Video Pick of the Week
Life In a Day is the first crowdsourced, user-generated video to premiere at Sundance film festival. On July 24, 2010, in one single day, 80,000 video submissions culled to 94 minutes of inspiring film with help from Hollywood directors Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald.
This video shows the power and prominence of user-generated content, which is a trend that is clearly here to stay. Enjoy our video pick of the week and be sure to check back next week!
The Golden List: 2011’s Most-Visited Sites
And the winner is…Google! The latest Nielsen report shows that while Facebook is certainly growing in popularity, Google is still the most visited site.
In 2011, an average of 153.4 million people in the U.S. visited Google sites each month. Facebook was the second most-visited U.S. web brand and the top social network, averaging 137.6 million visitors per month.
Nielsen looked at web traffic from home and work computers from January through October 2011 to determine the top web brands of year. However, it is important to note that mobile visits were not included in this report, which would like change the numbers, as consumers are increasingly using mobile devices for online browsing.
By this time next year, we predict that Facebook will be ranked number one, as they saw exponential growth this year. In 2009, Facebook averaged 110 million unique visitors a month, and now they average 137.6 million. Additionally, the average person spends 7 hours, 24 minutes on Facebook each month, while the average Googler only spends one hour, 43 minutes for the month.
What is your most visited site? Share it with us below.
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Google+ Newest Feature: Marriage Proposals
Clever marketing stunt, or sincere marriage proposal? The jury is still out on that one. In what may be the first marriage proposal on Google+, a man asked his girlfriend to marry him on the network via the online interactive game Crime City.
Funzio, the company who created Crime City, was approached by a player with the idea of using his crime-boss character to propose to his girlfriend who also played the game.
Crime City, has in-game objects players can purchase. A virtual engagement ring was purchased, and the rest is history. Neither Funzio nor Google+ has confirmed whether the proposal was real, or in fact a marketing stunt.
Regardless, this is not the first time social media and digital outlets have been used for marriage proposals. Throughout the year, we have seen proposals on Google Street View, Groupon, Facebook, Twitter, StumpleUpon, and others.
As marketers, the greatest challenge to effectively using social media is creating opportunities for engagement. Digital proposals give social engagement new meaning.
What do you think of digital proposals? Share your thoughts with us below.
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2012 Digital Marketing Predictions: The Year of Integration
By: Jay Osterholm, Founder and CEO of The ODM Group
As we wind down 2011, I often like to reflect on the past year and prepare for what is ahead. 2011 was a great year for us as marketers. Never before have we had so many tools available to spread our messages to highly targeted users. Additionally, we found unprecedented levels of connectivity in a 24/7, always-on, mobile society. In 2012, there will be 5.25 million mobile users.
While 2011 may have been the “Year of Mobile,” we will go further next year. Consumers are expanding their uses of social media to more devices and incorporating it into daily tasks, and we, as marketers must follow. That is why 2012 needs to be, and will be, the “Year of Integration.”
We witnessed vast improvements in communication methods, technology, and business strategies this year. However, these changes are not complete. Currently we talk about mobile, social media, marketing, public relations, advertising, e-mail, etc. as if they are separate entities, each operating in their own silo.
If we do not learn to harness the power of integration in the coming year, our tactics and strategies will reach stagnant and ineffective levels, leading to decreased results for clients.
Business Becomes Social…Finally
Companies of all sizes will need to transform their mindsets to truly become social businesses, which is more than simply implementing a Facebook page or a YouTube channel. Social business refers to an adoption of social thought at every level of an organization.
To be a social business, companies must plan to have a long-term relationship with social media. Excelling at this requires companies to become customer-centric, and embrace and engage in conversations with customers where they are talking about the brands.
A study from Booz Allen and Buddy Media found that 57 percent of businesses surveyed plan to increase social media spending, and 38 percent of CEO’s label social media as a high priority. With careful planning, companies can integrate a social mindset into every aspect of business operations, and ultimately find results.
Big Data = Big Results
Social media sites are like the ears of the Internet. Maintaining an active presence on these sites is vital, but is also only the beginning in terms of leveraging the full potential of social media. Throughout 2011, we heard quiet murmurs about the power of social data, and the importance of monitoring our campaigns.
In 2012, we as marketers will move beyond awareness, and learn to adopt and incorporate social data in to our daily efforts. Furthermore, as companies grow to understand the mass amounts of data available, and how to act on the insights from those metrics, we will see a smaller emphasis on fan and follower numbers and a larger emphasis on influence, reach, and effectiveness.
