Consumer Corner : facebook

Automate Video Feeds to Your Facebook Wall

Mike Phillips — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:28:00 GMT

Facebook and Twitter are currently waging war in the "update" arena. But one distinct advantage Facebook has over Twitter is the ability to embed multimedia directly into status updates without requiring the user to click a link and be directed elsewhere.

Now, you can fully automate a video feed to be uploaded to your wall. Ffwd's new tool lets you choose a channel (from Brightcove or YouTube) to publish to your videos automatically, whenever that video is included in the selected channel. So, if you publish a series of how-to videos, video blog, or just about anything else, you can be sure that each video is available to your Facebook friends. Video and social media are made for each other, and this is yet another way to give users a fuller experience with your brand.

Try marking videos as "favorites" on your YouTube channel, then marking your ffwd settings to publish your "favorites." That way, videos will be included in your feed - viewable to your friends on their home pages.

US Weekly Breaks the Facebook Advertising Mold

Mike Phillips — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:14:00 GMT

In a first, celebrity gossip magazine US Weekly has accepted a sponsorship to their Facebook Fan Page. State Farm can now be seen as the official sponsor to US Weekly's presence on Facebook. It's a powerful message to the rest of the industry: social network advertising is ready for prime time.

The State Farm presence is rather small, in the form of a banner on the Fan Page, hinting at a cautious entrance into the Facebook advertising arena. Furthermore, the links clicked on the Fan Page take you to the US Weekly site, where there is no State Farm advertising to be found. However, the most important part is covered - the status updates. When a user gets an update from US Weekly, the link leads to Facebook-framed page, with a banner linked to more US Weekly content, prominently branded by State Farm.

The key here is that the banner leads to more content sponsored by State Farm, not just the State Farm website. This is important to Facebook users. The content they receive (in this case, a video) is a reward for being a fan. It appears that State Farm has managed to break that elusive barrier of advertising within a social network without intruding.

Of course, the success of the campaign for State Farm will rely on the success of the Page. To that end, US Weekly has customized content - tabs for video, Twitter updates, news updates and more -- again, adding value for the user.

It's important to note that US Weekly is not receiving direct compensation for this sponsorship. They already have an advertising deal with State Farm, and the Facebook Page is an added bonus. But the willingness of a major company to advertise on another company's Facebook Page is an encouraging sign. Expect others to follow suit, while paying for the advertisements.

Facebook Pages allow businesses to connect with users on a personal level. Learn more about creating effective Pages for businesses in Facebook in Website Magazine's June issue - only available to professional-level subscribers!

Stuck in the Social Media Vaccuum?

Mike Phillips — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:18:00 GMT

Social media is all the buzz these days. Media outlets, marketers, TV and business magazines (including this one) tout the power of social media to reach the public, shape opinion and even change how we do business. And it's true, social media has changed the way we operate as businesses and how we interact with consumers. Perhaps even more important is how consumers now interact with us. But are we giving too much weight to a crowd of social media users who represent a relatively small portion of the overall population?

Ad Age has posted an article with some very interesting views. One of the more significant findings is the result of a survey from Lightspeed Research. Last fall, Johnson & Johnson came under fire from women in the Twitterverse about a Motrin ad. The result was that the ad was pulled, and they issued an apology on their website. All from Twitter. But an ensuing survey found that:

Nearly 90% of women had never even seen the ad.
Once they did, 45% liked the video
41% had no feelings about it
15% didn't like it
8% said it negatively affected their feelings toward the brand
32% said it made them like the brand more.

These numbers show just 23% of tested viewers didn't like the ad, yet Johnson & Johnson shut it down and apologized for it. This presents a unique problem for marketers. While it's important to listen to your audience, it might be even more important to remember who exactly that audience is. And if you do run afoul of a particular audience, it might be a better idea to react within that space, instead of with one sweeping motion.

The real problem is that with today's consumers more empowered than ever, even a few disgruntled Twitterers, Facebook users or Diggers can make big waves and big problems for your brand. So how do you address these problems when they come up? The only real solution is diligent reputation management, to have a presence on these networks. But let's not forget that these social media sites, while large and influential, do not represent the majority of our audience. In fact, it's a fraction of who we are usually trying to reach. These networks should not be ignored in any way, but they shouldn't dictate how we do business either.

5 Reasons the New-Look Facebook Could Sink Twitter

Mike Phillips — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:32:00 GMT

Facebook is launching a new look, and the main focus is on real-time feeds and status updates on every user's home page - including businesses. Sound familiar? It should, because that's been the very model of success for Twitter. Only now Twitter finds itself with a not-so unique model that absolutely pales in comparison to the capabilities of Facebook. Now that Facebook has the same functionalities as Twitter - and much more - micro-blogging looks to become a part of a larger experience and loses some luster as a stand-alone activity. Here's five reasons you just heard Twitter gulp.

