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What Performance Should You Expect from In App Ads?

Mobile is on everyone’s minds these days. Whether you are talking about iOS v. Android devices or wondering just how many people have smartphones these days, there is plenty to discuss.

As marketers we are most interested in who has them and if they respond well to advertising. eMarketer points out some data around the performance of in app ads that is, well, not exactly awe-inspiring. First, there is a look at some data from a Lab42 study about just how many in app ads users click on.

Of course, I can only speak from a personal perspective but I don’t know if I have clicked on more than 10 ads anywhere in my life so to see that even some 30% have clicked on 6 or more in app ads is interesting to me. Of course, the other 70 percent is at 5 or less clicks with 20% of those surveyed never clicking on an in app ad.

The article then looks at another angle of the mobile advertising space which is the in app ad that asks the user to get another app so they can receive an incentive. People like incentives but the apps they download to get them don’t get the same love as this chart from a Pontiflex study shows.

With only 3% of the respondents using the new app often and 37% uninstalling the app and the rest of the respondents being pretty indifferent to the app this makes for an interesting discussion. If someone has downloaded your app for an incentive, received the incentive then ditched the app is that a success? What we need to know is if those incentives are redeemed and turn into business. The staying power of this method of advertising is questionable, though, at least based on these findings.

Part of the problem is that there is simply too much noise. The winners in anything in the Internet space will be those that are able to keep it simple while cutting through the excess crap that clutters up the Internet like a side street bazaar.

In 2012 how do you plan to fight the noise in the online space? Is there a way to get it done consistently or is this simply an exercise in hoping you can do enough that some messages rise above the din to be a success?

The Christmas Story Social Media Style

We here at Marketing Pilgrim wish you a very Merry Christmas. Here is the Christmas story in a very social media way.

B2B Marketers Using Social Media More and More

We have watched the B2B space lag behind in the Internet and social media marketing space for most of the existence of the industry. That’s not a knock on the B2B space really because the nature of Internet marketing lends itself much more readily to B2C plays.

Of course that doesn’t mean that social media doesn’t work for the B2B space. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth and as B2B marketers continue to see just how these options can fit into their business and marketing plans this area of the Internet is just starting to truly see the light. This epiphany of sorts could make 2012 a very interesting year in the B2B space for social media marketing.

As shown by some statistics from a study conducted by eMarketer, social media is being used. It’s the continual evolution of exactly HOW it is being used that will mark the arrival of the marketing tool to the space.

Of course, it would be a good idea to understand just what using social media marketing means in the B2B space. Setting up accounts and occasionally updating them is not using social media marketing as most well know but that is some B2B marketers perception of using social media marketing. The value isn’t lost on them though.

“Leveraging social media for branding and awareness-building can help humanize B2B companies, establish them as thought leaders, and offer new touchpoints for connecting with customers and prospects,” said Kimberly Maul, eMarketer writer/analyst and author of the new report, “B2B Social Media: A Growing Focus for Marketers.”

As for the actual social media outlets being used? Here is a look

As many have come to expect, LinkedIn leads the way but that is more likely attributable to the mindset that LinkedIn is positioned as THE place for the B2B space to be because it is about business. It certainly is an important place to be but as B2B social media marketers begin to grasp the business applications of Twitter, Facebook, Gogle+ and others they will understand that thought leadership in social media often walks side by side with things like PR and customer service.

It looks like 2012 will be a pivotal year in the B2B marketing space. With some more time and experience to pull on and more examples of success of social media marketing in B2B environments it will become harder and harder for B2B players to turn their backs on social media just because it’s not what they traditionally do.

For those that continue to have that attitude it will be interesting to see where their business is in a few short years as competitors embrace the inevitable.

What’s your take on the B2B space and social media marketing? Is it time?

2012 Will Bring Sponsored Ads to Your Web Facebook Feed

Get ready for another flood of cries from the wilds of the Internet in 2012 as Facebook introduces sponsored ads to the web version of their users’ news feeds. While many will want to make this sound like it’s the end of the social media world as we know it, it’s not nearly as distracting as it sounds.

