What’s going on in new media marketing, pulled from social bookmarking site Creativing.com:
Google Losing Ground As Users Spend More Time on Facebook and Yahoo
The article attempts to downplay this rather remarkable stat. However, i think for many brand marketers, it’s all about quality time and experiences. When people are spending so much time on Facebook, it’s easier for a brand to forge a relationship because the users are in a more comfortable environment. Sure, there will always be value in meeting consumers who are just ready to buy, i.e. Google Search. But for brands who need to establish themselves earlier in the funnel, Facebook offers a better environment, and one that will ultimately offer more inventory because of the amount of time spent on the site.
comScore: Facebook Now The Third Largest Video Site In The U.S.
A while back, Facebook surpassed Flickr as the number one site where photos are posted. Now they’ve moved upwards in terms of videos viewed. It demonstrates the power of a platform, and being the default place people go to share things. Remember that a big part of YouTube’s success was it’s capability for embedding videos into other sites, like MySpace. As more people opt to upload their videos directly to Facebook, where they’re already spending much of their online time, then YouTube could see the same attrition happen that photo sites did. When it comes to sharing, users will almost always opt for the simplest route.
5 Things You Need To Know About Today’s Facebook Like Upgrades
Facebook is taking some bold steps forward recently with their Like button. Primary is the added flexibility of what Like can be tied to. A Web page, an app, or even a virtual goods. Perhaps of more immediate and tangible interest to marketers is the ability to identify where Like’s came from, and being able to reach out to anyone who’s Liked you or your content in the past.
Apple Relaxes Restrictions on Mobile App Development
This is refreshing, given my previous criticism of Apple’s decision to control how apps are developed for the iPhone and iPad. The biggest news nugget of this has to be the allowance of apps developed using Adobe’s “Packager for iPhone”, which was at the center of the recent Apple/Adobe flame war. At least for now, things seem back to normal, although I wish Apple’s decision was based more on keeping the platform open than the potential legal threat of non-competitive practices.
Thoughts on Google Instant
Given all the buzz around Google Instant this week, it makes sense to let Google’s search guru Matt Cutts give the main introduction. If you haven’t experienced Instant, just go to Google and start typing any search query. Not only will the suggested search topics change, but the surrounding page content. It’s basically a nice way to search multiple terms without having to click and view multiple pages.
How Much You Need To Spend To Be Facebook’s Largest Advertiser
Facebook is showing serious gains in advertising revenues. Not exactly Google spend levels, but there’s a big ‘Yet’ at the end of that line. This will get even more interesting as Facebook continues to figure out it’s social search product, a direct aim at Google’s big revenue generator.
What Big Brands Are Spending on Google – Advertising Age
These spend levels, while not even necessarily the top spenders on Google, are remarkable. Think about a brand spending $8m/mo on search. And that Google has to do very little to make that sale happen, or to maintain that customer relationship. It’s also interesting to see brands using SEM as a periodic strategy to address product launches, crises, and shifts in seasonal trends. Again, demonstrating the power and influence of search.
Thought Microsites Were Dead? Think Again
The first thing to note is, This is not your father’s microsite. There are hardly any links between it and the Flash-heavy, sound effects-drenched behemoths of the mid-2000s. Much more tactical from an SEO standpoint, the emphasis here is on making the content the experience. The benefits they list for this approach is a must-read.
PepsiCo Names 10 Tech Start-Ups for Pilot Digital Marketing Programs « iMediaConnection Blog
When you consider that Pepsico and their agencies spent several months reviewing over 500 emerging tech and social media platforms and culled the list down to this 10, this is well worth a close look.
Why Your Business Needs a Mobile Commerce Strategy Now
This story is remarkable if only for the mobile spending figures PayPal shares. They’ve seen mobile transactions go from $25m in 2008 to $141m in 2009, to a projected $500m in 2010. That’s staggering growth. And for just one mobile payment system. The article goes on to give suggestions around creating a good mobile shopping experience.