Corporate Eye

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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Instagram, Twitter or Facebook Advertising – Which Is Best for Brands?

instagramWith last week’s announcement that Instagram advertising is coming in the near future (first through a limited test among U.S. users), brand marketers have taken notice. There will soon be a new way to reach the 150 million Instagram user audience. Ads will roll out with a small number of brands on both the Instagram website and mobile app with a focus on enhancing the user experience with ads.

An Instagram blog post explained the upcoming advertising launch to users as follows:

“Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands. We want these ads to be enjoyable and creative in much the same way you see engaging, high-quality ads when you flip through your favorite magazine.”

Instagram users will also be able to hide ads they don’t like and provide feedback on those ads.  Let’s hope that the Instagram team will take many of the lessons its parent, Facebook, has learned about advertising to deliver a strong offering to advertisers that its user audience accepts.

Not only is Instagram joining Facebook in building an advertising platform that will generate revenue, but the announcement comes at the same time news of Twitter’s initial public offering hit the streets. In the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing from Twitter, the company revealed that it has 218 million monthly active users. Yoree Koh and Suzanne Vranica of The Wall Street Journal explain that this is significantly less than the 1.5 billion active monthly users that Facebook boasts. That 218 million Twitter user audience represents 22% of U.S. Internet users according to Forrester Research, but that’s very small compared to the 72% of U.S. Internet users who check Facebook at least once per month.

Koh and Vranica also explained in their article that Twitter advertisers don’t believe an audience of 218 million users is big enough to invest in Twitter advertising. Today, Twitter usage peaks during big events, and the rest of the time, it’s dominated by a small group of power users. Many advertisers are waiting for Twitter to find better ways to increase engagement among wider audiences and to encourage them to log in more frequently.

These shortcomings make most consumer brands choose Facebook first. Of course, Facebook advertising has its own long list of problems, but today, it’s the social network that most brands prioritize. Is it truly the right place for those brands to invest ad dollars or do they just think they have to be there because the Facebook user audience is so big and the site is so popular? For brand marketers, the problem becomes trying to explain why they’re not advertising on Facebook to executives.

So which is best for brands—Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook? The answer is, there is no single answer. Every brand is different, but advertising on Facebook because that’s where 1 billion people are doesn’t mean the investment will drive a positive return. The Super Bowl gets massive viewership each year, but that doesn’t mean every brand should advertise during the big game. If you can create a highly relevant offer and release it at the right time and to the right audience on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, then invest. However, as with all marketing investments, if you can’t generate the needed ROI, it doesn’t matter if there are 1 billion users, 218 million users, or 100 users.

Apple Bumps Coca-Cola from Top Spot as World’s Most Valuable Brand

apple logo apple storeThe Top 100 Global Brands 2013 list from Interbrand has been released and Apple has ended the 13-year run Coca-Cola enjoyed in the #1 spot. In fact, Coca-Cola fell to third place on the list of the most valuable global brands in 2013, behind Apple and Google.

Both Apple and Google were top risers in the 2013 list, with estimated value growth rates of 28% and 24%, respectively. Coca-Cola only experienced a 2% growth in value. However, the biggest growth in brand value was experienced by Facebook. Ranking at #52 (up from #69 in 2012), Facebook’s brand value rose by 43% to $7.7 billion. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nokia dropped from #19 in 2012 to #57 in 2013 with a brand value that dropped by 65% to $7.4 billion.

In terms of positions on this list, Apple moved up from #2 in 2012 (#8 in 2011), and Google climbed from #4 in 2012 (also #4 in 2011). Looking back even further, Apple didn’t even make the top 10 in the 2008 list (#24) while Google ranked in tenth place. But let’s go back even further. In 2000, when the list of the top 100 global brands was first published, Coca-Cola was in the top spot, but Apple was ranked #36 and Google didn’t make the list at all.

The top 10 global brands of 2013 are:

  1. Apple = $98.3 billion brand value
  2. Google = $93.3 billion brand value
  3. Coca-Cola = $79.2 billion brand value
  4. IBM = $78.8 billion brand value
  5. Microsoft – $59.5 billion brand value
  6. GE = $46.9 billion brand value
  7. McDonald’s = $42.0 billion brand value
  8. Samsung = $39.6 billion brand value
  9. Intel = $37.3 billion brand value
  10. Toyota = $35.3 billion brand value

Today, the top 10 global brands according to the Interbrand report are primarily technology brands (5 out of 10). However, tech brands aren’t the most common sector seen on this year’s list. That honor goes to the automotive sector. Here is a breakdown of the number of brands in each sector that made it on the list of the top 100 global brands of 2013:

  • Automotive = 14 brands
  • Technology = 12 brands
  • FMCG = 12 brands
  • Financial Services = 11 brands
  • Alcohol = 7 brands
  • Luxury = 7 brands
  • Electronics = 6 brands
  • Diversified = 5 brands
  • Apparel = 4 brands
  • Beverages = 4 brands
  • Media = 4 brands
  • Restaurants = 4 brands
  • Business Services = 3 brands
  • Retail = 2 brands
  • Sporting Goods = 2 brands
  • Energy = 1 brand
  • Home Furnishings = 1 brand
  • Transportation = 1 brand

Overall, U.S. brands dominate the list with 57 followed by Europe and Africa with 33. Ten brands on the list are from Asia. You can follow the link above to view the full report, interactive charts, and more.

Image: Plasticpeople

One Step Closer to Pinterest Advertising

pins for pinterestThere are over 70 million people around the world using Pinterest, a site that debuted just a few years ago. Given the site’s rapid growth and massive size, it’s not surprising Pinterest announced this week that it would start testing promoted pins as a way to generate ad revenue.

As CEO Ben Silbermann explained in a blog post on the Pinterest blog, “It’s important that Pinterest is a service that will be here to stay. To help make sure it does, we’re going to start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses.”

At launch, Pinterest will test promoting pins in search results and category feeds, but Silbermann points out that his team hasn’t figured out how the entire process will work. In fact, no one is paying Pinterest for promoted pins yet. Furthermore, Silbermann explains that his team doesn’t want promoted pins to damage the user experience on Pinterest. To that end, Silberman explains in his blog post that his team is working to ensure that promoted pins will be:

  • Tasteful. No flashy banners or pop-up ads.
  • Transparent. We’ll always let you know if someone paid for what you see, or where you see it.
  • Relevant. These pins should be about stuff you’re actually interested in, like a delicious recipe, or a jacket that’s your style.
  • Improved based on your feedback. Keep letting us know what you think, and we’ll keep working to make things better.

Given the fact that the vast majority of Pinterest users are women, a coveted audience for brand marketers, promoted pins could be a significant opportunity to brands in a long list of categories. Silbermann explained that users will start seeing promoted pins which are relevant to their searches very soon. For example, a user who searches for children’s birthday party theme ideas could see a promoted pin for invitations or decorations from a greeting card brand or party supply company.

Until now, Pinterest didn’t have an advertising platform, and whether users are happy about the introduction of promoted pins or not, two things are certain. First, Pinterest needs to generate revenue if it wants to stay around for the long term, and advertising is the most logical place to start. Second, brands should pay close attention because Pinterest advertising could be an excellent opportunity to get in front of targeted audiences, particularly female audiences whom research shows make or influence the vast majority of purchase decisions.

Image: Jeffrey Collingwood

5 Steps to Generate Revenue with Big Data

cloud big dataAccording to a new white paper from Gigya, “Harnessing Big Data to Grow Revenue,” there is a significant gap between collecting data from social media and using that data to create targeted brand marketing campaigns. Gigya explains that by using social logins on brand websites, companies can close this gap and generate new revenue.

In simplest terms, social logins enable website visitors to log into that site (or mobile application) using their preferred social media profile usernames and passwords. Rather than remembering a separate password for the brand’s site or application, the user logs in with his Facebook account or Twitter account.

In its white paper, Gigya explains that, “users who log in to a website using an existing social identity are essentially granting that website permission to access their first-party social data such as full name, interests, education, social connections, email address, location, and more.” It’s a huge opportunity that most companies are missing.

However, collecting user data through social logins is just the first step to actually generate revenue with that data. Gigya offers five steps to successfully collect and use that data:

  1. Use a “dynamic-schema, secure, cloud-based solution” to store and manage all of the social and behavioral data that is collected.
  2. Implement social logins whenever possible.
  3. Use automated data capture to ensure data collected is accurate since social profiles change frequently.
  4. Increase user engagement to collect more data through social plugins on brand websites, commenting, sharing, and so on.
  5. Integrate the collected data into third-party marketing platforms, such as email marketing, advertising, web analytics, and recommendation tools, to personalize marketing campaigns.

I would add that another important step is to hire talent that understands how to extract meaningful and actionable information from the data that is collected. This is an area where most companies are faltering. Collecting, storing, and integrating data into various systems and tools is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what the data actually means.

Data can be extracted and manipulated to tell just about any store an analyst wants, but hiring a person or team of people who understand data and marketing can be challenging. In other words, great marketing data scientists are few and far between in 2013, but the importance of the role to a company shouldn’t be undervalued. After all, effective data evaluation can make the difference between revenue generation and revenue losses.

