LATEST NEWS

Facebook is bringing ads to mobile

Users of Facebook mobile apps on Android, iPad and iPhone may begin seeing ads as soon as early March, as the company looks to gain an additional revenue source before it goes public. Half of Facebook’s 845 million users access the site via a mobile device. To encourage a seamless mobile experience, Facebook will be incentivising advertisers to link to pages within Facebook (not external sites). Read more?

Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined

According to Shareaholic’s Referral Traffic Report, photo-sharing social network Pinterest is driving enormous amounts of traffic to sites. Pinterest is definitely becoming a game changer for social commerce.

The Super Bowl and its ads set social media record

This year’s Super Bowl was massive for US advertising, as usual. There were almost 60 thirty-second spots created, at an average of $3.5m each (up from $3m last year). However the social buzz was phenomenal – during the event, more than 5.4m people made 12.2m tweets/comments – making it the largest-ever TV-triggered outpouring in he history of social media. Social media conversation has put more value on Super Bowl ads as fans discuss ads on Twitter and Facebook and go to YouTube to rewatch and share. The ads aren’t bad too – check out the best 2012 Superbowl ads.

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Facebook Recommendations Bar plugin turns any website into an Open Graph app

The Recommendations Bar is one of Facebook’s newest social plugins, and the first to integrate the social reading and frictionless sharing capabilities of Open Graph. Put simply, the Recommendations Bar allows any website to implement the same social reading and social recommendation features found in “social reader” style apps. The plugin is still in beta but when it becomes publicly accessible we expect it to be a highly effective tool for blogs or other content-rich sites to increase referral traffic and reader engagement. Read more?

Sponsored House Parties – experiential marketing to those who want it

For many brands, getting a product to a targeted customer group can be extremely difficult. House Party is an organization that helps brands promote their products by getting products to the target customers in the best setting. People can apply to be the host of the party and invite friends, and the brand provides the goodies and treats. Several popular brands on board, including Benefit and Godiva.

YouTube CEO: The future of content is niche channels

The way consumers access and consume media is changing rapidly and YouTube is evolving to accommodate it with a recent investment of $100 million into developing premium content channels catering to subjects such as business news, food, dance, education, fitness etc. Read more?

LATEST NEWS

Foursquare now displays priced menus
Two weeks ago, Foursquare announced its latest ‘Explore’ feature which leveraged its 1.5 billions checkins into personalised, localised recommendations for users. Now, it will be displaying prices and menus on the app, powered by NYC startup SinglePlatform, which will keep it updated in realtime. Read more?

Facebook finally rolls out ‘Actions’ within 78 apps for the Timeline
Facebook ‘Actions’ have finally been unveiled through 78 apps on the Timeline, including popular platforms such as UrbanSpoon, Pinterest, SoundCloud and TripAdvisor. Apps help publish your activities onto your Timeline. It is expected that Facebook will begin allowing third party developers to create their own apps with unique, branded actions in the coming weeks. Click here to start adding your own apps to your Timeline.

Facebook Timeline to be enforced to all users over the coming weeks
Facebook Timeline is to become the new de facto standard for all Facebook profiles. Facebook announced last Tuesday that Timeline will be coming to all users in the next few weeks. Users are being notified on the site that they have seven days to preview their Timeline and curate/hide content. Read more?

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HERE ARE OUR LATEST NEWS:  

15% of 16- 24 year olds turn to social media first for customer service

Once again we see that young consumers want to be able to address customer service issues using social media, according to a new study by Sitel. The first thing 57% of consumers do when they encounter a problem is search for it online.

But while the emphasis on social is increasing, it should only be one part of a broader approach to customer service. It’s important not to forget that 64% of consumers aged 55-64 contact the manufacturer or retailer directly when they encounter a problem, with a preference for contact details. Read more?

