Online advertising irks Facebook users in Jakarta

Several Facebook users in Jakarta say they feel annoyed by users who have turned the social medium into a commercial site.

“It has become more like an online shopping site,” Facebook user Yulyani Meilia Suhinto said.

She said that other users were trying to sell products, such as shoes, bags and clothes by tagging her to the images had bothered her — a lot. “I once bought the stuff, but I would never do that again as the advertisers then tagged me again and again,” the 27-year old said.

She said that she had removed the photos or used the hide option to avoid the advertisements.

Being the second biggest Facebook user with more than 31 million people registered has made Indonesia a lucrative spot for online business, but at the same time there were many cases of people who have fallen victim to the misuse of the social networking site.

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Online Advertisement Revenues Hit New Record, Up By 23 Percent

Online advertisement market in the US grew by 23 percent in the first quarter, raking in a whopping $7.3 billion. During last year’s first quarter, advertisers had spent $5.9 billion on online ads.

According to figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, this is the highest first quarter revenue level for the industry. However, it is not the best quarter performance ever, with the $7.45 billion Q4 2010 revenue beating it to the top spot.

The figures come as online advertising generated a record $26 billion in revenue in 2010, an increase of 19 percent from 2009.

The growing popularity of websites like Facebook, Twitter and Netflix has helped boost the digital marketing and advertising market.

“The consistent and considerable year-over-year growth we’re seeing demonstrates that digital media is an increasingly popular destination for ad dollars, and for good reason,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB.

“As Americans spend more time online for information and entertainment purposes, digital advertising and marketing has emerged as one of the most effective tools businesses have to attract and retain customers.” he added.

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Irvine online marketing firm moves to L.A.

WebVisible, which provides online marketing products and services to small- and mid-size businesses, has moved from Irvine to Playa Vista in Los Angeles, the company announced Wednesday.

In February, WebVisible said it had cut its staff by nearly half amid rumors that it would close its Irvine headquarters and consolidate at its Playa Vista facility. The layoffs included 112 people in Irvine and the company closed its Charlotte, N.C. facility.

At that time, Chief Executive Ron Burr said the company was planning to consolidate in Southern California but insisted no decision had been made about shutting down the Irvine office. A visit to the Irvine facility two weeks later showed no signs of life and a Post-it note on the door directing delivery people to a telephone number. The new offices are in the Electronic Arts complex at the Marina.

"This campus environment sets the right tone for us – open, collaborative and creative," Burr said in a press release. "We're certainly taking advantage of all the amenities it offers. We've been re-energized as a company and we're excited about where we're going. "

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New EU Regs to Affect Email and Online Marketing

Eloqua, a provider of revenue performance management solutions, has released new features that help marketers comply with the European Union’s new Web and email tracking regulations. The legislation, which takes effect today, impacts every marketer or retailer that interacts electronically with customers and prospects based in the 28 countries that comprise the European Union.

Under an added amendment to the existing EU privacy directive, organizations conducting online marketing campaigns in the member states must now receive explicit permission, or opt-in consent, to track any individual's actions online, including the use of cookies or other means. Depending on the country, they might also need permission before sending marketing materials via email.

Marketers, e-retailers, and others that rely on such information can get consent in a number of ways. They can, for example, post a click-box on their Web sites, request site visitors to fill out a form that pops up on screen when they visit a site, or ask customers to set their browsers to accept or reject cookies from the sites they visit.

"This is different than in the U.S.," explains Dennis Dayman, chief privacy and security officer at Eloqua. "In the U.S., you have to opt out. There, you have to opt in."

The new European laws will impact multinational corporations the most, according to Dayman. "If a company is headquartered in the U.S., the laws do not apply, but if it has subsidiaries in other countries, it could be affected," he says.

What's definite, though, is that the new regulations will affect how companies do business in Europe. "It adds more complexity to CRM practices and could hinder a company's ability to understand who its customer is," Dayman says.

