Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Video: Social Media Revolution

LM Comment: Definitely watch this one! An updated look at the dramatic shift that is underway in how we communicate. Some points that standout:

- Generation Y and Z consider email passé ... in 2009 Boston College stopped distributing email addresses to incoming freshman.

- The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.

- 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations, only 14% trust advertisements.

And, of course ...

- What happens in Vegas, stays --- on Facebook, on Twitter, on orkut, on bebo, on flickr, on digg, on myspace, on YouTube.

What does it all mean? "Successful companies in social media act more like party planners, aggregators, and content providers then like traditional advertisers."


The 4 Biggest Motivators For Social Media Marketing

LM Comment: Some great ideas to think about if you're considering incorporating social media into your marketing mix.

July 28, 2009: summarized from E-Commerce Times -- Whether people are online or offline, the motivators that spur people to share information fall into four buckets: Self-Expression, Status Achievement, Altruism and Self-Serving.

Self-Expression
In the traditional direct marketing world, people are motivated by cash -- or saving it in the form of coupons, discounts, etc. Within social media, the biggest motivator is often self-expression. That means finding a promotion that allows customers to express themselves, such as customizing a Nike (NYSE: NKE) shoe that they can share with their friends.

Status Achievement
Most people like to brag, and that tendency is multiplied by the Web. Creating a promotion that allows customers to improve their status amongst their peers is an effective way to get them to share with their network. For example, Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) might reward loyal shoppers with early access to a new product release, and then encourage them to share this advanced access with their friends. Putting shoppers in a position of power among their peers is a big motivator.

Altruism
In addition to bragging, people also like to do good -- especially when it's convenient. In the above-mentioned airline example, allowing consumers to share carbon offsets taps into a person's altruistic nature. This promotion makes the consumer feel good, not only for helping to save the planet, but also for helping their friends feel good about joining the cause. In this scenario, consumers are motivated to share by the opportunity to do something good -- not because of some physical reward they are going to get back in return.

Self-Serving
While self-serving offers work really well in the offline world (coupons, discounts, etc.), this motivator is less potent in the realm of social networking. However, that's not to say that it can't be effective if done right. Combining a self serving-offer with one that taps into status achievement is one way to maximize results. For example, you can give a person a $100 gift certificate for forwarding a $20 coupon to 10 friends. The consumer wins big -- a financial reward plus status among friends.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/nat8al

Media Moguls Rethink Web Advertising In Downturn

LM Comment: Favorite quote is "Internet advertising must evolve from displays and become integrated into the content of websites."

July 27, 2009: summarized from Yahoo News -- The recession-fueled advertising downturn underlines the urgency of using the Web to glean data and target consumers directly, rather than blasting them with a barrage of TV-style ads, media executives say.

At the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH conference in Pasadena last week, Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Robert Iger opened a discussion about new ways to market to consumers, when he described himself as, "pretty bullish about what technology is going to allow in terms of behavioral tracking."

Executives from AOL, a division of Time Warner Inc, News Corp and IAC/InterActiveCorp echoed similar hopes about the potential to reach consumers online.

As advertising dollars grow ever more scarce, companies have been forced to rethink how they reach consumers and have moved away from the traditional 30-second spot to the kinds of targeted, Internet-driven marketing campaigns that have been talked about for years.

Internet advertising in the United States -- a $23.4 billion market in 2008 -- was down 5 percent in the first quarter of this year and Iger and other executives say the sector may not return to the historic growth trajectory seen before the recession.

Jonathan Miller, head of News Corp's Digital Media Group, believes advertising is undergoing, "fundamental changes ... and you have to tease them out of the recession effects.

"Marketing is on an arc to become more efficient. My dollar should go further. And that says the advertising pool may not grow at the rate that it's traditionally grown at, even out of this recession."

Targeting consumers via demographics, profiling, and their social networks, "you learn a lot about people and you can identify them," Miller added.

The thinking among these media executives is that advances in technology is enabling them to build more detailed profiles of consumers -- which can then either be sold as a commodity or employed in their own marketing campaigns.

AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong, former sales chief at Google Inc, also sees new marketing opportunities from consumer referrals and tracking.

"Where people actually go, what they do, how they do it," he said. "It's not just about data, it's about the insight. If you're Procter & Gamble, or Kellogg's, or Coke or whatever, forget all the data. What is the insight you get out of it? How does that actually change your perception?"

But Ed Moran, director of product innovation for Deloitte, said tracking tastes and developing profiles is fine, as long as advertisers do not make the old media mistake of finding their optimum consumers, only to show them a commercial.

Moran said next-generation advertising will be driven by the tastes and habits of 14 to 24 year-old "millennials" whose lives center on social networks and Internet-enabled handsets.

"A more effective way of reaching these young folks ... is to use their social networks as influencers, rather than bombarding them with ads," Moran said.

To that end, Barry Diller, chief executive of Web giant IAC/InterActiveCorp, said Internet advertising must evolve from displays and become integrated into the content of website.

Even actor and media producer Ashton Kutcher chimed in at the conference, saying the billboard-style display ad is already outdated.

"People who have grown up on the Internet have trained themselves not to see it," he added.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/npt6ke

Research Report: Wired - Connecting to the Mobile Marketing Revolution

July 8, 2009: from comScore -- Mobile advertising is still in its infancy but it is expected to grow to $5.7 billion in the next five years. How has the explosion in mobile applications impacted mobile marketing practices? What impact will this most recent wave of smart phones have on mobile video and other more immersive adverting environments? What types of advertising works best on "dumb" phones? Which marketers are actually advertising in mobile and which sellers are attracting the most revenue?

Wired - Connecting to the Mobile Marketing Revolution