How much Privacy is there in the Social World?

In my previous blog posting, I mentioned various ways that Social networks can and will affect your future online experiences. As interesting as it is from a marketing perspective; it’s also very concerning, particularly when you think about it from a Privacy stance. There is a significant amount of information sharing that’s necessary to “enhance your web experience.” In fact, according to a recent article, the House Judiciary Committee has brought Facebook’s Privacy Practices into question. The article states, “Facebook has come under fire for sharing user information with a handful of other online services as  part of its new "instant personalization" program, which is intended to let Facebook members share their interests in everything from music to restaurants with others in their social networks. The program draws information from a member's profile to customize several other sites, including the music service Pandora.”

If you’re anything like me, then you probably want to know more about Facebook’s Privacy Practices; and how you can adjust them to secure your own privacy. So, below I've listed a few examples of Facebook practices that I found a bit concerning:

Pre-Approved Third-Party Websites and Applications. In order to provide you with useful social experiences off of Facebook, we occasionally need to provide General Information about you to pre-approved third party websites and applications that use Platform at the time you visit them (if you are still logged in to Facebook). …

Advertisements. Sometimes the advertisers who present ads on Facebook use technological methods to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content..

To serve social ads. We occasionally pair advertisements we serve with relevant information we have about you and your friends to make advertisements more interesting and more tailored to you and your friends….

To supplement your profile. We may use information about you that we collect from other Facebook users to supplement your profile (such as when you are tagged in a photo or mentioned in a status update)….

Limitations on removal. Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent it has been shared with others…

The list of worrisome practices goes on and on; but the good news is that YOU have the power to change it. Facebook recently updated their privacy settings allowing for better controls. However, the “default” privacy settings will pretty much open you up to public searches; i.e. allowing your pictures/status updates and general profile information to be shared with “Everyone.” In addition, you’re automatically opted into the “instant personalization” that has brought Facebook’s Privacy Practices into the limelight. However, at the end of the day, you do have the ability to define how much you want to share; and who you want to share it with; but it takes some effort on your part.

All you have to do is log into your account, and go to “Privacy Settings.” Here you can “opt out” of instant personalization, hide yourself from public “people” searches, Hide yourself from Google Searches, make your contact information private, define various “groups” of friends that you’re willing to share specific information with, define who “tagged” pictures/videos can be seen by and/or keep your friendships private. It's not too user-friendly and can be a bit overwhelming; however there are various sites and blogs that can provide you with specific instructions on accomplishing all of the above tasks. Privacy is important to many of us; so If you're going to join a social network, I strongly suggest you take the time to review your Privacy settings and create a social environment that you feel comfortable with.

Social Networks could help Marketers Profile YOU!

Some school colleagues and I, recently did research for a presentation on the Present and Future State of Social Networks; and it’s amazing how they are progressively playing bigger roles in our daily lives. Social Networks are like a phenomenon. Users from all over the world are signing up in droves. Facebook alone has over 400 million users. In fact, if Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th Largest in the world! People are logging in multiple times a day from work, home and more recently their mobile phones. But what does this really mean?

It means that it’s not long before businesses will figure out ways to understand and satisfy consumer requests based on online behavior and stored data – most of which dwells within the walls of your Social Network. The goal is to know you better than you know yourself; so that you can “enjoy a Semantic Web Experience;” where the flows of information will be filtered and tailored just for you. In other words, your online social behaviour will be used to create “smart” applications and business strategiess that make your online and offline experiences more seamless.

Advertisers are learning how to use information from your social network profiles to create better-targeted messages. Think about it, how many times have you or your friends put up comments about new products you’ve bought or places you’re visiting? All this information can be stored and translated into marketing profiles that help businesses speak directly to you. To put it simply, an innocent “status update” about looking forward to a getaway in New York, could lead to NY Travel Ads splashed all over your social network homepage.

