Is Facebook Approaching the End of Its Product Life Cycle? Ostensibly, Yes.
Dec. 21, 2011
If you’re a prospective Facebook stakeholder looking to profit from the social-networking site – as an investor or major advertiser – beware of all the Facebook hype. Yes, Facebook has 800 million users worldwide and appears to be in the proverbial catbird seat. However, caution is advised.
“You can’t be serious,” you’re probably thinking.
But my sense is that the seemingly constant Facebook buzz appears to be masking some serious red flags, especially, if you’re a major investor or marketer counting on it as an advertising medium Why? Published data indicates Facebook is showing signs that it might have advanced too far along its product life cycle (PLC) for you to reap a significant return on your investment.
A PLC, of course, ranges from the time when a product is introduced to market to when it’s no longer viable because of what the marketplace considers superior competitors.
The PLC stages:
- Introduction
- Growth
- Maturity
- Decline
In marketing, the PLC is important. In the introduction stage, sales are insignificant until the branding takes effect. Think in terms of a bell curve. The steeper the slope of the growth stage, the higher sales revenue you enjoy. Maturity is the stage when a product achieves saturation. Decline is just as the term implies.
Recent data demonstrates that a savvy investor or marketer would want to think twice about Facebook. That’s because Facebook appears it’s in the downward slope of its PLC curve in key markets. Yes, as amazing as it seems, Facebook appears to be already in its PLC stage 3 of reaching maturity – en route to stage 4 of a decline in popularity in many of the world’s most-important markets.
The first red flag about Facebook’s PLC appeared in this headline: Facebook Sees Big Traffic Drops in US and Canada … – Inside Facebook. (Here’s my previous analysis: Facebook’s Popularity Drops in U.S., Canada and Europe, but Inches Toward Highly Valued IPO)
“Most prominently, the United States lost nearly 6 million users, falling from 155.2 million at the start of May to 149.4 million at the end of it,” wrote Eric Eldon. “This is the first time the country has lost users in the past year. Canada also fell significantly, by 1.52 million down to 16.6 million, although it has been fluctuating around that number for the past year. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, Norway and Russia all posted losses of more than 100,000.”
Strangely, Inside Facebook reports the social networking site grew to 687 million members. But how?
“Most of the new users continue to come from countries that are relatively late in adopting Facebook, as has been the trend for the past year,” explained Mr. Eldon.
Facebook later denied it’s losing members in North America and Europe.
Facebook’s demise is illustrated by other indicators.
WebProNews published some eye-opening data from YouGov BrandIndex covering Jan. 3 to June, 13, 2011, which shows Facebook has had some serious erosion in word-of-mouth. (Note: In my experience, WebProNews articles should be taken seriously.)
To determine its Buzz score, which can range from 100 to -100, YouGov BrandIndex asked respondents: “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”
In compiling the answers, the firm’s Buzz rating is then determined by subtracting the negative response from positive. Equal negative and positive responses lead to a zero score.
The eye-opening YouGov BrandIndex scores:
- Adults, 35-49, the Jan. score of 28.5 plummeted to 10.4 in June
- Adults, 18-34, the Jan. score of 36.2 dropped to 22.7 in June
Meanwhile, consider Twitter’s success as reported in this NewsFactor Network headline, Pew Study Finds Meteoric Growth in Twitter Usage.
“A meteoric rise in Twitter usage has been reported by the Pew Research Center, even though only 13 percent of online adults use Twitter,” stated NewsFactor Network in the article’s summary. “Pew also found that about half of Twitter users access the service on mobile phones, and African-Americans and Latinos have high Twitter adoption rates. Twitter expects more growth with photo sharing.”
In my experience, Facebook does not work in B2B advertising. Understand, however, if you’re marketing anything, you still need to maintain a presence on Facebook to keep your Internet ranking strong. Facebook’s marketing strength is B2C. But if you’re counting on Facebook to generate a strong return on your advertising investment, my sense is recent indicators are not positive. That’s true, too, for investors in Facebook’s expected IPO in early 2012.
Just remember to what happened to Myspace.
