[ digital. marketing. speak. ] by Vlad Gorenshteyn • Posts Tagged ‘facebook’
A few months ago, I put together a digital strategy brief for a multinational media-conglomerate that would basically recreate the functionality of Facebook for one of their child-facing networks… My first question was, “why are we creating something that already exists” which I quickly answered myself after I saw that the target demographic was 14 and younger. Facebook TOS requires users to be 13 or older which is only a one year campaign/platform overlap. As I saw the above picture, I thought about how the modern child’s digital footprint starts (in many cases) long before conception and follows the little booger through their 13th birthday.  Which brings me to my question: why doesn’t Facebook create a limited, sub-network geared specifically towards children (e.g. no advertising, adult-content filters, etc.) that would be administrated by a child’s parents or guardian and would give them access to the network they’re already signing up for themselves using false identities or with the help of their parents? I’d love to hear the “objections” from parents who currently have a child that is younger than 13. Thank you!
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A few months ago, I put together a digital strategy brief for a multinational media-conglomerate that would basically recreate the functionality of Facebook for one of their child-facing networks…

My first question was, “why are we creating something that already exists” which I quickly answered myself after I saw that the target demographic was 14 and younger. Facebook TOS requires users to be 13 or older which is only a one year campaign/platform overlap.

As I saw the above picture, I thought about how the modern child’s digital footprint starts (in many cases) long before conception and follows the little booger through their 13th birthday. 

Which brings me to my question: why doesn’t Facebook create a limited, sub-network geared specifically towards children (e.g. no advertising, adult-content filters, etc.) that would be administrated by a child’s parents or guardian and would give them access to the network they’re already signing up for themselves using false identities or with the help of their parents?

I’d love to hear the “objections” from parents who currently have a child that is younger than 13. Thank you!

Social Media Update 2011-12-19 Today’s social media update is brought to you by Facebook and the update is…um…not so social.  Facebook began rolling it out a private messaging features for Facebook pages which allows admins to communicate with customers directly. IMHO, this feature defeats the whole purpose of social interaction. For example, if a customer has an issue with a product/service or wanting to know on a status update, chances are that the same or similar issue exists with another customer and so the public post serves to 1) allow other customers to say “hey I have a similar issue…fix it!”, and 2)create a feedback loop for the company to address In the example above where Jack Smith is asking for an order update…while a brands’ wall is not the best place for this question, the customer is either 1) unaware about the proper channels where such a question can be answered (brand’s fault), or 2) prefers the wall as a communication medium. This presents an opportunity for the brand to: engage the customer and highlight their glowing processing times respond to the customer and educate them about the place to check this sort of thing (order status page) gauge whether other customers are aware of the order status page and whether similar issues exists with other customers or elsewhere in the company’s ecosystem thank the customer for their order and brand loyalty give the customer options to take the conversation to another medium (e.g. email, etc.) So, to me this feature (though useful in a few limited scenarios) is largely anti-social and will not provide too much value to community managers. Any community managers out there that agree/disagree? Please post your feedback below…
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Social Media Update 2011-12-19

Today’s social media update is brought to you by Facebook and the update is…um…not so social. 

Facebook began rolling it out a private messaging features for Facebook pages which allows admins to communicate with customers directly.

IMHO, this feature defeats the whole purpose of social interaction. For example, if a customer has an issue with a product/service or wanting to know on a status update, chances are that the same or similar issue exists with another customer and so the public post serves to 1) allow other customers to say “hey I have a similar issue…fix it!”, and 2)create a feedback loop for the company to address

In the example above where Jack Smith is asking for an order update…while a brands’ wall is not the best place for this question, the customer is either 1) unaware about the proper channels where such a question can be answered (brand’s fault), or 2) prefers the wall as a communication medium. This presents an opportunity for the brand to:

  • engage the customer and highlight their glowing processing times
  • respond to the customer and educate them about the place to check this sort of thing (order status page)
  • gauge whether other customers are aware of the order status page and whether similar issues exists with other customers or elsewhere in the company’s ecosystem
  • thank the customer for their order and brand loyalty
  • give the customer options to take the conversation to another medium (e.g. email, etc.)

So, to me this feature (though useful in a few limited scenarios) is largely anti-social and will not provide too much value to community managers.

