Emerson Direct Marketing Observations

Courtesy of Le Monde here is a cool map of how strong each social network is all over the world. The map provides great insight into what is the network of choice in various parts of the world.

Stating the obvious MySpace has a slight lead on Facebook in North America, while Orkut is growing in popularity in Brazil and India. What’s neat is that most users beyond the Big 2 don’t know about these other popular and accessible sites, thus bringing into focus sites we rarely talk about in the US “starved for anything social media related” press. Examples of sites you might know about are: Cyworld and Mixi which are the #2 and #4 social networks in Asia-Pacific, while Netlog, Yonja, and Skyblog are #3, 4, and 5 in Africa, respectively. And, in addition to being really popular in Latin America, hi5 is apparently #1 in that destination vacation spot… Mongolia.

Guess what? If you’re a marketer or an advertiser or even someone who wants to get some skin in the game. There is still time. According to Informa’s latest report entitled “Mobile Social Networking: Communities and Content on the Move,” the number of mobile social networking users exceeded 50 million. Which is roughly 2.3% of the worlds mobile user population on December 31st, 2007.

The research company argues that with only low investments from mobile network operators, the growth in users and community registrations will continue at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 30-50%, depending on the type of community and the region.  So think about it, low-ball figures still put the CAGR at 30-50%

 So in less than 4 years, there will be between 12.5% penetration of mobile social networks among mobile users globally in the most conservative scenario and approximately 23% in the high growth scenario.

In 2006, mobile social networks made more than US $1.5 billion and that amount more than doubled in 2007.  Though revenue growth will accelerate in the next two years  much depends on mobile network operators’ policies and the interests of users after that to determine whether the growth will be sustained, flatten out, or decline.

By 2012 revenues generated from all business models in this industry is forecast to reach US$28.9 billion in the most conservative scenario and $52 billion in the high growth scenario.

What is safe to say given the ramp up by all arms and legs of the Entertainment industry is that the biggest community segment revenues will be seen within this market.  Look for entertainment to overtake all other industries in some regions by 2010, If they have not already.

 Other community segments — like those focused on productivity, fame and social shopping — are beginning to emerge on mobile platforms, diversifying their offers and attracting different kind of users… Thus expanding the social awareness and acceptance of mobile social networks. 

Apparently not too important to the folks at Bebo According to Royal Pingdom (great name by the way) which measures downtime using Pingdom’s uptime monitoring service.

Bebo’s downtime has increased significantly lately and has had by far the most downtime of the 14 social networks monitored for the survey. More than 12 hours of downtime in less than two months is a lot, and it could possibly be caused by the new open application platform that Bebo launched in December, allowing third-party developers access to its platform, Facebook style. It could be putting more strain on Bebo’s systems than they anticipated.

The two giants in the field, MySpace (with 25 minutes of downtime) and Facebook (with one hour and 35 minutes of downtime), can both be considered to be within acceptable limits, especially MySpace.

Social networks, just like any other websites, will occasionally suffer from downtime, either planned or unplanned. However, social networks have a different type of usage than most websites, with frequent visits from the same user and many page views per visit. Therefore downtime can often be even more noticeable and frustrating to social network users.

Below are the results of the survey.

* According to Royal Pingdom: If a web page is not reachable, returns an error, or takes longer than 30 seconds to load, it is considered as down. Downtime is always confirmed from two geographically separate locations.

Well ecademy was certainly interesting. Priding itself with the tag line; “Successful business people join ecademy to do more business”. After the relatively pain free login, I was taken to this page that had sooo much information for me to read and soo much information that they wanted, that I became somewhat discouraged and I’ve decided to move onto the next site on the list. Not a good start for a business social networking site. It shouldn’t be so hard! One note, I keep getting lots of unsolicted emails from users welcoming me etc etc.. The only difference is their names aren’t Mandy, Ashley, and Monique…

Next on the list entremate and I have just clicked on the darkest, most illegible eula/t&c I have ever encountered. God knows what I just agreed to. Time to edit the profile. Not much here to be honest, and it seems to be essentially a bbs. Now how far is that going to get me?