IKEA hosts sleepover for Facebook fans

After finding a Facebook group of almost 100,000 people called “I Wanna Have A Sleepover in IKEA“, IKEA took the opportunity to create a competition for 100 fans to make their dreams come true, with a giant sleepover at the Essex, UK IKEA store. A great PR stunt that reached out to and rewarded the brand advocates and gave them special attention and care (which usually lacks in IKEA stores) Watch the campaign video here.

Brilliant social-themed ads by Milwaukee Public Library

Borders has closed but Charlie Bit My Finger has raked in millions. We really admire Milwaukee Library’s ads that make us sit back and question our priorities. Click to check them out!

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Google sets its sights on Foursquare with Schemer

Google is planning to enter the domain of location-based social media with its own Foursquare challenger, Schemer. Schemer goes by the tagline “the beginning of everything worth doing” and aims to help people discover new experiences and find activities by highlighting recommendations and suggestions. The site is currently in beta but we are curious to see whether it’s a worthy competitor to Foursquare. Watch the intro video.

Facebook trials private messaging with Pages

Facebook is trialing a new system which will allow users to send private messages to Pages. This may not seem like a major change but it will change the dynamics between the consumer and brand, making it easier for fans to give feedback privately. A major element of this addition is that users don’t need to Like a Page to send a private message – this option will appear for everyone.

LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Facebook insights get more insightful with negative comment metrics

Facebook has added a new metric that displays negative feedback on posts so page administrators can now see how many users hid their page’s posts or gave them negative feedback in the news feeds. This new metric will help administrators find out which type of content resonates better with customers and what needs to be improved on.

Twitter launches self-serve ad platform geared for small to medium businesses

Twitter will begin rolling out their long-awaited self-serve ad platform, allowing payment through credit card, with a group of around 20 different advertisers. Advertisers will be able to set up campaigns without having to contact Twitter. This service is aimed at small to medium sized businesses, as payments can be made by credit cards, not invoices.

5 Reasons why your business should blog

A business blog doesn’t just help your Google rankings, it also:

Read the full article here

LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Durex causes controversy in South Africa with Twitter sex jokes

As the recent Qantas debacle highlighted, sensitivity to your customers is paramount in social media. Durex failed in another area of sensitivity – to the culture and politics of the environment. A Twitter campaign in South Africa backfired when the brand’s agency posted questionable jokes that degraded women and made light of violence against women. In South Africa where one in four men have admitted to raping a woman, it’s no wonder feminist groups were enraged. Durex has since apologised. Read more.

Facebook comments are four times more valuable than Likes

Facebook’s new metrics enable the monitoring of Shares and Clicks. For every Like on a post, an average of 3.1 clicks were generated.
On the other hand, a comment on a post leads to a whopping 14,678 click Shares are thus a very important driver for your brand’s Facebook exposure. Read more.

Deutsche Telekom “Life is for sharing” campaign beams Mariah Carey holographic concert across Europe

The T-Mobile branded Christmas campaign starring Mariah Carey was witnessed live by thousands of Europeans in a hologram multi-media-show that was delivered simultaneously in Germany, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Poland, as well as streamed on the brand’s online channel. Watch the virtual concert here

Latest News

JC Penney lets you personalise gift tags through QR codes
Department store chain JC Penney has started their “Who’s Your Santa” campaign for Christmas. Special gift tags are given to people who buy gifts from the stores. The tags have QR codes which the consumer can scan with a QR code reader on their smartphone, record a 60-second personal voice message for the recipient, and stick the card on the gift. Recipients can scan the code again and listen to the voice message. This innovative use of QR codes to add an extra personal touch is a great move by JC Penney to add something memorable to Christmas gifts this season.

Facebook launches ads in the Ticker
Yesterday, Facebook added sponsored stories to the real-time news ticker on the side of the Facebook interface. The ads are being introduced slowly so it is unclear the extent to which sponsored stories will be featured in the newsfeed.

Read more.

