News Update – Best of the Day

Loss in productivity is the fear that all bosses of companies have since the beginning of the web surfing era. Two studies by the National University of Singapore now found that web surfing is more productive than monitoring or banning web access. The first study stated that bosses who monitor an employees Internet surfing time may be wasting more time than their employees. The test showed significantly “lower levels of mental exhaustion and boredom”. The second study found that “rather than reducing cyber-loafing, excessive monitoring increases its frequency, as employees invariably view such policies as a form of mistrust that the company has in them”. Blocking Web usage in office hours proves ineffective as it prevents the “restorative function” that web surfing offers.

Many companies think about using Groupon to boost their marketing efforts or to upsale their revenues figures, or just to get some (often old-fashioned or outdated) in stock products out of their halls. To be honest, I found it quite amazing how much loss the company made last quarter, and I was asking myself why to spend money on a company that cuts their own marketing budgets. However, these are just superficial thoughts, Jeff Gibbard explains in three steps why Groupon does not make sense for companies: no financial uplift, no brand loyalty but many bargain hunters.

The Facebook “Like” button offers many opportunities to promote, push and place notion of your products on the Social Web. More importantly, it offers the chance to be creative around its intelligence. Two advertising students Jeena and John from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam created a virtual showroom where IKEA highlights the most liked items.

IKEA “The world’s most liked showroom” from Jeena van der Heul on Vimeo.

Studies – How women and moms use social media and mobile today…

Are men still the drivers of trends? How do women approach the Social Web, and the new mobile technology? Is the realm of gadgets still a mens’ business? Interestingly enough, a recent study from Women at NBCU found that women are the main drivers of tech trends, particularly on social networks. But there are more studies to obey…

Some findings of a recent study from Women at NBCU show that women are more engaged in social media and the mobile trend than men. The results say that women are the main drivers of tech trends, especially on social networks.

Women in General
Making purchases, a high number of women (71%) surveyed stated that they have their recommendations from online friends rather than review websites. And even more, they are far more likely to connect with brands on their social networks. According to the survey, women are alsoo more likely to own a smartphone, a gaming app like Angry Birds or a Wii than men.

So, the question will be which social network is dominated by women and which one by men? The Pew Internet Research allows some insights. Except for LinkedIn all other social networks seemed to be ruled by women. Is business is a mens’ domain or just more men in the workforce…?

Females participate stronger and more intense overall and in every other social network. Also interesting, that male versus female usage on Twitter is just the opposite. Another study last year by BridgeRatings said that men prefer Twitter while Facebook is more appealing to women.

However if we take a look at the Google+ stats, it seems that Google+ is a male-dominated platform by a ratio of 3:1. However, Paul Allen, predicts that “Google+ is quickly turning pink”. His view is that the “percentage of women on G+ may soon outstrip the number of women on LinkedIn”. Although women are more thinking in segmented friendship circles, I have heard many women complaining about the complexity of Google+. We will watch this trend evolving…

Women in business
The Women Presidents’ Organization found in a study, based on the responses of 259 women-led companies, that 40% women-led business owners thinks that an increase in revenue was based on their social media efforts. Even more, 10% of the respondents saw a “significant” revenue jump.

However the great figures, 40% of respondents also denied having seen sales improve from social media, but 31% of them remained “hopeful”. They envision other benefits like building credibility or better recruitment opportunities. Still, there were 16% not using Social Media.

Women at home: Moms
Moms are a definiely an emerging and lucrative target group for marketers. We can see this from a NPD group research and Pandora, the streaming service. They are using social networks longer and more frequently to share their views on kids and education, and they are even more heavy mobile users. Mothers make up 20% Internet traffic and are the fastest-growing buyers of iPhones. And also a Nielsen report claims that American mothers are sharing more photos and news on Facebook than anyone else.

“We’ve known about the opportunity of online moms for a while now, but then mobile technology came along and blew everything up”. Marshal Cohen, Chief Retail Analyst, NPD Group

Spot On!
Men are no longer the forerunners of modern technology. Women adapt at least as quickly as men, and seem to be more engaged in Social Media and social networking than men. If this is because men focus and identify themselve more with business topics, or whether there are other reasons like American focus of the studies, the readers of this post might find arguments for or against some of these views.

Share your insights and views. Why are women more engaged in Social Media? Why are they positive about their usage of social networking for business? Or is this a complete wrong picture that we get here?

Study: Social Business is critical to future success

Jive Software recently published a study that unveils how social software is increasingly perceived as a strategic executive imperative in the enterprise. Surprise? No. Jive is a provider of social business technology and commissioned the study, which was conducted by Penn Schoen Berland and asked 902 U.S.-based knowledge workers.