Next up was Friendly Favors, I’m going to give them a second chance on a first impression since I was getting database errors for the better part of yesterday.

Konnects, I liked, it was fairly intuitive and easy to set up and the influx of emails wasn’t too bad. That’s one bad aspect of Ecademy, they like to spam with people essentially “there” to help you. But we’ll see. Here is Konnects pitch: Do more with Konnects Get your own professional space online:

Something to remember is that with all social networks, it doesnt happen overnight and with each network that you are in, you have to get your bearings and contribute and share and grow your page and your presence. With that being said, When I logged in to Networking for Pros, they essentially said, screw the advertiser model, we want your money to use our site. So I said to Networking for Pros. screw you, I want free. And Off I went.

Real contacts touted itself as a social networking site but really its the old Monster jobs site model. Its employers connecting with job seekers and nothing more, so I was outta there. And on to Ryze I went. I signed up and was fully expecting quite the expereince given all of the back slapping it gave itself. But to be honest, I didn’t think there was much under the hood. You know one of the things that a lot of social networks assume is that you are able to or want to,”invite your friends”. Has it dawned on anyone that maybe you don’t have any friends or maybe you don’t wanna invite anyone within your circle? That might be why Facebook has a leg on all of these. They allow you to look for your group and just join. Then it’s up to you to connect within the group.

So I came away from Ryze with a shrug of the shoulders and a “oh well” attitude with zero expectations. I liked Spoke, it had a nice interface and essentially asked for the same ole same ole in regards to the information it was looking for, but it might be worth going back and building on the intial info that I have provided them. The last one in the group is Teng which is is a professional community of selected Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, vice presidents and directors of technology with organizations ranging from startups to the global Fortune 100, from non-profits to government agencies. The interface sucked so I’m not sure if it’s just a source site for someone to collect names. I went through the initial steps, so I’ll let you know.

Ok, so I have gone through all of the sites that were on the list and for now I’m going to focus on 3 of them for now. Those will be Spoke, Konnects and Ecademy. Those 3 seemed to be the best of the bunch and may have the most potential for something. I’ll try and go back and contribute and share and upload and do the things we do in social networks, but for now, you’ll just have to wait and see. One more thing, I did not include Linkedin and Plaxo, which were suggested, because one is clearly THE business social network at the moment and the other is more of a tool for sharing contacts.  So I wanted to look beyond those. especially the ones that I can get something from without shelling out any coin. Have I missed one, that we should evaluate?

After reading this entry in Top Rank Blog about tips for marketing with social media, something crossed my mind. Though there were some great tips on things that people can do to use the power of social meda to bolster marketing, I was not seeing THE sure fire way. It was gray. I think it’s still gray, and I’ll tell you why.

Lets take for example Client A. Client A wants to use social media, has heard about social media or at least has heard about blogs for example, and wants to use it to drive traffic to his or her sites, increase sales and or use it for branding purposes. That seems to be a safe assumption for most companies.

Well those are all well and good, but first things first. Where does the client go? You have consultants running around out there claiming to know how to do it, but by the looks of the tips. I saw nothing that was a “business process”. I saw a here try this, or this works, or a you might want to try this or I have seen that…..Get the point? A client needs to know what are you going to do, how are you going to do it, how long is it going to take, and what will I get from your efforts, amongst other things.

The problem is, with social media, though you can measure traffic to a certain degree, the “process” or the initiation of a social media campaign is not an overnight phenomenon. there are some instances of it occurring from a viral marketing standpoint but It’s a process that needs to be cultivated. The issue that most clients have with this business model is that they don’t have time to nurture their presence in social networks. Their businesses require immmediate results and returns.

Businesses know this and need to know this: 1) Here is my customer I know what it takes to acquire this customer via this form of advertising, sales and marketing and channel. 2) Here is my customer, what is it going to cost me to acquire that customer through social media? And what are the steps that you are going to take and what are they going to cost me for you to achieve that? After you first explain to me what social media is…

After they ask you “Is it like Myspace”? 

