StumbleUpon Becomes a Top Website
In less than a decade, StumbleUpon, a media discovery service, has grown from a dorm room project into one of the Top 100 North American websites, according to a study by Alexa.com. The site, whose mantra is to “help you explore new and interesting things from every corner of the Web,” has become one of the Internet’s top traffic drivers.
StumbleUpon operates in a unique way. Users download a taskbar featuring a “Stumble” button, which takes them to various websites according to their previously submitted interests. Whenever users want to Stumble some time away, all they have to do is click the button.
Although StumbleUpon has been growing consistently, the smartphone boom caused the website to explode in popularity. In 2011, they experienced an 800% growth rate, with their mobile service accounting for 25% of overall Stumbles.
Brands have already begun to explore the website’s huge exposure abilities, and StumbleUpon has recently reworked their advertising program. We are excited to see how the website continues to evolve to accommodate businesses looking to capitalize on their popularity and traffic driving success.
Social Media and Customer Service
In the past few years we’ve seen brands explore the numerous public relations capabilities of social media. One major development is the migration of customer service to social platforms. Business patrons are capitalizing on the quickness with which companies will respond to social media complaints. Such companies recognize that the viral potential of social media complaints can cause widespread damage to their reputation if left unanswered. Because of this, online customer service channels have taken precedence over traditional channels.
However, this does not mean that social media customer complaints are of absolute importance. Traditional service complaints can be just as damaging over time. Companies need to manage each equally, and on a case-by-case basis. A smart strategy is to establish communication with disgruntled customers immediately; even if only to say that their complaint has been received. In this way, companies will let the customer know that they care about their issue, even if their problem cannot be solved right away. This will allow service managers time to evaluate each case and schedule according to its severity.
There is also a strong argument to move all customer service channels to social media. Aside from the convenience of having all service requests on one manageable platform, social media offers information-based advantages. These platforms have metrics programs in place that companies can use to analyze consumer complaints and employee performance.
Although the mere mention of social media customer service makes some executives cringe, companies need to realize that they can use its viral nature to build a positive brand image. The sooner they embrace it, the more control they will have over their social reputation.
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Social Media – Manteresting – Anonymous
In today’s news, MIT suggests that social media makes us less connected, a Pinterest for men launches, and Hacker-Group Anonymous was infiltrated by the police.
How Connected Are We With Social Media?
Recent opinions from MIT’s Initiative on Technology and Self begs the question, how connected are we with social media?
Yesterday, MIT professor Sherry Turkle believes that while our constant communication and social media engagement does make us more connected, it’s coming at the sacrifice of real conversation.
During an online TEDTalk yesterday, Turkle argued that our increased use of technology and social media presents serious consequences for our personal relationships. Her main point, is that when using these communication channels we are able to edit, delete our thoughts and behavior, something which is not possible in a face-to-face conversation.
Ultimately, Turkle suggests that our current communication trends make us, “expect more from technology and less from each other.”
While there are many clear benefits to social media and new communications technology, it could be affecting the quality of our personal relationship. Share your thoughts on Digital Marketing News.biz.
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Finally A Pinterest Site Just For Men
This next story is very “Man-Teresting”…no pun intended. A new site, cleverly named Manteresting, markets itself as a “Pinterest” Site Just For Men.
We have recently discussed the overwhelming popularity of Pinterest, an image-sharing site that is used primarily by the female demographic. Hoping to capitalize on the momentum, Manteresting looks very much like Pinterest but has a few key differences.
First, the site is open to anyone, whereas Pinterest is “invite-only.” Additionally, rather than “pinning” content, Manteresting users “nail” content to their “workbenches.”
Currently, there are 3.4 billion men on Earth, and we expect this site to see great success as it has taken an popular trend and tailored it to fit the needs of a niche community.
Police Infiltrated Anonymous
It appears the hacker-group Anonymous is not as secretive as we once thought. Earlier this week, police officers arrested 25 members of Anonymous in South America and Europe.
This highly secretive group of “hacktivists” work under pseudonyms and their identity has been a long-standing mystery. However, these arrests suggest that police forces may have infiltrated the group to gain information.
In a message posted to its blog, Anonymous said its members were “ captured not through intelligence work or informatics strategy, but rather through the use of spies and informants within the movement.”