Any community managers out there that agree/disagree? Please post your feedback below…

(via thenextweb)

via Lauren Drell Social Consumers and the Science of Sharing If you’re buying a car, do you check Facebook? Or do you read up on Kelley Blue Book values and scour the company website for every spec, from horsepower to miles per gallon? What about music — do you check Top 40 radio charts or scope out what your Facebook friends are actually listening to on Spotify? Social media has infiltrated the purchasing funnel, helping consumers make informed decisions, from what to have for lunch to where to go on vacation. Depending on the decision, sometimes you turn to your social graph, and sometimes you turn to Google. So, as a brand marketer, you want to know what online channels you should be targeting in order to reach the perfect audience for your product. But regardless of what kind of consumer you’re trying to reach or what you’re selling, your SEO better be top notch — search is the most important influence on the web. The infographic below, featuring data from M Booth and Beyond, analyzes the differences between high and low sharers and various purchasing decisions, helping brands to understand how should be targeting consumers. What kind of consumer are you? Let us know in the comments below.
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via Lauren Drell

Social Consumers and the Science of Sharing

If you’re buying a car, do you check Facebook? Or do you read up on Kelley Blue Book values and scour the company website for every spec, from horsepower to miles per gallon? What about music — do you check Top 40 radio charts or scope out what your Facebook friends are actually listening to on Spotify?

Social media has infiltrated the purchasing funnel, helping consumers make informed decisions, from what to have for lunch to where to go on vacation. Depending on the decision, sometimes you turn to your social graph, and sometimes you turn to Google. So, as a brand marketer, you want to know what online channels you should be targeting in order to reach the perfect audience for your product.

But regardless of what kind of consumer you’re trying to reach or what you’re selling, your SEO better be top notch — search is the most important influence on the web.

The infographic below, featuring data from M Booth and Beyond, analyzes the differences between high and low sharers and various purchasing decisions, helping brands to understand how should be targeting consumers.

What kind of consumer are you? Let us know in the comments below.

Want to know what the f8 rage was all about?

To learn more about Facebook’s “Timeline” and to sign up to use it first, visit: https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

Facebook f8 Developers Conference | 2011-09-22 1:00pm EST

About f8: f8 is for developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are creating a more social web.

Streaming: If you’re unable to stream the above f8 developers conference, you can visit www.livestream.com/f8live (this stream is mobile enabled)

Schedule:

10:00am PDT   Opening Keynote

12:30-4:30pm PDT   Breakout Sessions

 

  • New Products
  • Transforming Industries
  • Building & Growing Great Social Apps
  • Product 
  • Q&A

It’s fascinating how many social networks like Facebook (and now Posterous) have been in reactive mode since Google+ came out. See video below… and Mashable writeup here: http://goo.gl/ZDfW9

Now that that the social network playing field is leveling off in terms of UI/UX, I’m really looking forward to deeper innovation and not just “me too” evolution. 

What your thoughts?

p.s. How many “spaces” can the interwebs hold?

