Today was a big day for the social media world, with a tremendous amount of excitement about all of the big news that would be announced by Facebook at its first-ever event designed specifically for marketers. AGAIN was one of the lucky few agencies to be invited, and we were teeming with anticipation about what would be unveiled. After a few hours, a few keynotes, and a few breakout sessions, we’re now feeling… underwhelmed.

Our day, like most others in our space, began with waking up to a new notification message on all of our clients’ brand Pages about previewing the new Timeline layout for brands. Needless to say, this threw our morning into a whirlwind, with colleagues and clients all clamoring to know about the new page specs and how quickly we could change pages over. If we could make a suggestion to our friends at Facebook, we’d recommend that maybe next time they could show off the changes in their presentation first, and then let us all know that we’d have the ability to change over in the coming days? But we digress…

After navigating that early morning storm, we fought another one (this one actual snow and rain) getting into the city to hear the real news. When we got there, we quickly realized that we had already learned most of what we were going to during our early morning conversations and discovery. The event was light on details about the new Page specifications (Facebook has instead provided a wealth of documentation for brands on that), but rather focused much more on how Facebook envisions brands creating and using compelling Pages and post content to drive engagement; and, of course, how Facebook’s Premium Ad platform can facilitate that process.

While the “news” from the event wasn’t overly groundbreaking, it will nonetheless affect how all of us operate in the immediate future. With that in mind, here are the key details that we learned today:

Page-related

• Pages will be adopting the Timeline that users have already been enjoying. This represents a dramatic shift in how Pages can be leveraged by brands. While brands will have more real estate with the cover and icons below the cover to promote key initiatives, they will not be able to specify a landing destination, such as a welcome tab.
• With the shift to Timeline, there are also new opportunities to curate and highlight content. Images and videos will undoubtedly take on more importance given the visual importance of Timeline. However, the ability of brands to “pin” a specific post to the top of the timeline becomes a useful way to highlight content for visitors of the page (particularly first-time visitors).
• The new brand Page layout has a robust new Administration panel, which will include a number of features:
  • A recap of the social stream for the Page
  • A list of the 500 most recent new Page Likers
  • A module for Insights
  • A Page tips and recommendations section
  • A section for direct messages with users (though it appears that this messaging must be initiated by the user, not the brand)
• In the near future, Facebook will provide five (5) different levels of Administrator permissions for Pages

Advertising-related

• Facebook has bundled its Premium Ads products and branded them as the “Reach Generator.” Through “Reach Generator,” Facebook claims that brands can move from reaching just 16% of their fans with Page posts (on average), to reaching 75% or more of fans with a given piece of content
• “Reach Generator” is comprised of four different types of ad unit placements:
  1. Original content for the ad units will come from Page posts
  2. Sponsored stories posts on the right hand well of user home pages
  3. Sponsored stories posts that will now be placed in users’ news feeds, in both the desktop and mobile environments
  4. On the Facebook logout screen.

Other

• Facebook research has determined that a brand’s fans are twice as valuable as its regular customers.
• “Offers” (which is still currently in beta testing) will be launched as an official post type to everyone in near future
• The new Insights interface is being billed as facilitating Page management decisions in “real-time.” As we have all experienced to date, the new Insights platform has been plagued by lags in reporting data. Hopefully these comments indicate a move by Facebook to troubleshoot the Insights platform and make data analysis more reliable

As with all major updates to the Facebook platform, these changes dictate that brands take a step back and evaluate their social strategy and approach to leveraging the medium in the most effective way. At this point, we recommend that all brands take a thoughtful approach to evaluating their current Page content and imaging what is possible in the new format. Immediately, there are several considerations to keep in mind:

• The nature of Timeline provides brands with a fantastic opportunity to tell the story of their brand’s evolution. All brands should begin compiling the assets necessary to tell the unique story of their history and plan for how to best present it visually/textually.
• This change presents an excellent opportunity for brands to do a little spring cleaning of their content and sunset underperforming tabs and applications
• The new size specifications provide a larger canvas for custom tabs. Brands should evaluate their current tab inventory to determine which tabs merit an update to the new width specifications
• The new layout demands that brands begin to conceive a content plan/editorial calendar that takes advantage of the cover photo, tab pinning (only 3 will be visible) and post pinning abilities.

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the fascinating integration of social media with online retail sites. Witness Levis.com using the “Like” button to generate viral popularity, or Amazon using Facebook Connect to generate product recommendations (for yourself or for others). With Boutiques.com, Google has pushed this social personalization even farther, leveraging the influence individual users have over friends (and fans).