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New York Online Marketing Firm Makes SEO Focused Acquisition

ProfitFuel, an SEO service for U.S. small businesses, was recently acquired by online marketing firm Yodle.

The acquisition will allow Yodle to serve a much broader set of clients who have smaller budgets but still want their marketing performance measured.

"With ProfitFuel, Yodle is doubling down on its approach of providing a clear ROI to the local advertiser, delivered through a combined 450 person sales and client service team," said Court Cunningham, Yodle CEO. "ProfitFuel's dedication to customer results and sales excellence made it a natural fit with Yodle."

ProftFuel's service helps small business news improve its visibility on major search engines, according to The Statesman. Partnering with New York-based Yodle will greatly expand their reach.

David Rubin, CEO of ProfitFuel, explains that merging with Yodle will maximize the company's potential for future clients, employees and shareholders.

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Small businesses embrace social marketing

Social media marketing has become a key ingredient in the marketing toolkit of small businesses, with 73% using social media to market their businesses, and even more expecting to increase their social marketing efforts this year, according to a new study from email marketing company Constant Contact.

While still relying heavily on email, websites and event marketing to drive business, small businesses have found Facebook to be their key social tool, with 95% using Facebook and 82% reporting it to be effective. Among other channels, video-sharing tools like YouTube were found to be effective by 73% of respondents, and 47% found LinkedIn and Twitter to be effective.

The study was based on an online poll conducted in March and April, with 1,572 small-business respondents.

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Why is Social Media Marketing Hard to ‘Get’?

Just last month I wrote a piece on whether Social Media is past its best which concluded that Social Media Marketing really works for those who are prepared to work at it and there is now a fresh survey which shows that while more than half of small business questioned admitted that Social Media Marketing was important, almost 60% were not using it.

Why? Why is something so obviously effective so hard to implement? There is not much point in asking questions if there is no answer we can look at and the issue, across the board, every time seems to be the same: Social Media Marketing is so new and so different that many companies, large and small, locked in a traditional mindset, simply do not know how to use it.

How, for instance, do you go from putting ads online and in newspapers to allowing your employees to play around in Facebook and Twitter, placing postings and Tweets which do not differ much from musings and interacting with Facebook visitors and still call this work?


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Internet Marketing How-To Book Series Released By Vertical Measures

Specializing in all aspects of online marketing, Vertical Measures has released three new how-to books that offer a detailed look at the major aspects of Internet marketing. The first book, Keyword Research for Business, highlights the importance of understanding the role of keywords in the marketing of products and services online. Author James Constable notes that keyword research should be implemented throughout every piece of a comprehensive business strategy.

The series also features Blogging for Business, which was written by Kristi Hines. This how-to guide illustrates how blogging can create a range of opportunities for both businesses and individuals. Various elements of an effective blog are covered, as well as integral search engine optimization strategies that can make blogging an even more versatile tool for businesses.

“Our how-to series is based on the knowledge of the very same people who provide the pulse of Vertical Measure’s proven industry-leading expertise,” said Arnie Kuenn, President of Vertical Measures. “To prosper in the current business climate, every company must have an online marketing strategy. A strong foundation in keyword research, blogging, and social media will get a business off to a head start.”

Facebook for Business, penned by Kaila Strong, offers companies a look at how to use the social media site to their marketing advantage. The guide provides a glimpse into the many marketing opportunities businesses can find within one of the most popular websites online. The site’s promotional value, the chances it gives to communicate with clients and customers, and its ability to help gauge their satisfaction are described in depth as well.

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Online marketing 'offers cheap branding opportunities'

The internet represents a vital resource for companies looking to increase consumer awareness of their brands, it has been claimed.

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), online advertising can build brand awareness in a highly cost effective way.

As a case study, the organisation tracked the effectiveness of Starbucks' recent online advertising for its new product Starbucks VIA.

The research showed that Starbucks' marketing activity created a strong uplift in brand awareness.

In addition, purchase intent also saw an uplift of 40 per cent within the product's key target demographic of 35-54-year-old women.

