Diesel Facebook Integration

We can’t take credit for the latest social media addition (and very clever marketing tactic) that now adorns the Diesel dressing rooms in the form of a “Diesel Cam,” but we have been anticipating the integration of digital and the physical for a while now.

The Diesel Cam allows shoppers to automatically post photos taken as they’re shopping to their Facebook profiles, granting customers the opportunity for immediate feedback on their potential purchases from everyone in their social networks. Images from the Diesel Cam include a Diesel logo, supplying the brand with free advertising when users share the photos.

Shopping is inherently social—the first thing that most people do before purchasing clothes is seek the opinions of their friends (or the person in the next stall) so sharing prospective fashion choices on Facebook is bound to be a successful campaign. We predict that this form of social integration will soon be available in many other shapes and sizes, from automatic updates when you check into hotels to photo -ops when you visit popular tourism destinations or dine in destination restaurants.

The video is pretty cool, too:

Why Facebook Creeps Me Out Sometimes

Facebook is my favorite social media platform. I have had an account since I was in college, back when you needed a school email address to sign up. Since then, Facebook has had a few advertising blunders, but bless its heart, it’s still trying.

Changes–

Friends’ profile pictures show up when I call from my cell phone, and now, it’s syncing with my Pandora stations. Apparently my friends and I have similar taste in music…or at least that is what Pandora/ Facebook tells me. With each new song, I get a note saying “So and So likes this song/ artist too.” Pandora is great because it’s personalized, but what do they get out of telling me what songs my friends like too? Is my music going to be further personalized based on the music I have listed on my profile?

Facebook believes in opt-out changes, which goes against the opt-in standard. They continue to integrate their platform, which granted is a marketing gold mine. But without getting permission first, they perpetuate the user perception that privacy is being invaded. Yes, we post pictures. Yes, we note our likes and dislikes and engage with brands. This is worlds a part from granting permission to have online user behavior tracked across multiple platforms and packaged for advertisers.

The future of CDMA iphones and QR usage

A story published in Fast Company today, discussed the rumor that Apple is producing CDMA compatible iPhones. If these rumors pan out, this means that Apple is planning to work with carriers like Verizon that use this technology. This recent wave of rumors, sparked by a Wall Street Journal report, is just one of many that keep Verizon fans hopes of owning an iPhone alive.

The Wall Street Journal has a history of being the first to break Apple news, which lends credibility to this story. Will Apple end its exclusive contract with AT&T? We cannot be sure, but with these rumors and Apple’s tradition of launching new products/ upgrades every year, there is a chance (if only a slight one).

This particular Fast Company story also features a QR bar code at the end of the article–something I haven’t seen before. While QR is still in its infancy, the use of these 2-d bar codes in magazines and on product packaging is starting to surface. The QR bar code in this article directs users to the author’s Twitter page. SXSW also used this technology to embed attendees contact information–kind of brilliant.

I think QR technology can be an efficient way to engage users in typically non-participatory activities (like reading a magazine). It is also a nice bridge to support mobile marketing adoption. They might be a flash in the pan, but for now, I contend that QR might find a nook in marketing.

Should tweets be copyrightable?

First amendment law was one of my favorite classes in college–copyrights were a particularly fascinating topic. Copyrights protect original works, owners of which control the right to reproduce, license and distribute said works. A while back there was some talk about whether or not Tweets are copyrightable content. Some tweets are catchy, clever and worthy of admiration, but this does not mean they are copyrightable.

In my humble opinion, Tweets do not meet the threshold for attaining copyrights for the following reasons:

• They are largely fact (i.e.–I’m at Starbucks drinking a latte or I think the Padres will win the World Series) . Facts are not copyrightable content.
• Tweets are property of the public domain at the time of dissemination. A foundational goal of Twitter is to get your messages re-tweeted, so claiming rights over their distribution is futile to say the least.
• They are only 140 characters. Copyrights were created to protect substantial works of art like books, movies, songs, paintings and a whole spectrum of artistic mediums. The truncated nature of Tweets do not lend themselves to display artistic brilliance worthy of legal protection. (Not that some aren’t hilarious and quite brilliant.)

Facebook traffic beats Google

Hitwise reported this week that Facebook was the top visited website–trumping Google. This is the first time the social network has claimed this top position. Not too shabby, Facebook.

Experts have long since talked about the evolution of user entry points. They started with portals, “You’ve Got Mail” anyone? Next, users started their online travels at search engines, and now, trends indicate that social networks, like Facebook, are users’ first stop and gateway to the Internet. This weeks traffic report is a strong indicator of this trend.

Where’s the first place you go online? How do you find information?

Facebook also announced that its revamping its search functionality to suggest friends/ fan groups/ content that you might not be associated with. As of right now, suggested content is restricted to existing friends or affiliated groups. Their proposed changes will usher in a new era of marketing opportunities on this social network. We’ll see how it all shakes out. Facebook has definitely had struggles trying to add advertising to its forum, but as of late, they seem to have a pretty good model going.

Value-driven cultures. We’ve got that.

Choosing an advertising agency is a big decision for any marketing team. You hope it will be a long term engagement (since no one likes the RFP process) and you cross your fingers for a team you’d actually like to work with. When all other things are considered equal (results, marketing knowledge and capabilities), the ideal situation is one where teams get along, strive for mutual success and produce show-stopping, successful work.

At Geary Interactive, we know personality plays a large part in a digital agency of record RFP process. We just happen to have tons to spare. To give you a little taste, the following are our corporate values that permeate everything we do here at Geary. They’re not just posters on our walls (although we do have those). Our values are the foundation of each client partnership and every campaign.

Driven:

We are an ambitious group of experts committed to achieving every goal we set.