TechCrunch reports

Starting in January 2012, Facebook will gradually begin showing Sponsored Stories social ads in the main news feed of the web version of the site, a representative of the company tells us. Facebook hasn’t shown ads in the news feed since 2008, so this has big ramifications for advertisers and the user experience.

The ads will be marked “Sponsored” and a rate limit will ensure users see no more than 1 Sponsored Story in the news feed per day. They’ll only feature stories about friends or Pages that users already like. Users won’t be able to opt out of seeing Sponsored Stories in the news feed or having their activity used in them, but they will be able to ‘x’ out individual ads. The ads won’t immediately appear in the mobile news feed, though Facebook is considering the idea as we discussed earlier this month.

As marketers it is good to be prepared to take advantage of this opportunity. Facebook appears to be doing a slow roll by only showing one ad per day in a feed. Despite that restraint, it is likely that the initial backlash from the Facebook loons who cry foul about the injustice of ads in their free service that has changed their communications with people, will be loud and shrill. If the past is any indicator, however, it will also fade away in short time.

The complainers are already out. Check out a few of the comments from the TechCrunch post.

There are a few dissenting voices who see this as not such a big deal in the comments but most are off in “Facebook is evil / stupid / gonna drop my FB account / This will finally push me to Google+” land.

Of course, Google would love to see everyone have some kind of epiphany to decide that this would be the thing to get them to actually sign up and use Google+ but it won’t. I believe that in the long run Google+ will do just fine not being a Facebook killer but rather a very real alternative for the right kind of consumer. Silly thought isn’t it?

So as a marketer how do feel about these ads appearing for the first time since 2008? Is this something you want to take advantage of? As a user how do you feel about sponsored posts / stories in your feed?

Last question (I promise), is there anything inherently wrong with Facebook looking to make money on its service?

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Google+ Updates Accelerate

It is starting to feel at times that we are sharing Google videos about updates more often than usual. Maybe there is some kind of year end quota that needs to be reached by engineering in Mountain View?

Now Google has rolled out some Google+ updates and, you guessed it, here’s the video

There are also improvements to the photo experience as well. And here, once again you guessed it, is the video.

You can read about the updates on the Google Blog as well.

The rate of acceleration is increasing with regard to Google+ and its integration into the overall Google ecosystem. I still think that this is in anticipation of Facebook’s IPO which will generate a lot of buzz for Facebook but also a quiet period which is when Google can hit their messaging very hard to show what the overall Google offering can do vs. Facebook’s.

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It’s an interesting battle that should escalate considerably in 2012.

Who do you think will come out on top? Does there ned to be a clear cut victor or is there enough room for both?

Paypal Enters the Daily Deal Market

The deal market is an odd duck. It burst on to the scene with a great deal of fanfare and excitement then quickly faded as dozens of look-alike sites popped up on the web.

There have been reports that say the deal site is on the decline, but couponing is up, to the point where people say deals give them a thrill. Paypal is betting that deals are still good business, if you can find a new way to spin it.

PayPal President Scott Thompson says the company will be moving into the deal space in early 2012, but with a twist.

“The experience is going to be completely different than anyone else’s, through and through. We’ll only give you something that we think fits the category of unique and relevant. Everyone else is going to bombard you.”

I’m a fan of Paypal, but surely all of the other deal companies went into the space with the same raison d’être. Exciting! New! Just for you! Scan the space today and you’ll find the usual discounts on spa treatments, dental services and odd adventures.

Now here’s where Paypal has the advantage. They can use their “knowledge about customers’ preferences” to offer targeted deals. Does that mean they’ll be scanning my list of Paypal purchases in order to pick out the right deals for me? Being a coupon fanatic, I don’t mind, but I imagine there will be folks who object. It’s kind of like your local bank getting into the daily deal biz.

Paypal’s other advantage is the ability to go mobile. They want to send you offers as you walk by a partner store or restaurant. From a marketing standpoint, that’s power, especially when you note that Paypal has 103 million members.

