Facebook Names the Most-Social Landmarks in the World [INFOGRAPHIC]
Facebook has pored over its check-in data and isolated the “most-social” spots in 25 cities. Among the patterns that Facebook has uncovered:
- Malls and outdoor markets like Melbourne’s Queen Victoria market, Sao Paolo’s Mercado Municipal and Seoul’s Dongdaeum appear within the top 10 landmarks for 19 of 25 cities.
- Amusement parks like Moscow’s Gorky Park, Seoul’s Lotte World appear, Johannesburg’s Gold Reef City and Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens also score high.
- Chain restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafes in Buenos Aires, Delhi and Barcelona, TGI Fridays in Norway, and Bella Paulista Casa de Paes in Sao Paulo also appeared on the list.
- Not surprisingly, cities with warmer climates had more check-ins to outdoor spots, while indoor spots scored higher for colder cities.
- The list of the top landmarks in all the cities can be found here.
- Meanwhile, the infographic below highlights the most-social landmarks in eight top cities:
Google to buy social media startup Meebo
Aims to leverage the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools
Google has agreed to acquire Silicon Valley based startup company, Meebo to help the company improve its capabilities for instant sharing of Web pages using social networks.
The financial terms of the deal have not revealed but the value would be around $100m.
Google said in a statement, "We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the web, just as they do in real life."
"With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google Plus team," the statement added.
US-based Meebo allows users to chat with their friends on several web sites including TV Guide, TMZ, CafeMom, Entertainment Weekly and others.
"We are happy to announce that Meebo has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Google!," Meebo said on its blog.
"For more than seven years we've been helping publishers find deeper relationships with their users and to make their sites more social and engaging," the company said.
"Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike."
Meebo, launched in 2005, has over an estimated 190 million users worldwide and sends over 90 million messages each day.
Google said in a statement, "We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the web, just as they do in real life."
"With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google Plus team," the statement added.
US-based Meebo allows users to chat with their friends on several web sites including TV Guide, TMZ, CafeMom, Entertainment Weekly and others.
"We are happy to announce that Meebo has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Google!," Meebo said on its blog.
"For more than seven years we've been helping publishers find deeper relationships with their users and to make their sites more social and engaging," the company said.
"Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike."
Meebo, launched in 2005, has over an estimated 190 million users worldwide and sends over 90 million messages each day.
It features a Meebo bar through which users can click to comment or share a Web page using a social network and the bar can be customised and tagged to any page without changing the programming codes of the website.
Gooble had launched Google+ in June 2011 and in September 2011 the company had added nine new features to the online social networking site and opened it to the public.
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4 Ways to Drive Engagement With Facebook Ads
Victoria Ransom is founder and CEO of Wildfire, a global leader in social media marketing software. She is also a sought-after expert on social marketing trends and was recently named a 2012 TechFellow by the Founders Fund, NEA, and TechCrunch. For more on social advertising, register here for Wildfire’s free on-demand webinar.
In the run up to Facebook’s fast-approaching IPO, the company is making extensive and ongoing improvements to its advertising platform. The most recent updates, which are not yet live, will allow marketers to optimize their ads for any Facebook action (not just likes). These new capabilities will also give advertisers a much greater understanding of their consumers, allowing them to segment marketing messages based on certain user groups. All of this goes to support the general belief that Facebook wants to turn their ad platform into the main driver of a brand’s reach. To be successful in this space, brands will have to be very authentic. The first big move towards making ads into more organic-feeling messages came when Facebook introduced the updated Premium ad format, in which Premium ads could only be created from real content posted to a brand’s page.
It continued with the recently announced extended feature set for the ads manager, which includes the ability to set different metrics and goals for different campaigns. This capability allows you, for example, to set up one campaign and optimize it to be shown to users most likely to post comments; and set up a different campaign for users most likely to spend their Facebook credits on an in-app purchase. With this tool, marketers will be able to more efficiently use Facebook advertising to capture the attention of very different kinds of Facebook users.
This means that now, more than ever, the challenge to create organic-feeling and genuine ads is on! Here are four ways to drive more engagement with the new Facebook ad units, along with tips for how to enhance performance once the new action-driven optimization capabilities are live.
1. Create Versatile Video Content
When viewing a premium ad with video, users can watch the clip in its entirety straight from the ad, or click through to the page to learn more. The variety of options means more interactions are possible, which is great news for an ad because it can be doubly effective!
Above, McDonald’s and Tide turn video posts into premium ad units. McDonald’s adds in a second user interaction: a hyperlink to the local farmer campaign on an outside domain. In this way, users can land in one of two different places: the outside website or the fan page itself. They can also just watch the video without leaving their news feed at all.
