Facebook Dark Posts update – Video ads eligible for News Feed. Is it a B2B win?

Up until this week only photo ads were eligible for what Facebook calls Unpublished post ads and the industry generally calls “dark posts”. The release this week of video capability expands the utility of dark posts and potentially is a big win for business to business marketing on Facebook – but many people might miss that subtlety. 

My supposition that video dark posts will see significantly higher usage on laptop and desktop focused ads. Research data has shown that because of both screen and bandwidth constraints photos are still a much bigger engagement platform on mobile. Mobile usage peaks on Facebook are much different than desktop  usage. Desktop usage still peaks mid-day on Wednesday where as mobile is moving toward Sunday afternoon.

Big tip: The usage data would suggest that video post ads targeted to a rich, high-bandwidth experience would be optimal for B2B and best served the beginning and middle of the week. Obviously using some A/B comparison ads and Facebook data is a quick way to determine if my advice is correct for your business but this is one giant leap in that direction.

The best video ads you can produce would be based on user generated content. It’s easiest to catch user generated video at your own events or sponsored locations like stadiums, events and locations. Check out how Major League Baseball should do social for more ideas. 

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Think you know more about social than a 4 month old puppy? (Please share!)

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New! Facebook allows Atlas tags for targeted adverts – what’s it mean for you?

I just wrote a blog for dwinQ about targeted advertising using Facebook and the success of such programs. Now there is even better news from Facebook you use Atlas post-impression measurement tags (often called view tags) on ads targeted to custom audiences, partner categories and lookalike audiences.

So what does this mean for Facebook advertisers and those trying to amplify their brand on Facebook?  Better analytics and measurement of ad spend. Now Facebook can offer view-through measurement on custom audience targeted ads. More and better information for spending your precious dollars.

A quick look on the old Atlas Blog gives all the benefits of using the view tags with Facebook targeted advertising. In a  nutshell you can compare Facebook advertising directly with display advertising online and see how that influences search. So if Facebook is more effective than your Google Adwords or Yahoo advertising you can move (and justify moving) more spend to Facebook for better results.

Remember, my big rule of thumb for success on Facebook – work with a PMD vendor, use as much User Generated Content as possible, and try to amplify live events with product placement on Facebook using technology like RFID and QR codes. That’s the foundation of the new marketing mix. Using Atlas tags can help go beyond your gut and show you how effective things really are. Good luck!

 

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IBM, Apple and Google brands worth $400 BILLION – what’s yours worth?

In a Dr. Evil-like post last week Venture Beat reported that IBM, Apple and Google have the worlds most valuable brands – worth an estimated $400 billion dollars.
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That’s good news for me since I own both Apple and google stock – but is it good news for you and your brand? Yes, if you take just a minute to see how they built those brands up. IBM has been around for ever so let’s take them out of the equation. Apple and Google can sum up their brand value in a single word: Focus

If you want your brand to be valuable and increase the success of your overall company stay focused. This is even more true on social media than it is in the real world. Apple focused on one thing user-friendly innovation. Google focused on one thing: accurate search. Those single, well defined attributes catapulted the respective companies to the top of the list.

The other thing they both did was brand individual products separately. Gmail, Glass, Analytics and iPhone, iPod, iPad are all differnet than company names. Look at a company that is not in the top three but should be (HP). One of the reasons their brand is discounted compared to the company value is the lack of clarification and tightly messaged purpose. They also have terrible product names that muddy the branding water. 

Build value in your brand – find your one well-defined message and speak that in all your communication via social media. If you enable great user generated content make sure you add your messaging there as well, and make it easy (frictionless) so that you have a bran
d champion speaking your one brand message. 

 

 

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Integrated Print Forum – where digital and physical meet in the ‘burgh

I’m key noting at the integrated print forum #IPF13  in Pittsburgh. Stop by this morning and see how conneting the real world and online world is a key piece in any marketing puzzle.

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Tap to call Home on Facebook – marketing prediction

For those of you who have not played with Home yet on an Android it really is pretty cool. It’s like a slide show of screensavers that are made up of your newsfeed. The posts are vibrant, alive and engaging. The ads are another story – no doubt they are sometime annoying. This is especially true (for me) if they are for some time-sucking game that fit into the following catagory: my locker neighbor from high school is spending all his time at working trying to get to the next level, and apparently needs me to be his Cato, or Hutch, or Joe Biden.  I know I am digressing about terrible game ads. But the ads do have a negative impact – right now. They will get better and brands had better pay attention. 

My prediction is that the biggest impact of Facebook’s new Home operating system is that   advertisers will gain an ability to enable immediate action. What is going to happen in the next six months is that home will have a click-to-call feature. 

This click to call integration will allow immediate tracking of sales conversion from Facebook ads and bring data collection into the stratosphere. It will also take away any buying friction that was existent in the old model. Brands can significantly optimize this if they make ads that don’t suck and if they allow user to take action.

My advice start designing ad programs that include click to talk capability and remember that using user-generated content has proven head and shoulders above everything else for driving engagement. This will be true for driving buying actions as well. In the next six or 12 months Home is where the money will be.

The best way to ensure ads on Facebook home and mobile are working is to make them subtle and leverage user generated content. Seeing something your friends are talking about is a lot more powerful than something a sales guy is talking about. So look for click to call soon on home and mobile and think of creative ways to collect user generated content at events, promotions, and sponsorship programs that already exist – that’s how to really drive ROI home.

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Facebook’s 20% rule – a little help from your friend

Many of you may know that Facebook relaxed it’s 20% rule for text on cover photos and posted photos. You can read the new Facebook 20% guidelines and see how they apply to you.

I came across a nifty tool to help you stay within those guidelines and wanted to share it with folks who are designing Facebook marketing programs to make your life a little easier. So follow this link to the Facebook 20% test tool. And enjoy.

Remember the most effective Facebook advertising has three attributes:

1. In the newsfeed

2. Subtle (think product placement)

3. Coming from user’s themselves (user generated content UGC)

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