Is it Better to be “Liked” or Have Influence?
Influence was a new word in 2011, initially introduced by Klout. This tool, and others, allows companies to understand a specific path of influence on their brand/product and vice versa.
To some extent, everyone now has some digital influence simply by maintaining an online presence. However, as companies pay less attention to followers and fan counts, higher emphasis will be placed on digital influence scores, the ability to monitor those who influence brands, and learning how to scale and measure the results of it.
Next year we expect to see more companies such as Klout infiltrating the marketplace offering different levels of metrics to fully understand the power of an influencer.
Game On!
No, I do not mean the newest video game. Gamification refers to engaging people by applying game functionality to non-game situations, thus encouraging users to engage with a brand or business.
Throughout 2011, several companies incorporated game-like qualities into their marketing, web and mobile strategies such as virtual badges, trophies, points, and levels that subsequently allow brands to engage with users, build trust, and encourage participation.
Gamification has serious benefits to offer both B2C and B2B companies. Earlier this year, IBM unveiled some gaming techniques to attract new prospect and business leads. CityOne is IBM’s gaming application that educates professionals and prospects on ways to use technology and data in making decisions to run a ‘city’ or businesses in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way.
A rapidly expanding mobile network and a growing need for consumer engagement guarantee that our 2012 marketing campaigns will be infiltrated with badges, points, leaderboards, puzzles, and much more as we approach the New Year.
Learning to Share
Social media is based on social sharing. Every Facebook update, Twitter post, and YouTube video is sharing content with a network of individuals. This past month alone, 30 billion pieces of content were added to and shared on Facebook. Users are well adept at finding information and sharing it on their preferred networks.
In the future, users will be able to share, recommend, or review products and services on any site to a social network. For example, if you purchase an item online, you will immediately be able to share it across multiple social platforms instantly. In 2012, companies need to find unique and user-friendly ways to facilitate the sharing of content. (Click here to learn about the power of face-to-face communication).
A Better Mousetrap
Social television is here to stay. Many networks and companies experimented with social TV this year, offering special apps with behind-the scenes content, voting abilities, and full episodes in a mobile platform. Additionally, the majority of viewers are already very social when watching television. Nearly 86 percent of people access mobile Internet while watching TV, and that number will only expand in 2012.
Earlier this year, “The X Factor” became the first-ever reality-TV competition show to allow voting by Twitter. The results? A drastically expanded social footprint. On average, “The X Factor” received 110,000 social media comments per episode.
Next year, watching TV will being a full-fledged social experience. Marketing campaigns will feature commercials encouraging users to vote via Twitter and Facebook, check-in on TV shows, and share our opinions with people around the world in real-time using campaign specific hashtags.
Utilizing these methods will create a substantiated period of engagement, which outlives a 30-second commercial spot and creates a user-experience for brands. (link to iTV DMN story).
Forging Ahead
As we prepare for our 2012 marketing endeavors, it is essential that we embrace integration on all levels. Make your business social to the core, understand the importance of analytics, facilitate sharing and embrace new tactics and technologies. If done correctly, 2012 may not only be the “Year of Integration,” but also your most successful one yet.
Facebook Saves the Day & Was Apple iTV Steve Job’s Final Project?
Facebook Saves the Day
Yesterday, a Utah woman who was held captive for five days posted a Facebook status update that saved her and her 17-month-old child’s lives.
While hiding in a closet, she posted a message that she and her son would be “dead by morning” if no one came to their aid. Thankfully, a friend read the post and went straight to the police for help.
This is not the first time Facebook has been central to a hostage situation. Earlier this year, a 36-year-old man took a female hostage, barricaded himself in a house, and then updated his Facebook status, which led to a 16-hour standoff during which the man updated his status several times.
Social media outlets such as Facebook create enormous networks of people and share information almost instantly, which in this case saved two lives.
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Was Apple iTV Steve Job’s Final Project?
Apple rumors are circulating yet again. Allegedly, Apple is assembling components for a 32- and 37-inch iTV, a standard TV that can connect to the internet for streaming media.
Taiwanese news blog, Digitimes, was the first to report that Apple has collaborated with Samsung to produce the chip set for the iTV and Sharp will produce the screen.
Current rumors suggest a summer 2012 launch for the newest Apple product. Apple currently has a share of the TV market with Apple TV, which allows people to store digital media on the device as well as access stream Internet content.