From the Coach’s Corner, if you’re determined to advertise on Facebook, here’s how to maximize your odds: 11 Tips to Make Money onFacebook.
“Things are not always as they seem.”
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
11 Tips to Make Money on Facebook
Depending on your type of business, the jury might still be out over whether Facebook can you help you make money by making the cash register ring. But advertisers are increasingly investng in Facebook.
Websitemagazine.com is a must-read for any Internet entrepreneur. Its newsfeed on May 23, 2011 included Facebook’s 10 optimization tips for merchants and reasons to use Facebook’s “like” button. I have to agree.
Thanks to Website Magazine, here are the first 10 of the 11 promised optimization tips:
1. Allowing users to add comments will significantly increase the number of clicks on the Like button
2. Display Like buttons at both the top and bottom of your posted content
3. Clicks increase dramatically when Like buttons appear near videos, images, infographics and other visual content
4. Like buttons that display thumbnail images of friends will receive three to five times more clicks than versions that don’t
5. Ask questions of users on your Fan pages, such as “Would you like …?” and “Would you prefer … ?”
6. Post fun and interactive content such as games, trivia questions and polls
7. Incorporate coupons and discounts on your Wall
8. Post time-sensitive content and relate to current events
9. Post videos
10. Include links to additional content
The Website Magazine feed also mentioned Buddy Media, a Facebook advertising platform. Buddy Media has raised some serious venture capital – $40 million.
Buddy Media licenses its software to ad agencies. The average fee for its 650 ad agency customers is $3000 per month. When you consider the licensing fee is on top of the advertising budget, that’s some serious advertising coin being diverted to Facebook spending.
VatorNews is another interesting trade publication. Reporter Bambi Francisco Roizen interviewed Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazarow for some interesting insights. (Buddy Media accounts for 10% of Facebook ads?)
My 11th tip to profit from Facebook is from VatorNews: Update your Facebook wall on Tuesdays.
Websitemagazine also published Buddy Media’s list of success stories.
Webpronews.com also has some interesting insights on Facebook and traffic.
From the Coach’s Corner, before you jump entirely on the Facebook bandwagon, make sure you read this cautionary Biz Coach column: Winners and Losers in Facebook’s Invasion of Google’s Turf.
“The Internet is the trailer park for the soul.”
-Marilyn Manson
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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Analyses: Are You Up-to-date to Capitalize on Major Web Events?
Updated – Feb. 27, 2011
February has been an eventful month for the Internet and marketers. Developments include the major players – Bing, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Are you positioned to capitalize?
Here’s an update:
Google. Because it’s the longtime mega search engine, let’s consider Google first. Depending on which research firm you prefer, such as ComScore or The Nielsen Company, Google has about a 66 percent search market share. So whatever innovations it makes, it’s important.
Google has made a major change in how it ranks search results probably because it’s been under siege for being manipulated by certain Web sites.
The vaunted Google algorithms – its tools that determine how it ranks Web sites – have been fine-tuned to reward publishers of original content. Unique valuable information, if you will. That certainly includes in-depth thought leadership. Google says it involves about 12 percent of search queries. That might not sound like a lot, but 12 percent of millions and millions of search queries is meaningful.
You might recall numerous recent news stories: JC Penney, for example. The 2010 $17.8 billion retailer was chastised for dubious Internet practices. The retailer denied it approved spam-like behavior by its search-engine optimization company, SearchDex. But right after the story broke, SearchDex was fired.
Indeed, it must have been an eye-opener to the search giant to be labeled as the “tropical paradise for spammers and marketers” by a U.C. Berkeley scholar, Vivek Wadhwa. Hence, its algorithms upgrade.
Another search development: The Google Chrome Web browser now permits sites to prevent other sites from appearing in their results. (Its competitor, Blekko, does the same.)
So, Google has taken action to disallow Web sites, with little or no unique value, to dominate in search results.
My sense: The jury is still out on Google’s changes. In my sampling, I haven’t seen a positive noticeable change, especially in its key word results. Otherwise, if successful, Google is to be commended for dealing with a crisis confronting its quality of relevant search and its image. (Candidly, as a business-performance consultant, I’ve always advised clients on the importance of frequent, strong informative content.)
