo.pngWhether we like it or not, we're going to start seeing many more ads in Twitter. As The New York Times reported today, services like Ad.ly, IZEA and Likes are furiously putting twitter ad networks in place. SocialMedia.com has also done several tests in this realm too.

When I covered sponsored tweets in my book a few months ago, it seemed the promise land for many advertisers. What could be better than having a social influencer reach a prospective customer on an advertiser's behalf by providing a recommendation in an editorially integrated fashion? It's Facebook Newsfeed dynamics taken to another level. It seemed the holy grail of social influence marketing. However, I'm starting to have my doubts now. Here are some potential risks.

1. Your users can revolt with mass un-following
The twitterati who stand to gain the most, will need to test how comfortable their followers are with receiving these advertisements. Formats, frequency and content - all need to be figured out. Because these are new formats (and frankly speaking, the whole platform is still very new), we do not know what will work as yet. We all get irritated by people who tweet a bit too much as it is.

2. Lack of technological sophistication may kill the model
If a Google adwords model is put in place and we start seeing ads on twitter in droves, there will probably be a strong backlash. Unlike other platforms, you currently can't cookie a user who's seeing an advertisement on Twitter. So if I follow five twitter users who accept advertising, there's a chance that I may see the same advertisement from each of them in the span of an afternoon. That would be problematic. The networks need to be implemented with the right technology infrastructure behind it. Twitter must help here.

3. Black box ROI that makes it difficult to compare
Click thru rates cannot provide enough ROI - there will need to be CPM models in place as well. The problem is that there are few good ways to measure impressions. Sure you have the number of followers but that doesn't mean that the total number of followers actually saw the ads. The problem is compounded when you have people using twitter applications to access their streams. There's no way of finding out whether a user has actually seen a tweet. You also need to know whether the users fit your target demographics.

4. Advertisers choose not to intrude on conversations
Advertisers are savvy group of people. They're also increasingly sensitive about how their brands are perceived in the social media space. And by sensitive I don't just mean that they're worried about someone speaking ill of them but about appearing to be invading on a user's social world too. It is left to be seen how many advertisers will sign up for twitter ad networks. Many will probably take a wait and see approach. The last thing an advertiser would want is a backlash against their brand. I for one would recommend that advertisers invest in developing their own social voices first before experimenting with twitter ad formats.

5. Lack of transparency hurts the Twitter trust model
It is sometimes easy to forget that twitter is built on trust. We share more than we realize often because we trust that no one will use the information against us. Our followers reward us with their attention and the conversations that ensue. If there's no transparency in the twitter advertising, some of that trust will be broken. Before you know it, the FTC will feel obliged to institute guidelines or requirements for advertising in this space too. So there's a risk that the advertising may not be as transparent as it should be. And that's where disclosure codes like those recommended by Jon Burg will matter a lot. Maybe these twitter ad networks can build disclosure codes into their platforms?

We've an exciting year ahead of us as more companies and publishers look to monetize social media interactions. The question is what formats will develop that will truly be in synchronized with the ethos of the social web. With twitter advertising, as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on it.

Wibya, my new favorite social utility for websites

Published on November 11, 2009 8:18 PM | | Comments () |

page1_image.jpgMy new favorite utility is the Wibya one. If you look at the footer of my blog, you'll notice the horizontal bar that makes it extremely easy to share the contents of this blog post. But more than that, it also links you to the Facebook community for my book and to my tweet streams. It is a light and easy way to share content, search the blog, connect with me on Facebook or through Twitter and get a better sense of the community. It is the glue that binds my blog to the rest of the social web.

Why is this special? Because all of a sudden, it is extremely easy for you to link your website with your community on one of the social platforms in an easy way.

Web 2.0 and the Enterprise: A Symbiotic Relationship

Published on February 4, 2009 9:19 PM | | Comments () |
I spoke at the Social Networking Conference in Miami two weeks ago. My presentation w as titled "Web 2.0 and the Enterprise: A Symbiotic Relationship." As someone who's advised Fortune 1000 companies on Enterprise 2.0 strategies as well as their Social Marketing ones, I see those two worlds blurring very much.
Web 2.0 and the Enterprise: A Symbiotic Relationship
View more presentations from shivsingh. (tags: timeshifting trust)

Historically, they've been treated as two very different beasts but I believe with the consumerization of the enterprise and the portability of social graphs the walls that divide the two are breaking down. And not just that but to do one effectively, an organization will need to be practicing the other as well. View my deck from the conference and tell me whether you agree with the hypothesis.

