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Facebook (Sort Of) Agrees to Display AdChoices Icon on Targeted Ads

posted on February 5, 2013

adchoicesFacebook has agreed to start displaying the famous, blue AdChoices triangle on all ads that use behavioral targeting — with one modification. According to AdAge, the icon will only pop up when a user mouses over the X in the top corner of the ad. (It also only applies to ads served through the FBX ad exchange.)

Facebook says this is the way their users expect to uncover ad information and they’re right to some extent. Currently, that little x in the corner of an ad leads to three options: hide this ad, hide all ads from this company, or about this ad. If you choose “about this ad,” you’re whisked away to the home page for that ad network. From there, you can decide to opt out. Unless it’s a Facebook ad. When I clicked through on that link there was no opt-out option that I could see.

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Is Leaving Facebook or Using It Less a Blip or a Trend Among Social Media Users?

posted on February 5, 2013

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has released a study entitled “Coming and Going on Facebook“. Like most Pew repors it’s interesting and also like most Pew reports it doesn’t reek of being data that is skewed by any money.

The findings echo something I have sensed for quite some time. Facebook’s jolly ship of social media dominance may have a leak. Just in the small circle of my daughter’s and her friends’ use of the service I have seen a major drop off in the past year. Other options like Twitter and Instagram are getting more play and my mentions of Facebook gets a ‘Seriously, Dad?’ look more often than not.

The Pew study saidPlans for spending time on Facebook 2013

  • 61% of current Facebook users say that at one time or another in the past they have voluntarily taken a break from using Facebook for a period of several weeks or more.
  • 20% of the online adults who do not currently use Facebook say they once used the site but no longer do so.
  • 8% of online adults who do not currently use Facebook are interested in becoming Facebook users in the future.

The second point should be of concern for the folks in Menlo Park. This chart from the report should also create a little agida for the social media giant.

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Digital Marketing Budgets On the Rise With Content Marketing Leading the Way

posted on February 5, 2013

Before we get started I have a quick questions which probably has a not so quick answer. Here it goes. Who thinks that content marketing is a good term to be throwing around in marketing circles? It sure gets a lot of play but it seems to be such a wide area and catch all phrase. What does it actually mean? Feel free to drop an opinion in the comments.

Ok, well thanks for entertaining that thought. Now, no matter how we define it or parts of it, marketers are still very much buying into the concept of digital. It would be silly not to in most cases. In fact, according to Econsultancy’s and Responsys’ Marketing Budgets 2013 report the digital space continues to get more and more budget attention. Note that these numbers come from the perspective of the company and not the agency side of the equation.

Companies and Digital Budgets 2013

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FTC Report on Mobile Privacy Suggests Ways to Standardize Data Collection Notification

posted on February 4, 2013

personal dataIf you dig around long enough, you’ll probably find a tiny bit of text somewhere on that new app that explains how the app is going to collect your data and what they’re going to do with the information. But honestly, how many people actually read these legal docs?

I decided to check out the privacy policy on my favorite mobile game, Bejeweled. I was surprised to find this paragraph under “Non-Personal Information.”

The non-personal information collected may include demographic information including gender, age, zip code, information about your computer, hardware, software, platform, game system, media, mobile device, including unique device IDs or other device identifiers, incident data, Internet Protocol (IP) address, network Media Access Control (MAC) address and connection. We also collect other non-personal information such as username, user ID or persona, feature usage, game play statistics, scores and achievements, user rankings, time spent playing our games, and click paths as well as other data that you may provide in surveys, via your account preferences and online profiles such as friends lists or purchases, for instance.

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GetGlue Uses Super Bowl to Launch ‘Promoted Entries’ Ad Units

posted on February 4, 2013

get glue pepsiGetGlue is the social media network that rewards users with virtual stickers when they check-in to a TV show or movie. Fans don’t think of these stickers as advertising, but that’s what they are — colorful, promotional discs that get you to perform an action you might not have performed otherwise.

Now GetGlue is expanding their business to include soda, candy, cruises, clothing and anything else you can associate with a TV show. They call these new ad units “promoted entries.” In return for sponsoring one, the sticker stays at the top of the GetGlue feed for the entire length of the campaign just like a banner ad.

They launched the program yesterday during the Super Bowl with promotional partner Pepsi. Throughout the game, fans were promoted to check-in four times to get a new sticker and unlock exclusive Pepsi content.

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Are Social Media Mentions Important in TV Advertising?

posted on February 4, 2013

Yesterday, many of us took part in the annual event that unites nearly everyone around football whether they are a fan or not. We have another Super Bowl in the books and a couple of things to consider.

  • The Silicon Valley finally didn’t get what it wants since the 49ers lost.
  • Baltimore (Charm City) gave the elder Harbaugh brother bragging rights at every family dinner until the end of time.
  • Social media was humming about ads and blackouts and actual football plays but had mixed results in the Super Bowl ads department.

Matt McGee did an excellent job of tracking social media mentions in Super Bowl ads over at Marketing Land. His chart sums it up nicely.

superbowl2013-socialmentions

So what does this tells us? Quite a bit actually.

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Trackur Announces CrisisShield – Free Reputation Insurance

posted on February 4, 2013

Trackur LogoSocial media monitoring software provider Trackur–which, not coincidentally, is run by me–today announced the launch of CrisisShield.

What is CrisisShield, I hear you ask? Well, it’s something not offered by any other social media monitoring vendor–completely free reputation insurance. Yep, CrisisShield is a free online reputation management insurance policy for customers on select Trackur plans.

CrisisShield comes without any additional fees and provides customers on Trackur’s Premium & Ultimate social media monitoring plans with free peace of mind, including:

  • CrisisShield-SmallUp to two hours of online reputation management & crisis response consulting.
    • Additional hours charged at a discount on the normal hourly rate.
  • Up to two hours of online reputation legal counsel.
    • Advocacy on your behalf, and additional hours beyond initial assessment and counseling charged at a discount on the normal hourly rate