Bing – social search. Bing grew to a 13 percent market share at the start of this month. But it’s created new buzz by adding Facebook “likes” that allows Internet users to see the results that their friends like.
Here’s how it works: Pictures of your friends appear when you search after you connect with Bing with your Facebook account. You can disable it easily if you choose.
Bing now includes related Twitter features (so does Google).
My sense: The new development in the Bing-Facebook partnership is unique and it affects word-mouth-marketing – as businesspeople and consumers make buying decisions. This helps to make marketing fun. It’s also a reminder that content, search-engine optimization and social media should be synergized and orchestrated in your overall marketing.
This includes:
- Listening to Internet-user preferences
- Interacting with them to maximize your opportunities
- Continually measuring results
- Fine-tuning your approach
From the Coach’s Corner, Bing’s partnership with social-media giant Facebook should remind you to capitalize on Bing search.
Here are valuable tips: Get Busy With Bing Webmaster Tools.
Winners and Losers in Facebook’s Invasion of Google’s Turf
The world has been buzzing about Facebook’s achievement over Google. Harness the power of Facebook, but don’t let it make your Web site irrelevant.
Sept. 13, 2010
It seems the world of marketers and net users – cyber citizens – have been buzzing about Facebook’s achievement over Google. That being the comScore data indicating cyber citizens spent more time on Facebook than the Google sites in August.
Cyber citizens spent an aggregate 41.1 million minutes on Facebook — 9.9 percent of their search-time. That beat the 39.8 million minutes, or 9.6 percent, on all of Google’s sites.
It’s noteworthy because Google, of course, is the leading search engine and has Google News, Buzz, Gmail and most-importantly, YouTube.
With more than 500 million cyber citizens, Facebook’s achievement was over-shadowed by the unveiling of Google Instant, an innovative new feature, which speeds the pace of search.
However, it would appear there are other questions to consider:
- How does Bing profit as Facebook’s Web search partner?
- What should businesses do in marketing on Facebook?
- What precautions should businesses take to make certain their Web sites are not obliterated by Facebook?
Facebook’s time spent viewing can only mean increased search share for Bing vs. Google.In 2008, for $240 million, Microsoft bought 1.6 percent of Facebook. (You might wish to read Why Facebook May Be Inching toward An IPO.)
To maximize the marketing investment, businesses should consider establishing a Facebook page.
For a Facebook presence, Website Magazine’s Linc Wonham recently published some basic tips:
- Set goals for your Facebook page and monitor your progress
- Make your page interesting and informative, and update it as often as you can
- Promote your Facebook page on your business website and elsewhere; add a Find us on Facebook button wherever you can
- Reward your Facebook Fans with discounts and special promotions
- Create a Facebook user group that will be of interest/useful to your audience
- Join other Facebook user groups that pertain to your industry or niche
- Take advantage of Facebook’s tools; track your success with Facebook analytics
“Businesses can add a Facebook Place to their Facebook Page, or the two can be combined,” according to the Website writer. “The result of either option is getting your company’s address, map, phone number and other data in front of Facebook’s massive user network and giving them a way to share the information with friends.”
Mr. Wonham specifies the benefit: “The result of either option is getting your company’s address, map, phone number and other data in front of Facebook’s massive user network and giving them a way to share the information with friends.”
His tips for Facebook ads:
- Be as specific as possible with your keywords and demographic selections
- Use compelling images, titles and copy in your ads
- Make your ads as interactive and engaging as you can
- Frequently update and refresh the images and copy for better results
- Be vigilant about testing your ads and monitoring the results
- Bid high to get your ads approved faster by Facebook
- Start with CPC ads if you have a very small budget, otherwise CPM is the better bet
- Use Facebook Ads Manager, which can be downloaded and installed on Firefox
However, it’s important to take precautions – there are two dangers to Facebook marketing:
- Facebook tends to supersede the importance of your Web site in the minds of cyber citizens.
- The most successful companies achieving success on Facebook have done it by slashing prices and offering coupons.
For more on this angle, see this column: Aside from Privacy, Security Issues — Facebook is a Threat 2 Ways.