The Network: Facebook has a tried and true network, and it's enormous. The chances of finding a friend or business on Facebook is exponentially higher than finding the same on Twitter (and Facebook's search function is vastly superior.) Those with Facebook profiles but no knowledge of Twitter now have little reason to join Twitter.
Photos and Video: With the new streaming home page, Facebook users can enhance their updates with photos and video, something you can't do on Twitter. How about announcing your status with a video rather than text with abbreviated words? If you want to share something like that on Twitter, you have to upload to a separate service, possibly shrink a URL, then link through a tweet. It's a hassle. And users on the receiving end never know where the click is going to lead.
140 Characters: The reason Twitter became so popular might be the very reason Facebook wins the war. Using just 140 characters to convey information has advantages, but it's severely limiting ... sometimes you need more. With Facebook, you can now get the same lifestream functions but with the ability to say exactly what you want. Facebook also has a big advantage of instant chat, so you don't have to wade through dozens of "@" responses that are completely out of context to your interests.
Centralization: Facebook's new pages will include filters, allowing you to group your friends and their streams to help avoid clutter. You can do this through Twitter, but only by using third-party apps such as Splitweet. It's just one of dozens of apps that lie outside Twitter's service. And those outside apps carry all kinds of potential for spam and attacks. In fact, a few of these apps are designed to spam people. Facebook is safer and more reliable, and everyone knows it.
Real Friends, Real Value: Twitter is filled with users holding multiple accounts, even squatting on user names. That's not the case on Facebook. You know when you find a friend on Facebook that it's a real person with real interests and intentions. And, those real friends have more real friends, and so on. There's value in "friending" someone on Facebook. They are there to socialize and make real connections. Many Twitter accounts are only there to promote thier own interests and drive website traffic. If you use both websites, take a look at your current updates on both and you'll see a big difference in the level of real communication.

Ultimately, what Facebook is working towards with the social graph and new releases like this is eliminating social fatigue. Instead of belonging to several different networks with specific uses, why not be on one network with all of those functions built in? With Facebook, you can already listen to and share music, subscribe to blogs, play games, email and chat, watch and upload videos - and now you can Twitter.

Older Folks Flocking to Facebook - Find Them

Mike Phillips — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:17:00 GMT

According to Inside Facebook - a Facebook watchdog of sorts - women ages 55 and over are signing up to the site at a blistering pace. This age group has grown by more than 175% since September 2008. In addition, the male segment over 55 grew by 137%, although the number of women stil outnumber men by a factor of two-to-one.

Over the past year or so, Facebook has seen an aging population - nearly half of Facebook's over 45 million users are over 26 years old. About 22% are 35 and older, while 8% are 45 and older, according to Marketing Charts. That may not sound much but, if my math is correct, that's about 3.6 million users in that age group. This presents a wonderful opportunity for those businesses targeting the 45+ crowd to get involved. And there are some groups inside Facebook that might be worth joining.

Born in the 60's. Any of us out there? (20,145 members)
People over 40 on FACEBOOK (6,353 members)
Baby Boomers, over 50 (177 members)
50 and over and loving it! (125 members)
I'm too old for Facebook, but I can't help it- it's like crack! (21,142 members)

You might notice that the 55+ crowd is under-represented here. In fact, the older Facebook crowd in general is not represented too well within Facebook Groups. So, it might be a good opportunity to create one and start recruiting.

State of the Social Sphere

Mike Phillips — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:15:00 GMT

Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey revealed some insight into users' online social networking behavior. There are few surprises, but some important points to note. First, the use of social networks has quadrupled since 2005. However, that's largely due to users discovering these sites for the first time. Facebook wasn't founded until 2004 and then it was for college students only.

The bulk of users are young adults, but the number of those using these networks is staggering. A full 75% of online adults ages 18-24 are using social networks, 57% of those 25-34 and 30% of those 35-44, according to the study.

Networks are being used for mostly personal reasons, with 89% reporting they use the sites to "Stay in touch with friends," and 49% claiming "Make new friends." But there are certainly business users, with 28% claiming "Make new business or professional contacts," and 28% reporting, "Promote yourself or your work."

Another interesting note is the use of multiple profiles. A full 51% reported having two or more online profiles. In another interesting note, just 36% of users reported having an open, public-facing profile. The rest are viewable by invitation only.

And if you're interested in marketing through social networks, this report suggests you should target students and minorities. According to the study, 68% of full-time students and 71% of part-time students have a social profile(s), compared to just 28% of non-student adults. Also, 31% of white adults are using the sites, compared to 43% of African-Americans and 48% of Hispanics. You can read more of the report here.