How 5 top brands crafted their social media voices
Some of the most compelling brand voices on Twitter have revealed how they’ve gotten a great following with a conversational and informative brand voice on social media. Although these profiles may focus on media and fashion, the accounts show dedication to timeliness, customer service, listening to opinions, and engaging consumers in friendly dialogue.
Read the full article here.

Facebook Timeline powers new Virgin app to unearth your ‘first’ with a friend

The Virgin Group rolled out a new Facebook app that allows users to select one of their friends, and then unearth the first photo, event, comment, check-in and liked page in common with that friend. The results can be posted to the user’s photo album, with both friends tagged. A clever way to integrate Virgin’s brand with social tools and to build up their fan base (you have to Like to use the app!)

New app Wickets rewards users for making recommendations to friends

Wickets is a newly launched social commerce app on the iPhone that encourages users to share and recommend products and places to friends. Each time you ‘rec’ something to a friend, you receive points that can be later redeemed as vouchers to spend at participating online stores including Amazon, iTunes, ebay, Best Buy and Etsy. Vice versa, you can see what friends are recommending and purchase the product from the app to earn points for yourself.

New “Listen” and “Read” buttons appear on Facebook’s Ticker as part of new open graph

A new interface adjustment on Facebook’s Ticker is making it easier to start consuming the media that your friends are engaging with. News articles and songs in the Ticker now include buttons that allow you to start reading or listening when you click on them. This helps media gain new viral growth through the Ticker. Read more?

Latest news highlights

College students design app for safer driving to win Microsoft’s Imagine Cup
Here’s an app worth saluting! Four college students are developing a new smartphone app to help reduce one of the biggest causes of deaths globally – dangerous driving. The app is aimed at young “boy racer” types and tracks real-time driving to give valuable, and best of all, real rewards such as discounted insurance to those that are the safest behind the wheel. Created by four college students, the gamification involved is believed to be the magic ingredient that could help re-educate and motivate this notoriously high-risk category of drivers – 18 to 24 year old men. Find out more about how the app works here

Parrot Carrot uses augmented reality to refresh the imagination
Parrot Carrot is also the main character of a children’s book that is now enhanced with augmented reality. Kids can use the AR app on their phones to see the characters from the book in their surroundings, catch them and find objects that rhyme with them to create new wondrous animals. Watch the video here

How LinkedIn brought in 72,000 in sales for a postcard business
Facebook and Twitter have become common platforms for business success, but what about LinkedIn? A postcard-marketing company in Florida achieved 72,000 sales through LinkedIn, proving that the network is not confined to job searchers. Their secret was providing attractive content at the right time, establishing a face and voice for the company, building a strong and close network and joining and contributing to LinkedIn groups. Read the full article here.

Twitter provides more context for tweets on your timeline

Twitter has made some changes to the appearance of your stream of incoming tweets. Tweets will now expand when you click them, rather than show up on the right hand side. Media will show up in an expanded Timeline tweet view, making it easier to check out a photo or video attached to a tweet and making Twitter scanning more seamless. Find out more?

Facebook to change social commerce as they roll out credits to websites

Facebook looks to make online shopping a more personalised experience as they take Facebook Credits outside of Facebook for the first time. They’re testing a rollout with a limited number of developers and sites, to allow it as a form of payment for virtual goods.This could be a game changer for social commerce as sites are already happy to use Facebook to personalise the commerce experience up to the point of transaction, so it’s not a huge leap to introduce it as the very payment method for the transaction itself. Although the current test phase limits the use of Facebook credits to virtual goods within games, Facebook is expected to eventually expand this into retail sites.

App (ImOK) makes checking in with parents into a game

Parents worried about their children’s whereabouts no longer need to resort to tracking them like FedEx packages. A new alternative to smartphone monitoring, launched last week, turns voluntarily staying in touch with parents into a game. Parents can sign up for an account with ImOK and send an activation code to their family members who can sign into the private network on their phone. Adolescents check-in to the app, put themselves on a map or add photos, messages or friends’ names for more points. Adolescents can suggest rewards from a ‘wishlist’ section of the app – but parents can of course, have the final say or add their own.