But always remember what drives cyber citizens to your Facebook page and Web site — broadcast advertising and strong PR – the ultimate keys to your marketing mix. To target credit-worthy or high net-worth customers, broadcast news is your best bet.
So, harness the power of Facebook, but don’t let it make your Web site irrelevant. You want to dialogue with consumers on your own turf. Use these measures and you’ll be a winner in Facebook’s invasion of Google’s Turf.
From the Coach’s Corner, in view of the news reports that burglars have used Facebook to target victims, syndicated columnist Kathy Kristof provides these privacy tips: 6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook.
Aside from Privacy, Security Issues — Facebook is a Threat 2 Ways
Facebook is well-known for its privacy and security issues. I’ve written multiple columns about social media and how it can harm businesses, especially when employees are not trained about using it on your company’s computers.
For example: 3 Studies – New Concerns about Internet Security and 5 Safety Measures to Thwart Mounting Social-Network Attacks.
But my sense after reading two articles in AdvertisingAge Magazine – a must-read for the advertising profession – is that Facebook raises the specter of two other ramifications for business: Facebook is becoming more of a threat in marketing.
Consider two headlines: What Happens When Facebook Trumps Your Brand Site?” and “The Top Five Brands on Facebook.”
First, so what happens when Facebook becomes more relevant than your Web site? “…the social network has quietly become something else: the biggest relationship-marketing provider for many brands,” writes Jack Neff.
He points out 37 Facebook pages have a million or more fans even though most Web sites have difficulty attracting 100,000 visitors. That means, of course, Facebook is outperforming their sites.
For example, Mr. Neff cites Coca-Cola with 10.7 million Facebook fans, but its Web site’s unique visitors dwindled to 242,000 unique visitors in July, 2010.
The danger is that all these people are identified with social media, which is owned by Facebook. Brands will have to pay to advertise on their own Facebook pages, and Facebook collects all the revenue.
Starbucks may be one of the rare companies to have a strong Facebook and Web site presence.
Mr. Neff provides other interesting insights – for the full story, see the article here.
Also, at AdvertisingAge, Matt Carmichael writes about the top five brands Facebook. But it appears their top ranking is for dubious reasons.
“According to new research from ExactTarget and CoTweet, it’s pretty simple: coupons and free stuff,” he explains.
He reports the top five: Oreo, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, iTunes and Dove.
See his article here.
So, it’s imperative protect your brand by not cannibalizing it to the extent that it has less power than Facebook. Use the necessary due diligence in strategies to use Facebook to drive traffic to your Web site. Or, you’ll pay the price.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are related columns on promoting your Web site:
Facebook Users Favor Online News Sites.
Web Publishers: Are You Optimized for Bing?
Startup Toolkit – How to Make a Hit on the Internet
5 Tips If Your Web Site’s Traffic Slows in Summer Months
Facebook’s Popularity Drops in U.S., Canada and Europe, but Inches Toward Highly Valued IPO
Updated – June 14, 2011
Many analysts believe Facebook is now set to go with its widely anticipated initial public offering in Q1 2012. What’s astounding is Facebook has lost ground in North America and Europe, but analysts are predicting a valuation as high as $100 billion.
A Web site, www.insidefacebook.com, reported the irony regarding Facebook’s popularity in this article: “Facebook Sees Big Traffic Drops in US and Canada as It Nears 700 Million Users Worldwide.”
It explained where and why Facebook lost members in the month of May:
- U.S. lost almost 6 million down to 149.4 million
- Canada dropped by 1.52 million to 16.6 million
- UK, Norway and Russia each lost more than 100,000
Ostensibly, Facebook’s privacy issues are having an impact.
So, why is Facebook growing? Inside Facebook indicates the site gained 11.8 million users among Third World populations that have recently started warming up to the thought of using the social networking site.
Meantime, many marketers started allocating more of their budgets for Facebook ads, according to a report in Website Magazine, www.websitemagazine.com, as early as Aug. 2010.
“Two years ago the big brands were experimenting with us,” Website Magazine’s senior editor Mike Phillips quotes Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. “They started buying with us a year ago. Now, they’re going big.”
