There's been a lot of coverage regarding Facebook's recent changes, but what do these updates mean for marketers?  Overall, the key features that Facebook announced place a huge emphasis on engagement. The key takeaway is that it will be increasingly important for marketers to create and share compelling content and experiences on a consistent basis in order to stay relevant. 

Below is an overview of the main changes and their relevance for marketers.
   
Timeline: Timeline will replace users’ old profile pages, and allows users to aggregate and organize all actions taken on Facebook that matter most to them. Users can highlight important life milestones and group content and actions (videos/photos/posts) with that milestone. It also allows users to edit their timeline, even back to the time they were born. Facebook applications can also display actions taken with that app in the timeline (if user permission is granted). 

What it means for marketers: Actions that are most important to users will appear on the Timeline – think status updates and photos rather than day-to-day actions like ‘Liking’ a brand. These day-to-day actions will be shown in the Ticker (see description below). That means that brands will need to find ways to appear in the timeline, and one way to do that is by creating social applications that engage their audience. 



Timeline cover: (increased image space to customize)
Source:  Facebook.com/about/timeline

Social Apps: Social applications allow users to add storytelling into their timeline. Think verbs instead of nouns. Instead of ‘liking’ a band, users can express they are ‘Listening’ to that band; ‘reading’ a book, ‘running’ 3 miles, etc. Additionally, now brands can create custom social actions like ‘flying’ ‘cooking’ ‘drinking’ or any other verb. These apps all utilize Facebook’s Open Graph, and users can give permission for these apps to post their activity on the Ticker and Timeline. 

What it means for marketers: Brands have the opportunity to create social actions through branded applications. The action won’t only say “Ashley ran,” but “Ashley ran 3 miles with Nike+.” All of these actions will appear in the Ticker (see below), but brands can request that the actions appear in the Timeline (increasing exposure). The goal for brands will be to generate frequent actions within users’ timelines.

In addition to creating branded applications, advertisers will be able to deliver sponsored stories against social actions, and even segment for more accuracy. For example, it will be possible to promote to all "listens" from the band Coldplay. The new sponsored stories will only be generated from applications, but advertisers don't need to own the app where the action takes place to target against the behavior. 
 



Example of social apps within a user’s Timeline: 
Source: Facebook.com/about/timeline

News Feed update & Ticker: Facebook updated the news feed, changing how stories are presented to users. The Facebook homepage is now organized by Top Stories and Recent Stories, with Top Stories being displayed much more prominently than recent stories. The first updates that a user will see when logging in are the most relevant posts since their last visit – whether that was 3 days or 3 months ago.
   
Facebook’s algorithm will play a role in determining what are “Top Stories,” but users are able to edit their feeds, either by unmarking a Top Story, or marking a Recent Story as a Top Story. (Screenshot below). Facebook will then learn from this behavior and serve the most relevant content as Top Stories. 
 


Ticker – Facebook has also added the “Ticker” to the top right corner of the newsfeed. The Ticker streams live updates – think day-to-day activities like tagging a photo, liking a brand, commenting, and other Open Graph actions. The thought here is that less important updates are displayed in real time, and don’t distract users from the more relevant stories. Users can join the conversation by clicking on one of the stories in the Ticker.



What it means for marketers: Users now have more control over their news feed, so it becomes more important for brands to share compelling content (rich media, like photos and videos, help to naturally boost EdgeRank – Facebooks algorithm). Brands with irrelevant updates will have lower visibly (but will still appear in the Ticker). Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm will play a major role in determining whether brand updates are seen, but branded social applications and sponsored stories can increase the likelihood of a brand message reaching a mass audience. 




Here are some resources for more information:

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/09/22/Facebook-f8-Timeline-Announcement.aspx

http://mashable.com/2011/09/22/facebooks-changes-marketers/

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/Facebook-Timeline-Social-Apps-Branding.aspx

http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-feedback-loop-2011-09

What do you think about Facebook's changes?  Let us know in the comments below, or reach out to us on Twitter at @ashleyhreed or @accarrino.

