A random thought came to me today about the future revenue potential for Facebook.
Facebook’s main value is the huge volume of users that now habitually use it. It has the power to change daily schedules and the way we interact.
1. Networks that aren’t Facebook have made the mistake of trying to replicate Facebook in the belief that they can then get a similar number of users. They can’t. Once there was Facebook, and it had become the place to store your information and you didn’t want to move.
2. Facebook tried to make money from this value in several ways, each time misunderstanding their value.
- they wanted to sell the fountain of information – but people came to Facebook to share with people they know, not companies. Privacy alarm bells rang.
- they wanted to sell ad space because of all the eyeballs they have – but people are only interested in the content their network has generated, and very few companies are finding the ads effective.
Facebook was trying to sell what they’d already managed to capture, but their users didn’t want to be sold.
3. Facebook’s REAL value is in the huge realm of possibility that is created when lots of people are in the same space. It’s not about trying to pick parts of them individually but putting them together in new ways.
Let’s take the business community, for example. A general group of people that would pay to be connected in smarter ways, because for them it pays off.
Do you use LinkedIn AND Facebook? It’s inconvenient monitoring both. What if you could easily create professional profiles, picking which content you want to be drawn from your existing profile and which would be different? What if you could be recommended pe0ple to do business with based on your interests as well as industry and location?
Would you pay a nominal fee for that?
Or what about a service where you could send post to Facebook addressed to a username and have it forwarded to the user – so that postal addresses can remain anonymous? (Hard to pull off, but do-able.) It’s another way to make Facebook indispensible for connecting people.
I feel like there’s got to be another way to approach the problem. Thoughts?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, facebook, facebook advertising, mazda
I think the conversation went something like this…
“Guys, we need a Facebook campaign. But don’t worry, I’ve got it!
What kind of people do we want to attract? Party people!
What do party people do on Facebook? Post photos!
So…let’s run a party photos competition on Facebook!
It’s going to be legen– wait for it… DARY!”
Mazda has developed an app for submitting any party photo you choose, and best one each day gets a prize. Easy to get involved and spread the word to all the other ‘party people’ you know.
I guess we get all tied up with brand engagement sometimes. But does this activity really promote our brand values? Then it just gets too hard for people to come up with a video to outline your 3 core values and second tier of 5 other brand wanks for the 20-28 age group in exactly 28 seconds. So nobody gets involved.
Here it’s just fun, free stuff and some zoom zoom. Simple.
Thanks Mazda for making it fun!
…and I wish this ad wasn’t.
“Be confident! But not too confident because your online friends don’t really like you.”
Clearasil seems to be struggling with mixed messages. On their ‘be yourself for real’ website they’re challenging image distortion on online networks by teenagers.
The premise is that you should ‘keep it real’ because making yourself look better online doesn’t improve you as a person. To correspond with keeping it real, three teenagers are used as role models to talk about how they deal with image problems and online friendship.
Interestingly, none of Clearasil’s ‘real voices’ have any acne problems at all.
The point about your Facebook friends not necessarily being your ‘real’ friends seems moot. Most of Clearasil’s respondents seem to acknowledge that online friendship is a different level anyway – according to ‘The Pulse’.
But there’s a whole other can of worms. They seem to be talking about looking cooler in terms of touching up your profile pictures on Facebook. (Makes sense – don’t use Photoshop, buy Clearasil.) This is only a small part of the image control that goes on; try quizzes, friend hoarding, camerawhoring, status updates, detagging, events, groups… Risky pool to dip your toes into.
Still so far the dialogue has managed to stay in safer territory, through control of the ‘shout box’ – questions asked by the ‘real voices’ and then answered by users.
To give you an idea of how much ‘dialogue’ is actually going on, as it currently stands their Alexa ranking is around the 2,000,000 mark and average time spent on the pages is 2.3 min per day.
They’ve tried to compromise between open dialogue and directed conversation. But you just can’t compromise on authenticity.
Though it might be an interesting resource for understanding how teenagers really feel about online networks.
Clearasil, if someone liked me just because I had clear skin, would they really be my friend? I’m worried about it. Like, srsly omg. Txt me bk.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: District 9, facebook, integrated marketing, marketing, Sony, The Matrix
I find myself in a very unique position on this lazy holiday afternoon, refreshing a Facebook page over and over again.
No, I’m not stalking the guest list for tonight’s party…I’m trying to re-find an ad after being too trigger happy with the ‘close’ button.
There are few banner ads we actually respond to, but in a recession it’s a pretty good bet that there will be people looking for jobs. It grabs your attention.
Then you look at the picture. And the text. It becomes pretty clear that it’s not a real job. It doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not.
But the idea of a job involving ‘non-humans’ sounds a bit quirky, and you wonder what on earth it could be. It captures your interest.
So yes, I clicked. And not surprisingly, it’s part of an integrated online campaign for a new movie, District 9.
They seem to have avoided the Facebook page/news feed/Twitter combination which is apparently standard now-a-days, opting for an interactive, media-heavy network of three sites.