Tip: When Facebook makes the new action-oriented optimization features ready, you’ll be able to optimize your budget by the action you value most. Those actions can include targeting users who are more likely to watch the video, targeting users who are more likely to share the video, or targeting users who are more likely to post a comment on your video.
2. Use Promotions to Track ROI and Ad Performance
Soon, Facebook advertisers will be able to segment the demographic coverage of their varied ad campaigns by propensity to buy, click, or share (or any other activity). For the time being, however, brands like Starbucks and Schick can track the ROI of their premium advertising placements by tracking mention of the $2 Petites deal in Starbucks stores, and by tracking entry rates to the XTreme3 Eco remake contest by using custom referral links for the promotion.
Tip: Once you’re able to target your ads based on action-specific metrics, ROI will become easier to track. For example, if your product can be purchased from the Facebook page either with credits or through a custom application, the Facebook ads manager should be able to optimize the reach of your ad to those users more apt to make purchases ahead of those who take longer to buy.
3. Showcase New Product Lines
Since Premium ads make use of the content a brand posts to its own page, it can be challenging to think of posts that will both organically attract user attention but also serve as compelling advertisements. Consider showcasing individual items by pointing to their trendiness, or showing off a unique set of products from a new product line. These are both good ways for users to view your ad from their fan page.
Incase and Rugby Ralph Lauren demonstrate two ways to advertise products without crossing that delicate line into inauthenticity. The photo of the new Andy Warhol iPhone case collection reveals an interesting and limited edition collection. Rugby Ralph Lauren’s post about spring-ready classic oxfords and blazers offers helpful advice, while linking directly to a ready-for-purchase catalogue item. In line with all the “typical” posts to Rugby Ralph Lauren’s Timeline, nothing about the post looks out of place, or forced.
Tip: When you endorse page posts by turning them into sponsored ads, and you optimize those ads for certain engagement activities (i.e. comments or likes), your ads will be served first to the users most likely to perform those actions. Since your page post is receiving the benefit of being served to more “engaged” users, once those users interact with the ad, your brand benefits from the boost in EdgeRank and subsequent posts enjoy an increased reach.
4. Post Interactive Content
Posting content that specifically instructs users to take action, and pairing that call-to-action with an example image, is a great way to influence engagement. Iams is a good example of this.
Tip: The Facebook ads manager will be able to optimize for photo tags, which is one of many new metrics a brand can set a campaign around. An example of how a brand might use this can be illustrated with the Iams ad. The Iams fan page administrator will be able to track the viral effect of requests in their ads if, say, a user posted a photo to the Iams page even a week after the ad ran (in response to the call to action). Before, Iams wouldn’t know if the success resulting from asking their fans to post their own photos to the page was because visitors saw the ad or the Timeline.
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4 Reasons Why Social Media Use = Great Customer Service
If you’ve bought anything in the last few years, you’ve no doubt noticed that customer service is not what it used to be. Most of us don’t dare pick up the phone because we fear hearing that dreaded phrase:
“To hear a menu of options, please press 1.”
Now, however, some companies are finally getting it right, and their training ground has been none other than the prolific world of social media. On her Perspectives blog, Mila Araujo provides these four reasons why companies that invest in social media achieve better customer service:
Social Media Requires High Engagement
Companies that have committed themselves to social media listen to what their customers are saying and the buzz around the web that’s related to the company, and they respond in real time. Because they are routinely engaging their audience one-on-one already, they are more likely to provide excellent service.
Social Media Requires Adaptation
In order to do well in social media, you have to be dynamic, motivated, and nimble. You have to be able to change quickly in order to use social media channels to deliver products and services more effectively. Companies who live in this mindset require employees who do as well.
Social Media Tools Use Public Conversation Forums
The fact that everyone can see what you are doing and how you are responding to an issue creates a higher standard overall. Companies that use social media are confident in their approaches and are trained to respond so they can offer a high level of consistent performance. On the other hand, the nature of social media allows for quick identification of less desirable behaviors that must be corrected quickly.
Social Media Enables Viral Behavior
Anyone using social media knows that bad press can easily go viral, and it doesn’t have to be by way of a major news story. All it takes is one person to make a negative comment and others may join the discussion. This kind of viral spread ensures that social media-minded companies pay special attention to operations so an online PR disaster doesn’t occur.
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social media
Draw Something gets more social with chat and Facebook/Twitter sharing
50m downloads and a $180m acquisition by Zynga later, hit mobile game Draw Something is getting even more social with its latest update.
The drawing game now lets players save their scribbles and share them on Facebook and Twitter on iOS – the Android version will get the feature soon – while attaching short messages of up to 100 characters to their pictures when submitted for friends to guess.
"I look at these as features that are about reinforcing the social relationships," says Dan Porter, formerly chief executive of Draw Something developer OMGPOP, and now installed as vice president and general manager of Zynga Mobile New York.
