With consumers’ increase in digital media cable-TV and satellite-TV companies should be worried. | Amazon.com is reportedly considering a leap into the TV-show and movie subscription market against Apple, Netflix, Google and Hulu. Amazon may offer older content through web browsers and Internet-connected devices. Amazon’s plans follow a report that the cable-TV industry lost 711,000 subscribers in the second quarter. |
According to data from SNL Kagan, cable companies saw a dip in subscribers during the second quarter. The cable-TV industry, which has until now experienced consistent growth, shed 711,000 subscribers in the period. Cable’s share of pay TV also dipped from 63.6 percent to 61 percent in the second quarter.
Read more at www.newsfactor.com |
The Associated Press and Google Inc. have reached a new distribution agreement, marking a breakthrough in what has become an increasingly contentious issue for news organizations: how Web portals and other sites distribute their material. |
The agreement will allow Google News to host AP articles for at least two more years, people familiar with the matter said. However, the AP backed off certain demands to have more of a say in how prominently its material is featured in search results, the people said. |
However, some news organizations say the big Web portals don’t do a good enough job differentiating in search results between the originators of content and other Web publishers that merely repurpose it. |
For its part, Google has said its search algorithm is designed and regularly tweaked to favor the most authoritative sources of news, both in searches and on Google News. |
Privacy on the Web is a constant issue for public discussion—and Congress is always considering more regulations on the use of information about people’s habits, interests or preferences on the Internet. Unfortunately, these discussions lead to many misconceptions. Here are 10 of the most important: |
1) Privacy is free. Many privacy advocates believe it is a free lunch—that is, consumers can obtain more privacy without giving up anything. Not so. There is a strong trade-off between privacy and information: The more privacy consumers have, the less information is available for use in the economy. Since information helps markets work better, the cost of privacy is less efficient markets. |
2) If there are costs of privacy, they are borne by companies. Many who do admit that privacy regulations restricting the use of information about consumers have costs believe they are born entirely by firms. Yet consumers get tremendous benefits from the use of information. |
Think of all the free stuff on the Web: newspapers, search engines, stock prices, sports scores, maps and much more. Google alone lists more than 50 free services—all ultimately funded by targeted advertising based on the use of information. If revenues from advertising are reduced or if costs increase, then fewer such services will be provided. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com |
The new world of digital couponing… Practically unknown a year ago, social coupons have boomed by offering consumers another route to discounts while providing small-business owners guaranteed revenue and a flood of new customers. The coupon sites typically keep between a third and half of the coupon value as their fee. |
Dozens of social coupon websites have sprung up in recent years offering deals on everything from pedicures to hot-air balloon rides. Even dentists have offered discounts via Groupon. |
The Chicago-based company says 35,000 businesses are currently waiting to be featured on its site, with 700 new U.S. businesses approaching it each day. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com |
4 signs you’re a social media failure |
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” - Oprah Winfrey
Market research firm Gartner projects that more than 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies with websites will attempt some kind of online social media initiative for marketing or customer relations purposes. Gartner also projects that 50 percent of those efforts will fail.
Recognizing failure and learning from it is the nature of our business, especially for emerging channels such as social media. Repeatedly, it is a brave few who take risks while the rest point fingers and follow. When a company does dare to risk, we are quick to judge and condemn rather than celebrate.
To be realistic, most of us are accountable to multiple stakeholders — brands, consumers, our own organizations, and colleagues. There are, however, ways to minimize risks, learn from the stumbles, and move forward without leaving a trail of flames.
The dictionary defines failure as “the condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends.” Perhaps what we really need to do is to redefine success and failure as it pertains to social media.
Here are four common failure scenarios to help you prepare to respond effectively and turn social media mistakes into successes.
