Facebook Marketing Strategies

Did you enjoy your weekend?  I did, took the family to a bbq in Indianapolis, Indiana, had a great time!

This is a great video on marketing using Facebook, without looking like a jerk!

enjoy, admin

Technorati Tags: matt blum,facebook marketing,james hicks,online marketing,social media marketing

Facebook Places and What It Means to You

Good afternoon, are you marketing well today?

Facebook announced yesterday the launch of their location place application and let us take a look at what that means to you.

The service is similar to Foursquare in that you can create and “check into” places, most importantly know what you and your friends are doing.  Facebook places uses GPS to allow folks to check in on their mobile phone, also the service allows you to leave tips and comments for people to see.  Lets say for example you had a great steak at The Precinct (in Cincinnati), you can let others know that and for your friends to drop by.

The application also uses the GPS to identify other “hot” spots within a particular geographic area, possibly close to other places you have identified.  Currently, the service is only available on the I-Phone, however you can use your laptop as well.

What does this mean to you, the marketer?  Basically, quite a bit!  Businesses are already clamoring to claim all of their locations in a certain city or across the country.  It would be wise to create specific badges for specific locations of a restaurant, bar, etc..  The other interesting piece here would be to offer exclusive deals just through the Facebook application, I recommended the same thing awhile back with Foursquare. 

Foursquare currently has a little over 2 million users, while Facebook has north of 500 million users, so certainly there is a lot of potential for exposure here.

A lot of folks have had concerns about privacy with Facebook.  This particular application allows you to now check in, therefore your location would not be revealed.  Also, if you do check in, your location would only be revealed to your Facebook ‘friends”.

Start claiming your business locations and creating those “badges"!

Technorati Tags: matt blum,facebook places,marketing,social media marketing

Facebook Location Service

Great article from computerworld.com…. enjoy! marketmpb

source: computerworld.com

Computerworld - If all the speculation pans out and Facebook later today unveils a location-based service, the news will excite some users, raise new privacy concerns and make for a really bad day for the folks at Foursquare Labs.

The Internet has been abuzz with conjecture that Facebook is getting ready to take the wraps off a location feature for the phenomenally popular social networking site. All of the speculation surrounds a hush-hush press conference that the company has set up at its Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters for early this evening Eastern time.

Social sites with location-based services, like Foursquare and Gowalla, have been picking up a loyal following in the past year. Facebook apparently wants a piece of that expanding pie.

"If Facebook adds geolocation features, it would open up a whole new world of functionality for their users," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. "It would allow users to easily let their friends know where they are or where they've been. Facebook can also easily add functionality that equals what is available from companies like Foursquare, and that would inevitably lead to commercial tie-ins and more revenue for Facebook."

Facebook Watch

• Facebook checks in to location-based services with Places
• Facebook unveils new batch of updates, features
• Facebook location service could kill Foursquare, ignite privacy issues
• Facebook fixes e-mail notification problem
• 5 tips to protect yourself on Facebook
• Facebook tweaks photo album browsing on its site
• Facebook calls ownership contract a 'forgery'
• Facebook's Zuckerberg 'quite sure' he didn't sign away the company
• Fake femme fatale shows social network risks
• Facebook hits milestone: Half a billion users

More about Facebook

Foursquare, a year-old social networking site, enables users to share their locations with their friends. For instance, when a user walks into a restaurant, she can "check in" on her mobile device and friends will see her location pop up on a Foursquare map.

Gowalla, another major player in the location arena, is a travel game that rewards users for visiting everyday and exotic locations.

It's not yet clear what Facebook would do with a location service. Would it mirror Foursquare or would it offer games like Gowalla?

Analysts say a location-aware feature could be a boon for Facebook -- and really bad news for competing location-based services.

"If successful, this would further embed Facebook into the lives of its users and could hold off what appears to be a declining interest in the service by making it new and fresh again," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group. "Depends how successful this is. But, assuming success, FourSquare likely becomes redundant over time."

Olds agreed that Facebook's entry into location services could spell trouble for the folks at Foursquare.

"If Facebook does add this functionality, it will probably destroy the smaller companies already in this space," said Olds. "Facebook just has too many users for smaller sites like Foursquare to effectively compete. They might survive for a while, but they will definitely have to make radical adjustments to either their services or their business model in order to keep out of Facebook's way."

However, Olds also noted that Facebook will have to tread cautiously as it rolls out any location-based service if it doesn't want to create another privacy commotion.

Many users have been angry and frustrated in recent months over Facebook's privacy policies, as well as its privacy controls. Both Olds and Enderle said Facebook will have to make sure that users -- particularly those who don't want to broadcast their whereabouts -- will have their privacy protected.

"If this isn't handled well, it could easily make the PR problems we have already seen seem trivial by comparison," Enderle said. "Location-aware services, if misused, could identify vulnerable children or unmonitored properties, either of which could result in catastrophic events."