The three key finding can be summarized as…
- Social strategy will be critical to the future success of businesses.
- App Stores are gaining traction in the enterprise
- Email usage is growing but is not solving communication challenges in the enterprise

So, what are essential facts from the study…?

Enthusiasm for social software in enterprise is high according to the study. 96% stated that social software adds value to at least one key performance indicator with 67% claiming it would improve customer engagement. 57% even believing it would increase sales or revenue. Two-thirds (66%) of executives responded social software represents a fundamental shift in how companies work and engage with customers.
However, only 17% of the same executives reported being ahead of the curve in this area. So, obviously web business strategy is not where executives think corporate culture should be. And that is although 83% of executives leverage at least one social network for work use.

Reference marketing is becoming essential and social software will play a big role in the future of purchase decisions. 54% of millennials said that they are more likely to rely on and make purchase decisions from information shared via personal contacts in online communities versus 33% more likely to use information from “official” company sources.

Obviously the study also finds that mobile is growing. App stores are gaining tracion in the enterprise and 74% of executives are indicating interest. The reason i salso mentioned in the study. 92% of executives and 82% of millennials believe that work-related web-based apps greatly or somewhat increased their productivity.

As a final finding, the study states the growing use of email which the bloggosphere is evaluating as a weak collaboration tool for a while. The study agrees here. 89% of executives, 88% of millennials and 76% of general knowledge workers believe that they and their teams would be more productive if they could dramatically reduce the time spent writing and reading emails. Seventy-three percent of executives, 73 percent of millennials and 64 percent of general knowledge workers agree that social platforms will fundamentally change the way people share, connect and learn at work and with companies.

Spot On!
The study obviously favors the benefits of social software (it is a Jive USP). Some weeks ago, an IBM study took a step ahead and looked at the way executives have to challenge SocialCRM in the future and what their main fields of activity are at the moment.

So, if knowledge management in companies via social software is seen to have client engagement potential to improve business objectives, executives should have a close look at the following numbers and think about how (and how long to wait) to implement social software in their business processes: 73% of execs and millennials and 64% of general knowledge workers agree that social platforms will fundamentally change the way people share, connect and learn at work and with companies.

SEO study: Measurable results are key, but without strategy…

Would you like to know what tactics B2B and B2C marketers use to achieve a powerful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy? Well, then you should read the latest MarketingSherpa „2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report – SEO Edition“. But only if you have time to read a 202-page paper. If not, find the latest insights in brief on SEO habits and effectiveness according to more than 1.500 respondents.

Although SEO is one of the main topics in meetings with clients these days, marketing decision makers tend to ignore the strategic approach. The study shows the discrepancy between what marketers want and are willing to invest…
- Developing a SEO strategy is a top challenge but ranks as bottom objective
- Organic SEO via Content creation is a winner but costs many resources
- Established SEO processes generate future investments in SEO
- Incremental SEO improvements add up to large profits
- Local business listings tactics are underutilized

Many organisations are not challenging a strategic plan. The tactical approach still rules the daily business with clear focus on fast tactical objective turnarounds (i.e. leveraging website traffic, lead generation and measurable ROI). Understanding and evaluating digital assets from a SEO point of view is still not a strategic topic in businesses. Only 27% of companies surveyed responded they consider planning an effective SEO strategy an important objective.

However, companies put massive importance on measurable results. The study claims the benefit of Inbound Marketing by some helpful numbers…
- Use Social Media – Revenue goes up 114% and Leads 30%
- Find and test niche content: Organic traffic increased by 40%
- Revamp and optimize web content – Doubles lead conversions

The graphic below illustrates the value if various tactics and how to position them for your strategic efforts.

Spot On!
The above numbers sound as if SEO needs to become a strategic focus of your web strategy – and yes, it should. However, content marketing as an inbound marketing tactic stays a challenge for marketers, especially if it shall be authentic, story-telling and benefitial for users. No wonder it is one of the most difficult processes. BUT it is still considered to gain best returns. Nevertheless, the best SEO strategy needs to have the right approach from data capture to generating leads through to good landing pages, leverage mobile and finally do lead nurturing. And it needs to take into account the right follow up process from customer service and sales to complete a SEO strategy.

Study: CEOs say that marketers lack business credibility

It is a harsh statement. It is a statement that undermines the value of leading marketers in the world. But it comes from their bosses: CEOs.

A majority of CEO’s believe that marketers lack business credibility. And it is not only that… Marketers are not the business growth generators they should be and are not focused enough on effectiveness. This is the key findings of a recent report “2011 Global Marketing Effectiveness Porgram” by Fournaise Marketing Group. The report interviewed over 600 large corporation and SMB CEOs and decision makers in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the US.

Nearly three quarter (73%) of CEOs believe marketers are not able to demonstrate how their cross-channel marketing strategies and campaigns help to increase their organisations’ top line in terms of more customer demand, sales, prospects, conversions and market share.