Research Says Social Media is NOT the Place People Get Local Business Data

The Pew Research Center through its Internet and American Life Project has released a study called “Where People Get Information About Restaurants and Other Local Businesses“. It can be a bit of an eye opener when it comes to the perceived pervasive sharing about social activities by using social media.

The chart below shows where people go to get information about local businesses other than restaurants, bars and clubs.

The news for social media is only slightly better when you include bars, restaurants and clubs in the mix with only 3% of the respondents saying social media does this job for them. Any time you see the words in a column saying “to small a group to give reliable statistics” you have to wonder about the impact of that area.

Oh and the big online winner for this information? Search. This says in some ways that people might actually be looking for a less biased review or it could be saying something entirely different. Either way it looks like people don’t trust the taste of their social media “friends”.

To be fair, the data used in these charts is approaching 1 year old already (January of 2011) which is a bit unusual for Pew but even if the number is higher today how much higher could it actually be?

In the end this should do nothing to deter local businesses from using social. In fact, there are many success stories of all types of local businesses doing great things with social to help sustain their business.

What research like this should do is slow down the “social media is a silver bullet and it will solve all of your marketing woes talk”. Purveyors of that kind of over the top hucksterism have tarnished the image of an industry that, for the most part, is trying to do the right thing. Sad to say but that hype is making the social media marketing industry sound much like the search industry. As the lines further blur between the two that isn’t likely to end any time soon.

So what is your reaction to these findings? What do you see in your business? Let us know in the comments.

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Online Local Ad Growth Numbers Depends on Your Definition of Local

So much that happens in the online space is dependent upon measurement. The ability to measure results also greatly influences the ability to forecast, predict or prognosticate about where all of this is going. It sounds very clean cut and very exact doesn’t it? Well, it’s not and it is extremely important to understand that before you make any marketing decisions based on ANY data whatsoever.

A recent study from eMarketer called “Local Online Advertising: Digital Trends, Challenges and Opportunities” (buy the study here as an eMarktere subscriber only; MP has no financial arrangement with eMarketer) looks at one very active discussion area of the online space which is local and finds that how local is defined will greatly impact any predictions about its future growth.

So why the disparity? MAGNAGLOBAL has a much different definition of local online ad spend as opposed to the other two research companies

[they] take a more narrow approach to classifying local online ad spending, including only dollars spent on local TV, newspaper and radio sites in its estimates. Local paid search and display ad dollars spent elsewhere are not included.

This is an interesting view of what is considered local. I have discussed in other writings that all businesses are local businesses so I also believe that all advertising efforts can have a local element regardless of company size and scope so to not include search in local ad spend is actually a strange defintion to me.

Of course, this varied point of view presents two very different pictures of just what portion of overall ad share the local element gets. By definition of the different research studies we see that the “predictions” are dramatically different.

We always caution about research and its source. What is also critical is the basic definitions of terminology that need to be examined when looking at any research in the online space. With change happening so rapidly it’s real easy for people to play fast and loose with just about anything. In a way, this example is refreshing in that it is a bit contrarian since it actually cuts back on an Internet forecast which would seem to break some unwritten rule. Isn’t all information and research about the online space only supposed to show double digit growth for, well, forever?

What is your definition of local advertising? Do you include search in that equation? Are you paying attention to the details of the research you are working from? After all, we are told that there may be some trouble that lies in those details if we are not careful .

Cup of Joe: Lessons From An Ex-Real Estate Lurker

Before I owned my own business, I worked in-house for a large real estate brokerage. If you want to learn about sales go work for a real estate company. Apart from a handful of support staff most are completely run by sales agents. I learned a lot about sales and business while working there. But the two lessons that stuck out the most were:

Get Out of The Office.

There are two types of real estate agents, those that sell, and those that don’t sell. Now, of course that’s a very general statement but, by and large, it’s true. When I worked in real estate about 90% of our company’s revenue came from about 10% of our agents. From what I have heard this is a similar statistic at other firms. There are a lot of different reasons that some are better at real estate sales, but one of the most obvious to me was some agents didn’t come into the office. In fact, some only came in for meetings and to get the right paper work.  These agents understood that buyers and sellers of real estate aren’t hanging out in our office, just other real estate agents are. So they went to where their market is. On the surface, most of these agents looked like they were playing golf, lounging at the local bar, or wasting time in a coffee shop. But what they were always doing, was closing deals. These agents understood that to sell anything they needed to spend the time developing the right relationships, something you can’t do sitting in an office all day.