Technorati Tags: matt blum,facebook,computerworld,marketing,social media marketing

More College Rankings from US News and World Report

Good morning, I thought these rankings would interest you as well… best, matt

Best Colleges: Best Values: National Liberal Arts Colleges

Methodology

Rank
Percent receiving need-based grants:
Average discount from total cost:

Amherst College Amherst, MA
1
56.6%
75%

Williams College Williamstown, MA
2
52.2%
72%

Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
3
60.0%
64%

Pomona College Claremont, CA
4
53.6%
65%

Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA
5
49.3%
65%

Hamilton College Clinton, NY
6
40.9%
69%

Grinnell College Grinnell, IA
7
63.1%
59%

Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
8
43.1%
64%

Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA
9
43.8%
65%

University of Richmond Univ. of Richmond, VA
10
45.6%
66%

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
11
55.5%
61%

Presbyterian College Clinton, SC
12
67.6%
65%

Smith College Northampton, MA
13
59.6%
58%

Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA
14
50.0%
61%

Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA
15
73.5%
56%

Ripon College Ripon, WI
16
83.9%
51%

Haverford College Haverford, PA
17
45.7%
62%

Macalester College St. Paul, MN
18
67.0%
55%

Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
19
49.3%
56%

Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
20
42.8%
61%

Hanover College Hanover, IN
21
76.4%
53%

Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN
22
79.1%
46%

Trinity College Hartford, CT
23
38.8%
65%

Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA
24
65.2%
54%

Carleton College Northfield, MN
25
55.9%
53%

Centre College Danville, KY
26
59.4%
52%

Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA
27
74.2%
51%

Colgate University Hamilton, NY
28
34.6%
63%

Wofford College Spartanburg, SC
29
51.8%
59%

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA
30
57.1%
57%

Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA
31
53.5%
56%

Bates College Lewiston, ME
32
40.7%
60%

Fisk University Nashville, TN
33
87.9%
39%

Beloit College Beloit, WI
34
63.2%
51%

Westminster College New Wilmington, PA
35
82.7%
48%

Scripps College Claremont, CA
36
39.4%
60%

Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula, CA
37
67.8%
42%

Transylvania University Lexington, KY
38
64.9%
49%

Colby College Waterville, ME
39
37.8%
60%

Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
40
33.3%
60%

 

Best Colleges: Top Public Schools: National Liberal Arts Colleges

Rank

United States Military Academy West Point, NY
1

United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
1

Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA
3

St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's City, MD
4

New College of Florida Sarasota, FL
5

University of Minnesota--Morris Morris, MN
6

University of North Carolina--Asheville Asheville, NC
7

Purchase College--SUNY Purchase, NY

 

Technorati Tags: matt blum,college rankings,us news and world report,higher education marketing,branding

College Rankings from US News and World Report

It is finally here, the new rankings from US News and World Report.. I took some lists that thought would be of interest, enjoy!  marketmpb

Best Colleges Specialty Rankings: Undergraduate business specialties: Marketing

University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA

University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
University of Texas--Austin Austin, TX
University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
Indiana University--Bloomington Bloomington, IN
New York University New York, NY
University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA
University of Wisconsin--Madison Madison, WI
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA

Best Colleges: Highest graduation rates

Following are the schools with the highest rates of students who graduate in four years.

4-year graduation rate:

Williams College Williamstown, MA
93%

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA
91%

Yale University New Haven, CT
90%

University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
90%

Princeton University Princeton, NJ
90%

Carleton College Northfield, MN
89%

Davidson College Davidson, NC
89%

Pomona College Claremont, CA
89%

Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
89%

United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
89%

Duke University Durham, NC
89%

Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
88%

Harvard University Cambridge, MA
88%

Haverford College Haverford, PA
88%

Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
88%

Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
88%

Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
88%

Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
88%

University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
88%

Northwestern University Evanston, IL
87%

Babson College Babson Park, MA
87%

Columbia University New York, NY
87%

College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
87%

Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA
87%

Bates College Lewiston, ME
86%

Lafayette College Easton, PA
86%

Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA
86%

Brown University Providence, RI
86%

University of Chicago Chicago, IL
86%

Georgetown University Washington, DC
85%

Cornell University Ithaca, NY
85%

Kenyon College Gambier, OH
85%

Amherst College Amherst, MA
85%

Tufts University Medford, MA
85%

Colgate University Hamilton, NY
85%

Scripps College Claremont, CA
85%

Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
85%

Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
85%

Providence College Providence, RI
84%

University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA
84%

Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
84%

Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
84%

Emory University Atlanta, GA
84%

Brandeis University Waltham, MA
84%

Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
84%

Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
83%

College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA
83%

Barnard College New York, NY
83%

Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
83%

Connecticut College New London, CT
83%

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
83%

Hamilton College Clinton, NY
83%

Rice University Houston, TX
83%

Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
83%

St. Olaf College Northfield, MN
82%

Colby College Waterville, ME
82%

University of Richmond Univ. of Richmond, VA
82%

Macalester College St. Paul, MN
82%

Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY
82%

Villanova University Villanova, PA
82%

Furman University Greenville, SC
81%

Dickinson College Carlisle, PA
81%

Whitman College Walla Walla, WA
81%

Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL
81%

Denison University Granville, OH
80%

Wheaton College Wheaton, IL
80%

Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA
80%

Gustavus Adolphus College St. Peter, MN
80%

Stonehill College Easton, MA
80%

United States Military Academy West Point, NY
80%

Technorati Tags: matt blum,college rankings,us news and world report,higher education marketing

Mobile versus Mobile App

A great post (as usual) by Bob Johnson’s Marketing blog…  enjoy, marketmpb

 

source: bobjohnsonblog.com

Mobile Mrketing: Invest in Mobile Apps or a Mobile Website?

At both the ACT and eduWeb mobile marketing workshop sessions in July, a popular question was this: Should we first invest in mobile apps or should we be creating a "mobile-friendly" website?

Wise people differ on the answer.

The Urge for an App

Apps are best done for special events that can range from virtual tours to campus transit instructions and time tables to specific marketing campaigns. An individual app done for mobile is easier to do than reconstructing an entire website. And after all, there's an app for just about everything anyone wants to do online, isn't there?

Advertising can make it seem as if apps are the "must have" element in mobile marketing. Yes and no. Research says that few people regularly use more than a few apps, no matter how many they download.

The Need for a Mobile-Friendly Site by 2011

If limited resources force you to make a choice, I'm in the camp that says work on creating a mobile-friendly version of your regular website and have that ready by mid-point 2011.

Don't do apps if doing them means postponing work on a website that will please people who access it from a mobile phone. We are not talking about iPads here. The mobile device that people are most likely to use to get to your site are iPhones and Androids. Maybe Blackberry. Check your analytics report to see what people are using now and track that growth every month from now until December.

Consider this from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported in July:

• 65 percent of people 18 to 29 years old use their smartphone to access the Internet. Just under 50 percent of people 30 to 39 do the same. Expect those numbers to grow.

Top Tasks for Mobile: Student Recruitment

For the best marketing impact, you won't be able to get away with "mangling down" (thanks to Drew Stevenson, University of Minnesota for that great phrase) your regular website. Instead, you'll have to make difficult choices about the content that's most needed by people visiting your site and make that the main focus of your mobile efforts. That will force more attention in navigation to the top tasks people want to complete on your site. Consider these for student recruitment:

• Read a list of academic programs available
• Calculate the net cost to attend your school
• Register for a campus visit
• Make an inquiry
• Check application status
• Pay an enrollment deposit

Example of a Mobile-Ready Site: College of Charleston

The task is daunting but far from impossible. College of Charleston says it has adapted 95 percent of its regular website for mobile access. Frankly, that almost seems more than necessary. Adaptation to mobile just might be a great time to identify those seldom-visited pages on your regular website that people can't bear to remove. Mark them as "not needed for mobile" and focus instead on your most used pages.

Visit the College of Charleston mobile site. Start by reading the description of the change and then use your smartphone to see just how well it works. One of the first things you'll note: you don't have to "finger flick" to make the type large enough to read when you arrive at a page.

The Charleston site makes a strong first impression. That first "curb appeal" of your site, mobile or not, will help or hinder the success of your marketing efforts.

Expect more "notes on mobile" soon.

Mobile Marketing Presentation on SlideShare

The eduWeb version of my mobile marketing workshop, "Mobile in the Marketing Mix: Crafting a New Communications Strategy," is online now at SlideShare.

Technorati Tags: matt blum,bob johnson,marketing,advertising,branding,higher education marketing

How Higher Ed Should Use Foursquare

Good morning, is it the weekend yet?

Foursquare continues to grow and pick up huge momentum, in fact it has grown to one million users twice as fast as Twitter.  In this post lets take a look at some things you can do as a higher education marketer to best leverage Foursquare.

You should acquire a personal account and check what locations around campus have already been tagged and who the “mayors” are.  If your campus is in a smaller area, you can begin to tag your campus areas and leave some pointers, make it like a digital interactive tour!

You might have heard that Harvard University has gotten into the Foursquare game, with a special badge for folks who check into locations around campus.  That gives Foursquare huge credibility in the higher education world.

After you have done all this, make sure you link your Foursquare page to all of the other social media outlets you are using.   This will help you to reinforce your key messages through a variety of social media outlets.

enjoy the day,

marketmpb

Technorati Tags: matt blum,higher education marketing,foursquare,marketing,branding,social media marketing