Social Media

Yes, like so much of the digital media universe, we at 360i were awaiting Twitter founder Evan Williams’ keynote address at South by Southwest (SXSW) this week. I was personally at the event, eager to hear how Twitter was about to change.

And then it didn’t.

There wasn’t any new ad platform launched, as had been widely rumored. Instead, Williams referred to the ‘@ platform,’ specifically dubbed @anywhere. It has nothing to do with advertising – at least not yet. What it does change is how Twitter functions on other sites.

With @anywhere, publishers can allow their visitors to share content or follow Twitter users that the publishers feature. For example, If The New York Times has reporters on Twitter, their bylines can include @anywhere snapshots of their Twitter usage, and consumers can follow that reporter on the spot. In such a scenario, the Times could include links to various official accounts, or even Twitter accounts of people and businesses mentioned in their stories. All of this can happen by adding a few lines of code to the publisher’s site.

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Facebook is continually changing the way that users experience and interact with their platform – sometimes, to the detriment of brands, but more recently, to their benefit.  This week, a small change was made to Facebook’s notification system that could mean big things for companies who manage Fan Pages.

What has changed?

Brands now have the ability to appear in fans’ “Notifications” feeds on Facebook if the fan has engaged with Fan Page content. After a fan likes or comments on a Fan Page and the brand responds through a comment, the brand’s activity will pop up in the fan’s toolbar as a new notification, saying “Brand X has commented on their status” (or post, link, photo, etc.).

Above: Fan Page updates are now appearing in fans’ notifications.

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If you want to experience a petri dish of thousands of educated, media savvy professionals and content producers actively using social technologies as part of their daily life, come to Austin, Texas for South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi). This is the festival that essentially launched Twitter in 2007 and Foursquare in 2009, and the expectations are always high for what will break out here.

If some technology or tool breaks out in Austin, it has a chance at mainstream adoption. If it doesn’t, that’s a bad sign if it’s designed for early adopters. Then again, if the tech is targeted toward a more mainstream audience or different demographics than who’s here, it still could be a major hit (i.e., this isn’t the place to launch the next Farmville). So what did the festivalgoers use, and how did they use it?

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What would a brand need to give you to become a fan of their page on Facebook? A free hamburger? A pair of underwear? Virtual cash to support your virtual farm?

These are all real examples. T.G.I. Friday’s gave out the burgers in September 2009. Victoria’s Secret first gave away panties in June 2009, and then it offered fans two pairs of underwear in September to celebrate getting 2 million fans. Just last week, Microsoft ponied up (pun intended) 3 Farm Cash, the virtual currency of Facebook’s leading application FarmVille, to players who became a fan of Bing.

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If you look ahead at the agency business several years out, where will social media fit in, especially once some of the hype dies down?The question occurred to me after hearing a speech by someone I’ve worked with for over four years now: 360i CEO Bryan Wiener. When I saw how Bryan touched on social media in his “Agency of the Future” talk at the IAB Annual Leadership Summit last month, I was itching to go deeper, and I happened to know how to reach him. For full disclosure, the idea to interview him was mine alone. I rarely mention 360i at all in these columns, but this was a story I was excited to run.

You can read a few of Bryan’s broader thoughts about the coming evolution of agencies on 360i’s blog. In this exclusive interview, the focus is entirely on social media.

Social Media Insider: How does social marketing fit in with the agency of the future?

Bryan Wiener: The unfettered rise of digital, and of social media in particular, has brought about staggering shifts in consumer behavior — and this requires equally dramatic changes to the way agencies operate in order to help brands connect with consumers in this new dimension. The agency of the future must have digital expertise in its DNA, with search, social and mobility — three things that have completely transformed consumer behavior — as the three key legs of the stool.

Not surprisingly, social marketing serves as an indispensable leg to this stool for the simple reason that it provides a channel for developing a direct, unadulterated relationship between a consumer and a brand. And building relationships is becoming a more critical component of brand marketing as the media landscape becomes increasingly fragmented and cluttered.

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One emerging business model that has caught on in social media is not particularly social at all. The model, especially prominent in supporting the booming social gaming business, allows marketers to target consumers with cost-per-acquisition deals that earn consumers points or virtual currency in the games.

Among the best known players in this field is Offerpal, which says it reaches more than 150 million consumers. After missing the company’s CEO George Garrick last month both when he was in New York and I was in San Francisco, we finally caught up on the phone for an exclusive interview. While Offerpal has typically targeted direct response marketers for lead generation programs, new and upcoming programs will cater to brand marketers too.

Note that his answers below are paraphrased, except where in direct quotes, and some of the questions were added later for clarity.

Offerpal Overview

Offerpal reaches consumers who don’t want to spend money for points or virtual currency. Offerpal’s consumers are typically teenagers – younger people who may not have credit cards.

The first rewards were offers, but there are other ways Offerpal is providing value for consumers subsidized by marketers. Shopping Offers was introduced a few months ago. A video product is coming out where consumers will get rewarded for watching ads.

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Google Buzz,  the Boss and a lesson for brands as social media and CRM collide.

A couple of months back I came across a Facebook ad and clicked on it. It was for a $6 dollar T-shirt emblazoned with Bruce Springsteen’s head that said “The Only Boss I Listen To.” Obviously, I had to have it.

I made my way to the checkout found that the $8 shipping cost was more than the product, as the only option for delivery was UPS.  I ordered it anyway. A few days passed.

Curious as to where my awesome shirt was, I shot an email to the vendor, 6 Dollar Shirts, asking what was up. Two days later I received a response. Turns out, my order was processed on Dec. 26 – but was not actually shipped until Jan. 6 (12 days later). Oh, and it was sent via USPS. Wait a minute… I followed up again and asked what my adjusted shipping charge would be, given that it was clearly not shipped by UPS.

No response. I finally got my shirt on Jan. 8. No one ever got back to me on the adjusted shipping rate. I didn’t press the issue because frankly, I didn’t want to waste any more time on a few bucks. I was just happy to have my sweet Springsteen t-shirt.  End of story? Nope.

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