The first, linked from the ad, is the ‘Multi-National United’ site with job postings, overviews of a mysterious company and a countdown headed ’20 years in the making’. The other two sites explore different aspects of the movie’s plot.
Integrated marketing is difficult because each part has to tell its own story while still linking into a whole. The Matrix is a great example. The movie was one part, but the story was also built up through secret sites, codebreaking, games and other artistic works based on the same philsophy and alternate reality.
In this case, all they need to do to sell the movie is create enough interest that when you see the name District 9 outside a cinema one lazy afternoon you’ll think ‘hey…why not’.
—
Being always on the lookout for more facebook ads to bring you, I will of course be on the lookout on my upcoming birthday, as I hear advertisers can now target ads specifically to the lucky facebook users. You’ve been warned.
**May not be actual text or pictures, graphic the property of Sony. No humans or non-humans were harmed in the making of this picture.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: facebook, singapore, social media, supermodelme, twitter
…or both?
Look carefully, boys. These girls don’t just want to be the next supermodels, they’re also your next ‘social media experts’.
When I received an invite to the launch party for SUPERMODELME I was about to dismiss it as another Singaporean fashion event I couldn’t go to, but it turns out this is no ordinary reality TV show.
Sure, it’s another cliche concept; put 10 hot girls together in a house with the shared dream of being a supermodel and watch the inevitable catfights and gratuitous fashion shoots. But here’s what’s different…
For one thing, it’s not on TV. The show will air online twice a week (starting June 16), with a constant interactive platform for viewers to talk to contestants and each other. Each of the models already has a Youtube video and a Twitter account, with rumours that the girls will be compared on how many followers they can attract. I think my vote goes with @fiona_smm – she seems to be ruling Twitter tactics so far.
++ no fights with broadcasting producers or competing for prime spots
++ the best models need to be good at interacting with people and doing promotions
** just waiting for them to figure out twitpic and photoblogging…
The much-hyped development is the use of ‘Hyperspot’, which will allow viewers to click on the videos to find out everything from who did the models’ hair to the price of their shoes.
+- another nail in the coffin for TV advertising?
++ extra value for advertisers in finding out the products with the most clicks as well as resulting sales (it’s like having pay per view AND pay per click!)
Of course, another bonus is that an online show is accessible to everyone, and with contestants coming from across the world it looks like they’re hoping to pick up a global audience. The winner is touted to become Asia’s ‘next hottest face’ and with Singapore being a popular testing ground for models it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go beyond that.
It also goes without saying that they’re on Facebook and Twitter.
Combine this withVIP access levels on their website and exclusive parties (which will most likely be covered online shortly after) and you have a very luxe, slick social media model.
Then again, this isn’t the first super-concept by Refinery Media‘s Karen Seah…another of her brainchilds (brainchildren??) supperclub ‘Trybe’ at Mimolette uses Facebook groups to determine their guestlist. The catch? It’s secret, and you can only get an invite once you have friended their doorbitch account.
++ why refuse people at the door when you can check out their fb profile first?
SUPERMODELME might just fill the hole in my procrastination left by the Gossip Girl break.
— hello failing exams…
Filed under: 1 | Tags: advertising, Chuck, chupa chups, facebook, Facebook ads
There’s been general lamentation on the lack of effectiveness of Facebook ads. But I have to admit this one caught my eye…
The ‘friend request’ has been built in just like a ‘people you may know’ request. Of course, it only makes sense as part of a larger campaign involving Chuck as the new Chupa Chups mascot…
Beats ‘Make $500 Daily Online’ any day.
Filed under: 1 | Tags: 3, facebook, facebook phone, facebook tos, inq, inq1, iPhone, Vodafone
When the iPhone was released in Australia, there was a lot of debate about adoption rates. With only Vodafone and Optus offering it, even a Vodafone salesperson I spoke to told me the services didn’t fit the phone.
The pick-up has been moderate, mostly by Apple fanatics, but nowhere near what it could be if the services DID fit.
So I’m interested to see how 3’s first phone will do…
I’ve been wanting to see a combined phone manufacturer and service provider for ages – hardware and services make up about half of the customer experience each, how can you leave half to someone else?
3 made its backwards integration experiment through the new subsidiary INQ, with the first phone the INQ1 to be distributed solely through 3 in a similar manner to the Skypephone. Maybe 3 is the carrier in the best position to offer features like Skype at a profit – instead of charging call rates they can charge for data.
[EDIT: Just heard that Nokia is creating phones with a Skype application…look out!]
Unfortunate then that 3 is disbanding internationally, with Vodafone recently acquiring the Australian branch (does this mean we’ll finally get the data plans the iPhone needs?).
Still, it doesn’t mean that INQ is necessarily doomed…and it would be a pity, because the INQ1 is the first phone to be based around an online platform, namely Facebook.
That’s right – it syncs all contact information around your Facebook account, allowing you to see profile pictures and status updates in the same screen as your list of phone numbers. (Maybe that’s how Facebook is making its money these days.)