However these findings sound like a slap in the face of marketers, the study makes also clear that vertical metric set-ups are still a challenge for companies. 77% of respondents admitted that they cannot connect EBIT, market valuation or revenues to marketing facts like brand equity, brand values or other marketing ROI metrics.

The study claims that 74% marketers rely too much on the creative element of their job, ‘arty’ and ‘fluffy’ thoughts and too much on their ad agencies to come up with the next big idea. I would like to add that very often publishers make up a lot of these ideas but appear to stay in second line to the client. Just a quick hint to CEO’s…

In some of my latest projects in the last five years, I have seen marketers asking for many and very detailed reportings. The interesting thing is that 70% of CEOs see marketing data marketers provide is hardly useful, or relate to or mean anything for their company’s P&L. Obviously, 69% of marketers say that their campaigns and strategies have an impact on business – but cannot precisely quantify.

“Until marketers start speaking the P&L language of their CEOs and stakeholders, and until they start tracking the business effectiveness of their strategies and campaigns to prove they generate incremental customer demand, they will continue to lack credibility in the eyes of their CEOs and will continue to be seen more as a cost centre than as an asset.”
Jerome Fontaine, CEO, Fournaise

Spot On!
For me one of the main interesting topics is that 74% of CEO’s find that marketers focus too much on the latest marketing hypes (i.e. social media 74%) without explaining the real value it brings to the business. In order to generate ROI, very often marketers are starting discussions with third parties or agencies about latest trends and then jumping on them immediately without even thinking about the ROI it might bring to the business – instead of focussing on where main revenue streams are coming from.

Now, the funny thing is that probably most of marketers won’t comment on these findings, I assume. Although it would help all marketers to start discussing now…

Outlook or flashback? The (mobile) reward advertising model…

About 12 years ago, when I was about to join silicon, I remember my first meeting in the Chelsea office. I got to know the founders and management team in London and we had first discussions about the future of the business model. It was all very exciting to be in the UK, talking business with that innovative team that was reaching out to the big VC’s for more venture capital as web TV and community building seemed to have been the new rising starts for the next hundred years. And today all business is focussing on mobile…

At that day, we were brainstorming opportunities how to engage users in advertising, and how to reward them. Reward them, when they were watching the pre-rolls at our daily (on-demand) three minutes news show, when they were clicking on display ads, when were reading articles that might fit their business needs and then send them personalized advertising… and reward them when paying attention to any forms and activities of sponsored areas.

To be frankly open, the time was not ready for these types of advertising rewards from a user perspective (as well as the ad industry understanding the capabilities). However, we thought about clever loyalty programs and how to let users participate in the revenues we are generating. As we were working in the B2B scenario it was even more difficult to get this into the heads of our users. I remember, we even tested the silicon point reward model and had a personalized point counter on our side for some days. Yes, we were quite ahead of our times…

So, where are we today with the reward advertising model?

Some weeks ago, I met Julian Fourgeaud at Rovio (Angry Birds) when I was speaking at the istrategyconference in Amsterdam. Julian told me all about the opportunities they have with their mobile gaming business. If you think about their reach – Angry Birds just cracked the 200 Mio. downloads barrier- it all makes perfect sense. I was surprised how much time people spend with the game, and how addicted people became during the istrategyconference dinner (just ask my kids…) but wondered how to make a clever advertising model out of it. And I thought if reach is as benefitial as relevance form an advertising point of view. But that is another story…

Today, I was reminded of the old silicon days. I came across a new business model which is called kiip. Their business is quite simple. A code is implemented in a game which is basically an ad. The ad is a reward points model or coupon that shows up in mobile games when people achieve certain high-scores or levels in the game. So, when you beat a level, you might get a coffee from Starbucks or a discount from MINI’s merchandising shop. Or you just collect points via their loyalty schemes which motivate you to think about purchasing their latest products.

Here is the video how kiip works…

Kiip: An Introduction from kiip on Vimeo.

Spot On!
There are so many advertising opportunities or loyalty programs (i.e. like Multiply to increase the worth of brand fans) these days that won’t be as offensive as the traditional advertising model. HOWEVER, in my eyes there is one thing which needs to happen: Personalization. With silicon those days we saw who was logged in, just like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter do. So, personalized reward advertising ad models should no be a challenge anymore (under given permission). Still, I cannot see any of these rewarding systems really working for now. Or is Facebook Stories heading towards this idea? Groupon, Foursquare and Gowalla could come up with similar ideas if they just collaborate with the guys from kiip. And if credit card providers as well as loyalty card providers would change their strategies and group with these guys, chances would be amazing to make advertising engaging, personal, rewarding and finally efficient for brands. We would get offers in a personalized format, at the right time and in the right environment.

