What Do You Think of Facebook Marketing Solutions?

July 7th, 2010

What is It?
Facebook Marketing Solutions is a Page run by Facebook’s very own employees. It’s a resource page for brand marketers to share and learn about marketing on the social site. Though the Page was founded early last year, I haven’t really noticed it until it showed up in my ‘Recommended Pages’ box. The Page also some helpful tips on how to build your brand presence, engage your audience and spread your message.

An Interesting Concept
Make sure to check out the Discussions tab to see what people are asking and answering. It seems to be an interesting concept but I see that a lot of topics are overwhelmed with spam. For example, the latest discussion is titled ‘Please Like my FB page’. If this continues, I can see how it will be a lot more problematic than helpful.
Facebook is taking a stand to help marketers get a better understanding of their changing game. As far as I know, Twitter doesn’t have a resource similar to this. I’m not sure how well this would work for Twitter where spam seems to be even more prevalent. I’m noticing a lot more spam accounts that are following the emarketed profile. Schemes like: cash for gold, win a free iPad, vacation home rentals etc.

Things That Could be Improved
There are cool case studies on Coca-Cola and Starbucks but what about the little guys? I think this Page is lacking information for local business and smaller businesses that are just starting out. They seem to be taking suggestions into consideration so I hope they add more info about this in the future. I’d definitely like to see more info for small businesses and less spam.

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Posted in facebook | No Comments »

Successful Social Media Advertising Provides Value

June 2nd, 2010

Most people can agree that the most effective social media advertising campaigns are the ones that provide real value. With this in mind, more companies are creating resources that solely exist to provide customers with information and help solve their problems. I came across this link on Twitter and thought that the Visual Economics site is a great example.

You’ve probably seen these infographics passed around on social media sites but did you know that it’s owned by Credit Loan?


From using ice cream to explain certificate of deposits to visual maps such as this, Visual Economics is an informative site whose sole purpose is to inform. It’s not until I went to check out their Twitter and Facebook Page that I noticed the affiliation. This is a great example of shareable content but it obviously takes a lot of time and effort to compile a whole different site for consumers.

What are some other sites that you’ve found helpful and who are they affiliated with?

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Posted in Viral Marketing, search engine optimization, social media | No Comments »

New Viral Marketing Campaigns Spread Excitement

May 27th, 2010

I always like to hear about the latest viral marketing campaigns and see how big brands are trying to outdo each other.

Papa John’s Pizza Mania
First off, p-i-z-z-a! Papa John’s unveiled an online contest this week asking fans to share their special recipe. The contest, dubbed “Papa’s Specialty Pizza Challenges”, encourages pizza aficionados to submit their special recipe along with a short blurb about why their pizza is so special. Ten semi-finalists will get a chance to have their recipe tested at Papa John’s HQ. From there, three finalists will have their recipe featured on the Papa John’s menu in August. But the excitement doesn’t stop there! Of the final three, Papa John’s will hand out a $1000 budget for marketing.
The recipe with the most sales will get a permanent spot on the menu! The grand prize also includes free pizza for life and an appearance in a Papa John’s TV ad. Go to Papa John’s Facebook and take a look for yourself. I never thought that people could be so excited about pizza but as fan Diane writes on the Page’s Wall, “I don’t care for American Idol. But, a pizza right now sure sounds good.”

Honeymooning with Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn also launched a campaign this week targeting newlyweds who are looking for a good deal for their honeymoon. Appealing to members of their rewards program on Twitter, Holiday Inn’s month long “Honeymoon on Us” contest will give out free prizes. With wedding season around the corner, this is the right time for the InterContinental Hotels Group to focus their efforts on vacationing couples. The grand prize is pretty great too – a complete wedding registry!

Papa John’s and Holiday Inn are just two examples of how big brands are using social media to the fullest extent. Nike also just set a record with their new viral ad. Do you have any other examples you’d like to share? It doesn’t have to be a promotion that’s currently running.

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Posted in facebook, social media, twitter | 1 Comment »

A Yelp for Help: Alleged Extortion

March 1st, 2010

As a consumer, it’s only right that you can to take to the internet to share your good and bad experiences at certain establishments. Some prefer personal blogging but Yelp provides a standardized platform for consumer-based business reviews. Yelp is pretty great. I’m continually surprised by the hole in the wall restaurants and have even managed to find a new dentist. Then again, there are times when you stumble upon some horrible reviews and wonder how owners feel or react to this type of criticism. I’ve heard of lawsuits against Yelp before, but not like this.

Last week, Yelp was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging “extortion schemes”. In short, many business owners are claiming that Yelp hit them up for $$$ (so-called advertising packages) after they received bad reviews. Some claim that Yelp offered to remove the negative reviews in exchange for convenient monthly payments.

Of course, Yelp’s CEO has a different story. In the way Jeremy Stoppelman explains it, their marketing tactics are completely legal albeit, a little “weird”. Things are looking more than weird for Yelp right now as more cases are rising against their favor. Time will tell what will happen, but can Yelp’s credibility be fully restored after this case? CEO Stoppleman claims they have nothing to hide, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

There are a lot of cases where small businesses have benefited from Yelp reviews. I’ve even seen negative reviews completely reversed when owners take the time to reach out and contact the negative reviewers. Everyone deserves a second chance at correcting their mistakes but maybe, Yelp has had one too many?

What do you think about Yelp’s current dilemma?

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Posted in blogging, local search marketing | No Comments »

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