Offline, new mobile social network applications are being created almost daily. Now, you can easily add Facebook or MySpace Apps to your IPhone or Smartphone’s to stay connected on the go. In addition, there are location specific applications that go a step further and allow cell tower triangulation and GPS to pass along your physical location to whomever you allow. “People Finder,” for example, lets you know which of the friends in your network are online, and also which ones are nearby. So, it wouldn't be a stretch to see LinkedIn apply this technology so that  business travelers could more easily rendezvous with coworkers and clients at conferences and trade shows. Or to have Online dating sites like Match.com add the ability to chat with potential mates sitting in the same room. Well, what if this were taken even further? Location-aware services could be used to match local businesses or entertainment to your physical location in order to send you text advertisements.

Bottom line is that Social Networks are becomming embedded into our culture; and our continous addictions to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and countless other sites are creating invaluable opportunities for marketers of all types. And that begs the question: Do we have ANY privacy rights when we sign onto Social Networks? I admitedly never read the privacy settings before I signed up to Facebook, surely I'm not alone, so next time I'll explore that question a little more...

The Endless Battle of Search Engine Optimization

Most businesses can’t afford to bid for placement at the top of searches engines; instead, they follow the whispers … “if you optimize, they will come.” Search Engine Optimization essentially means preparing your site content in a way that will make it easier for search engines, like: Google, Yahoo or Bing, to find that proverbial needle (your company) in the haystack (the marketspace). E-Marketers from across the globe continually preach about Search Engine Optimization being the key to reaching the top of consumer searches and therefore consumer minds. What they fail to say is that it can be a long road to the top. And, many never really make it; not because SEO doesn't work, but because businesses don't have enough follow through.

Now, don’t misunderstand; the intention is not to deter you from optimizing a site, but rather to offer a little perspective of what you’re in for. First, you shouldn't expect that you'll be #1 or even #20 on search engine results simply because you submitted your site to the various search engines, added a few meta tags, or started including some reciprocal links. Instead, you should be aiming to create an advantage over the millions of sites that aren't optimizing, by: CONTINUALLY improving your search engine rankings with improved content.

According to 55 Quick SEO Tips Even Your Mother Would Love, CONTENT is KING! Fresh Content adds relevancy to your site in the eyes of the search engines. Search spiders like fresh text, so if your site content doesn’t change often, then you should add a blog to give the little crawlers something to chew on. Also, don't forget that content is what KEEPS customer's on your site once the search engines help them get there.

Once you've got the content part figured out, don't forget to stay up to date with how web-crawlers are looking for your site, because the methods can change periodically; and you certainly don't want all your hard work to go to waste. Making continual improvements will systematically increase your odds of reaching the top!

In the end, what I hope you will take from this is that, when comes to Search Engine Optimization, persistence is what truly pays off.

Has Social Media become Critical to Brands?

Some say that a company can’t survive if it ignores social media. Statistically, the involvement of many companies in social Media has been steadily trending upward, and according to a study of Social Media Engagement of the Top 100 Brands, “companies that are both deeply and widely engaged in social media surpass their peers in terms of both revenue and profit performance by a significant difference.” So, does that mean that engaging in social media is critical to brands? The short answer is yes, but there are always exceptions.

As with any business decision, opting to engage in social media has its pros and cons. However, the benefits of participating in social media far outweigh any reasons to ignore it. On the downside, social media can be very labor intensive for a business. Once a company chooses to participate, there’s no turning back. If that company doesn’t have enough resources to actively maintain communications via social media, it could run into issues. Too many unanswered complaints or stale and boring content can push customer's away instead of pulling them in. However, the financial impact of ignoring Social Media all-together could prove to be much more detrimental than increasing a marketing budget to include it.