If you the social media marketer come to me and say, “We’re going to create a Facebook group for you, A couple of blogs, maybe a bbs, a couple of microsites, and we’re also going to Twitter and use Stumbleupon as well as a handful of others.” I’m first going to say, “Huh?  and then “ok, what is that going to do”? And you’ll say, “We’re branding you, and we’re driving traffic to these sites and pages and they’re finding out more about you”!.  To which I will say, “Thats great, how many sales can I expect? What kind of conversion rates can I expect from social media???” At that point I better get a really good answer or another plan that perhaps uses a widget or two that is placed in strategic social media sites that can drive traffic and convert sales.

 That’s the real question, or rather one of the many questions. Here they are and you might want to use them as you are approached by social media marketers or companies who will claim to know what they are doing.

• What is your social media plan?
• Do I need sales, leads or traffic
• What types of social media do you plan to use and why those? and why not these?
• What will be the upfront costs? What ongoing costs can I expect?
• What will be the costs of customer acquisition? A cost per acquisition model certainly applies here!
• How long will it take to roll this plan out
• What kinds of deliverables can I expect and when
• What is your track record
• Have you ever worked with this type of product or my type of company before?
• How successful have you been
• What will it take to manage it on my own
• Lets focus on some deliverables
• Lets set some benchmarks with incentives
• What is your plan to integrate this social media plan with our other marketing plans
• What if you fail
• What guarantees do I have
• References

The key here is alot of agencies are starting to add social media as it’s own division within their companies. Though there are very few companies and agencies who have done it right over a sustained period of time, because of the “new-ness” of it all. It’s up to you to figure out who can deliver what, and in what time frame. The last thing you need is for someone or some company to experiment with your brand as they muddle their way through figuring out just what works and what doesn’t work with social media marketing.

Lastly what companies and businesses and people need to realize is that social media marketing is a moving target. It’s changing and morphing into something different every day. The reason is, marketers are figuring out new and unique ways to leverage the media to the advantage of the client. Some are proven, some are loopholes, some are brainstorms and some are just plain strokes of genius. Though you still need a concrete strategy as you go forward. It doesn’t hurt to have someone who is willing to take a chance or try something different on your behalf. Keep that in mind as you work your way down the bulleted list. The first of many steps will be finding someone who knows social media marketing and actually has a business model wrapped around social media marketing. As it is a moving target, I’m sure that there are some differring opinons on this. What do you think?

In a quest to pare down my already slim posts, I’m going to fire off a couple of quick blurbs for everyone to chew on until the next post:

• Aside from Microsoft not backing down in it’s quest to buy Yahoo, AT&T and Yahoo have entered in a multiyear deal to share revenue from advertising on Mobile phones. Yahoo will provide search and display advertising for AT&T customers. I’m shocked that Google did not get there first.
• Speaking of Microsoft, the Wall Street Journal just cut a deal with them in which the WSJ’s paid search and contextual advertising services will be provided by Microsoft. Not to sound redundant but, I’m shocked that Google did not get there first…
• Social media giants Facebook and Myspace will become application hubs and launch pads for niche based “smaller” social networks. Alot of this is the residual effect of Facebook opening its platform last fall.
• Word of Mouth marketing is the new mode of marketing on the cheap. It’s also just as effective as traditional forms of marketing and has much more of a “buzz” factor.
• Magazines drive more than 50% of online searches, followed by reading an article in a magazine and lastly by seeing something on TV.
• According to Anderson Analytics, 32% of  the 1700 marketing executives polled cited “Green Marketing” as an important emerging concept along with it being considered the trendiest marketing buzzword.
• The hottest demographic that you need to be marketing too, but are probably ignoring are the hispanic and baby boomers.
• According to Informa’s latest report entitled “Mobile Social Networking: Communities and Content on the Move,” the number of mobile social networking users exceeded 50 million, approximately 2.3% of the global mobile user population on December 31st, 2007

Mobile advertising is projected to generate revenue somewhere between $1 billion and $24 billion within four years. However, at the moment they(analysts) still do not know which business model or marketing approach will be successful in tapping into that money.

