CRM News: Social Media Marketing

Silverpop Gives SMBs More Social Media Pull
May 21, 2012

Silverpop has been on the vanguard of old-school digital marketing providers -- that is, email marketing firms -- embracing social media. The company has released a slew of products designed to integrate the two disciplines. Given that history, it is difficult to imagine a subsector or market constituency that it missed in its earlier product rollouts, but apparently Silverpop has found one, and it has set out to rectify the omission.

GM Steers Away From Facebook
May 16, 2012

General Motors plans to stop advertising on Facebook because the ad campaigns are not paying off in any measurable way. At $10 million, the company's ad spend on Facebook is relatively small. The reaction to GM's decision, however, has been disproportionately big. The timing of the news, of course, has much to do with the furor. Facebook is two days away from a blockbuster initial public offering.

Facebook Offers Users a Megaphone for Hire
May 14, 2012

Facebook is testing a new feature that offers to promote users' posts and status updates for a fee. The new service is currently only available in New Zealand. There, Facebook users can pay $2 to "highlight" a post, making it more visible to a greater number of their Facebook contacts.

MySpace Privacy Shenanigans Earn FTC Finger-Shaking
May 09, 2012

Social network MySpace settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Tuesday over charges related to how the site was using members' personal information. The social network had access to personal data from users, including their full names, ages and genders. MySpace promised users it would not share that information unless it received user consent.

Facebook Starts Stuffing Coupons in Users' News Feeds
April 16, 2012

Facebook is rolling out its Facebook Offers service, a way for users to get discounts and promotions from local businesses via the social networking site. The offers will be distributed through users' Facebook news feeds. Users can then sign up to receive the offers via email and redeem them at participating businesses.

Is Google+'s Facelift the Sincerest Form of Flattery?
April 11, 2012

Google on Wednesday announced new features for its Google+ social network. The Internet giant on Wednesday introduced what Google+ head honcho Vic Gundotra called a "more functional and flexible" version of the service. "With Google+, we're building a seamless and consistent social layer across Google," said company spokesperson Kat Eller.

Russia Mulls Putting ISPs on the Hook for Piracy
April 11, 2012

Russia is considering holding ISPs responsible for unlawful file-sharing. From Giga OM: "Reports in the local media say that the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs is looking to bring in fresh laws that would make service providers responsible for illegal file-sharing between those using their networks."

How and Why Did 'Kony 2012' Go Viral Overnight?
April 11, 2012

By now, you've seen the "Kony 2012" video, or at least heard of it, and you've heard the criticisms. And whether you are a supporter or a detractor, you likely think the story's done, a passing fad lost already to shortened news cycles, fickle Twitter trends, and Facebook app archives. But that is not the case. Whether the newest chapters to the "Kony 2012" story will vindicate the effort remains to be seen.

Facebook Has Big Plans for Its Billion-Dollar Baby
April 10, 2012

Facebook has snagged the highly popular photo-sharing application Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. It is among the biggest acquisitions in the social media space, second only to Google's $1.65 billion stock-for-stock purchase of YouTube in 2006. The deal, both in size and intent, is very much a departure for Facebook.

Small Screen Gets a Lot of Video Action
April 03, 2012

It finally has happened -- the number of U.S. mobile subscribers who own smartphones is just about equal to the number who own feature phones, according to new data. As of Feb. 2012, 49.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers carried a smartphone -- an increase of 38 percent from Feb. 2011, when only 36 percent of mobile subscribers owned smartphones. The driver behind this trend was the lopsided adoption of smartphones by mobile phone buyers in recent months.

Partnership to Align Phone System Data With CRM
March 19, 2012

M5 Networks has partnered with InsightSquared to create a solution that will allow customers to manage data generated from M5, along with data from other systems, in InsightSquared's business intelligence product. The solution will help customers manage data from their business phone system and other applications in one interface, and to visualize trends in voice and data to understand the "why" of spikes and valleys in activity.

Unforgiven: Customers Need to Show Some Common Sense Too
March 15, 2012

In the UK, supermarket chain Tesco is being pounded right now in social media channels because it's refusing to honor an erroneous online advertisement offering new iPads for about $65. The offer went viral, and now the backlash is viral, too. How Tesco responds will tell the tale. I'd recommend a sincere apology, a few well-phrased jokes poking fun at itself -- and an offer to make it up to those who still want to buy an iPad from them.

Google+ and the Long Game
March 12, 2012

Google+ chief Vic Gundotra sat down with Guy Kawasaki, cofounder of Alltop.com and founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, at this year's SXSW convention. The topic at hand: how Google+ plans to remain afloat in the hotly competitive online social network space.

2011's Lessons for Holiday Retail 2012
March 10, 2012

OK, it's time to officially close the book on the 2011 holiday retail season and to shift our attention forward to 2012. For me personally, what makes it difficult to stop looking back are the new trends that emerged that will forever change holiday shopping: The empowered customer turned to multiple mobile devices to conduct mobile shopping; and social media sites such as Facebook proved they have an influence on consumer buying.

Facebook Needles Twitter, Pinterest, With New Interest Lists
March 09, 2012

Facebook is rolling out yet another feature to keep members engaged with the site for as long as possible. Called "Interest Lists," Facebook touts it as a way for users to create their own personalized newspapers with special sections -- or feeds -- on topics that matter the most to them.

Halo Report Illuminates Angel Investor Trends
March 08, 2012

Now is a good time to be a startup looking for funding, suggests the Halo Report, which provides data and identifies trends affecting early stage entrepreneurs and investors. Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights collaborated in the development of the report. Most notable among its findings: The median round size for angel group investments grew to $700,000, an increase of 40 percent over 2010.

Yelp's Howling-Good First Day
March 05, 2012

Yelp had an excellent first day as a publicly traded company. It opened on the New York Stock Exchange Friday at $22.01 per unit -- up 47 percent from its IPO price of $15. By the end of the day, shares were trading at $24.58. The first-hour pop was surprising, even for enthusiastic advocates of the stock, said Lee Simmons, IPO industry specialist at Dun & Bradstreet.

Facebook Gives Marketers a New Set of Tools
March 01, 2012

Facebook introduced a slew of new ad initiatives at its marketing conference, fMC, held in New York on Wednesday. Most had been leaked to industry publications prior to this first-ever event. However, few had been expecting the preview of a distribution channel called the "Reach Generator." Although key details about how it will work were missing from the presentation, it clearly represents a new avenue for marketers.