What do you think about reward advertising models? Is this an exiting area to focus on? Do you fear that data privacy (remember this Google spoof commercial…) becomes an issue as usual? Let us know…

Infographic: Why mobile will fuel the future of business…

Mobile apps and technology is becoming increasingly important for companies in order to increase productivity, generate revenue, approach a new client generation and to get rid of paper. Thsi states a study by Zendesk which highlights the results in a nice infographic… and it reminds me of some research data of a Microsoft study.

The Zendesk research found out that 43% of businesses are planning to increase mobile technology for business purposes by 2015. Corporate networks will see half of all devices being mobile devices until that date. The business use of mobile apps is expected to grow on a worldwide basis up to of $25 billion by 2015 (approx. $6.8 billion in 2010).

News Update – Best of the Day

About one year ago Twitter started introducing their new monetization model: Promoted Tweets. Twitter expects 150 Mio. USD revenue this year with the program. Now, one year later the first “success story” have been published, and Gordon Mc Millan writes a nice summary “Do Twitter ads work?“. Not really, it seems…

Is tablet computing changing the future of the whole computer industry? Who can say that today? However, since tablets are equipped with advanced sensors like high-resolution cameras, augmented reality has become an interesting opportunity to facilitate help for customers, i.e. in the form of manuals. Metaio explains in their latest video how this works…

Have you ever wondered why Microsoft bought Skype? This infographic by Jess3 might have an answer for you. The infographic highlights the dynamic of geosocial networking, and the relative size of social networks, like Skype, Twitter or Foursquare among others.

News Update – Best of the Day

Leadership was, is and will be the most challenging sauce for successful of the future. Have you ever thought what the perfect ingredients of a great leader are? Sarah Robinson has asked her followers on Twitter and created a nice summary. It inclu four priorities in various answers: integrity, inspiration, intelligence and the right portion of initiative. Maybe you have some more?

How does Twitter make money? And is the predicted revenue of 250 Mio. USD realistic? Are their products Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends a great product line for the future. Harry Gold discusses on Clickz the products and how Twitter makes money.

How can you get crowd-sourced websites stay agile and creative? Ben Huh, CEO of Cheezburger Network, explains how his company tries to identify future potential for growth on communities and websites. He also how he sees a benefit if the core audience shed in favor of a broader target-group. And he talks about the importance of failure. “Failure is not part of a dead end but as a part of a process. Damaging is “if you don’t learn from a mistake or if you don’t take a risk.” Ben sees this as a much bigger problem than failure.

Real-time-bidding: How publishers and advertisers leverage online ads (a Michael Barrett interview)

One-on-one interview with Michael Barrett.

Michael Barrett joined Admeld from Fox Interactive Media, where he was Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and oversaw worldwide revenue for all properties, including MySpace, IGN, FoxSports.com, Fox.com, AmericanIdol.com and Scout.com. Before Fox, Mr. Barrett held senior sales positions at interactive leaders AOL Media Networks, GeoCities/Yahoo! and Disney Online.

The Strategy Web spoke briefly with Mr. Barrett about Real-Time-Bidding (RTB) and the benefit that Admeld can offer to publishers… and advertisers.

What is a private Ad Exchange and which role does Admeld play in this context?

The private exchange is built on Admeld’s core technology, it is an invite only marketplace. First, it leverages our yield optimisation engine, which connects to every major programmatic buyer. Second, it has an audience analytics module which enables the publisher to identify their most valuable users. And third, it has the analytics and controls necessary to help them stay aware of buying trends, price effectively and sell only to those they want.

Do you think, this model is right for every publisher?

The model makes sense for many large European publishers, but the solution isn’t right for every publisher. It’s meant for those that have the scale and brand equity to attract advertisers into their own marketplace. The private exchange is customized to a publisher’s needs, and delivers cutting-edge control over how you sell your inventory, to whom, and for how much.

Can you still put inventory through RTB on private exchange?

Yes, Admeld’s private exchange platform has been developed to primarily handle RTB and gives the publisher unprecedented, direct access to Admeld’s audience analysis and optimisation technology. The exchange platform works in concert with a publisher’s ad server and demand flows from the trading desks, DSP’s, and direct sold deals. This methodology gives the publisher truly informative access, control (including the ability to set price floors), and insights on their inventory, regardless of demand source.

Spot On!
The RTB technology approach is still quite new to the advertising industry. Admeld just recently launched a RTB network with quadrantOne on premium local audiences. sociomantic entered the European market last week – just some weeks after my company IDG signed a global agreement with Admeld to start their own RTB system called Techmediaexchange which will be going live soon. One of the latest studies by Forrester claims that RTB is accounting for 8% of the online display ad market in 2011. An interesting market for clients and publishers in the future…

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