So you’re saying,”Well how can they come up with those projections then?”  They can come up with those lofty projections the same way analysts said that one day the internet would be really really big. The upside and the potential are so great, that even those numbers are skewed on the side of conservatism.

To put it in perspective you have to understand that nearly everyone including your average 10 year old and up is now carrying a cell phone. If you want a hard number, think north of 2 billion users worldwide. With that device is the real estate to market and advertise to a captive audience. With that device and it’s associated burgeoning high speed browser comes the ability to search, use the internet or access email. Currently in the US, there are almost 35 million users of the mobile “net”. So what comes with search? contextual advertising. What comes with surfing the net? Advertising. Or using email? Get the idea?

But see that’s the easy side to marketing on a mobile device. The challenge for marketers and advertisers will be how to create stickiness not only for search results for instance but also to geotargeted results via a mobile device. In other words, how are you/they going to create the mobile call to action?

Some of the other questions will also be; How intrusive can you as a marketer be on a mobile device? Do the devices need to also have micro-java apps for pop-ups for instance? Can a marketer hone in on perhaps using SMS alternatives or opportunities until a more solid marketing platform is developed? When you think about it, it really is wide open.

The answer is yes to all of those questions, and the best part about it is the result can be a complete and utter failure and thats ok. So now you’re saying, “what do you mean it’s ok to fail?” Well it’s ok to fail because the user has no preconceived notion or expectation as to how it’s supposed to be. And because they don’t know what to expect, they will be willing to accept, for now, whatever comes down the pipe.

But marketers and their brethren will only be allowed to fail x amount of times before the user a) finds another solution that best meets and exceeds their intial expectation or b) becomes completely frustrated by the lack of performance. And trust us, they will find it. Either through another marketer letting them know that their is a better solution out there, or they will find it virally.

Until the bar is set, mobile marketers will have a grace period to get it right. The unknown is how long the grace period will be. The unknown is who will set the tone? Who will establish the way things are done in the mobile world? Because at the moment the canvass is blank and anything can be tried and ANYTHING can be successful. In the end the ultimate judge will be your average consumer, or your average 10 year old!

This is a definite “now ” category since we are in the midst of deciding who will be running for president.  This list will change but currently it consists of a little bit of everything that is currently relevant to electing the next president. Interestingly enough, the internet has become more and more of a prominent player in helping us decide who we like, fund-raising, and obviously campaigning. Here are our top 15 in no particular order:

essembly-essembly is a free, non-partisan social network that allows politically interested individuals to connect with one another, engage in constructive discussion, and organize to take action.

Election2008 TV- Looks like a social networking site, feels like a social networking site, but kind of an odd name..

20DC-20DC is the first step in the future of politics. The way we elect candidates, organize action, disperse information and even fundraise is changing as fast as Internet technology develops. 20DC has a vast array of features that allow for political discussion and organization

Connect2elect-Connect2Elect is an independent, unbiased matching service that uses some of the coolest technology on the Web to give citizens the power to navigate through the oftentimes confusing process of selecting the best candidate for the most important job in America.

RedBlueAmerica-RedblueAmerica.com is a place where people can find out how people with differing views from their own think. It is a place where they can test their thinking against the best thinking on the other side. It is a place where they can stay current – where they can find fodder for today’s equivalent of water cooler conversations – knowing that they’re getting the whole story. It is a place where they can talk with people who think differently, people who want to engage in a civil conversation about the issues. It is a place where they can share their thoughts, a place for thoughtful dialogue

Politweets- Political twitter

Adonkeyandanelephantwalkintoabar-Probably the best name of the bunch, A Donkey and an Elephant is a social tool and political aggregator for folks into politics and activism from all political spectrums. Connect with other activists in your area and find like-minded groups and events! A great way to keep on top of what’s going on in your area.

Policosmos-a nonpartisan network designed to bring citizens, candidates and elected politicians together in an online community.

