Mad 4 Blog

Continuing a trend of using members’ profile information for such purposes as targeted advertising, Facebook is now taking those analytics and applying them to a user-friendly new tool: targeted searches. It’s known as Graph Search.

Yesterday, Facebook revealed that it’s now in beta testing for an internal search option that allows users to receive results according to the preferences of their friends and family members. For example, it will give you results based on what your “friends” have “liked” — and those results will then be ranked according to the opinions of your closest confidantes first, which is gauged by how much you’ve interacted with them. Results are also ranked according to how many of your top friends collectively have “liked” certain pages, places, photos and similar content.

The Wall Street Journal quotes these as sample search phrases:

• “Music that people who like Mitt Romney like.”
• “Movies my friends in San Francisco like.”
• “Photos my friends took in the 1990s.”
• “Friends of friends who are men and single in Palo Alto.”
• “Languages my friends from college speak.”

That not only means website results, but also photos and business pages. For marketers, this news is important because it would mean that if a business page has a high amount of “likes” within a certain community, then when anyone in that community searches for related content, the business page would be boosted to the top of the search results list on Facebook. Ultimately, it’s an algorithm that rewards popularity and loyalty, which is perfect for social media marketing.

The remaining results will come organically from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing! This could be a bold move for Bing! to come into closer competition with top-ranking search engine, Google. Google has similarly tried to incorporate search engine results with social media through its Google+ services.

You can sign up for the wait list to receive a Graph Search beta invite starting this week.

Yesterday, car manufacturer and longtime advertiser General Motors hit reverse and pulled out of its advertising contract with Facebook. The company announced that this decision was due to poor performance and low ROI. This decision also followed closely on the heels of an MSNBC report showing that Facebook users don’t really trust the paid promotion of products and services through their go-to social networking site.

Thanks to Facebook’s free business pages, companies are able to create their own space on the website and promote it without cost. They’re able to monitor and analyze people’s interaction with this page and communicate directly with those who view it, “like” it or comment on its Wall. So why pay extra for small, non-interactive banner? Well, one reason is simply for the promotion of brand awareness – getting your logo out there and keeping it top-of-mind on a site where people spend an average of 16 hours of viewing time each month in the U.S.

If you’re currently advertising directly through Facebook, you may want to analyze the results and cost efficiency for doing this rather than activating and maintaining a business page. If you’re active enough with your contacts, you can still get your brand out there in the social media sphere, but in a much more impactful way. If you already have a business page as well, there may be ways to invest marginal fees and more page management time to get greater – and more measurable – results. Then you, too, may find it best to stop paying for advertising. On the other hand, your company may be better suited to the Facebook audience than automobile brands.

Chrysler and Ford continue to buy advertisements with the popular social media network, which stands to launch its public stock offerings this Friday, May 18.

In light of recent online security breaches – including the unresolved shutdown of Sony gaming systems throughout Asia after a recent hack attack – some advocates are pushing harder than ever to protect Web users’ privacy. This includes forcing advertisers to ask for permission before they can implement tracking cookies and other means of gathering and storing personal information.

Despite recent implementation of a similar policy in Europe, American marketers may not have to fear that this type of legislation will come to our shores anytime soon. And that’s because of an effort that’s recently been launched that asks website visitors to voluntarily opt out of info-gathering – and the fact that they’re not using it.

A recent AdAge article shows that an “Ad Option Icon,” which directs those who click on it to ways that they can opt out of information-gathering, is not widely used by those who encounter it. Of those who do follow through on the icon, only 10% complete the steps to turn off tracking and protect their information.

But that may be because they don’t fully understand what’s at risk or how the icon should be used, mistaking it for another ad rather than a helpful tool. With only 60 advertisers currently trying out the icon, it may simply not be familiar enough to set a precedent in terms of reactionary behavior. However, the founder of the Digital Advertising Alliance attests that 300 marketing companies should be signed on soon – spreading the word and increasing the validity of the trials.

Despite concerns that current online ad consumers seem largely dismissive of the opt-out availability, the same audience base may come to use or even expect it once they’re more exposed to the concept. Experts expect that as the trend grows and legislation formalizes to meet it, more and more online advertisers will participate and thereby promote the concept, brand and logo. After all – isn’t that their specialty?

Providing an opt-out option that’s widely used and understood may be beneficial to Internet advertisers in the future, since it may bypass the need for opt-in policies – which would undoubtedly limit marketers’ means of gathering and analyzing traffic and demographic information.