Mr. Phillips writes that she claims the social medium’s top advertisers are now investing 10 to 20 times more dollars.
“Facebook appears to be positioning itself for an IPO in 2012,” confirms Francis Gaskins, a widely quoted and respected IPO expert. “Here’s an interesting article.”
If Facebook is inching toward its initial public offering in 2012, shouldn’t it show it’s making profits from ads.
So, what about Facebook as a marketing tool?
“For most companies, it’s not yet completely clear whether Facebook ads are truly effective at generating quality leads or increased conversions/revenue,” Mr. Phillips astutely points out. “What is clear, however, is that Facebook continues to grow its user base.”
He says research firm comScore reports Facebook has overtaken Yahoo as the nation’s No.1 display advertiser.
“Now might be the time to get involved in Facebook advertising,” suggests Mr. Phillips. “Prices have remained steady, the website is still the hottest property online and you can expect those prices to increase sooner than later. You can run a few simple campaigns on the cheap, look for results and optimize in no time at all. There is plenty to gain here.”
As a business-performance consultant, I concur. To quote my good friend, Cork Platts, now a retired Los Angeles marketing guru, a basic marketing tenet is “test, test, test.”
For me, that’s especially true when it’s an inexpensive marketing investment. But be careful to get a return on your investment, and don’t cannibalize your brand. I wouldn’t want a Facebook presence to trump my Web site. Facebook should merely part of overall marketing. Consider: Winners and Losers in Facebook’s Invasion of Google’s Turf.
Meantime, my biz coach sense is that an IPO with a $100 billion valuation doesn’t make sense for a social networking site that’s lost ground in the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe, especially when we’re not sure about its revenue.
Such a high valuation on dubious earnings is reminiscent of all the hype and countless failures in the dot.com bust. Was it that long ago?
From the Coach’s Corner, here are related social-media resource links:
11 Tips to Make Money on Facebook
5 Strategies to Sell More from Your Web Site
Invigorate Sales with Customer Retention, Referral Strategies
Mr. Gaskins’ resource links:
(Note: Mr. Platts is also founder of Consultants West, www.consultantswest.com, an association of veteran consultants that meets regularly in Los Angeles. Mr. Gaskins is also a member, and I’m proud to be associated with them.)
“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.”
-Pete Cashmore
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Microsoft and Bing: The Hits Just Keep on Comin’
June 7, 2010
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote speech introducing the iPhone’s facelift was big news. The buzz leading up to the rollout was deafening. Any time Mr. Jobs makes a presentation, it’s exciting for Apple aficionados.
The big news was supposed to be all about Apple when Mr. Jobs unveiled the new-look iPhone 4. With 16GB and 32GB capacities, it’s priced at $199 and $299, respectively. It’s 25 percent slimmer than its predecessor. It has twice the picture resolution, and has a computing brain with video-chat function. It will be sold in 88 nations.
As expected, Google is the iPhone’s default search engine. But wait, here’s some surprising news – a big secondary angle is that Bing is a search option on the iPhone. Now we know why we’ve heard rumblings in recent weeks about meetings between Apple and Microsoft.
“…Bing will be included as one of the search engine choices within Safari on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and within the Safari browser on the Mac and PC,” announced Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president at Microsoft, in a blog according to CNET.
“Needless to say, we are excited that Bing will be included as an option in Safari because it will make it easier for you to search and get the benefits of Bing,” he added.
“In addition, we are continuing to improve our existing Bing mobile application for iPhone which makes it easy to search, map, and find commerce and movie times,” Mr. Mehdi said. “We will have a new release with even more great features very soon. For those of you that have not already tried it, you can find it in the App Store today.”
Microsoft’s track record in partnerships is really terrific. Indeed, in its first year, Bing also scored by being the search engine for Facebook and Verizon phones.
And I’m not certain it’s getting full credit for its successes. Depending on the research firm, Bing is credited with a 10 to 11 percent market share. (But based on this Web site’s visitor’s data, Bing’s share appears to be at least 50 percent higher.)