It will be one of a limited number of phones apart from the iPhoneĀ to offer a variety of widgets including RSS feeds, Skype and Windows Live Messenger. It’s nowhere near as pretty and a touch screen doesn’t come standard but it’s also nowhere near as pricey.
I have one concern though: Facebook’s recent change in Terms of Service.
I haven’t been able to find any info on whether personal data synced with Facebook on the INQ1 will only be stored on the phone or whether it will also be relayed to Facebook’s servers.
If information is in fact sent to Facebook, then under the new TOS it will be their property forever.
Imagine if Facebook not only has your birthday, your education, your list of friends, interests and photos…but also all of your call records, personal SMS and appointments?
What if they’re keeping all of it?
Worse, using it?
What if that data gets lost?
[EDIT: As of 18/2, Facebook has reverted their TOS and is taking feedback from users. If you didn’t like it, make sure you have your say…]
Filed under: 1 | Tags: advertising, Christmas, facebook, social media, Vodafone, Vodafone Christmas Clone
The Vodafone Christmas Clone is so clever that it hurts.
It has so many things that should work:
- fits with their existing campaign about being everywhere you want to be
- integrates online (email, Facebook) and ‘real world’ (craft..!) elements
- offers incentives to participate and spread the word
But I have a question…
Who do you know that wants to look like lego?
Simple design flaw.
Apart from not knowing anyone who would bother to print anything off and make it…
And…
Crimbo??
Filed under: 1 | Tags: ambient awareness, B&T your RSS feed isn't working., facebook, Internet, RSS, social interactions, social media, twitter
The figurativeĀ communicationsĀ ‘area’ we claim as our own and put our personal stuff/things/gear/info into has rapidly expanded with the rise new technologies.
These technologies, in particular the Internet, have hence affected the way we interact with each other and how marketers must interact with their targets.
Here’s a diagram of how we used to interact::
So hypothetically, there’s me, Steve and Bill (names chosen completely at random ;)). I am friends with Steve and Bill, but they’re not friends with each other. We each have our own little colouredĀ ‘area’ for information – things like demographics, interests, work, thoughts and feelings.
Our ‘information areas’ do not overlap, so to find out any of this info about one another we’d have to actively communicate. Hence Steve and Bill, who are not really friendly, will know very little about each other at all.
The outline of each person’s ‘area’, representing their available attention for their effort, is largely unbroken and so we each have a lot of attention to devote to non-social sources of information (newspapers, TV, books; traditional media). We might each be paying attention to completely different sources.
But then the internet came along…
First up, our personal areas have doubled in size.
Note thatĀ our attention available is also larger for the same amount of effort.Ā Just as the internet has made the space we occupy larger by giving us more places (email, blogs, chat) and making them cheaper and faster to access, it’s now easier for us to devote our attention to more stuff.
Our ‘areas’ are also now permanently overlapping. It’s not by much and there’s still some very defined spaces, but now I can see when Steve and Bill are online, see their user profiles or blogsĀ whenever I want and participate in the same forum discussions. If I really want to know what they’re doing I still have to actively communicate with them, but it’s a lot easier and faster; email, IM, comments.
Steve and Bill are now much more likely to stumble on each other, even if they don’t want to.
But then a second communications revolution occurred…the RSS feed. Or in its best known form, sites like Facebook and Twitter.
This new way of interacting is known as ambient awareness (link from Sarah Doody).
Note again the massive increase in personal ‘area’, which now means that Steve, Bill and I are in each other’s spaces all the time. We know a lot more about each other. Steve and Bill, just by merit of knowing each other, are frequently in each others’ spaces too.
But also, more of our attention is taken up; not directly proportional to the information gain but still increased. Of course, as you can see by the overlap, there are more cases where I can pay attention to both of my friends at the same time.
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How has this affected the way we see each other? NYT claims that it’s a good thing we no longer have to ask each other what we’ve been doing. But how often have you been told that your activities from last Saturday night were drunkenly heinous, evidenced by your photo tags? Or been questioned constantly when your Facebook relationship status changed? Even when you know the information came from online sources you willingly sent to the world, isn’t it just a little weird that someone you’ve never talked to can know practically everything about you? Or that your boss can now know about what you get up to outside of work?
Let’s not forget that this takes away the incentive to actively engage with other people, meaning that you might know a lot ABOUT many people, but you don’t really KNOW many.
However, we might be seeing a world of freer trading emerging… As we have more people to refer to we are more likely to find something which is on our demand curve, in terms of things or information.
For marketers:: The point is that everyone has limited attention available; there is far less attention available for more traditional sources, and much less devoted to actually seeking out information. The available attention we’ve gained for our effort is going into social sources. We’re far happier for other people to seek out informationĀ for us.
So you had better 1) be a deliverer of information, pure and simple, 2) be our friend and play our games in the hope we like you, or 3) hope to hell we get over RSS soon.
the grass is greener on the internet 