What is Boutiques.com?
Google has long allowed users to use search to scour and sort the Internet for products. However, by integrating the technology of the recently purchased Like.com, it now provides an aesthetic experience that matches the subject matter (fashion, in the case of Boutiques.com) while still aggregating products from across shopping sites.

The interesting part of the site though is not in the visual presentation though, but primarily in the organization of products by influencer. Here, virtual “boutiques” are curated by cultural icons (e.g. celebrities, designers, bloggers, etc.), allowing users to peruse, save, and share the icon-recommended products. In participating in this way, the user is simultaneously forming her or his own personal “boutique,” which can be similarly browsed.

Why is this interesting?
Whereas crowd surfing is already becoming mainstream in many online retail experiences, Boutiques.com is leveraging the influence of the individual person. It’s less about the mass popularity of an individual item (as on the Levi’s site), and more about the exclusivity of an item. I’ve always been able to open a fashion magazine to see what Sarah Michelle Gellar is wearing, but now I can shop a “boutique” that is populated with items recommended directly (in theory) by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Moreover, I can now shop a “boutique” created by my wife, or a coworker, or a local band. The locus of trendiness becomes much broader in this kind of a model.

While this concept is fascinating, Boutiques.com does miss on a few opportunities. Most notably, it shirks a direct tie-in with popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I suspect that the model would be greatly enhanced by allowing users to login via Facebook Connect, thus linking the individual’s “boutique” into her account. Users CAN share items via standard share functionality, but there is an opportunity for greater integration.

What does this mean for brands?
The era of social media dominance marches on. The ability for companies to directly control brand perception continues to become more challenging as individuals gain influence. This is a tremendous opportunity for those brands that are focused on offering outstanding products and services. Why? These are the companies that generate zealotry among its fans. And those zealots are the ones who influence those within their networks.

Authored by Terrence

When kicking off a YouTube brand channel, getting the viewers and subscribers you expect can be a challenge. By following a few key practices from the start will help ensure that your content is easy to find by your target audience.

VIDEO CONTENT

• Captions – Adding captions to your video adds more data points for search spiders to index.
• Annotations – Use annotations for making notes onscreen (adding more information and linking to other videos.)

METADATA

• Title – Optimize the “Title” with keyword research, targeting users searching for the topic of the video.
• Description – Lead the “Description” with a call to action followed by a live URL. Descriptions can handle up to 5,000 characters, plan to use all of it by adding keywords and description relevant to the video.
• Tags – Drop in the most important keywords from your title.

CHANNEL

• Posting schedule – Be consistent when posting videos so your subscribers know when to expect content.
• Create Playlists – By grouping videos together, you will make it easier for viewers to watch more of your videos.
• Be Social – Engage the community by subscribing, commenting, and linking to relevant channels and videos. As you build a following, more people will engage with your videos.

INSIGHTS

• Hot Spots – By analyzing hot spots, you can determine where your viewers are engaged or diving off.
• Discovery – See how viewers are finding you. This is great tool to find additional key words to add to your video metadata.
• Subscriber Stats – Map your subscription levels to your posting schedule. This data can determine which topics for your video are or are not working for you.

Authored by Jeff

In this age of social media integration and video pervasiveness, the concept of an immersive Brand microsite is being redefined daily. We’ve moved beyond interactivity and a simple share mechanism into experiences that truly put you, the user, the fan, into the experience (at least the digital you, that is).

Armani Jeans’ The Room is a great example of this current generation of sites. Beautiful cinematography, hot celebrities, and a voyeuristic narrative (with just enough humor to avoid creepiness), enlivened by a clever integration of Facebook Connect, sets the stage for an escapist experience that puts you at the center of the Brand’s essence. Here, as you tap that inner stalker in you, you are able to rummage Megan Fox’s or Cristiano Rinaldo’s room and inspect their discarded clothing (unders included). Hey, you may not be able to be with a celebrity, but you can certainly dress like them — nothing groundbreaking there. However, Armani has included some clever devices on the site to make sure that this is not a solitary experience. By logging in through Facebook, you are able to take and share photos of the voyeuristic video scene, download personalized wallpapers and photos, and easily enter a contest (Thanks for the contact information! Love Armani.). Oh, and you’re only a click away from purchasing Megan’s or Cristiano’s wardrobe.

What do sites like these mean for all of us trying to peddle these wares? It’s not enough to think of the user. We need to equally think of their networks. We need to provide reasons for users to not only engage with our brands, but also to share the brands with others. And, a reason for those others to care. What are you more likely to click on? A link to an Armani Jeans site from a friend? Or a candid photo of Megan Fox squeezing into a pair of Armani Jeans. The underlying story isn’t new — celebrities and sex are still interesting — but the way that we are sharing it is.