Today’s marketspace is very competitive. There are countless brands battling for market share, and new competitors are popping up daily. Social Media helps build the awareness that can either maintain a brand, or assist in establishing one. Furthermore, engaging in social media gives customers the perception that a company is stable and “with the times” in terms of technological advancement. In addition, the ability to incorporate dynamic content allows a brand to position itself in a way that systematically embeds the value proposition within the minds of its consumers. Social Media also ensures a high-level of dialogue between a company and the market; which is highly relevant for providing excellent customer service, communicating promotions, developing ideas for product improvements or extensions and as a worst case scenario: managing public relations crises. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the endless array of social media analytics tools available can provide businesses with invaluable market information that can facilitate offline marketing efforts.

In short, Social Media is becoming increasingly more critical for businesses of all types. Yet, the relevance of social media for a brand varies significantly by industry. Manufacturers, like Caterpillar, Luxury brands, like Dolce & Gabana, Cartier, Rolex, or Financial Institutions like CapitalOne, would likely not see too much detriment to sales if they opted to keep their distance from social media. However, it probably wouldn’t hurt them to participate either.

Is Free Online Content just another “Limited Time” Offer?

According to a recent article, The New York Times will soon be switching to a paywall approach that will basically block access to content unless the consumer pays to continue reading. A change like this, by such a prominent news source, could prove to be a very risky business decision, particularly if free quality content is still available. However, it could also symbolize the beginning of the end for free content.

The recession has caused a significant loss of ad revenues for many content sites that depend on it. This revenue gap is driving companies, news sources in particular, to re-evaluate their online business models. However, this carries many risks. First of which is a significant loss of readership. Why would consumers pay for News, when they can still get it for free? Without any added gains or benefits, it’s highly unlikely that consumers would be willing to pay a fee for news. If the readership declines considerably, then the subscription revenues will probably still not be sufficient enough to make up for the ad revenue decline. And, the decline in readerships would decrease ad revenues even further; leaving NYT in an even tougher position than they are today. In short, it’s a lose-lose situation and NYT would likely be forced to revert back to free content.

On the other hand, if the trend towards free content is in fact reversing; then consumers are left with two equally unappealing choices. They can pay the subscription fees at their favorite news websites or get information from unknown and/or unreliable sources. Unfortunately, the recession is affecting consumers just as much as it’s hurting business; so it’s not too unlikely that many, albeit reluctantly, will choose the latter. In short, quality news could become a luxury that only the affluent could afford. However, if consumers persisted in choosing free over paid content it would surely drive businesses to devise alternative methods of generating revenue from content driven sites.

So, IS free content just another "Limited Time" offer? That remains to be seen...

Marketplace to Marketspace: A Big Change from Traditional Distribution Channels

Traditionally people used to go to a “marketplace” or a physical location to buy products. However modern technology changed that dramatically. The boundaries that used to confine distribution have faded with the introduction of the internet and e-commerce. Today, consumers can shop from anywhere at any time with very little restriction. They no longer need to make an effort to get to a physical location; instead they can make purchases from home, work or on the go. This expansion of the marketplace into a “marketspace” has drastically changed the way marketers view traditional distribution channels.

Distribution for most businesses has generally been regional; however, with the creation of the marketspace, businesses have expanded their reach exponentially. In addition to increasing the market potential, the marketspace has many other unique features that make it nearly impossible for businesses, both large and small, to ignore. For starters, the marketspace makes distribution possible across borders with minor limitations. It also offers businesses countless tools to gather an array of consumer information that facilitates sales. One such tool, Google Analytics allows businesses to gather information about consumer behavior on their sites; which can be used to segment the market, customize product offerings, and create more targeted ads, just to name a few.

Lastly and most importantly, the marketspace allows for interactive communication. Prior to e-commerce, marketing communications were always one-sided. Businesses talked and hoped consumers listened. Today, consumers are actively seeking out and even blatantly asking for information that’s relevant to them. Therefore, allowing businesses to engage in two-way conversations with their customers. On top of that, consumers also have the ability to voice their opinions and significantly influence other consumers or even business decisions. Bottom line, the marketspace has changed the landscape of traditional distribution and opened many doors for new and old businesses of all sizes.