• Client benefit– Our clients will experience higher quality results delivered by strong teams that are self-motivated, proactive and committed to meeting and surpassing engagement objectives.
  

Progressive

We seek and embrace change to take advantage of new opportunities.

• Client benefit– Geary will always be at the forefront of proven and useful innovation. We do not embrace change for the sake of change alone and therefore can focus on providing reliable high quality product in a timely way.

Ethical

We always act honorably when working with clients, colleagues, and vendor partners.

• Client Benefit– Our Clients benefit from our open and honest communication. They are confident they can trust Geary to act honorably and transparently. They will experience the trust that is the foundation of all great relationships.

Accountable

We take full responsibility for all of our decisions and actions.

• Client Benefit– Clients experience us as dependable, proactive partners delivering on our commitments and providing great value. They experience problems being resolved early and effectively.

Caring

We are passionately attentive to and respectful of the needs of our clients, colleagues and vendor partners.

• Client Benefit– Geary clients experience a rapport that transcends good work and great value, because of our ability to demonstrate respect, trust and effective relationships.

Partnership

We are committed to mutual success – creating win-win situations with all our partners whenever possible.

• Client Benefit– We partner with clients to find the best results for them. By providing best-in-class resources to meet client needs, we deliver the best results possible.

Geary Interactive at AdTech San Francisco

Geary Interactive’s web analytics guru Nicole Rawski will be leading Ad:Tech’s Marketing Masters Series on web analytics. Focusing on using data to your advantage, the series will help marketers optimize their analytics implementations. But enough from me, I will let Nicole tell you about it herself.

The pros and cons of microsites

Now more than ever companies are using microsites for highly focused product promotions, guerrilla marketing tactics and demographic-specific campaigns. These mini websites work differently than parent sites and can reach audiences in new ways.

Pros and Cons

In most cases brands employ one main company website, but others use a series of smaller, focused websites to augment a corporate website. The pros and cons depend on the goals and objectives of the microsites.

One of the main problems with using one main company website is the need to build pages featuring several products and services. This makes it easy for visitors to get sidetracked, confused and struggle to find what they were looking for. There are also search engine optimization problems that arise when trying to optimize one website for such a diverse array of keyword phrases.

The single biggest contributor to reach top search engine ranking is keyword rich, inbound links. These links are difficult to cultivate when pages must address several different topics at once. PPC campaigns can provide a solution to this problem, but it’s potentially a very expensive option.

We recommends using microsites to complement a main website and drive larger marketing campaigns to these smaller microsites. One benefit of using microsites is that they are small, highly focused websites tied to unique domain URL to promote a service, incentive offer or product. They can be a great way to increase exposure for your business as a part of a comprehensive internet marketing strategy. Because they are highly targeted, visitors are presented with a small number of pages that relate to the product or service that they are interested in. This makes it much more likely that your visitors will convert into sales or inquiries.

Having dedicated microsites for each product or service offers the potential to double a brand’s internet exposure via search engines. The chance to get different pages ranking for an array of keywords is extremely beneficial for digital marketers. Optimizing a microsite for search engines can be much easier and more effective because marketers don’t have to worry about building links to inner pages of your website, which can be very difficult. Efforts can stay focused on optimizing homepages for targeted keywords and phrases that relate to specific products or services. This also means marketers can take full advantage of multimedia technologies like Flash without detracting from search engine rankings. It is important to note that sometimes microsites may not make sense from an SEO perspective when content is best served under an existing domain.

Microsites can be particularly useful to work alongside a specific advertising campaign. They are also used most often with Social Marketing Campaigns. This affords a strong promotional branding opportunity without impacting a main site’s look and feel. As a separate entity, microsites offer the chance for variation in visual style and branding for that specific product, service or event.

Microsites can be a great addition to your internet marketing strategy. The advantages can far outweigh the relatively small amount of work and cost required to develop microsites. The flexibility they offer outside of the constraints of a corporate website and the sizeable SEO advantages mean they are worth considering as part of an internet marketing strategy.

Fortune 500 companies and their SEO struggles

A recent report published by MediaPost shows that Fortune 500 companies are not syncing their paid search campaigns with their search engine optimization efforts. These companies spend a collective $3.4 million daily on paid search, however, their SEO lags behinds.

The article goes on to say that “53% [of these companies] have no natural search visibility for their most advertised keywords.” While the numbers quoted in show an increase in search engine visibility over the last year, only 25% of PPC keywords rank within the top 50 natural results.

So how important is SEO? Very important.

The synergies between SEO and paid search are well documented, so don’t waste an opportunity. Marketers should take both into account. One of the greatest aspects of planning SEO and paid search together is sharing intelligence. For example, the PPC keywords that convert at high rates should be a top SEO priority. Here are a few more reasons why SEO and paid search should run toghether:

• Appearing in both natural and paid listings adds reputability and continuity to your brand.
• Paid search ads can direct users to specific pages, while SEO typically leads to homepages. The combination makes sure you’re covered.
• SEO and paid search can target users at different points in a conversion funnel.
• It just works better!

Google to Phase out Support for Internet Explorer 6

Google announced it plans to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6 or IE 6. This is good news for the web development world since this browser doesn’t support key web standards and progressive user interface techniques. Our team affectionately refers to it as the thorn in their side. In short, IE 6 makes web developers’ lives difficult because what works in other, more current browsers does not render correctly in IE 6.

Geary Interactive’s analytics department shared Omniture’s most recent breakdown of browser usages, which support’s Google’s choice to let this dinosaur browser just go ahead and die already.

Internet Explorer (IE 7) rakes in 30.4%

Internet Explorer (IE holds 22.5%

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 maintains 14.7%

Internet Explorer (IE 6) aka the browser in question has a 12.8% market share

Safari 4.0.4 rounds out the top 5 with 4%