Mondoglobo-Interesting name as well, All political change starts with defiance of some authority, some established power structure that does not want to be weakened or eliminated. We are reminding concerned citizens of this simple fact, and bringing non-authoritarians together

TakePart-Locks up my pc with some sort of quicktime error, so use at your own risk.

techPresident-”It is time to find out who can actually claim to be the country’s first TechPresident.”

Rockthevote-Rock the Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1990 in response to a wave of attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression. Rock the Vote engages youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. From actors to musicians, comedians to athletes, Rock the Vote harnesses cutting-edge trends and pop culture to make political participation cool.

Ifimpresident-wel-kuh m] ifimpresident.com (iip for short) is a network that lets your share your political views. [iip nooz] news from established sources presents you with stories to comment/reply to. [iip dis-cus-sions] discussions allow you to create a post, and dialogue with others from the community. [iip pol-uh-sees] policies let users establish their views on some topic, and see how many people agree. [iip e-lek-shun] the 08′ election keeps you updated on news stories from the upcoming election. [iip pro-fayle] your profile provides you with updates of you and your friends actions, to keep the dialogue going.

Lastly Im going to combine Facebook and Myspace into 2. Though they are not niche based, they are still 2 very powerful social networking tools used by the candidates in their efforts to connect with voters.

Are there any social networks geared towards or for the voters that I’m missing? Candidate based social networks do not count, though I’m sure some are equally as powerful at convincing voters that their way is the right way, as the above mentioned are at enlightening poltically minded, socially conscious voters. We shall soon see.

So the logical evolution of social networking is taking hold. In todays volatile marketplace, the success of manufacturers, advertisers, marketers, and media companies in creating long-term value and stickiness depends primarily on their ability to develop great stategies wrapped around great value propositions quickly. So what better way than to use the power of social networks?

I use the terms great strategies and value props. because todays consumers are as discerning as they have ever been. Why? Because they are armed to the teeth with more information than they know what to do with. And now with social networks, the ability for consumers to talk and share and recommend virally, is as big a challenge for marketers et al. as it has ever been.  But it can also be a major home run if done right.

That strategy appears to have taken flight with Viacom for instance. You may not know Viacom as well as you do their MTV properties. Having said that, MTV has recently announced that is jumping back into the social-networking game. In 2005, News Corp. outbid Viacom for social-networking giant MySpace.com. Since then, Viacom has largely been on the sidelines in the growing market. Now the company is focusing on creating a vast array of highly targeted Web sites that are loosely connected and focus mostly on programming such as VH1 Classic, Jackass, and Sucker Free on MTV.

When we mentioned product-centric strategies earlier, this is a case in point where Viacom/MTV has a solid brand they are looking to grow and expand  into new markets and new channels using all of the resources available to it. One of them being social networks.

MTV’s highly-targeted web sites will be at the core of the company’s digital efforts. MTV sees its content as its strength, and thus they have  decided to wrap that content with the power of social networking. In the past year, the company has constructed 32 new sites. The idea is to create a type of assembly line for Web sites. Those sites that find an audience will continue to be nurtured and those that don’t will be stripped down and “reskinned,” or refitted for the next experiment. Kind of like the 10 day ”look-see” contracts athletes get in professional sports. They essentially have 10 days to impress. If they don’t, away they go. 

Interestingly enough, the company  doesn’t plan to spend a lot of cash in promoting the sites. The reason being that they have the utmost confidence in their content and the viral ability of the Web to spread the word. Given that lack of faith, I’m going to give Viacom/MTV a 10 day look-see to see if this particular strategy pays off. It almost gives you the sense that they are saying,”we love your idea, we just don’t want to sink much money into it, until it works”.

While killer business processes, off-the-hook customer service, and bleeding edge technology all play vital roles in todays web 2.0 world, companies that create and buy into solid product-centric strategies and processes with the customer in mind, will be those that build valuable loyal brands and profitable businesses beyond the 21st century. It remains to be seen though if this particular strategy will pay off for Viacom/MTV.

Here is a great piece on someone NOT bashing Google for being the great company that they are: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2008/02/10-insights-from-11-months-of-working-at-google.html