Facebook Connect Boosts New User Sign-Ups. Implications

Published on January 13, 2009 3:33 PM | | Comments () |
fbconnect_facebook.jpgAs you know, I'm a big fan of Facebook Connect. It was way back in March we started having conversations on our internal mailing lists about it and its been a hot topic on our social media mailing list ever since. With its official launch in December we're starting to see some adoption numbers enter the public domain. First the numbers and then some analysis.

According to Silicon Alley Insider by December 29th 100,000 people had signed up on Facebook Connect on various sites. This was before Hulu, Digg and Twitter had finished their implementations. Joost.com apparently had the most registrations with 13,000 sign ups. Who'd have thought that a video sharing site would lead the way. YouTube will probably implement FriendConnect soon. Gawker Media with six sites in the top 25 and some 9,000 Facebook Connect members has seen user registrations up 45% and comments up by 16% since their implementation. Techcrunch has seen roughly 4,000 signups since adding Facebook Connect. We have no numbers for some of the larger websites like CNN's Forums and MyBarackObama.com 

What does this all mean? A couple of things.

  1. Facebook Connect is being steadily adopted. There's no question that it takes time to add the capability but its very real and does produce results. I believe its going to explode in 2009. As the mainstream web and the social web finally come together FB Connect is going to be one of those vital glues.
  2. Implementations are still simplistic. I'm waiting for implementations that really surface different content and opinions based on my profile and my friends list. Similarly, I want to see targeted advertising driven by my profile too. Think of it as hyper targeting but for the rest of the web.
  3. Adoption will accelerate quickly. Facebook Connect has proven itself and as the FB Connect logo gets more universal, it'll get even more adopted. At the moment, most people don't know the benefit or don't realize that their social experiences don't need to be distinct from their mainstream web ones. As that changes, FB Connect will increase in popularity.
  4. Google FriendConnect has a lot of work to do. FB Connect has certainly come out swinging. With the partnerships and implementation simplicity of Google FriendConnect it can catch up quickly if it moves fast. That hasn't happened as yet. Depending upon how successful FB Connect is, Microsoft will probably tie itself more closely to Facebook. We're already starting to see that happen.
  5. Marketers must leverage Facebook Connect. I believe marketers are missing an opportunity by not looking at Facebook Connect seriously. Its not just about making a website more social, its about allowing for social influence marketing by having people talk about your brands and products with their friends and influence each other. Whether its a microsite, a web product or a corporate site the opportunities are endless.
Mashable has a list of Top 10 Facebook Connect Implementations and a master list of implementations is available at Inside Facebook. 

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Facebook has a great Christmas

Published on January 6, 2009 1:53 PM | | Comments () |
Not surprisingly, Facebook had a great Christmas. The social networking site accounted for one in every 22 online visits on Christmas day according to Hitwise and as reported by the BBC. That's a 69% increase from the same time in 2007 giving it an overall market share of 4.65%. It made Facebook the second most popular site after Google on Christmas Day.

I suspect we're going to see a lot more milestones like this in 2009 especially with Facebook Connect's launch. After its integration, Gawker saw a 45% increase in user registrations and a 16% increase in commenting.

Facebook certainly has the momentum behind it and while MySpace has made some smart moves of late (its foray into music for example) those efforts may not be enough. Another potential winner in 2009 will be LinkedIn thanks to the economic crisis. More of us will be using LinkedIn to network and find jobs.

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Imagine if Amazon integrated Facebook Connect

Published on December 4, 2008 3:34 AM | | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (1) |
There's been a lot of talk about Facebook Connect lately as more websites integrate it. In fact, just today Techcrunch announced that they were integrating Facebook Connect and rumor has it that Digg and Hulu will be adding the functionality too. 

Here at Razorfish we're big believers in the potential of portable social graphs and with Facebook Connect out of the gate first, we've been playing around with it quite a bit. In fact, its been a really hot topic on our voluminous internal social media list for six months now. So we thought we'd brainstorm some provocative uses of Facebook Connect. Here's what we came up with. Tell us what you think and whether as a digital marketer or web product manager you'd think of implementing ideas like these.
Portable Social Graphs - Imagining their Potential
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: facebookconnect facebook)

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Sorry but Twitter is not in trouble

Published on August 24, 2008 11:30 PM | | Comments (6) |
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Now I love the industry that I am a part of. Its fast moving, dynamic, controversial and innovative. But every now and then, a comment here or there irritates me. And a recent Businessweek article by Ben Kanz (an insightful blogger by the way) hinting at an impending doom for Twitter does just that. Here are the two reasons why.

Sure the twitter business model is flawed or more accurately non existent. But that doesn't mean that one can't be created around it. A business model that's advertising or even subscription driven through value added services. Many a similar business have been able to provide meaningful value added services for which customers open their wallets. The article while thoughtful, fall shorts in that it assumes that Twitter must make a business out of its current feature set without evolving its features or its business model.
Continue reading Sorry but Twitter is not in trouble.

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Webmaster Radio interview

Published on August 20, 2008 9:39 PM | | Comments () |

logo_adtech1.jpgI was interviewed by the folks over at Webmaster Radio on the sidelines of ad:tech where I spoke. The interview covered our perspective on Social Influence Marketing - what social media means for marketers and the principles of peer influence. I also touched upon our recent AdLife announcement in it. My panel on the Long Tail of Social Media was blogged about here too. A key question that I posed to the audience is what value can and should you place on a particular conversation? Can a dollar value be placed against views of video clips or comments at the end of a blog post?

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Does MySpace have the most valuable audience?

Published on July 13, 2008 4:07 PM | | Comments (1) |
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Who'd have thought that MySpace's audience might be more lucrative than those of some of the other networks? A recent Ad Age story quoted a MySpace executive who said that the network has more of international rich adults as an audience than any other social network. According to the executive, 85% of MySpace's audience is over 18, 40% of all Moms are onMySpace and more people making $100,000 or more are on the network.
Continue reading Does MySpace have the most valuable audience?.

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The Marketing Funnel Ain’t Dead: A Midyear Review of Social Influence Marketing Trends

Published on June 25, 2008 11:41 PM | | Comments (3) |
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Back in December we posed the question: How will social media change the way we do business in 2008? We also went on to discuss 10 major social media trends that were going mainstream. Well, we’re in June now and it is time for a mid-year review of those trends. We discuss the trends and pass verdict on their progress.

 

1.      Social Influence Marketing becomes the third dimension of marketing  There’s no doubt that social media has given rise to a totally new form of marketing called Social Influence Marketing. Those brands that simply treat social media as another channel through which to push advertising are missing the point. Social Influence Marketing is about harnessing the peer and anonymous influencers and strategically leveraging social media to meet marketing and business objectives.

 

It’s not a channel but a new way of thinking recognizing how the web has gone completely social. And in fact contrary to what we earlier thought, social influence marketing is not just about extending conversations beyond campaigns, it is about leveraging social influencers to achieve broader marketing and business objectives.

 

Verdict: Trend is even larger than we thought.

Continue reading The Marketing Funnel Ain’t Dead: A Midyear Review of Social Influence Marketing Trends.

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Social Media succeeding in the Enterprise

Published on June 22, 2008 6:49 PM | | Comments () |
dilbertStrategicAlignment.gifEarlier this week I was on a panel at a Churchill Club event in Silicon Valley. Hosted by Charlene Li of Forrester, the panel discussed web 2.0 in the enterprise and how social media is changing collaboration behind the firewall. 

On the panel with me were leaders from Best Buy, Serena Software and Oracle. Titled “From Dilbert to Dude: Succeeding with Web 2.0 Within the Enterprise” the panel discussed how grassroots social media efforts take on a life of their own as they move from being “under the desk server” initiatives to enterprise wide initiatives. 

I've discussed the panel extensively over at The App Gap. The panel was also covered by InfoWorld magazine. 

One interesting point that is often missed when discussing social initiatives within the enterprise is how social influence plays a role too. Peer pressure drives a lot of behavior patterns and enterprise social environments can only further those competitive traits as employees observe each other more directly. 

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Blippr gets social influence marketing. 160 character reviews

Published on May 26, 2008 9:34 PM | | Comments (7) |
blipprlogo1.jpgI'm going to take a chance and talk about a web service that I've just started playing with. Only because I think it has phenomenal potential. It is one of those web services that I've been waiting to use for a few years. Its called Blippr and its in private beta at the moment.

The service is relatively straightforward. Think Epinions meets Twitter and Digg and you have Blippr. People review movies, books, games, movies and music but each review is limited to 160 characters in length. The more you review yourself, the better the review engine gets at making suggestions for you. Items reviewed move up and down the rankings based on other reviews and recommendations. You can see how other people are reviewing certain items and limit reviews to only those of your friends.

The way you get the most out of Blippr is by inviting your friends to join the network and start recommending items. That way rather than trying to keep track of recommendations at dinner parties, you can see what matters to each friend through Blippr. You can follow people with similar tastes too. That helps you find new items that you're certain to like. This feature reminds me of the Borders "If you liked this book, you'll like these" promotion in its stores. 

Blippr is very sensitive about coming across as yet another social network. So instead they encourage you to find Blippr on your favorite social network and use it their via a widget. Smart strategy.

Why does Blippr matter?
Because it understands how social influence marketing works. We're heavily influenced by our peers and also those anonymous influencers out there. But we don't have the time to read detailed reviews. Often a few lines are all that are needed to influence us. The closer the person is to us, the fewer words it takes for that person to influence. For example, a friend of mine is a wine geek and all he has to do is mention the name of a wine and I'm off to the local wine shop to pick it up. These recommendations take less than 160 characters.

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But its not just what it takes to be influenced on the other end of the spectrum, it is far easier to write a 160 character review than a few paragraphs. We're more likely to write these reviews in the context of a specific activity. For example, if I am staying in a hotel and it sucks, I'll be more inclined to write a 160 character review via my phone than return to New York and sit down at a computer to write a more detailed reviews. Sure, the 160 character review will be less informative but there will probably 10 more of them. Just scan some twitter newsfeeds and you'll notice that a lot of tweets are mini-reviews.

So what's missing from Blippr? 
Firstly, it needs to get out of public beta soon. The folks at Blippr are probably investing in their technology infrastructure before going mainstream. They probably don't want to be hit by outages the way Twitter has been. 

Talking of Twitter, Blippr needs to figure out a way to import my Twitter friends. From what I've been told, it doesn't do this very well as yet. That'll make my life much easier. Blippr also needs to include restaurants. I was surprised that it doesn't as yet. Restaurant reviews are huge and I can see myself writing a 160 character review of a restaurant while eating there (okay, maybe when my wife has left for the restroom). 

And lastly, Blippr needs to allow users to create their own categories. I'd add wine immediately as that's a personal interest and I have some friends who explore the world of wine with me. I can't imagine what a tag cloud of user categories would look like. Update from the screenshots it looks like they do have tags and tag clouds, but I can't be certain.

Blippr has a lot of potential if you ask me. I wonder how it will do when it gets out of private beta. One thing is certain, it gets social influence marketing by depending upon the peer and anonymous influences, leveraging social media and making it incredibly easy for consumers. Maybe a leading player like Baazarvoice should look at them.

For more on Blippr visit their website, the Facebookreviews and Somewhatfrank.


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Headlight blog sheds light on auto trends

Published on April 27, 2008 4:53 PM | | Comments (1) |
headlight.jpgA few years back I was the lone Avenue A | Razorfish blogger with the Workplace blog. A lot has changed in a short while. Every second day we now have a new blogger in our midst. It is exciting to see so many more employees take to blogging and experiment with styles and formats. The latest entrants are Grant and Mary with the Headlight blog covering the auto industry on a monthly basis. It covers digital automative trends and insights and the first few posts focus on going green. Don't miss the article on Green Social Networking tools and topics which discusses Goloco.

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