Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

In a test it hopes will improve user experience and lead to better ad creative, YouTube added a “skip” button to some pre-roll ads. The ultimate goal, says YouTube, is to create a scenario where advertisers pay only for ads users watch in full or engage with some other way.

It’s a minor development to be sure. Skip buttons for video and interstitial ads have been around as long as the ad messages they help users circumvent. But the move suggests Google is not satisfied with the quality or performance of pre-roll inventory on YouTube.

“We want to learn who skips, which ads they skip, when do they get skipped, and how can we use that skip as a quality signal,” said Phil Farhi, YouTube Product Manager.

Read more from ClickZ here

Read a great list of “Idiot Mistakes made in Social Media” – some of these are common sense but the others are great to reinforce that you MUST have somewhat of a plan when you dip your toe into the Social Media world…..

Following is the list of 8 Idiot Mistakes in Social Media:

1. Obsess over Numbers
2. Don’t Complete Your Profile
3. Create Profiles Everywhere
4. Enter Blindly With No Plan
5. Be Inconsistent
6. Be a Spammer
7. Assume That One Size Fits All
8. Be A Sales Person

To read the rationale and ideology behings these, please read the entire article here

iMedia Connection has a decent article out this morning on How to be a good social media listener.  What I really took away from the article is that “Above all, you have to find a way to listen to those who are not speaking. About 15 percent of those online account for most of the chatter. That leaves 85 percent in the silent majority. Many of those people are highly engaged. They’re reading, forwarding, and making purchases based on those interactions. They’re also influencing others through those actions. Influence must be judged by solid metrics. The person shouting the loudest is not always the most influential. A good listening platform measures the engagement of that silent majority and accounts for influence and reach.”

A major question/concern of marketers is when do we engage?  Especially with the new FTC Laws coming into effect 12/1/09, marketers have to be extremely careful about how they proceed.  I suggest you enter the conversation(s) when you can bring true value and contribute to what’s already being said, discussed and explored.  Moreover, if you join a conversation, DO NOT leave it when your purpose has been met….stay involved or you will instantly lose credibility and respect.

This mornings iMedia Connection had a good article on Top 6 PR Tips EVERY Marketer Should Now….

The Article Highlights Are:

• If you can’t get through to a reporter, move on to another outlet
• Avoid hype by excluding terms such as “industry leading”
• Help the media outlet connect with the rest of the industry, not just your specific company

 As to the last point, I agree 150%….just last week, a reporter from the Long Island Businesss News contacted me about Domaining and the buy/selling/developing of domain names….I explained the industry to the reporter and turned him on to two industry experts….as a result we all got published and the reporter now knows I am trusted, reliable and accurate source….that article on Domaining can be read here

Some other great quotes/takeaways include:

1. “What PR people need to understand is that the press release is dead. It’s actually been dead for a long time.”

1. “I get more than 500 emailed story pitches a day, and I have my email preferences set to purge at close of business. If I haven’t gotten back to you by then, I won’t. Why don’t any of the PR bunnies understand that?”

1. “The only thing you’re telling me if you send me a press release dated for today is that you don’t think it could possibly mean very much to me.”

1. “Why does anyone ever say ‘industry leading’ in their pitches? Does that make them feel better or something?”

1. “Don’t tell me about your clients. Tell me about their industry segment. Give me facts — not fluff. Help me build a story.”

1. “What I need is facts about ways brands are using technology to reach their customers and consumers. That is all I need. Anything else is superfluous.”

You can read the entire article here

Last night I had the unique experience of speaking at the 140Conference Meet-Up in the MSNBC Digital Cafe at Rockefeller Center.  The event was produced by Jeff Pulver and the crowd was fantastic!  If you don’t know what the 140Conference is please see 140Conf.com

I was asked to speak at the event on the new FTC ruling going into effect 12/1/09 on transparency with bloggers and social media in general…..here is my brief presentation; thanks Stu!

According to TechCrunch, Digg founder Kevin Rose launched a side project called WeFollow, a twitter directory, earlier this year. And as DNN reports, through searching some historic domain data….they  noticed the buyer krose119 paid $500 for WeFollow.com in January at Afternic. It’s pretty safe to assume that this was WeFollow and Digg founder Kevin Rose.

Here is a screenshot for you:

Came across this creative, very well done spot today for samsung…..I’m still not sure if it’s real or not but hey – it is good!  Enjoy…..

A new study by McKinsey has foundthat blogs, social networks and online video are the Web 2.0 tools which are providing the most benefits to compnaies looking to engage consumers.

The company conducted an online survey among 1,695 executives from a wide variety of industries and regions, and with a range of different job functions.

It found that 69% of participants regarded Web 2.0 as having helped deliver “more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business and higher revenue.”

More specifically, 52% of contributors agreed it had increased the effectiveness of their marketing, most particularly in terms of building awareness, followed by driving loyalty, and increasing consideration and conversion rates.

A further 43% said Web 2.0 played a key part in improving customer satisfaction, falling to 38% for reducing marketing costs, 24% for accelerating the launch of new products, and 22% for establishing more successful innovation programmes.

By media type, 51% of the sample regarded corporate blogs as having aided their efforts to connect with consumers, with 48% saying the same for video-sharing and social networking platforms, and 45% for RSS feeds.

Almost two-thirds of companies in the high-tech and telecoms sector had benefited from using Web 2.0 as a communications medium, falling to 60% in the business, legal and professional services sector, 37% in manufacturing, and 32% for financial services.

The most successful companies were distinguished, McKinsey argued, by the fact they used the growing range of interactive options to aid employee productivity and forge links with customers and suppliers.