Those of us with young children celebrated a new addition to our television lives this weekend — The Hub. This all new kids cable network features interesting new series as well as updated versions of many shows us thirtysomethings enjoyed a few decades ago. Looking to get your My Little Pony fix? This is the place.

In addition to the programming, The Hub boasts some appropriately vivacious motion graphics, which continue seamlessly into a fairly robust online experience. The website, www.hubworld.com, includes many of the features commonly found on network sites geared toward kids, namely games, activities and show schedules, but also indicates some interesting strategic developments.

Amid prominently placed advertising units within the attractive design, The Hub’s website is crafted to keep users on-site for hours. In addition to the aforementioned interactivity, the network is placing full length episodes and movies on its site, which is a big shift from its competitive set and tips its hat towards a growing online video audience — children. There also appears to be heavy integration of social media elements, though it is not completely functional at this time. From what I can tell, users will be able to create and engage in on-site networks for users, “Favorite” and “Rate” content, and possibly create a custom page based on individual interests. Of course, as with any site for children, it’ll be interesting how The Hub deals with privacy concerns.

So what’s the moral of the story? We’ll be worrying less about our children watching TV all day and more about them slouching in front of the computer (a little bit doesn’t hurt). This site is the fascinating blend of the rise of online video and the growth of social media with younger audiences. It’ll be fun to watch!

Authored by Terrence

Combining the versatility of blogs with the simplicity of Twitter, Tumblr has been steadily gaining popularity over the past year among brands. Monthly page views for the 3 1/2 year-old Tumblr network have doubled to 2 billion in just the past 6 months. Brands such as Newsweek, The Standard Hotel, Ann Taylor, and Comedy Central have jumped in with success by leveraging its short-form blog capabilities and ease of use to promote their brand.

A few Tumblr’s highlights include:

• Fully customizable user interface
• Post text, photos, links, audio and video from a browser, email, or even your phone.
• Automatic posts to Twitter & Facebook, and your own site through an embed feature
• Automatic posts to Tumblr from WordPress, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
• Google optimized (from URL slugs to XML sitemaps) & analytics friendly

Through Tumblr’s extremely easy-to-use admin, it’s possible to organize your team to quickly and easily update the Tumblr site. By leveraging Tumblr’s embedding feature with your brand’s website it can be used to keep your newsfeed fresh. Remote team members can post from their mobile phones through Tumblr’s iPhone, Blackberry, or Android application.

Recent growing pains aside, Tumblr should be considered for your brand’s next social channel. With the right messaging, It will build community and connect with users, leading them back to your brand’s core property.

Authored by Jeff

Commerce sites with video showcasing anything from clothing to electronics is nothing new. Some experiences even let you roll-over the product within the video to get more detailed information, but imagine being able to link the product directly to a shopping cart through out-linking annotations embedded right in the video.

And better yet, imagine being able to provide that experience not just on your commerce site but in the largest video site in the world…. YouTube which has over 70 million unique visitors a month in the U.S. alone!

Enter YouTique a new direct sales channel by clothing company French Connection.

With YouTique, French Connection has developed a Branded YouTube channel that provides entertainment, style advice and shopping all via videos. What is really significant about the concept is that the videos can still be shared socially and embedded into other sites while still maintaining the commerce functionality. It’s like having mini boutiques spread through out the web. http://bit.ly/aCUO23

Like Levi’s and Pandora before them, more online retailers are quickly adding Facebook’s open graph social functionality into their website experience. But a few are taking it to the next level by going beyond just applying “Like” buttons, commenting features or Like boxes, these retailers are starting to incorporate the information provided by the users social graph to provide a personalized experiences.

Imagine visiting a retail website and after choosing to log in with your Facebook credentials the site then uses your “Like” history to display brands and products that are relevant to you based on what you like. Simple enough right? The challenge lies in how users currently engage with “Like” buttons. Many of us are too quick to hit the “Like” button for brands and products that we don’t really have a connection to or are based on reasons more complex than can ever be captured from a simple click.

If this takes off, we all will need to be more conscious of what we choose to “like” to avoid caring a virtual profile that does not quit match who we are. http://bit.ly/c2PkH3

What better way to assess how brands will be engaging with consumers then to look into where VCs and Angel Investors are putting their money? The TechCrunch blog recently got hold of a summary of a report from angel investment fund that defines seven “megatrends” in the space including:

• Social
• Real Time
• Location Based Services
• The Urban Entrepreneur
• Mobile
• Flash Sales
• Behavior & Transactions

One interesting tidbit that TechCrunch pulled from the report is that “technology tools” have led entrepreneurs to find innovation in behavior, rather than technology, at least within social media. http://tcrn.ch/dkWNt5