In an ongoing conversation about how your business can and should integrate social media marketing into your complete campaign, this week we continuing discussing the ways to discern how and why to select your social media methodology. Last week, we talked about identifying your goals and assigning a budget. Now that you know what you’re seeking and how much you can spend, you’re ready to select the content:

Consider your media. On the Internet, you have an array of options when it comes to the format of your social media advertising; you are not restricted to stagnant banners and links. Are you interested in principally creating a dialogue with interested individuals? This can be done via discussion forums or posts that invite comments. Or would you rather post a video on the Web to entertain and intrigue viewers, who may also be inclined to share it elsewhere? You may wish to initiate sweepstakes or contests that generate video content as well as conversation and viral success. Different options require differing amounts of work, time and financial commitment on your end, and there’s no single solution that’s best for every business. So be sure to consider your unique needs and availability for operations once the campaign is launched.

Know your audience. Social media marketing is practically expected by a certain demographic; but it may not be for everyone. For example, will patients choose a doctor based on his or her tweets? You need to determine if your target audience will make purchasing decisions based on a strong viral campaign. Or are they more likely to react to a well-placed television commercial or billboard on their commute to work?

Test the waters. Although Mad 4 Marketing believes in integrating diverse campaign tactics to approach prospective buyers from all angles, sometimes you can actually miss the mark by spreading your budget into unfamiliar territory that won’t provide the highest ROI. Accurate, tested, pinpoint marketing is also always valuable. We recommend:

• Have a website up, no matter what
• Get your blog started and encourage visitors to comment
• Track your traffic and the activity of users on your page
• Survey your key demographic to see how social media fits into decision-making
• Start with one effort that you can focus on; if your Facebook Fan Page can get a certain number of “likes,” like 5,000, this may mean you’re ready to expand

Ready to learn more and discuss the best social media marketing for your business? Clearly you already found us on the Web, so Mad 4 Marketing must be doing something right! You’re just a few clicks away, so now all you need to do is Contact Us.

As we discussed last week, many companies are warming up to the idea of incorporating strong social media strategies into their overall marketing campaigns. In some cases, this calls for hiring a team to consult with you and establish your presence on the Web. In others, an Internet-savvy intern may be able to take care of establishing your online agenda and putting your brand on the social media map.

Regardless of your route, if you’ve been considering social media, you may want to first sit down and talk to an advertising specialist about what approaches are best for your business. Many marketers may try to convince you that you need to dive in with an active account in every area of social media; but that’s not necessarily true for everyone. And although social media marketing can be extremely low-cost, it does involve effort and manpower – since the key to this tactic is the human engagement aspect, with regular updates and an ongoing dialogue. To avoid excess costs and be sure your effort is going to have significant payoff, here are a few considerations to get you started:

Identify your goals. Why are you considering social media marketing? Is it because you feel like it’s something you’re supposed to do – or that it’s something that will bring your business to the next level? Consider how your website is currently used by clients or customers. Is this a significant lead for new business or just a way to post your information online? If you have a blog, take into account whether or not you already have an active audience who posts comments and seems engaged with the content.

Assign a budget. Starting a Facebook, YouTube or Twitter account may be free, but operating costs aren’t. If you want to earn trust from those who care about online interactivity, you may need to hire staff to tweet, blog and update throughout the day. If you’re building a first-time Web presence, you may need to buy an AdWords account to drive traffic. You may want to keep up with analytics to determine if you’re garnering the attention you desire. Before getting started, consider what you can afford to invest.

Check back next week for part 2, with even more social media marketing tips from Mad 4 Marketing.

One of the biggest media stories in recent weeks is that the New York Times website decided to charge for access to its content on the Web, whether by computer, tablet or mobile device. Previously, reading NYT content was free and unlimited.

There are some stipulations, however. First of all, the first 20 articles per month still remain free. Second, print subscribers receive full online access. Third, only direct access through the main site requires a fee; finding links to articles from blogs, social media sites or other third-party referrals—including Google—remains complimentary.

By doing this, New York Times seems to be valuing the views from various sources differently, which many analysts presume can hurt the way marketing is performed and measured on the site. Those who are “regulars” on the site with their bookmarks loyally intact will be penalized, while the passive consumers of NYT content are encouraged or rewarded—which must speak to marketers on the site about the quality and investment of audience viewership. Are their online ads going to be viewed by those with whom the news outlet is held in high esteem, or scanned and dismissed by noncommittal browsers without a standing relationship to the New York Times?

Others simply find the move to be nonsensical, considering the plethora of trusted news content that’s available online; it’s as if NYT is bowing to this berth of competition or challenging loyalists to stay and continue using its site in the same manner…for what reward? Speculations abound, with plenty of critics suspecting this to be a mere red herring in the process of some greater scheme to change how users interact with NYT (such as via tablet) and get used to the idea of paying, in some respect, for its content.

AdWeek reports that about 83% of users access NYT through third-party means; 15% of users drive 80% of subscription traffic. These real fans, who are being taxed for their behavioral preferences, will likely simply seek out other outlets or adapt to the economics of the situation rather than play ball and open their wallets.

So let’s hear it: Has the New York Times shot itself in the foot, or do you have faith that the marketing minds behind this move know exactly what they’re doing?