Further support for the rumor comes from former Apple CEO Steve Jobs biography, in which he reportedely said “he’d finally cracked” the idea of how to do Apple TV properly.
As with all Apple development rumors, we are anxiously waiting to see the product come to fulfillment.
It is certainly not clear what exactly what Apple is working on. However, one thing is clear — Apple definitely plans to shake up the TV market.
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Should Congress Block Taliban Tweets? & How Much is a Twitter Follower Worth?
Should Congress Block Taliban Tweets?
The US has called on the popular micro-blogging site, Twitter, to block accounts, which post propaganda content from the Taliban.
According to Senator Joe Lieberman, the head of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, the move is part of a wider campaign to limit the space for extremists’ propaganda on the Internet and social media.
The Taliban had embraced social media to post updates on attacks, official statements from their leaders, and propaganda. They also upload videos of militant training, sermons by prominent members Taliban. It is believed they also use the sites to scour for new recruits.
Some of the more widely used accounts include @ABalkhi, which has more than 4,100 followers, and @alemarahweb, which has more than 6,200 followers. Both claim to be official websites of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”.
Senator Lieberman is well versed in increasing online censorship. In 2008, Google changed their rules for hosting videos on YouTube after the Senator complained about the site hosting films al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist movements.
Twitter representatives have yet to comment on the request, however Twitter some are speculating that Twitter will not accept the request, as the Taliban, un-like al-Qauda, is not registered as a foreign terrorist organization.
We often discuss both the positive and negative outcomes of social media, and perhaps this is a negative. Do you think that Twitter should block Talibal Twitter accounts? Share your thoughts with us on Digital Marketing News.
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How Much is a Twitter Follower Worth?
Ownership of online content is often ambiguous, specifically with the rise of social media. To that end, one company is confident in their ownership rights, they are sueing a former employee for the value of his Twitter followers.
Noah Kravitz worked for Phone Dog and tweeted on their behalf with the username @Phonedog_Noah. Over the course of his tenure, Kravitz attracted more than 17,000 followers for the company.
When Kravitz left PhoneDog in October 2010, he changed his Twitter handle to @noahkravitz and continued using the account, which he claims PhoneDog permitted.
It seems however, that PhoneDog is having second thoughts, and filed a lawsuit claiming the followers are a company lists, thus a company asset. PhoneDog is seeking $2.50 per follower, per month for a total of $340,000.
While it may be difficult to pinpoint a financial value to Twitter followers, one thing is certainly clear. Companies must create policies and regulations to safeguard their brands in the event of employee termination.
Corporate Twitter accounts are a controversial subject, as many are often controlled by individual personalities. However, companies must take the necessary steps to preserve their brand image, especially in a social space.
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Video Pick of the Week
Toshiba’s newest 3D technology promises to up the ante as companies race to build the best consumer entertainment experience. Remember when surround-sound was all it took to make you feel like you were in the movie or on the football field? Over the last few years 3D movies have been making a come-back and the home entertainment market has been taking notes. Manufacturers have been investing heavily in designing and integrating new technologies into their products to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Most of the new large televisions now come with 3D built in, whether you want it or not. Toshiba’s latest commercial for ‘Spectacle 3D’ is long on promises using some well-edited humor to make a point and we will be watching how consumers respond. Personally, I can’t wait to see this 60 second commercial in 3D!
Jay Osterholm
Founder and CEO, The ODM Group
New Social Site Exemplifying A Trend
Being in the know is always ‘hot.’ So when it comes to the ever-changing world of fashion and lifestyle – getting the right advice is critical if your personal brand image is tragically-trendy. Getting married? Throwing a New Year’s Party to remember? Thinking about getting into fashion or just keeping pace? A new site that helps people stay in vogue is itself becoming the new hot spot. Check out ‘Pinterest’, a new social networking platform and virtual pin board site that has been growing at a massive speed, becoming one of the top 10 social media platforms on the web, receiving 11 million views in the one week that ended on December 17.
The site allows users to organize and share anything on topics that like, offering a wide range of topics from wedding planning to health. A user “pins” an image that creates a board and then users share their board with their friends, who can also add images.
Think you might want to give it a try? Checking it out is easy but to really engage you need an invitation. As the member’s-only mentality is coming back into fashion Pinterest is building its brand on exclusivity. So find a friend to send you an invite and be a part of this social networking elite group!
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