What do you think about the big data gap? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Dave532

Content Marketing Really Can Drive Leads

keyboard content marketingIn a survey of U.S. marketing agencies conducted by RSW/US, content in various forms ranked as the most effective tactic to drive new leads. In fact, the ranking of marketing tactics based on their lead generation success among agencies is very different from how the list may have looked just five years ago.

The shift from traditional marketing tactics to new media marketing tactics such as social media and content marketing is significant even though many corporate executives continue to undervalue these newer, digital marketing opportunities. However, agencies not only understand the potential of new media marketing, but also, they understand that new media marketing can drive real leads. That’s a bridge most other corporate executives have yet to cross because tracking the return on investment of new media marketing tactics is still far from perfect.

With that said, take a look at the ranking of marketing tactics from agency respondents to the survey, which were published by eMarketer. Notice that the first six tactics on the list include some form of long-form or short-form content creation, publishing, and distribution:

  1. Client case studies = 62.6%
  2. Content marketing through agency website = 62.6%
  3. Agency blog = 58.2%
  4. Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. = 57.1%
  5. Press releases and publicity = 50.6%
  6. Targeted direct mail to qualified list = 41.8%
  7. Community and civic work = 33.0%
  8. Referrals program = 30.8%
  9. Email lead capture program = 29.7%
  10. Advertising = 19.8%

Marketing agencies are business-to-business organizations serving companies in every industry. Therefore, it stands to reason that the tactics ranked above can work equally well for other business-to-business companies.

It’s not surprising that agencies ranked LinkedIn (a social network for professionals) as the best social network for lead generation. However, an even more interesting finding in the study shows that more agencies believe that online video is the most effective marketing tactic for lead generation. Agencies ranked Vimeo (23%) and YouTube (20%) as the most effective sites for generating new business—above social media standards like LinkedIn (19%), Facebook (19%), Twitter (17%), and Google+ (19%). Clearly, online video represents a potential opportunity for agencies and business-to-business companies overall.

Furthermore, Google+ is underutilized by agencies with just 8% of agencies using it for lead generation, which is significantly fewer than the the number of agencies using LinkedIn (21%), Facebook (21%), and Twitter (20%). With its importance to search and its growing user audience, Google+ presents another big opportunity for agencies and business-to-business companies.

Image: Jeff Hire

15 Statistics that Support a Mobile First Brand Marketing Strategy

global brand marketingHave you prioritized mobile in your brand marketing strategy yet? Even if  you don’t put mobile first in your marketing plan, it needs to be high up on the list of priorities.

Remember back in 2010 when smartphone adoption in the United States and Europe hit 30%, and comScore reported that social media was one of the fastest growing mobile activities? How about in 2011 when 35% of all Yelp.com searches came from a Yelp mobile app? Fast forward to 2013, and more consumers than ever are using their mobile devices to seek out information and make purchase decisions while they’re in brick and mortar stores.

A new infographic from Unified Social suggests that smart social marketers think of mobile first. That statement is supported by a long list of statistics, which prove how important mobile brand marketing has become in 2013. Following are 15 of those statistics, which you can see visualized in the infographic below:

  1. Global shipments of tablets will surpass desktop computers in 2017.
  2. 78% of Facebook users in the United States access the site via mobile devices.
  3. Facebook Page posts from mobile devices are 39% more engaging.
  4. Mobile advertising comprises 41% of Facebook’s revenue.
  5. Facebook has 16% market share of global mobile advertising.
  6. 60% of Twitter users are mobile.
  7. Mobile Twitter users are 79% more likely to use Twitter multiple times per day.
  8. Mobile Twitter users are 66% more likely to retweet content.
  9. Mobile page views on LinkedIn increased by 250% in 2013.
  10. 59% of Yelp searches come from mobile.
  11. 40% of YouTube video plays in the United States come from mobile.
  12. Mobile advertising makes up 25% of YouTube’s revenue.
  13. Mobile Pinterest usage increased 60-fold in 2012.
  14. Pinterest content is shared nearly three times more often on mobile devices than via desktop computers.
  15. Overall, mobile users share content twice as often as desktop users.

If mobile marketing isn’t a priority for your brand, you’re already behind your competitors. Ignore these statistics at your own risk (and at the risk of your brand’s success in the future). Your competitors have likely already created a mobile-first marketing strategy. At the very least, they’ve probably prioritized mobile in their marketing plans. Don’t let your brand fall further behind, because at some point in the near future, you won’t be able to catch up anymore.