The IAB explained that Starbucks was able to reduce marketing costs by as much as 80 per cent by focusing on web-based promotions rather than print advertising.

Tim Elkington, director of research and strategy at the IAB, said the organisation would be conducting further research to investigate the potential of online promotions to add value to businesses.

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Think E-mail Marketing Is Dying?

Mark Twain said it best: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." With all the hype surrounding social media and mobile marketing, it would be easy to assume that e-mail is yesterday's news, with little chance of keeping up with the other marketing methods now available.

But according to the numbers, this assumption is incorrect. E-mail usage has remained remarkably steady, even in the face of new competition. Research shows that for 74 percent of adults surveyed, e-mail is still the preferred method for receiving commercial messages. This perhaps surprising statistic can help explain the continued proliferation of e-zines and other e-mail marketing today.

It's no longer true that only the largest businesses are the most likely to use e-mail. As smaller companies outgrow their sole-proprietor beginnings, they increasingly look for new ways to expand their businesses to support higher headcounts and overhead. Business surveys reveal that almost half of small businesses were using e-mail marketing in 2010, with an additional 36 percent reporting plans to begin this year.

The dollars spent annually reflect this high participation rate. On average, e-mail promotion accounts for about 15 percent to 22 percent of total marketing budgets. These billions spent every year have certainly attracted attention, with many new e-mail distribution and copywriting firms popping up.

This gives today's marketer many options to choose from, ranging from self-serve programs to ones that are completely managed by an outside vendor. Choices are often dictated by the level of expertise and resources available internally.

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8 Tips For 'Social' Marketing

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms can be effective ways to market your company, but only if you do it right. Power up your efforts with these tips from Web-based application provider Wildfire.

Perhaps you're just discovering the power of social media. Or maybe you've known about for quite some time. Either way, if you're using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to market your company, you probably want to make those campaigns as effective as they can be, right?

Last week I wrote about Wildfire, a company that offers a Web-based application for social media marketing. Here are some tips, courtesy of Wildfire CEO Victoria Ransom, that might help you maximize the effectiveness of your "social" campaigns.

Tip #1: Keep It Simple And Easy

The shorter the entry form, or the fewer steps required to engage, the more people will enter your contest. And if you're looking to collect user-generated content, ask for content that consumers have readily available--for example, photos of their vacations, pets, friends, children, and hobbies. This is more effective than asking for content that requires effort to create, such as a video.

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6 Keys to Mobile Search Marketing Success

A funny thing happened on the bus on my way to work recently. I was on my phone searching for a lunchtime haircut spot, the lady next to me was shopping for new curtains on her iPad, and a Wall Street type was talking loudly on his phone asking for tips prior to laying a bet with his bookie (you have to love New York City).

Each of us, in our own way, was using our mobile devices to reach out and find answers to our pressing questions. But until a few years ago, the only way we could reach out and answer these questions in a mobile fashion was via email and/or asking someone on the other end, a process that was inefficient at best and frustrating and without closure at worst.

Due to the advances in mobile hardware, software, and user experience, much of this has changed and finally rivals what we love about desktop searching. Screens are big enough to read, keyboards are ergonomic enough to allow for speed, and -- most importantly -- the search engines and marketers have begun to adapt their search offerings to address our mobile needs.

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Marketing online? Videos say it bigger, brighter and better

The average Internet user watches an astounding 186 videos a month, according to comScore Inc., a global digital market measurement service.

This includes news and entertainment clips, personal videos, advertising videos gone viral — you name it.

Video engages people in a way that photos and text alone can’t.
For small-business owners, using video in your marketing can bring faces, voices, personality and heart to your operation, while also demonstrating your authenticity.

To top that, video in email is said to be able to boost conversion rates by as much as 50 per cent.

Thanks to affordable video cameras and easy-to-use software, video has become a tool that nearly any small business can use to enhance their marketing efforts on any channel.

Your videos don’t have to be big Hollywood productions to be engaging and effective.

You can even use your smartphone camera to create them. Here’s a quick example:

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