If there's an explanation for why Draw Something got so popular so quickly, it's that focus on communication rather than competitive gameplay.
The fun doesn't come from beating friends or collecting points and trophies: it comes from the bond you already have with the people you play with, and how that manifests itself in the drawings.
Draw Something remains a phenomenon, having added 15m downloads between 22 March when OMGPOP was acquired, and 4 April when the 50m milestone was announced. It currently has 36.4m monthly active users according to Facebook app metrics site AppData.
That said, the new features may be needed to reignite some players' interest in the game: AppData also shows that Draw Something's daily active users have fallen from 14.6m at its peak in late March to 12.1m on 18 April.
Porter says he's not taking the game's growth for granted. "I'm like everybody else: I think I could wake up the next day and nobody could be playing the game!" he says.
It's still too early to tell whether Draw Something has legs for the long term, but Porter thinks what will keep it fresh is the people you play with, rather than specific features.
"The game is very dynamic based on who you're playing, and it can be so personal, which is why I think it will continue to connect people," he says. "Those connections are something that contributes to the longevity."
Making Draw Something more social rather than more gamey has clearly been the first priority for the Draw Something team in the weeks following the acquisition. Has there been pressure to ramp up the gaming elements, though?
"I'm not averse to that," he says, suggesting that the method would be less about increasing the competitive elements, and more about pitting players – together – against more abstract goals.
"You might get to level 10 where you only have 60 seconds to guess, and at level 10 plus X you might have another thing that makes it harder, and your goal is to get with your partner to level 25 or something," he says.
"The funny thing is that I've only heard that request from men: I've never, ever heard from women that they want a competitive mode. It always interests me who asks the question, and what population of players they represent."
Porter also thinks that if Draw Something had been played against the clock from the start, it would have been a very different game: "Very slapdash, it wouldn't have been so relaxing… it's very chilled, very zen, but if you're watching the clock you feel like you're on a game show."
Talking about TV, what about pre-acquisition rumours that Draw Something might be turned into a television format?
I can see how it'd work, and it goes beyond just a pair of contestants on a Draw Something game show drawing words for one another. The power would come from the audience scribbling along on their phones, and for their drawings to somehow be integrated into the show.
Porter says that TV remains a possibility for Draw Something. "We feel like it's a game, but it's also a media property. We want to find ways for people to engage with it and enjoy it on multiple different platforms," he says.
And the play-along aspect? "Everybody in Hollywood and in sports is already thinking about second-screen, and it's one of those things that hasn't been totally tapped open. And I don't think there's ever been a [hit] game show that's started as a digital or board game. That's something that interests a lot of people."
In the meantime, there is plenty of work to do with the game itself. Asked about next steps beyond the new social features, Porter says localisation is a big focus, aided by Zynga's resources in that area.
"Right now, the game is entirely in English, including all the directions. There's no doubt that if you were German or Korean, the game would be more fun to play in your native language," he says.
"Zynga has a large team that are experts in that, and we've been working really closely with them to give native speakers a version of the app, especially in Asia."
Another benefit of being within Zynga is rolling out Draw Something for more Android devices, taking advantage of its porting and testing resources, according to Porter.
What about other platforms like Windows Phone and BlackBerry? Porter says he's open to the idea of taking the game to any device with a touchscreen, but iOS and Android remain the focus for now.
"We're on two pretty big, exciting platforms that have a lot of runway, and we have a very supportive relationship with Apple and Google, so…"
In other words, it's a question of scale, and for now that continued growth is likely to come fastest on iOS and Android, and under Zynga's auspices. Porter's description of how he feels about Draw Something's mainstream appeal is telling, though.
"Anyone who makes any product wants to reach as many people as possible. Even a small indie artist wants to sell as many albums as Lady Gaga, even if they don't want to make music that sounds like her. You want to reach people."
15 Facebook Timeline Tips to Bring You Up To Speed
Facebook Timeline has been made official for all brand pages for over two weeks now. If you didn’t attend my recent webinar introducing the new timeline for Facebook, you may still be struggling with how to navigate and use the new layout. At first glance, it can appear quite disorganized, especially to those of you who have grown accustomed to the traditional wall layout. This post provides tips on everything from cover photos to the new and improved dashboard, and will quickly bring you back up to speed.
- Create a cover photo with the dimensions 851 x 315 for a perfectly fitting photo.
- Make sure the cover photo is under 100KB to avoid it being rejected due to file size limitations.
- Contact information is not allowed in the cover photo. This even includes website URLs.
- Your cover photo must not include any calls-to-action. This includes asking fans to like your page.
- Get creative! The cover photo is the first thing fans will see when they visit your page.
- Allow fans to submit their own artwork for cover photos. By doing this you’ll create brand ambassadors, engage more users, and generate new content.
