Facebook Timeline Ads: A Gift to Google+

Well this morning I checked my Facebook Timeline to see if my latest social apps are still working.  I don’t want to recommend my clients use these features then only to find out that they are not working. So we test … test … test.  In this morning’s testing I find I have new intruders, dare I say interlopers, in my Timeline stream.

Exhibit One – The Interloping Ads!

Ads Are My Friends

I know this sounds strange coming from a person who counsels small and medium sized companies on how to use internet advertising to their advantage, but putting things in MY STREAM seems like a violation to me.  I fully understand the left or right hand side of the page (depending on which Facebook page you are looking at) will hold their ads.  And i want those ads to be relevant, or contextual, to the content that is on that page.  Actually, I’m counting on it.

I and admire Facebook for allowing me to turn off the setting which shows my name under ads.  Even though I may have liked a product, if I’m not getting paid to promote it, why give them that for free.

What does bother me is showing ads in my stream.  The ads so far have been nothing about me.  Nothing about the story i am trying to tell about me.  So why does Facebook now think it’s going to make me want to use their product more to continue to build that story?

In Walks Google+

I see Google+ as walking away with a win on this.  I think this violation will cause many to search out alternate solutions to telling their story.

What do you think?

Related articles

• Facebook timeline your whole life – Lifebook anyone? (marketing.yell.com)
• Facebook Timeline – what it means for your business (simplybusiness.co.uk)
• The Facebook timeline feature and what it means for your page (marketing.yell.com)
• Using Facebook Timeline for Online Branding (blogherald.com)
• Facebook Timeline for Pages: Why is this so hard? (alainawiens.wordpress.com)
• Here’s what your Google+ posts would look like in Facebook’s Timeline view (thenextweb.com)

Destroying the Trust: The Top 50 Mailers

I don’t know if it’s just my cynical nature or that I haven’t got enough sleep lately but the article “The Top 50 Mailers” in Target Marketing got my attention.   I was struck that only 9 of the top 50 do not rent lists.  Now I’m happy that someone is making some money in this economy, but I’m beginning to see why so many people are keeping the free email market alive by using bogus or SPAM avoiding  gmail, hotmail, and yahoo accounts when giving out their email addresses to organization they don’t trust or think they will sell their information.

Anyways, just wanted to send a shout out to the companies that took the time to create their own lists and making money with them: (in order of sales/revenue) Citigroup, Procter & Gamble, Mutual of Omaha, The Salvation Army, ALSAC/St.Jude Hospital, AARP,  AAA, Gerber Life Insurance Co., Suarez Corp.

Good Hunting.

Top 50 Mailers measured by volume

Marketing Civil Rights: Impression’s Inequalities and Injustices

At  some point with each of my clients the question will come up; Should I advertise here?  The client, having seen how effective internet marketing can be, now begins to ask the age old marketing question of REACH.  How do I expand my reach with this wonderful tool or environment?  And if so, where?  And if I stumble across somewhere, is this a good place to advertise?

Inside the question lies a misconception, a costly one.  This misconception has been the death knell of many small business marketing plan’s attempts at internet marketing.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all ads and the locations they are found are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Attention, Re tension and the Guarantee of Profit.

Each failed attempt at increasing reach creates the awkward self-fulfilling prophecy that Internet Marketing doesn’t work in my business.

Russian Proverb: “Trust, but Verify”

The advice is simple, and profound.  With each instance of advertising activity you must build in the process of measuring effectiveness.  Internet Advertising has a distinct advantage over several other forms of advertising: rapid feedback.  I think this is one of the reasons I like to work in the space.

Over time you will come to realize that certain activities produce results and others do not.  The trick in moving forward is to build feedback loops into the campaigns so that your team and clients can understand the effectiveness of the new cost.  Even more importantly, you will have the ability to answer the age old question; Should I advertise here?

Ad-Supported is all the rage! (Remake)

The ROI Hunters have been watching the latest fad: Ad-Supported Software. One such example caught our eyes and we sat around saying “Good idea, but who cares?” We are talking about Microsoft Windows providing a free ad-supported version of their successful operating system with free low end machines. After all, shouldn’t Hunting ROI be a win-win situation?

Defensive Leader Tactic

Microsoft is executing a defensive tactic, which we applaud. They are the leader. After all, their popular operating system generated around 13 Billion in sales last year (give or take a few Million), so it is not like they will be hurt by giving their software away with low end machines. This is an excellent response to some of the UNIX flavors running around for the last decade. Actually, it did make us wonder why it took them so long to give it away, at the low end of the price spectrum.

The Plan

Free Computer System: Give away the free ad-supported Windows OS on a low end $300 machine to those that can’t afford or don’t want to spend a lot on their technology needs. Obviously, there is a tether to the internet in this package somewhere. Either a low-cost dial up or wireless connection will need to service the ad generator. The ultimate goal: Increase Market Share & Attack UNIX competitors that have been flanking Microsoft.

Who Cares

Our question is directed at the poor soles that will buy advertising space on this channel. Which demographic would you place someone in that can’t afford or doesn’t want to buy a $300 dollar machine and the $100 operating system. What exactly are their on-line spending habits? How much do you think they will purchase on-line? Let’s face it, JupiterResearch reported at 40% increase in online ad spending last year, but we are fairly certain that this demographic was not the leader in this increase.

Maybe we are seeing the beginnings of the Lotto Advertising Network. (I hear the jackpot is going to be really high next week, but don’t ask me what your odds are) Good Hunting.