Anonymous members are known for hacking banks, government agencies, and other forces they find to be corrupt.
One Anonymous member, known as Skao, defended their movement saying, “We hope you understand and reveal that we are not hackers on steroids. We are activists and what happens in the world matters to us.”
Of the 25 arrested, only 10 are still detained. It will be interesting to see the impact this has on Anonymous’ activity and future cyber-crime activity.
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Facebook’s Brand Timeline – Google Privacy Changes – Foursquare
In today’s news, Facebook launches Timeline for brands, Google’s privacy update takes effect, and Foursquare leaves Google Maps for a startup service.
Understanding Facebook’s Brand Timeline
Facebook’s Timeline for brands arrived today, and major organizations have already launched their new pages. Before switching over, companies should consider a few changes in order to transition smoothly.
- The cover photo and company history increases visual and educational engagement.
- The app links, which used to be listed on the left side of the page, are now compressed into a drop-down box under the cover photo. Only three of these apps are visible at anytime, so choose wisely.
- Brands can choose to pin content to the top of their Timeline to retain maximum visibility.
- Some applications will need to be updated to configure with the new format. Brands will need to find out which of their sidebar apps this pertains to.
- Brands can now send private messages to consumers.
Brands should consider Timeline’s increased space for content as an opportunity to enrich their social media personality. It allows Facebook to be more than just a traffic driver for businesses. With Timeline, companies can bring brand value to their social platform. We are excited to see how they choose to do this.
Google Privacy Changes Take Effect Today
Today, Google’s controversial privacy update will take effect. The new policy combines over seventy documents into one, easy to understand statement.
The big change is that Google will combine consumer information from the different sites they own, mainly their search engine and YouTube.
Google promises that the new policy has little effect on the user. They are not increasing the amount of information they collect as much as doing more with that data. They will be using it to more directly target advertisements. Users will notice that ads on Google sites are more specific to their interests and search habits than before.
These changes are meant to give Google an advantage when selling their consumer behavior data. By synthesizing information from multiple sites, their data could be a huge asset to digital marketers.
Foursquare Goes Grassroots
Foursquare, a location based social platform, announced that they are leaving Google maps to join a startup called MapBox. Mapbox creates their maps using OpenStreetMap, a service that crowdsources to collect information.
Foursquare gives two reasons for the switch. Primarily, they did not want to pay Google’s high price. Secondly, they wanted to begin to “make life easier for other startups.” Their endorsement of Mapbox and OpenStreetMap will give these services a wide range of exposure.
By leaving Google, Foursquare risks slowing their rapid growth. However, their actions symbolize a favoring of start-ups over industry giants in the tech world. As startups begin to form partnerships, digital advertisers should pay attention to an increase in consumers adopting these services.
Mozilla Collusion Tracks Ads
Luckily for us, steps are being taken to prevent the Internet privacy scare from becoming any more like George Orwell’s 1984.
Transparency seems to be the favored answer to the public outcry against web browsing trackers. Already, ad-tracker viewing apps have been released for the Android phone. Multiple web browsers will create a Do-Not-Track option for web surfers.
Mozilla, the creators of the Firefox browser, announced that they will be offer a browser add-on that lets users see who is using their information for behavior-tracking purposes. The feature, called Collusion, provides a visual representation of how the user’s data quickly spreads to dozens of companies every time they enter a site. It is color coded according to the type of company using the information. And if Firefox users do not want to be tracked, Mozilla will also offer that option.
As this privacy issue continues to gain more attention and publicity, it will be interesting to see how marketing organizations get involved. Web browsers and security companies have taken action, but marketers have kept quiet. We will see how they choose to protect their access to consumer behavior information.
NY Times Launches New Tumblr
Recently, many newspapers have been turning to online multimedia as a way to regenerate interest and consumer engagement. Such strategies include video accompaniments at the end of articles and social media sharing functions. After a financial loss last year, the New York Times has found a their own way to rebound by using multimedia in a unique way.
Using Tumblr, a visual image blog, the Times is opening its photo archives to the public. Their Tumblr is called The Lively Morgue, and features some of the paper’s most celebrated photos, including images of Joe Namath, Prohibition-era policemen, and historic fashion styles. Photo-enthusiasts can purchase prints for $169.