Do What Works.

So what about the agents that stayed in the office? What did they do? Most of them did what my boss liked to call, “busy work”. They organized their paper work, designed flyers, made cold calls, I even saw an agent spend two weeks designing a post card mailer. Can you guess how much of all that work generated new revenue for the company? Very very little. Despite the fact that many preached the power of the internet, few took the time to learn how to harvest it. As a result, these agents generated very little revenue.

So you can see that in order to do well in sales and in business you have to understand what works, and then get out of the office and do it. And the cool thing is, you can apply this anywhere. Take social media for example, how much money have you made through Twitter? Do you know? Is it much? If not, then why are you wasting your time on it. What about Facebook or Google+? Are they working for you? If so, then keep up the good work! But if not then you are just engaging in “busy work” and not going anywhere.

Because at the end of the day, social media, SEO, personal branding, and all of the other things that we obsess over, don’t really matter if we aren’t making money. Because, remember that’s what marketing is for!

[photo credit]

Bloggers Get Upset Over Book Review Requirements

One of the perks of being a blogger is you often get free items in return for a review. DVDs, food, gadgets, new tech — a good review is an excellent marketing tool, so most companies see these freebies as part of the cost of doing business.

Book publisher, William Morrow, however, is looking to reduce that cost and they want to see a bigger return on their investment.

Earlier this week, the LA Times published the text of a letter that was sent out to book bloggers. It outlines a new system where, instead of getting random books in the mail, bloggers will be asked to choose their review titles from a list.

Nothing wrong with that. It’s more work on the publisher’s part, but it’s targeted so it should make for more and better reviews.

Now here’s the part that got everyone in an uproar:

If it isn’t already clear, WE LOVE THAT YOU LOVE OUR BOOKS!  And to allow us to continue to offer free copies and free shipping to you committed book reviewers, we will be tracking how many reviews we receive from you.  If we notice that you request books but aren’t posting your comments or sending us the link, we may suspend your ability to receive review offers from us.  We know you’re busy bloggers -– if you don’t think you’ll be able to post a review within a month, please pass on that offer so we can continue to offer you free books in the future!

Still sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? The blogger gets a book of their choice for free and in return they have to post a timely review. I’ve been reviewing DVDs for years and that’s always been the agreement, in print or implied. But according to the LA Times, bloggers are angry that “their hobby was being treated like an obligation.”

Am I the only one who thinks that’s crazy? Hobby or not, if you agree to take on a free item (I’m not talking about items sent randomly without prior permission) you should review it within a reasonable amount of time.

The bloggers are also angry because they see this step as a slap at blogs.  “Can you imagine them sending this to Horn Book or The NYTimes?” said Pam Coughlin, a blogger for MotherReader.

Well, no, because first of all, the NYTimes book reviewer probably turns in reviews on time and second, I imagine more people see a NYTimes review than one on MotherReader. (If I’m wrong, feel free to correct me.)

Maybe the real issue here isn’t unreliable book bloggers, but blogs themselves. Blogs are slowly getting pushed into the background thanks to Facebook and Twitter and even Tumblr which is more graphics than text. eMarketer’s stats show that Fortune 500 companies have slowed down on blogging. Mommy blogs are still going strong but how many people are reading them?

Personally, I believe that blogs are still the best place to find news and information about whatever it is you want to know. A blog post gives you room to deliver all the facts and your opinion about them. You can’t do that on Twitter or Facebook. But I’m a writer and a reader, and I fear that I’m in the minority when it comes to the love of words.

Which brings us back to books and book reviewers. The publishing business is running on a thin margin, so it’s understandable that they need to insure better returns on their investment. And that could mean more rules and passing on “hobby” bloggers in favor of professionals.

Do you offer review items to bloggers? We’d like to hear about your experiences.