By: Stacey Furtado
From the F8 Summit to Facebook Studio Awards, it was a week full of announcements for the social media juggernaut. But our friends at Facebook weren’t the only ones making headlines. From whiskey to winning the long-game in brand marketing, here’s what we’re reading this week.
Monday:
- The quote: “Jäger is dead,” an Austin bartender told Businessweek. – Ashley Lutz (Business Insider)
- Why it matters: This article is actually not as much about Jäger being dead as it is about Fireball Whiskey being alive and well. According to this great article, Fireball sold more than Jameson and Patrón last year and is close to surpassing Jägermeister in sales. How did they do it? By driving word of mouth. Using brand ambassadors to take over college towns and influential celebrities to spread the word through social media, Fireball has been able to build a following and shake its gas station shelf image.
Tuesday:
- The quote: “Over the last few years, we’ve proven that mobile ads work on Facebook. We’ve driven great results by showing people the ads that they want to see from the brands they care about in a format that fits the look and feel of our app.Today we’re introducing the Audience Network, which extends the reach of Facebook campaigns into third-party mobile apps.” – Song Qian (Facebook Developers Blog)
- Why it matters: Facebook users are logging in on their smartphones more than ever and Facebook’s ad manager needed to reflect that. With Audience Network, brands now have the ability to target third-party mobile app users in an easy and consistent way that will help reach potential customers where they already are — on their phones.
Wednesday:
- The quote: “And there’s even more good news – the Hispanic affinity audience on Facebook already over-indexes on all key engagement metrics, with 69 percent of those users returning to the platform daily (Source: 2013 Facebook Internal Data). Advertisers interested in reaching Hispanics at large should consider testing variations of their message, tailored to the preferences of different sub-groups, and targeting them accordingly.” – Valentina Bettiol (360i Blog)
- Why it matters: The World Cup is approaching and many brands are getting in on the action worldwide. With Facebook becoming more and more of a global platform, the timing could not be more perfect for them to roll out its new language-based targeting segments. Meant to deliver brand messaging to Hispanic users, you can bet the folks at Nike, Volkswagon and Coca-Cola are gearing up to make the most of the new feature.
Thursday:
- The quote: “Anonymous login turns the tide of information back towards Facebook. Lots of app makers thrive on gleaning your personal information from the social network. Even something as small as your birthday (they usually get your birthday and your friends list) helps them understand the demographics of their audience, and it helps them sell ads via other networks.” – Chris Taylor (Mashable)
- Why it matters: The F8 Summit was full of big announcements, but everyone seems to be talking about Anonymous login. It’s a sexy answer to the security concerns from users and a smart, quick fix from Zuck and the team. Facebook will still get enough users’ information (login times, amount of logins, etc.) to be informed, but users will feel a sense of security from their more personal information (birthdays, location, etc.) remaining personal.
Friday:
- The quote: “How long is your long run? I know people who measure the world in ten second flashes, and they’re happy to do something they call generous for six seconds, as long as they get a payback before the ten seconds are up. More common and more celebrated are people who play a longer game. They build an asset, earn trust, give before getting, and then, after paying their dues, win.” – Seth Godin (Seth’s Blog)
- Why it matters: Seth’s blog is always full of great food for thought, but this piece in particular struck me. Celebrating the long-game in marketing is something we don’t often do. We give awards to brands and agencies for a great campaign, but don’t highlight long-term achievements on the marquee nearly as often. The brands that are consistently on the top of the pile are there because they continue to build trust. Working with large brands on Facebook, we see success with our clients that find their advocates and thank them first, building mutual trust before asking for anything in return. When done correctly, there is no better foundation to build a brand community on.