Google is used to getting criticism. No question about that. There has so far been plenty about the company’s latest attempt at social media: Google+. Of course it’s not even fully launched yet. There is also some good feedback about …
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jul 1st, 2011. 
Highbeam Business, an informational source for professionals, recently released some interesting social media statistics looking at the number of mentions certain social channels are receiving within the media.
The data looked at the number of media mentions for May of 2011 and the same month of the previous year. The results show the rise of interest in social media channels by the media and may reflect an overall increase in popularity with the general public.
| Social Media Outlets | Media Mentions – 6/10 to 6/11 |
| 56% ↑ | |
| 41% ↑ | |
| 91% ↑ | |
| MySpace | 58% ↓ |
| Foursquare | 53% ↑ |
Most interestingly, Twitter gets more mentions than Facebook and LinkedIn has skyrocketed up 91% since last year. This isn’t terribly surprising since LinkedIn recently went public and received a lot of attention. MySpace didn’t fair so well. The once popular social network dropped in mentions by 58%. Though with the acquisition by Specific Media yesterday, that may change quickly.
For marketers, the results of the social media report continue to point to the growing presence and mass scale adoption of these social channels within the media industry and general public. Keeping a close eye on statistics like this can help to shape social media marketing efforts and justify campaigns as well as resources.
Are your online marketing campaigns and web stats reflecting this uptick in usage of social media platforms?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jul 1st, 2011.
Genius is an often misused word and often conjures up images of academic achievement. The reality is that everyone within them has the ability to synergize and combine their innate natural talents with their passion and become a genius where life flows and has purpose. 
Intelligence and creativity is not the preserve of universities or the hallowed halls of learning. It thrives in dance studios, office cubicles, lofts and in nooks and crannies, wherever passion and aptitude connect.
Facebook Provides a Pulpit
Too many people have gone to their grave with their song unsung and the democratization of publishing is now providing multimedia pulpits and platforms for people to display their talents and genius on a global stage.
Social networks and technology are revealing talent that previously would have remained undiscovered.
Facebook is providing a canvas for designers, programmers and marketers to display their skills and genius with rich multimedia landing pages as design and embedded interactivity drives engagement and participation between creator and viewer.
So what are 5 Facebook pages with a touch of “Genius”?
5 Facebook Pages with a Touch of Genius
1. Engagement Genius
The flood of fan photos and peer-to-peer customer support on Bare Escentuals’ Facebook wall demonstrates that the cosmetics company has cultivated a close-knit family. Although the brand boasts just over 325,000 “likes,” its page is averaging almost 700 fan posts per week, the most of any brand in the Index, and more than seven times the average number of posts per week across Beauty & Skincare pages.
Users share photos, stories, and comments on sales. Bare Escentuals captures these highvalue “likes” because of strong external integration with its site, customized tabs like “Global Family” that connects fans around the world, and co-op Facebook advertising with partner QVC.
The authenticity of the brand page is reinforced with a link to BE founder Leslie Blodgett’s personal Facebook and Twitter pages.
2. Fan Crowd Sourcing Genius
BMW’s Facebook page demonstrates bigger can be better. Catering to more than 5.7 million fans, the brand pays attention to the small stuff: adding BMW team member signatures on brand responses and answering queries in multiple languages.
The customized tab “2Originals” encourages users to create an original film based on their Facebook photos and share it with their friends. A broad mix of brand-generated wall content, including polls, videos, photos, and questions, keeps fans tallying up the “likes,” and an average of 0.28 percent of the Facebook community responds to every brand post.
BMW understands the importance of fan-created content, and the page hosts more than 26,000 fan photos and some 400 fan videos.
3. Custom Design Genius
Jaeger-LeCoultre designed its Facebook page as an opportunity to solicit customization. Following the success of the Reverso Anniversary Facebook Contest, when Jaeger-LeCoultre increased its “likes” by 80 percent, the brand introduced “My Very Own REVERSO” gated tab allowing users to design a piece of virtual art featuring a custom watch.
Users can then hang their masterpiece in Jaeger’s “The Gallery of Creations.” For those more serious about owning a custom Reverso, Jaeger provides multiple links to its site, where fans design the real deal.
4. Customer Service Genius
Montblanc is serious about service. So serious that it has dedicated an entire tab to making sure its customers can access the resources they need to take care of their Montblanc products.
The custom tab features the “Montblanc Service Philosophy” and provides links to various customer service pages on its website, including product care, personalization services, and the offline service center locator.
If questions remain unanswered, there is an embedded “Contact Montblanc” box on the page where users can directly send a message to customer service.
5. Aspirational ‘Branding’ Genius
The percentage of Mercedes-Benz’s Facebook fans who own one of the brand’s vehicles is likely quite small. However, Mercedes realizes the power of creating a community of engaged fans who aspire to own a Benz.
