Google Takes to ESPN to Promote Google Plus, Group / Event Followings

If you've been watching any television recently, you've surely seen the barrage of ad spots for Google Chrome, Google Plus, and Internet Explorer 9. I understand Google's effort but am generally confused by advertising specifically for IE9... which can't be as effective / meaningful as focusing on Windows Mobile. Anyhow... the point is that Google took to ESPN.com yesterday to cleverly promote Google Plus alongside the NCAA Tournament. It's well done because it's relevant, good looking and ties into the product very well (circles!). Most interesting is how it ties directly into the product - each NCAA team is "followable" on Google+ and there are scheduled Hangouts with analysts, teams, etc.

Really well done and an interesting twist as they try to differentiate from Facebook and Twitter... and the two areas where they can stand out:

Hangouts (the star of the product) and Media / Lists (something Twitter hasn't nailed yet)

Location Targeted Facebook Posts

One of the most effective aspects of Facebook's advertising platform is the ability to target users by demographic, geography and even "likes". Advertisers have become quite efficient at crafting and targeting campaigns for these parameters. Some of those targeting tools are available to Facebook Page owners as well... but it isn't as widely known / utilized. Here is an example: I posted to @dogpatchlabs an upcoming event hosted by Recurly (a Dogpatch graduate). The event is based at their San Francisco headquarters... so Facebook gives me the option of sharing that post only with local fans.

This is quite powerful - particularly for brands with huge followings (ie the NBA and local games / highlights, Art.com with local art, etc).

And as Facebook continues to evaluate engagement rates as the core element of Edge Rank, this is a chance to make sure you are effectively connecting with your audience.

Facebook Sparks Offer Virality with Sponsored Offers, Anchor Promotion

Just last week I wrote about the new Facebook Feature Posts that are being anchored atop the newsfeed (and are very lightly marked as ads). Well here is another example of the anchored ad unit but using a new format: Offers. The example is from Macy's and includes an in-line offer.

Visually it is very clearly separated, includes a big visual and a unique border (you really cannot miss this).

The ad appears both in anchor format (top screenshot) and in the actual feed. Obviously, the anchoring / promotion causes more visibility and thus virality - the examples here move from "5 friends" of 7,200 Facebook users claiming an offer to 22 friends of 26,000 users within a matter of hours.

Facebook Rolling Out Featured Posts Atop Newsfeed

I always have to preface Facebook product updates by saying that it is an update to me! Facebook is continually rolling out new features and tests... and with 800m+ users, we all see different things. So this is new to me! For months now, the Facebook newsfeed has a sort features for Top Stories and Most Recent posts. Today, I noticed a story locked atop the feed that looked nearly identical to the others stories - except for: - a faint line separating it from the other feeds - small text that reads "featured"

When the 'featured' text is hovered over, it expands to explain that this is a sponsored story.... just appearing in a new format (see normal here) and arguably in the most prominent place of any prior Facebook ad.

This is reminiscent of Google AdWords - where top paying / converting ads appear atop the search results and the others appear on the right column. The interesting part to me is how blended and integrated (too much?) it is into the core experience.

Amazon Super Bowl Ad - A Week Later

Leading up to the Super Bowl, Amazon ran some clever sponsored story ads on Facebook asking fans to engage around the Super Bowl (will you be watching?). That of course leads to indirect transactions (clicking through takes users to a Super Bowl merchandising page)... but that is a different message than merely displaying product. And it leads to interactions:- 12,000 Facebook users liked the ad - 1,200 commented (10%) - 150 reshared it (1%)

That's unique and rather compelling. But: the ad is still running - a week later. So it's no longer relevant or even logical ("like this post if you'll be watching the game next Sunday"). I love the concept of ad timliness - but just as it's effective to promote current events (ie the Grammys are tonight!) it becomes ineffective and stale when creative isn't rotated.

Be Actionable. Be Different. Facebook Listen & Read Buttons & Google Offers as Examples.

Before the holiday, I wrote that Facebook was testing "listen buttons" in the Ticker. I commented that it was sure to boost activity and conversions... but what happens when the 'action' graph expands and there are buttons galore? A couple thoughts / notes on that: click image for full-size

1. This is the first time I have now seen "Read" buttons. They look exactly like the listen button - but clearly focused on different actions, publishers and canvas apps. It really stands out.

Again: what happens when the entire ticker is action-oriented? Is it too noisy? Is there new column? Unsure... but I like the fact that posts are action-oriented.

click image for full-size

2. Which brings us to point #2: it is a reminder to be action-oriented and to stand out... whether you are creating content, delivering emails or crafting ad units. Great example below from Google's own search ads.

The first unit is for Google Offers. It *of course* looks great and stands out: big branding, big imagery, etc.

The second is a little further down and is by Lonely Planet. The unit stands out because it is different and integrates ratings. The copy is action-oriented.

click image for full-size

Facebook Moving Sponsored Posts Above Ticker? Always a Balancing Act

Last week I wrote a post about the the balancing act of revenue versus user experience. These tug of wars appear all the time, for instance - while at eBay, I used to think a great deal about the trade-offs of SEO as compared to usability / design... tough decisions. And we see it now with LinkedIn (who recently became a public company) - whose web experience has shifted a bit towards revenue (suggested by my anecdotal, personal usage). This is all a set up to the following screenshot of my Facebook homepage - which seems to have shifted Sponsored Posts above the Ticker and Birthday / Events alerts. Sponsored Posts are clearly the big revenue opportunity on the the homepage - and, by being above the Ticker, CPMs, conversions, etc all improve. Of course that affects interaction rates with the ticker and therefore my friends.

It's always a balance. And it's fascinating to watch.

Starbucks Releases New Coffee Brew: Blonde Roast. Runs a Clever Facebook, Twitter Campaign.

This is a fun, light post from always-socially-creative Starbucks. Starbucks is unveiling a new coffee brew (the Blonde Roast) tomorrow (January 12th). In an effort to promote the new roast, they have created a social campaign on Facebook and Twitter called "The Roast I Love". It's clever because it's simple and fun... and leverages social data. In short: users vote for their brew of choice via Facebook and that creates a mini-infographic of sorts: - what your network drinks - what your geography drinks - what you gender prefers - what Facebook fans are saying - and what Twitter is saying

Clever. Relatively simple to create. And based on the activity stream - fans are engaging.