Drew Hawkins, a fellow Atlanta marketer and community manager with Engauge’s Digital Innovation Group recently guest posted on Vitrue’s blog regarding Google Plus’ potential uses for B2B marketing. The post was a fresh way to look at social networking—digital space typically reserved for consumer-facing brands. Drew later followed up with additional thoughts on the “good and bad” of Google Plus (see reblog below) and solicited some feedback. Here are my thoughts.  I think the future success of Google Plus will largely depend on: More aggressive integration of G+ into the Google ecosystem, particularly the tablet and mobile space (considering the rapid adoption of Android devices). IMHO, G+ and not Gmail should be the gateway to the Google experience. Brands’ use of G+ that will: 1) drive Google’s revenue (via ads…oh yes they’re coming, assuming G+ brand pages ever launch—what happened to “they’re coming in 2 weeks?”); 2) drive Google’s innovation and development of a better and more innovative feature-set. 3) Allow G+ to coat-tail market its platform (e.g. Brand says, “Here’s our product…find us on plus.google.com/ourbrandname”) which will ultimately attract non-techies and late-adopters adding to the user/content growth and diversity of the network. International presence: we must not forget that non-Americans use social networking and the larger brands cater to an international audience. G+ must build an international presence in BRIC, and other developing + democratically/capitalistically inclined nations to become a truly global social network. While Facebook will most likely take the acquisition route, Google has a significant first-mover advantage to market G+ internationally. Did you know that Google controls 80%+ of the planet’s search?  In theory, G+ could outflank Facebook and other dominant social networks in the US and internationally—becoming a global social network. However, leadership at Googleplex will need to become less HP and more Apple (the Jobs years). I use G+ because it’s free, easy, and (so far) uncluttered. G+ is well integrated into my digital and social experience with unique features that I find useful (e.g. circles, hangouts, huddles, etc.).   I also use Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. While I like these platforms—with their set of inherently valuable features—I’d like to see the major players compete. When individuals and the companies they work for compete, the marketplace wins. As always, constructive discussion is welcome. Do you think Google Plus has a different future than what I envision? Would you add any success factors to my list? Respond below or on my Google Plus stream.  Hat tip to Drew for spurring this discussion. Google+: Over-hyped…Maybe. But Not Dead by Drew Hawkins | Brain Wads Remember Google Plus? That was a cool time right? Back in July, in Plus’ glory days, it was all the rage with tech nerds and marketer types. It seemed that after many failed attempts at entering the social world, Google had finally found something. There were Circles, Hangouts, and Huddles for the mobile application. It was cleaner, less junky, and overall less noise. Google Plus gave everyone with crowded streams and way too many connections a second chance for a cleaner, less overwhelming online social life. July was a good time to be a “Plusser.” The bad news is that growth and time on the site peaked in mid-July according to this Mashable report.  Looks like Google+ is on a downward spiral right? Not necessarily. The Good of Google+ If you were to get on Plus now, you would see tumbleweeds in comparison to the flurry of activity there was in July. The postings are sparse at this point. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The posts are few but the comment sections are richer. I have great conversations on Twitter but the threaded discussions on G+ have been richer. I feel like now that if I have a genuine curiosity about something (mainly tech related), I can get more from my G+ circles. There are also numerous opportunities for G+ to be a heavy hitter digitally. I guest posted on Vitrue’s blog yesterday about how Google+ could be a powerhouse in the B2B marketing sphere…something Facebook hasn’t lended itself as well to IMHO. Hangouts are a gateway for more meaningful customer service interactions, more efficient quick and dirty focus groups, and other ‘thought leadership’ style discussions. If G+ throws in more seamless Docs integration like they do with YouTube (or what Salesforce does with documents in Chatter), it could have a much heavier hand. The Bad of Google+ One thing hurting Google+ is that it looks and acts a lot like Facebook. There isn’t a heck of a lot in the way of product differentiators between the two services outside the black bar on the top of my Gmail and Docs screens that give me G+ notifications. But that could be a good thing since G+ is set up in a way that people are used to connecting with each other on a social network. For now, the biggest thing hurting Google+ is the lack of updates.  There hasn’t been a lot in the way of impactful changes outside of the +1 button since it rolled out. They still haven’t given out brand pages, haven’t opened up their API and still have it in invite-only. Activity peaked on the site in July because nothing new was happening in August (and now September). Most people got tired of G+ and migrated back to what they were most comfortable: Facebook. After all, that’s where all their friends were. For me, I still personally get a lot of value out of Google+. I like the smaller niche conversations happening on it right now. Where it will be six months from now is anybody’s guess. For anyone outside of the Googleplex, all we have at this point is educated speculation. What do you think the future holds for Google Plus? On a side note, if you want to connect with me on Google Plus, click here for my profile link.
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Drew Hawkins, a fellow Atlanta marketer and community manager with Engauge’s Digital Innovation Group recently guest posted on Vitrue’s blog regarding Google Plus’ potential uses for B2B marketing. The post was a fresh way to look at social networking—digital space typically reserved for consumer-facing brands.

Drew later followed up with additional thoughts on the “good and bad” of Google Plus (see reblog below) and solicited some feedback. Here are my thoughts. 

I think the future success of Google Plus will largely depend on:

  • More aggressive integration of G+ into the Google ecosystem, particularly the tablet and mobile space (considering the rapid adoption of Android devices). IMHO, G+ and not Gmail should be the gateway to the Google experience.