It’s also worth noting Google has been tinkering with it home page appearance, including offering an option to change the background. To use football-announcing vernacular, “Is Google hearing Bing’s footsteps?”
From the start, Bing has been offering colorful, informative schemes. For my SEO taste, Bing has a more objective search process compared to Google’s quirky approach. And I love the Bing mouse-over option on the news videos.
Frankly, I don’t get it when I’ve read bloggers’ posts about Microsoft having a so-so year. The company has had a stellar year in forming partnerships. That’s an excellent lesson for any company.
So regarding Bing’s progress, as I used to say as a young rock ‘n’ roll DJ working my way through college, “The hits just keep on comin’.”
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s more on the new iPhone.
3 Studies – New Concerns about Internet Security
May 16, 2010
Phishing and other Internet security risks pose new dangers and raise concerns, according to three new studies, and two of the studies involve Facebook.
It’s been quite a roller coaster for Facebook.
On one hand, Facebook is enjoying a huge increase in display advertising impressions. Research firm comScore reports Facebook had 176 billion impressions in Q1 2010. That’s more than either Yahoo or Microsoft enjoyed.
However, Facebook faces increasing scrutiny over its privacy controls from Congress and European data protection authorities. Indeed, many users are dropping their Facebook memberships as a result of these and other developments.
Other Facebook users are probably shocked once they learn that their questionable posts are showing up on a Web site www.youropenbook.org. Their embarrassing messages range from results of their HIV tests to playing hooky from their jobs. The site shows their posts because they don’t turn off their privacy settings.
The three studies:
Buzz Score. The so-called buzz score by YouGov BrandIndex survey for Facebook for people over 35 is down. The buzz index dropped to 21.2 from 26.7. The assumption was privacy concerns was a factor among those 35+. But it jumped to 44.8 from 26.7 for the 18 to 24 demographic.
Phishing targets. Facebook is now in fourth place as one of the top phishing targets, according to a CNET report on a study by Kaspersky Lab. The article was written by Elinor Mills.
Phishing, of course, is the fraudulent attempt by e-mailers to get your sensitive information – credit cards, passwords and usernames – by posing as an e-mail a trusted Web site.
The highest number of attacks masquerade as organizations in e-mails, including:
- PayPal – 52.2 percent
- eBay – 13.3 percent
- HSBC – 7.8 percent
- Facebook – 5.7 percent
- Google – 3.1 percent
- IRS – 2.2 percent
- Rapidshare – 1.8 percent
- Bank of America – 1.8 percent
- UBI – 1.6 percent
- Bradesco – 1.2 percent
- Other – 9.2 percent
“Facebook popped up unexpectedly in fourth place,” the report said according to CNET. “This was the first time since we started monitoring that attacks on a social-networking site have been so prolific.”
“Just last week, Facebook board member Jim Breyer, of venture capital firm Accel Partners, found that his Facebook account was spamming his contacts because of a phishing scam,” wrote Ms. Mills.
“The report also found that spam represents about 85 percent of all e-mail traffic and that Asia remains the leading source of spam by geographical region, while the individual countries serving as the top sources are the U.S., India, and Russia,” she also mentioned.
Worst phishing may be yet to come. They were awful, but the worst attacks might be being planned now, at least, according to a study reported by Tim Greene in NetworkWorld. Mr. Greene wrote about a study by Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) entitled, “Global Phishing Survey: Trends and Domain Name Use 2H2009.”
A phishing group called Avalanche was notorious in its dominance. In Oct. 2009, it launched 26,411 attacks. In April, the group only launched 59.
“As of this writing, Avalanche has dwindled to a shadow of its former self. Will Avalanche fade for good or will it too be reborn as something new?” the APWG report asks.
“This criminal entity is one of the most sophisticated and damaging on the Internet, and perfected a mass-production system for deploying phishing sites and ‘crimeware’ – malware designed specifically to automate identity theft and facilitate unauthorized transactions from consumer bank accounts,” states the study.