Clever McDonalds campaign encourages people not to litter

McDonalds’ latest campaign is a great example of how to engage customers both in the online and offline worlds. Facing an increasing problem from litter around their stores, the created an online game where you could upload your photo and have it turned into a video of you doing amazing soccer tricks. The last trick always showed you kicking into a McDonalds bin to drive the message home. People were encouraged to link the videos up with their Facebook profiles (where they got the most exposure with 60,000 impressions) and spread the message.
The campaign had some impressive stats with 28,000 uploads, 1 million page impressions and (according to them) less trash littering their store surroundings. Watch the video of the online campaign (featuring Obama in a hoodie)

Pedigree raises funds by taking a dog on a virtual walk

Pedigree are well known for their efforts in helping and caring for abandoned dogs, creating numerous campaigns over the years to help increase awareness. Pedigree (UK) have created the virtual dog walk which allows you to take a dog, Ripley, on a walk across the internet – to different websites dedicated to beaches, forests and parks around the UK. During each walk you can play with Ripley, and for each journey he completes, Pedigree will make a £1 donation with the aim of raising £100,000 overall. An innovative campaign that employs social and digital to spread a message.

A quick overview of 8 new Facebook changes

1. Facebook lets you tag non-friends in comments (supposedly)
2. Facebook navigation bar locked to top of page
3. Requesting Facebook photos to be removed has been made easier
4. Facebook iPad app released
5. Page photos get larger
6. New insights and “talking about this metric”
7. Facebook adds translation to all pages
8. Facebook expands premium ad unit to allow more social content

Read more?

ThingLink launches printable NFC tags

ThingLink is a startup known for allowing you to add rich media tags to online images – but recently they have announced the launch of ThingLink Labs to create and productize innovations in the field of image interaction. Their first project is Rich Media Notes, a printed version of ThingLink images, which will include NFC tags. ThingLink printouts mean the possibility of wider distribution with NFC-enabled posters, flyers, handouts and other material. Read more?

Just launched: Facebook for iPad

Facebook has unveiled the long-awaited iPad app after months of development. This is going to have a huge impact on the mobile experience of Facebook and affects brands and developers in a big way. Until now, Facebook apps have not been available across mobile platforms but this is about to change with more mobile-friendly updates to Facebook for mobile. Facebook is slowly working to own the mobile space and this is probably just the start of it.

Walmart to launch3,500 new Facebook pages for individual stores

Facebook is partnering up with another big brand as Wal-Mart makes a very strategic movie into social networking. Today, 3,500 new Facebook pages will be launched for the retail giant’s individual stores, linking up to one central brand page. Users will be able to find their local store on Facebook and the deals relevant to their area. As a national message is not often relevant, this is a brilliant move into targeted social business marketing. Watch the video demo here

Groupon Rewards allows consumers to unlock special deals

Great news for shoppers and merchants alike – Groupon has launched Groupon Rewards, a new program allowing consumers to unlock special deals from their favourite local businesses. Consumers earn rewards at participating merchants simply by paying with the credit/debit card they have on file at Groupon’s site. After spending an amount set by the merchant, the consumer unlocks the ability to purchase a sepcial Groupon for that business. Shoppers don’t need to worry about loyalty cards or remembering to check in, and merchants receive tracking insights to incentivise future purchases.

“Eric the Circle” visual tweeting app challenges Facebook for the social media crown

Draw-it-yourself cartoon based social media app ‘Eric the Circle‘ has launched in Australia in a bid to challenge Facebook’s supremacy. Eric combines a range of technologies to facilitate user generated content, content distribution and social networking. Its mission is to become the medium that allows people to comment and share in a visual and creative way whilst being rewarded financially. Find out more?