You’ve probably heard about location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla, but have you tried Pegshot yet? Instead of answering the question “Where are you?”, Pegshot tells your friends “What’s happening where you are?” by enabling users to quickly share videos and photos with their social networks.  The application allows users to “peg” a shot from their location and post it to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Digg and Posterous in real-time.  

There are many ways in which brands can take advantage of Pegshot to increase awareness and engagement with their organization. Pegshot is especially well-suited for promoting events as it facilitates quick and easy sharing of photos and videos in real-time, allowing immediate visibility on the social web.  This means your audience can interact with your events while they are happening even if they cannot be there. 

Real-time sharing also increases pass along rates since, attendees are usually active on social networks at events and can quickly view your content and re-tweet it, “Like” or comment on it.  Not only can content be published on your social media accounts, but Pegshot even allows you to post photos and videos directly to your company’s website.  In most cases, companies allow only their employees to publish content to their website to ensure that all material is appropriate.   

To take advantage of Pegshot at your next event, follow these easy steps:

1. Create your event.

Add your event by filling out the details of your event including the name, date, your Twitter hashtag, and location.  Your event will appear on any user’s mobile device in the surrounding area.

2.  Create a branded landing page for your event.

You can create a custom branded landing page for you event or choose your Twitter background.




3. Promote your event and add contributors.

Pegshot offers a custom registration page so you can collect as many contributors as possible. You can use this custom landing page to promote your event across social networks as well as your website, email and print marketing initiatives. 






4. Capture your event as it’s happening. 

Now you’re ready to begin pegging photos and videos of your event in real-time.  Your contributors as well as any Pegshot users in the vicinity can share content of your event which will be displayed on your custom landing page in addition to social networks and your website (if permission is granted.)


 

Account Coordinator, Jeremy Bromwell, recently came across new research from Epsilon Strategic Services  which reveals that character length is not the only important item to consider when you are designing your email subject line for any permission based email marketing campaign.

Marketers spend significant time developing the email creative however most do not devote enough time to subject line strategy and development.  Many would argue that the subject line is the most important factor in overall response rate -- and that the subject line extends beyone the open to click-thru rate.  With the subject line being the initial piece of information subscribers see in their inbox (verses the well developed creative) marketers should re-think the relationship between the subject line length (SLL) and email performance.

Key points from Jeremy's article:

1. the combination of SLL and content is what drives higher open & click rates
2. 57% of U.S. email recipience will open an email based on their relationship with the sender andn the first 38-47 characters.
3. standards to keep in mind include front-loading your subject lines with the most important information, keep the subject line short to convey your message, use longer subject lines when there is a compelling reason to...and always test!

There are many important things to consider when developing the subject line strategy beyond length.  Split or multi-variate subject line testing should always be placed into the project schedule to maximize the ROI of the campaign.  Keep in mind personalization, especially beyond just name, is another best practice to consider when appropriate in the subject line and body of the email and increases subscriber engagement.

Definition 6 is a leading interactive agency in Atlanta serving many of our clients with the best and most effective email marketing strategies.

Definition 6 Technical Project Manager, Lance King, delivered an article presentation on how a simple execution of permission based email marketing campaign led to increased traffic and lead generation for marketing firm Enlighten.

For years Enlighten was delivering electronic holiday cards, costing the company marketing dollars while gaining very little exposure.  Two years ago, they developed an online “Holiday Party Excuse Generator” which resulted in a viral marketing bonanza.  They reaped the benefits even more when, a year later, traffic spiked despite any additional marketing efforts.  The lesson: if you can create a low-budget campaign that has the potential to get people buzzing about it, sharing it and spreading it, that’s great in any situation but certainly more now that marketing dollars are being closely scrutinized.

Three final points from Lance’s article:
1. Create a timeless, targeted email marketing campaign
2. Create a campaign that is fun and easily shared with others
3. In addition to direct sends, get information out to the press and social media outlets about your campaign  

You can read the full article at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30964&pop=no#

Contact Definition 6 today to find out how we help our clients strategize and deliver impactful email campaigns.