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5 tips for evolving your digital presence |
The IAB recently distributed its 2008 online advertising spending report. The gist is that online spending will continue to grow but not at the steep rate that analysts initially projected. While other advertising channels are facing dire straits, online is still poised to gain sizable share of marketers’ overall budgets. The industry has come a long way from the eras when traditional marketing channels dictated how consumers interacted with advertisers. As the digital space evolves, the way marketers communicate with their consumers follows suit. With each new platform, marketers have another option to add to their mix, but marketers should not rush onto a new platform just to mark their territory. |
Marketers need to balance the pros and cons of being a part of an emerging platform. The lure of being first is enticing because the companies that are first to make an impact in a digital realm are cemented as innovators. But you can’t wait too long as the risk of not adapting to changes fast enough can be substantial as there are several industries — like print media — that are unable to gain market share because they were absent for too long. Taking both extremes into account, marketers need to exercise their discretion to identify how, where, and when they fit into trends. |
Think before you act
Digital marketers are always in a rush, and it’s always been this way. In the beginning, websites went live haphazardly — without much thought going into objectives, content plans or maintenance resources. Thankfully, the “build and they will come” mentality has faded, but marketers are still grappling with how to meaningfully engage with users on newer platforms. Marketers need to continue to identify points of synergies between their various advertising channels — whether it’s point-of-purchase or social media platforms. We need to continue the evolution away from the early days where campaigns were launched to keep pace with fads. These days when budgets need to be stretched, it is crucial to rely on strategy and plan executions around consumers — not just competitors. |
Don’t forget: Consumers have control
Anonymous peer comments now carry the same weight as a recommendation from a trusted friend. BazaarVoice sites that 90 percent of consumers trust the reviews they read online prior to making a purchase. Digital marketing is a dialogue where anyone has an equal voice. This has created an environment where content is created in response to user behavior. Marketers need to take cues from their consumer base in all areas of digital marketing as a move in the right direction. Components like SEM strategies, conversion funnels and creative executions can and should reflect consumers’ affinities –not advertisers’ — to be effective. This is one of the hardest changes for marketers to absorb, but it is the most important. In the digital realm, marketers need to interact with – instead of bark at — their users. No matter how much sense it makes at the drawing board, keep messaging user-centric. |
Make digital marketing work for you
For the most part, marketers are now in a state of flux where they are reevaluating and revamping their online properties. Emphasis is on creating holistic marketing plans where each advertising component augments one another to achieve goals efficiently. The goal is to create a plan where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To keep up with consumers, marketers need to scrutinize each available platform and try to prepare for the ones on the horizon. All decisions should be made with the premise of “Are my consumers here? Does this make sense for me?” If your consumers are not on MySpace, then don’t worry about this forum and allocate resources elsewhere. Read more at www.imediaconnection.com |
| A Pricing Revolution May Loom, But Context And Content Still Rule |
Lower-costs seem appealing in the post-recession world, but short-term savings are short-sighted. For advertisers who care about brands, these issues have to balance against cost considerations: |
• Context: For publishers, there is significant value to be gained from proving and delivering the audience sought by the advertiser. Putting a great ad on low rent inventory reduces the value of your brand — even if the audience is right. People put offers in context and you want yours to be spot on. This is why a vertical ad network makes more sense for advertisers: publishers and subject matter experts are more reliable judges of quality context than any computer algorithm on its own. |
• Latency: We are a long way off from individual targeting in real-time. Neither comScore nor Quantcast can offer that. And retargeting from within ads, while possible, does not ensure that the viewer being cookied fits the desired profile. Now you are pursuing someone for no confirmed reason. |
• Coverage: Most data sources can only confirm about 20-40% of the impressions as fitting a particular profile. Data experts then use statistics to gross up to 100%. It’s not clear that this more accurate than trusting real editors to judge context and quality. |
• High Impact Advertising: The best advertising makes an impression because it’s in context and it’s entertaining. Large publishers and vertical ad networks are uniquely capable of delivering breakthrough advertising such as roadblocks, overlays, widgets and videos, in a personally vetted context that will resonate with your audience. Read more at www.mediapost.com |
7 marketing mistakes to avoid on Twitter |
It is important to recognize and understand the nuances of Twitter as a communications channel. The genius is in its simplicity, but it’s still a tool that consumers and businesses can leverage many ways. |
Conversations on Twitter happen quickly, and there are many benefits to your brand. Below is a tweet from Scott Monty from Ford on the value of Twitter as Ford sees it.
So how can and should your brand use Twitter? And more importantly, what are the most common mistakes and pitfalls on Twitter that could have a negative impact on your business or brand? Read more at www.imediaconnection.com |
NEW YORK Digital agencies often say they don’t want to
become like traditional shops, but that doesn’t stop them from
jumping at the chance to do TV work. |
Razorfish, the Microsoft-owned digital agency, kicked off a TV and
Web promotion for All detergent that began last night during
Celebrity Apprentice. A 30-second spot directed viewers to
all-laundry.com to see a pair of Internet videos Razorfish created
with Celebrity Apprentice contestants Joan and Melissa Rivers. It
marks the first time the 14-year-old digital agency has created a
TV commercial for national broadcast. |
The spot and Web videos, promoting All Small and Mighty
concentrated detergent, are a tie-in with the brand-friendly
Apprentice franchise. All was written into the script of the
episode airing Sunday. Contestants were challenged to create a
viral video for All. In a commercial at the close of the episode,
the Riverses note the stress of the episode and invite viewers to
visit All’s Web site to see “Rivers & Rivers: The Video
Encore.” Read more at www.adweek.com |
 You can think of social media as a set of tools that organizations can use for a variety of purposes - customer service, branding, promotion, relationship-management, etc. Just as with any toolkit, you’re not going to use every tool every time.
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Sometimes the hammer fits, but if you’re trying to measure something the hammer is pretty much useless. Similarly, sometimes a blog will fit perfectly, while other times YouTube might be a more suitable tool. Sometimes (say it ain’t so!) social media outreach won’t fit at all. |
Over the last two years my online toolkit has shifted back and forth as tools have come and gone. Recently, however, I’ve noticed a bit more stability in the services I use. Is this a reflection of a slightly maturing marketplace? Or just of a tough economy? |
| Google Reader - to aggregate and archive news and other RSS feeds from blogs and tools |
| Delicious - for sharing and saving useful sites and articles |
| Radian6 - for more complex monitoring solutions |
| Facebook - for connecting with people and brands |
| LinkedIn - for network building with people I know professionally |
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Amazon Eyes Move Into Subscription TV and Movies