One of the primary ways Mercedes creates this aspirational community is through its customized “Infotainment” tab, which contains info on a range of on-brand subjects such as sports, music, fashion, and auto technology.
Infotainment acts as a community hub, with each topic linking to respective Twitter handles, YouTube pages, web sites, and other Mercedes-branded Facebook pages, such as “Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape.”
These Facebook pages are not the biggest but when it comes to a “touch of genius” they reveal it with design, flair and focus.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jul 1st, 2011.
When the FCC recently released its “Future of Media” report, it received a mixed response. The right wing applauded the commission, while the left wing believed it fell short on several issues.
In all honesty, the report did not make many recommendations, which Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, considers a positive move. It’s no secret that new media has brought a fair share of challenges to the table, but Thierer told us that he doesn’t think the government stepping in would provide any solution. He believes that the market will work itself out.
Where do you see media going in the future?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jul 1st, 2011.
It’s that time again…Time for us to bring you another edition of 10 Fast Facts plucked from a company’s S-1 filing. After months of expectation, social game-maker Zynga, creator of Farmville and Cityville, snuck in its intention to go public right before the long weekend. As our 4th of July gift to you, we deliver 10 Fast Facts About Zynga. Read it, and then go fire up the BBQ!
Massive Multiplayer
Zynga has 148 million unique monthly users in 166 countries, 60 million daily active users interacting with each other 416 million times a day, and its player base spend a total of 2 billion minutes per day with the site. That’s a lot of crops.
Beyond Facebook Credits
From 2008 to 2010, Zynga’s adjusted EBITDA increased from $ 4.5 million to $ 392.7 million. It’s first quarter EBITDA increased from $ 93.6 million in 2010 to $ 112.3 million in 2011. The company’s profit last year was nearly $ 90.6 million and $ 11.8 million in the first quarter of this year.
Top Of The Charts
Since 2009, a Zynga game has been the most popular game on Facebook every month. According to AppData, Zynga has more monthly active users on Facebook than the next 15 social game developers combined. Additionally, the company’s Words with Friends and Hanging with Friends games are the two most popular word games on the Apple App Store for iPhone.
Friends Forever
Zynga’s S-1 filing reveals just how dependent on Facebook the company really is. Zynga makes “substantially all” of its revenue through Facebook. Under an agreement with Facebook, the company collects revenue through Facebook credits. Facebook returns to Zynga 70% of the face value of credits purchased by the game-maker are players. That agreement expires in 2015.
Don’t Block Me, Bro!
Seriously, Zynga really doesn’t want to be de-friended by Facebook. Not only does the company say that a loss in Facebook’s user base has negative repercussions on its business, but it’s also dependent on Facebook’s moods. For instance, in 2010 Facebook changed the policies for how application developers could use its communication channels. “These changes limited the level of communication among users about applications on the Facebook platform. As a result, the number of our players on Facebook declined.” I thought I was seeing less Farmville requests in my newsfeed.
Storage Space
Zynga is collecting a massive amount of data. Players create and store more than 38,000 virtual items every second. The company’s data warehouse now processes 15 terabytes of game data every day.
Built To Scale
The game-maker is touting its cloud-based infrastructure. For instance, the company claims it can add up to 1,000 servers in a 24-hour period to meet game demand and they routinely deliver more than one petabyte (that’s 1,000 terabytes) of content per day.
Inquire Within
Zynga has more than 2,000 employees, and most of them have entered the doors in the past two years. In fact, at the end of the first quarter, 64% of employees had been with the company less than a year, and a staggering 92% had been there less than two years.
R&D Still King
While sales and marketing expenses has grown exponentially, research and development costs still outpace them. Sales and marketing costs rose by 131% in the first quarter of this year when compared to the same period last year, reaching nearly $ 40.2 million. But R&D rose 158% over the same time, reaching nearly $ 72 million.
Executive Perks
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus’s sister, Laura Pincus Hartman, who is a professor of business ethics at DePaul University, is paid $ 5,000 a month for consulting services related to Zynga.org, a charitable arm of the company. Zynga has also paid Pincus approximately $ 900,000 over 2009 and 2010 to rent office space he owns and approximately $ 125,000 over the same period in connection to an aircraft he owns that was used for business travel. Over the past year, Pincus was paid $ 12,998 for vehicle leasing expenses and $ 69,587 for security.
Zynga paid Luminor Group LLC $ 100,000 for strategy consulting services. Zynga’s Chief Business Officer, Owen Van Natta is a general partner of that firm. As a result of those services, Zynga also awarded 233,376 ZSUs (a special company issued restricted stock unit) to Van Natta.
The company awarded more than $ 1.1 million in total to three of its most highly compensated executives for relocation-related expenses and bonuses.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jul 1st, 2011.