From the Coach’s Corner, for tips on Internet security, including the expertise of a Los Angeles security specialist, Dr. Stan Stahl, consider these Biz Coach columns:
- How to Protect Yourself from the Internet Crime Wave
- Strategic Planning: List of Informative Web Sites
- Web Security Checklist and Warning about Mobile Banking
- 5 Safety Measures to Thwart Mounting Social-Network Attacks
- How China-Google Controversy Might Affect Business, Government Security
Google vs. Microsoft-Yahoo Heats Up – Indirectly
April 25, 2010
There seems to be a misconception that recent upgrades on Facebook imply an intensified competition with Google. Well, yes and no.
On three occasions since Christmas Eve, 2009, Facebook has outdrawn Google in U.S. visitors. And Google now counts social media in ranking Web sites, but ostensibly tends to disregard the importance of Facebook.
Facebook made some big news when it unveiled details about its new “Like” button. What you should know about Facebook’s changes – CNN.com was a very popular topic on the Web.
So, in defensive football parlance, Google is probably hearing Facebook’s footsteps. At the same time, however, Google is also hearing Bing’s footsteps. Bing provides search for Facebook, which means its capitalizing on Facebook’s success. And, of course, the effect of the Bing-Yahoo advertising-search partnership will soon be obvious. My sense is that Yahoo is already doing better in search.
So what is Google doing? It continues to evolve, too.
Google is already tweaking its Google Places, which it launched in the Q4 2009. Google Places inserts listings for companies that Google lists also in local searches.
The features include:
- Companies can display the territories they serve in their service areas.
- With advertising tags for which Google charges $25 per month, companies can be spotlighted on Google Maps and Google.com. Their applications include pictures and coupons.
- Depending where you are based, Google provides free photo shoots of business interiors. If you wish, you can also add your own pictures.
- From Google Places Dashboard, you can get customized QR codes, which direct customers to your place page. Prospects can use their smartphones to scan the codes, which can be inserted on your marketing collateral.
- The search engine’s Favorite Places program is forwarding window decals that have codes to about 50,000 U.S. companies.
- With Google Places, you will be able to learn from where customers are coming and who they are.
There are restrictions, for example, companies must indicate a mailing address and only one listing for each address.
Huh? Yes, all of these developments are true. Check them out for yourself.
Whatever your online marketing and search-engine preferences, such competition is exciting and provides more options for businesspeople and consumers.
From the Coach’s Corner, there are Google restrictions. Here are the Google provisos.
Surprise? Facebook and Twitter Increase Odds for Sales
March21, 2010
New research confirms what might be obvious. Products with a presence on Facebook and Twitter are favored by users of those social media, according to a published report in WebProNews. The study, by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, indicates marketers benefit in word-of-mouth and direct sales.
WebProNews eporter Mike Sachoff wrote that 79 percent of tweeters and 60 percent of Facebook users recommend such brands to their friends.
Sixty-seven percent of tweeters and 51 percent of Facebook enthusiasts are predisposed to buying the products themselves.
Another conclusion: If a brand is not promoted on the two social mediums it is viewed in a negative light by users as not being contemporary.
And there were other interesting numbers, according to WebProNews, the 1500 respondents were asked: “What does it say about a brand if they are not involved with sites like Facebook or Twitter?”
The reporter listed these results:
- “It’s expected that a company have some digital face – whether it’s on FB or Twitter I don’t know – but they need a strong electronic presence or you doubt their relevance in today’s marketplace.” (Females 50-54)
- “Either they are not interested in the demographic that frequents Facebook and Twitter or they are unaware of the opportunity to get more exposure in a more interactive method.” (Males 35-39)
- ”It shows they are not really with it or in tune with the new ways to communicate with customers.” (Females 18-24)
- “If they’re not on Facebook or Twitter, then they aren’t in touch with the ‘electronic’ people.” (Females 55-59)
My Biz Coach conclusions: in terms of cost-effectiveness, there’s an obvious upside for businesses to use Twitter and Facebook. With the exception of the cost of advertising on Facebook, it only takes time to create messages on both of them.
But for the more sopisticated palate, my sense is Facebook will be more influential and will outlast Twitter as a trend. Here’s confirmation: Compared to Google, Facebook Users Favor Online News Sites.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are three other related Biz Coach topics:
