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Mobile Marketing is Hot, But for Facebook it’s Not

posted on February 6, 2012

Facebook has a dirty little secret. They don’t know how to make money with their mobile app.

That may sound like no big deal, or even a little humorous, but its actually pretty scary. Facebook has one of the biggest user pools around and if they can’t find a way to make their smartphone users convert, then what hope is there for the rest of us?

The trouble stems from the fact that Facebook’s mobile app is a highly stripped down version of the real site. It’s about giving users a quick overview of what’s happening and a way to post an update while on the go. It’s not designed to handle the interconnected series of links, likes and lookarounds that keep people on the web version for 18 to 38 minutes per visit.

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Online Privacy Tips [Infographic]

posted on February 6, 2012

Online security and privacy will always be an issue. There is nothing that will put an end to the need for paying attention to the state of your personal or corporate online security. Nothing.

It’s a cat and mouse game that is simply between the good guys and the bad guys. There are bad guys online just like there are in every walk of life. I have seen anyone or any organization who has been able to eradicate bad guys anywhere so the expectation that it is “under control” in the Wild West world of the Internet is dangerous.

While we may roll our eyes at yet more tips regarding online privacy, it’s that very attitude that will ultimately ensure more victims. So if you don’t pay attention and you get hit don’t cry about it. You know better.

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Think Those Facebook Photos Are Deleted? Think Again.

posted on February 6, 2012

We think that most people understand the fact that once you do something online it can be very difficult to make it go away. Just ask Bruce Clay about his issues recently around trying to take a site down in time for people to not tear it apart. The “magic” of the Internet has created numerous ways to still bring that site up even though it is no longer in existence. Ooooops.

The reality is that most people (those outside of the Internet over-saturated, Silicon Valley types whose level of disconnect from reality can be startling) don’t understand what they are doing when they post things online. And apparently, at least with Facebook, “deleting” a picture isn’t what it might seem either.

According to Ars Technica

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Cup of Joe: Changing Culture

posted on February 4, 2012

Last week I talked about how marketers should leverage culture to promote brands. Today I would like to talk about why we also can (and should) change culture.

As I watched the video above I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Is marketing changing culture? Or is culture changing marketing?” Or in other words, are these ads changing our perception of beauty or is our perception of beauty changing the ads? I still don’t have the answer, but maybe it;s a little bit of both.

In the end it doesn’t really matter, the bottom line is that the concept of “ideal beauty” has been around for a very long time. However, that doesn’t mean that it has to continue, and as marketers we have a unique ability to make a difference. Because as marketers we, in part, define culture.

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What’s the Fastest Growing Online Ad Format? Video!

posted on February 3, 2012

Video may have killed the radio star, but it’s working wonders for the online ad business. According to eMarketer, video is showing the highest spending growth numbers of any category.

Last year video went up 42.1% and it’s expected to keep in the double-digits for the next few years.

More spending, means claiming a larger share of the online ad pie. For video, it’s currently at 7.9%, just barely sneaking past Classifieds and Directories. The share is expected to rise to 15% by 2016, keeping it solidly in third place.

Add in search and banners and these three ads account for 80% of all ads sold. Search, accounting for almost half of all online ads by themselves.

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Why Social Media is Like High School and Other Interesting Facts

posted on February 3, 2012

The Integer Group and the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council understand the importance of social networking in marketing. That’s why they’ve dedicated themselves to making sense of it all, beginning with a five-part series called entitled Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers.

The first part is available right now (it’s free) and right off the bat you’ll find this little gem.

Comparing social media to high school isn’t an original concept, but I do like the way they’ve phrased it. It’s funny. It’s all true and it explains why social media is such a fickle beast.

Here’s another gem:

40% of social networkers log on
to a social site before they get
dressed in the morning.

No wonder General Mills is so set on making cereal boxes digitally interactive.

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Facebook’s Real Problem in Just 44 Words

posted on February 3, 2012

There is a lot talk about Facebook. The billionaires, the millionaires, the speculation, the complaining, the changes. You name it, the list goes on.

Of everything I have read, one quote summarizes it all from Wall Street Journal article. It comes from Veronica Stecker the media manager for Omaha, NE based retailer Gordmans. Simply put in just 44 words (or 255 characters including spaces according to Word’s word count function).

We still don’t have a huge correlation between Facebook fans and return on investment in an actual sales in store. Until that metric becomes a lot more solid, I don’t think our company or other brands are going to be full-fledged into Facebook advertising.

Agree? Disagree? Have an opinion? How will this observation impact Facebook as it tries to own the world?