- Pin posts to keep a piece of content at the top of your timeline. You may pin one post at a time for up to 7 days.
- Highlight posts to give specific content pieces more real estate on your timeline.
- Customize and arrange apps under your cover photo. Calls-to-action are allowed here, so get creative and use the space wisely.
- Choose and share photos that fans post on your page to increase their exposure. With the new timeline, this is one of the only ways to make sure fans content doesn’t go unnoticed.
- Create interest lists in your niche, and include your brand in them to increase exposure.
- Fill in Milestones to update fans on your accomplishments. Milestones are key moments you’ve decided to highlight on your page, and can be as large as a grand opening or as small as .
- Don’t neglect insights. Use insights to analyze data for optimal times to post, and which type types of content received the highest engagement.
- Take advantage of the improved dashboard to keep yourself organized, especially the detailed activity log which shows details of all notifications.
- Be sure to check your inbox, as you can now receive message from fans. This will allow fans to contact brands privately, which is great in cases where contact information needs to be exchanged.
5 Ways Businesses Are Using Facebook Timelines
Are you wondering how businesses are creatively using Facebook’s Timeline features?
Business timelines are blooming all over Facebook.
You may have read our recent post about all of the changes.
Take a look at these examples of how businesses are creatively using Timeline.
#1: Adding Interesting Milestones
Interesting Milestones may work better if your company has some history. Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, has the benefit of a long and interesting history, so they can show their products from 1916 and how they have since evolved.
But you still may be able to get creative with product releases and things that you have accomplished.
The New York Times, founded in 1851, gives you a walkthrough history with their Milestone posts.
Be sure to spread out the posting of your Milestones as those posts will go out to all of your fans. Don’t post ten in a row or you may irritate your community with “over-posting.”
#2: Incorporating the Profile Picture Into Your Cover Photo
The profile picture is a good place for your company logo, but since the profile picture overlaps the cover photo, you will need to leave some blank space in the lower-left corner of your cover photo. So why not blend the two pictures?
Tim Ware posted about creative personal profile cover photos, including a Photoshop template to incorporate the profile picture into the cover photo. We are now seeing how brands are getting creative with profile pictures and cover photos in these examples.
#3: Telling a Story With Photos
Photos have gotten larger in Timelines and you can use the Highlight feature to show even more of the album. The Kia Soul page has highlighted their concept car album to display more pictures.
Also when you add photos to an album, you will have a post on your Timeline. Then you can share the album to again showcase the story in a different way. People love seeing photos (think Pinterest) and using them extensively on your Timeline can be a good way to tell your story.
The Aquascape Foundation got good mileage out of photos of their recent trip to Uganda by having them post in different ways to their Timeline.
#4: Branding With Apps
Apps are much more visible on the new Timeline. The Facebook Photos app will always be in the first row, in the first position, and will always display the most recent photo. The next three apps in the row will be most visible, so put your best apps in the first row.
If your apps are interesting, you may have people click the down arrow on the right side to see what else you have available. Notice how these pages have really branded their apps and added a call to action within both the app’s name and custom graphic.
As a reminder, the app custom graphics are 111 pixels by 74 pixels and can be changed by clicking the down arrow on the right side to show all apps, then mousing over the app and clicking the pencil icon to activate the dropdown menu as shown. Click Edit Settings to change the title of the custom tab or add custom graphics.
Adding apps to your Timeline works just the same as adding apps to the older-style Facebook pages.
#5: Using the About Section to Give a Call to Action
While you can’t have a call to action (such as “Click Like” or “Buy Now”) or your website address in the cover photo of your Timeline, you can have that information in your About section. The About section is hot property, so use it well.
There are many pages that don’t have anything in their About section at all, which could be due to confusion about where to edit this information. To edit your About section, click the About link, then mouse over the upper-right corner near your About section until you see the Edit button with the pencil. Click the Edit button and you see the older-style dashboard page as shown.
You can have your website address and a call to action in your About section, but you only have approximately 160 characters to work with before it is cut off, depending on how the words flow. In fact, your previous About section may have been longer but is now cut off mid-sentence. Make sure you correct that in the new Timeline view.
If your page is also a Place or Local Business, your address and phone number will be the default About section. There is no way to change this unless you want to change the category of your page. If check-ins are part of your strategy, then keep the local business classification.
Don’t just focus on your About section that appears on your main Timeline page—make sure you are looking at what your About section looks like when you click the About link. Use that space creatively to link to special places on your website and tell people more about what you do and whom you serve.
Hopefully these 5 tips will give you some good ideas on how to use your Timeline more creatively.
What do you think? Have you seen any pages using Timelines in new and creative ways? Tell us in the comments box below!
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facebook,
social media