Facebook Overtakes MySpace

Mike Phillips — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:28:00 GMT

For the first time, according to the latest data from Compete, Facebook outdrew MySpace in terms of unique visitors. But Facebook isn't the fastest growing network. Twitter's numbers grew 27.6% in December, and 752% for the year. LinkedIn is up 152% for the year. In fact, the only one here that's losing traffic is MySpace. They better figure out a way to grab a new audience, and fast. Their demographic is growing up. See below for the Compete data.

Oodle Takes over Facebook's Classifieds

Mike Phillips — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:44:00 GMT

We recently wrote about the surge in online classifieds, and how it can be a significant force for online retailers. One of those sites, Oodle, has just agreed to take over the struggling Facebook Marketplace. Just like attempts to monetize everything else in the social networking world, classifieds have proven difficult. But Oodle looks to change that, by turning friends into marketers, and sales pitches into recommendations.

“In many cases, finding good homes for items we are no longer using is more important than selling them at the highest price,” Oodle CEO Craig Donato said in a statement. “For example, when I have extra tickets to a concert, I’d prefer to give them to a friend or sell them at face-value to someone I work with. We’re focused on making this simple to do with Marketplace.”

Oodle stands to gain even more traction in the online classified marketplace. They already are one of the fastest growing (up 93% this year) and Oodle also handles classifieds for MySpace. In short, if you're not already listing with Oodle, now is the time to get involved. The new release of Facebook Marketplace is set for the first quarter of 2009.

Can't-Miss Black Friday Websites and Resources

Mike Phillips — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:13:00 GMT

According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, 72.0 percent of consumers have completed less than 10 percent of their shopping. So, that means the upcoming weeks are going to be big for consumers and retailers, especially online retailers.

Online

BFads.net: This site features thousands of Black Friday ads, updated several times per day. Registering on the site lets you create a shopping list, where you can select various items from their corresponding stores, and print out the ads and coupons. There are also articles on the site to help you get the most out of Black Friday, and get some tips and reviews on popular products.

Black-Friday.net: Many of the deals here are early releases by the retailers, but some are "stolen" from the printing presses of insider employees and leaked to the website. Create a shopping list here and you will be notified on Thanksgiving Day of which items you selected are in stock and available to purchase online. This site also features "doorbusters," items heavily discounted only in the early morning hours of Black Friday.

GottaDeal: Along with standard ads, there is a timeline of what you can expect on the site. The online section lists deals available for immediate purchase at the Black Friday price or "sometimes even cheaper." This is a pretty good place to check before making a final purchase to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Amazon: Of course Amazon has a Black Friday site. Associates can choose from a variety of widgets and include Gold Box hourly deals to entice consumers to purchase.

Mobile

This year more than ever, your mobile device could come in handy while shopping on Black Friday while in stores. BFads' mobile site is stripped down, and that's a good thing. It's quick to respond and easy to navigate - http://m.bfads.net. GottaDeal's mobile site is also handy, though not quite as user-friendly - http://blackfriday.gottadeal.mobi.

iPhone - SaveBenjis: Enter a product name or scan a bar code and make sure you're getting the best price.

Android - Compare Everywhere: Same function as Save Benjis, using a bar code scanner. Field tests by Website Magazine's staff have been very positive.

Twitter Black Friday: It seems only natural, Twitter Black Friday. Currently 609 followers and regularly updated, a nice way to see what retailers are offering out there, provided by shoppingblog.com.

Missed Opportunity

The "Biggest Missed Opportunity" award goes to two of the most trafficked sites on the Internet - Facebook and MySpace. There's hardly a mention of Black Friday opportunities and a search finds mostly bands. Facebook does have a Black Friday group, with all of 199 members, and one wall post since August.

Xobni Extends Functionality to Yahoo, Facebook, Hoovers

Mike Phillips — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:19:00 GMT

Xobni gained some attention at initial launch, and with good reason. The Outlook plugin indexes email, enabling users to quickly organize their messages, search for attachments and follow conversations much more effectively than standard Outlook tools. Xobni creates profiles for people whom you email, showing top contacts by volume, who they email, and so on. One of the great features of the tool is integration with LinkedIn - displaying important profile information, contacts, etc.

Now, Xobni will enable Outlook users to incorporate their Yahoo email, contact's Facebook profile information and Hoover's (a large resource for public company information) all in a sidebar.

Since its public launch six months ago, Xobni has been downloaded over one million times. Here at Website Magazine, we've been believers for some time. "Xobni was already one of my favorite desktop productivity tools," says Website Magazine Editor-in-Chief Peter Prestipino. "With my increasing use of Facebook, I believe my networking efficiency will increase even further."