Is Facebook worth it? We gotta figure it out!

Ahead of the Facebook IPO, there has been a lot of discussion on the value of Facebook. Grounded in that discussion, there has also been a lot of chatter about Facebook’s revenue stream, generated through advertising. With that discussion, many marketers have weighted in.

In truth, this debate has been going on for a while, and not much has changed. Marketers recognize the communities that are forming around Facebook. Marketers recognize social media as a way to reach their targets. At the same time, marketers have no clue how much of their advertising dollars they should dedicate to this channel. Return on investment has long been a fuzzy topic when one put the words social media and advertising together in one sentence.

Michael Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media, a company that helps global advertisers to build interactive social platforms on Facebook, contributed to a Fast Company article last week. His article was in part a response to a recent Wall Street Journal article that raised doubts that Facebook can continue to successfully attract advertisers if the ROI question remains unanswered. In his response to the ROI question on many marketers’ mind, he wanted marketers to remember three “truths”:

1) We’re in the first inning

2) Initial success is overwhelming positive

3) Success is driven by advertisers and not Facebook

These are three very interesting truths. While I agree with some and disagree with others, there are definitely lessons to be learned about Facebook.

Lazerow raised a good point that we are in the first inning. Social media is here to stay for the foreseeable future. And the best way to learn is to do. You are not going to learn what works for your brand and what doesn’t by staying on the sideline. If you do something, it may not work. If you do nothing, it’s guaranteed that it’s not going to work. If you do something, and it doesn’t work quite the way you thought it would, consider it lesson learned.

As for how great the initial success has been, I consider that to be debatable. Are there cases where Facebook helped a brand? Undeniably so. However, I could say that about sexy models. Does it work for some brands? Undeniably so. Does it work in all cases? No.

I have to agree, in principal, Lazerow’s last point about success is driven by advertisers. But I have to disagree in the specifics. The success or failure of any marketing campaign rests with the marketer. The buck stops with us. Facebook (and I can substitute here other popular tricks like Groupon, or Twitter, or Pinterest, or even the tried and true TV, print, price promotion, etc.) is not the magic that would turn an otherwise unremarkable product into a household name. Facebook is not the magic that would turn an otherwise undifferentiated positioning into a memorable brand. Facebook is not the magic that would turn an otherwise forgettable campaign into a brand-building activity. Facebook is ultimately one of many tools available in a marketer’s tool kit. It’s up to the marketer to figure out which tool to use, which tool to not use, and how to use each tool effectively.

—- Get this Facebook debate going.  Here are some 140 character bits: —-

Is Facebook worth it?  Here are a few thoughts.  http://bit.ly/IXiU0x

Should you believe in Facebook?  It depends.  http://bit.ly/IXiU0x

 

Photo credit: Birgerking

Interview with a Novelist

Recently, I had the chance to connect with Monica Leonelle, digital media strategist by day, and novelist by night.  She blogs about her writing craft on ProseOnFire.com. She has a new novel out, Social Punk.  So, we discussed book marketing.

Does the marketing basics apply to book marketing?  Are there any tricks that are specific to book marketing?

Books are incredibly hard to market. Think of your favorite song for example. It took, what, maybe five minutes to consume it? It’s much easier to say, "Hey, watch this music video" than it is to say, "Hey, read this book." So the passalong for a music video is much, much faster. You can blow up on Youtube with the snap of a finger if your a musician.

Movies are harder, but still, they are two hours or so. You can’t blow up with a movie, it takes tons and tons of commercials and press to promote. You have an entire team of actors hitting every late night show possible to promote a movie. But still, the passalong factor is greater, for the simple fact that movies are only two hours to consume.

Books are around 8 hours to consume. In a normal adult’s life, this means a week or a month to finish a book. Then, and only if they love it, they share it with their friends. And their friends groan and say they’ll get to it, and a year later maybe they do or they don’t. Word-of-mouth is crazy hard for books. Most authors can’t get a book going until they have six other ones in their backlist. So the trick to book marketing is to stick with it for at least five years, and keep writing. It’s not for the faint-hearted. And you are probably not the one who’s going to explode overnight.

 

If you had written your book 10 years ago before the internet matured, how would you have marketed the book?  How would you reached your target?  Would it have been possible?

I would have had to go the traditional publishing route, so I have no idea. Probably radio shows and touring the country to do book signings.

 

How do you fit in being a digital media strategist and being a novelist in just 24 hours a day?  Can everyone do it?

I work almost every day for at least 10-12 hours.  I don’t think the question is whether everyone can, but whether everyone would want to. I sometimes hope for a simpler life.

 

Finally, what’s your favorite novel and what’s your favorite marketing book?  Why?

My favorite novel from the last year is the Clockwork Prince from Cassandra Clare. It’s romantic and funny and has great characters. My favorite marketing book right now is The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. He gave me a lot of perspective on book marketing.

A little about Social Punk: Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.

It isn’t just about getting drunk on St. Paddy’s Day!

 

Who knew that something like beer can be all about the community and family?  Isn’t it about wild drunkenness?  That would probably be especially true on St. Patrick’s day.  Even so, Heineken managed to get that wholesome message out via the St. Patrick’s Day parade nationally televised coverage.  John Dully was interviewed by NBC (They didn’t show his name, so I hope I spelled it right.  I also only know that he worked for Heineken but don’t know in what capacity.)  John spoke about New York, which is not a key market for the brand but also the community to which he and the employees belong.  In addition, John was the perfect interviewee having a personally connection to the parade, which allowed him to talk of family values.  This is an exceptionally wholesome message for a beer, and the perfect message for national audience on this fine Saturday morning. 

What is the relationship with Heineken and the parade?  I know you’re a sponsor, but what is it about it that you want to get behind?

Essentially it’s new york.  this is our largest market, our employees and customers live in the New York market.  And when you think of New York, you think of the parade.  When you think of New York, you think of Heineken. And we want to be a part of that something special and get back to the community as well.

20 years ago, your grandfather was the Grand Marshall of the Parade.  How has the parade changed?

It’s about family, tradition, roots.  Never forget where you come from

WP Premium Theme by Premium Wordpress Themes