This is not the Times first foray into Tumblr. They host another page, T on Tumblr, which focuses mostly on style and culture subjects. However, The Lively Morgue uses the paper’s historic value to rekindle reader interest and create a vintage value. Visual media is gaining preference as a storyteller, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see more traditional media outlets invent new ways to communicate with their audiences through images.
NASCAR – Whole Foods – Spam
In today’s news, a NASCAR driver gets 100,000 Twitter followers in 2 hours, Whole Foods creates visual engagement on Pinterest, and Spam targets their Social audience with a new campaign.
NASCAR Driver Get 100,000+ Followers in 2 Hrs
NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski provided his Twitter followers with an up-close and personal look at the crash that happened during Monday’s Daytona 500, when driver Juan Pablo Montoya ran into the track’s safety vehicle and caused a massive explosion.
While the race was delayed, Keselowski began tweeting pictures from inside his car. In less than two hours his Twitter account more than doubled, growing from 85,000 followers to 185,000.
After the race resumed Keselowski got into a crash of his own. He Tweeted about that as well, saying, “Nothing we could do there… Never saw the wreck till we were windshield deep. #DAYTONA500”
With the mobile Internet, the public is constantly present on the social media platforms, and it only takes a bit of information to get them talking.
Whole Foods On Pinterest
Whole Foods was one of the first brands to find Pinterest, and it has cultivated a strong presence on the imaged-based platform. It has 14,421 followers with hundreds of pins across multiple categories.
How does the supermarket visually connect with its fans ? Michael Bepko, global online community manager for Whole Foods, values Pinterest for its ability to let them share “images that reflect our core values and essentially communicate the essence of who we are.”
As a supermarket, Whole Foods’ brand does not lend itself to much visual engagement. However, by exploring their values, as well as the values of their customers, Whole Foods is able to generate enriching visual content. Brands who want to create a strong presence on the site can follow a similar model.
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Spam Targets Social Following
At the age of 75, canned meat company Spam has adopted their first spokescharacter. He’s a two-and-a-half inch tall knight named Sir Can-A-Lot, and he’s dedicated to “[rescuing] the world from routine meals.” He will be featured in online ads and TV commercials.
The focus of Spam’s character-based campaign is to generate conversation across their social media channels.
For a national company, they have a mediocre number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. Spam executives believe that the cause is a lack of brand oriented content to discuss, and they are hoping Sir Can-A-Lot will jumpstart the social media conversation.
Spam’s new commercial campaign creates brand personality, which is one way to engage the public. By giving their product entertainment value, they increase its potential for exposure.
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China Floods Obama’s Google+
Early last week, the Chinese attempted to “occupy” President Obama’s GooglePlus page.
Even though China’s government practices strict monitoring and censorship of foreign sites, GooglePlus managed to sneak through and become widely available in the country. The Chinese people took the opportunity to flood U.S. President Barack Obama’s page with comments. Most were pro-American, and included requests for green cards and for American freedom. One user explained that, “We have no chance to occupy our [China’s] president Hu. He hates internet and has no account on any [social networking] website, so we can just occupy Obama, forgive us …”
Openness to public opinion is valuable to public relations. The Chinese people were obviously pleased with the fact that they could communicate with President Obama. Whether in politics or business, it is important to remember that PR is a two way street, and the public values their own opinions just as much as an organization’s.
Pinterest’s Porn Problem
With attention drawn to some of its more risqué pictures, Pinterest is on the edge of experiencing the danger of hosting a site based on visual content.
Although none of the images show fully exposed nudity, images have begun to crop up under the ‘Fitness’ and ‘Hair & Beauty’ categories that are borderline pornographic.
This could be bad news for Pinterest. Advertisers tend to jump ship at even the mention of pornography. Websites such as Tumblr and StumbleUpon lack ad revenue because of nudity in their content.
Hopefully Pinterest can find a way to censor their users. Their membership rules prohibit pornography, and they need to figure out where to draw the line. Pinterest has a unique opportunity to become a huge traffic driver for businesses. It would be a shame to see them lose credibility because of their pornography problem.