  • Brands’ use of G+ that will: 1) drive Google’s revenue (via ads…oh yes they’re coming, assuming G+ brand pages ever launch—what happened to “they’re coming in 2 weeks?”); 2) drive Google’s innovation and development of a better and more innovative feature-set. 3) Allow G+ to coat-tail market its platform (e.g. Brand says, “Here’s our product…find us on plus.google.com/ourbrandname”) which will ultimately attract non-techies and late-adopters adding to the user/content growth and diversity of the network.

  • International presence: we must not forget that non-Americans use social networking and the larger brands cater to an international audience. G+ must build an international presence in BRIC, and other developing + democratically/capitalistically inclined nations to become a truly global social network. While Facebook will most likely take the acquisition route, Google has a significant first-mover advantage to market G+ internationally. Did you know that Google controls 80%+ of the planet’s search? 

In theory, G+ could outflank Facebook and other dominant social networks in the US and internationally—becoming a global social network. However, leadership at Googleplex will need to become less HP and more Apple (the Jobs years).

I use G+ because it’s free, easy, and (so far) uncluttered. G+ is well integrated into my digital and social experience with unique features that I find useful (e.g. circles, hangouts, huddles, etc.).  

I also use Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. While I like these platforms—with their set of inherently valuable features—I’d like to see the major players compete. When individuals and the companies they work for compete, the marketplace wins.

As always, constructive discussion is welcome. Do you think Google Plus has a different future than what I envision? Would you add any success factors to my list? Respond below or on my Google Plus stream. 

Hat tip to Drew for spurring this discussion.

Google+: Over-hyped…Maybe. But Not Dead

by Drew Hawkins | Brain Wads

Remember Google Plus? That was a cool time right?

Back in July, in Plus’ glory days, it was all the rage with tech nerds and marketer types. It seemed that after many failed attempts at entering the social world, Google had finally found something. There were Circles, Hangouts, and Huddles for the mobile application. It was cleaner, less junky, and overall less noise. Google Plus gave everyone with crowded streams and way too many connections a second chance for a cleaner, less overwhelming online social life.

July was a good time to be a “Plusser.” The bad news is that growth and time on the site peaked in mid-July according to this Mashable report.  Looks like Google+ is on a downward spiral right? Not necessarily.

The Good of Google+

If you were to get on Plus now, you would see tumbleweeds in comparison to the flurry of activity there was in July. The postings are sparse at this point. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The posts are few but the comment sections are richer. I have great conversations on Twitter but the threaded discussions on G+ have been richer. I feel like now that if I have a genuine curiosity about something (mainly tech related), I can get more from my G+ circles.

There are also numerous opportunities for G+ to be a heavy hitter digitally. I guest posted on Vitrue’s blog yesterday about how Google+ could be a powerhouse in the B2B marketing sphere…something Facebook hasn’t lended itself as well to IMHO. Hangouts are a gateway for more meaningful customer service interactions, more efficient quick and dirty focus groups, and other ‘thought leadership’ style discussions. If G+ throws in more seamless Docs integration like they do with YouTube (or what Salesforce does with documents in Chatter), it could have a much heavier hand.

The Bad of Google+

One thing hurting Google+ is that it looks and acts a lot like Facebook. There isn’t a heck of a lot in the way of product differentiators between the two services outside the black bar on the top of my Gmail and Docs screens that give me G+ notifications. But that could be a good thing since G+ is set up in a way that people are used to connecting with each other on a social network.

For now, the biggest thing hurting Google+ is the lack of updates.  There hasn’t been a lot in the way of impactful changes outside of the +1 button since it rolled out. They still haven’t given out brand pages, haven’t opened up their API and still have it in invite-only. Activity peaked on the site in July because nothing new was happening in August (and now September). Most people got tired of G+ and migrated back to what they were most comfortable: Facebook. After all, that’s where all their friends were.

For me, I still personally get a lot of value out of Google+. I like the smaller niche conversations happening on it right now. Where it will be six months from now is anybody’s guess. For anyone outside of the Googleplex, all we have at this point is educated speculation.

What do you think the future holds for Google Plus?

On a side note, if you want to connect with me on Google Plus, click here for my profile link.