Think Irish

Posted on May 1, 2012 by caitriona

Research has shown that many people want to buy Irish products, but we all know what its like when your  doing your weekly shop, it’s hard to know what is Irish, and which are not. Pat Kinsley of Neworld Associates, was asked by RTE One’s, The Consumer Show, to devise a brand that would cut through the confusion and help us consumers to support Brand Ireland.

RTE's The Consumer ShowTaking Keelin through the process we know so well here in Neworld, we used focus groups to explore the many ideas in the market, with female consumers. As the group expressed their preference for the “I’m Irish” logo, it became clear that the most important aspect for these shoppers when it came to buying Irish products was the importance of those products creating jobs for Irish people. Watch RTE One at 8.30pm tonight.

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Search Engine Optimisation ( or There’s no point in being online if your audience can’t find you ) Part 1

Posted on October 3, 2011 by davidj

Four years ago I wrote an article for a magazine about the basics of search engine optimistation. I stumbled on the text again recently and was surprised to see how much is still relevant, at least in terms of the basic principles, so relevant I thought it worth revisiting for a blog post.

I have updated some elements of the text – I don’t think there’s a need to explain to this audience what a blog is – and will break it down into a series of posts, with a follow up on the evolution of search in the context of social media.

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Search Engine Optimisation

Use Google Analytics to track effectiveness of Search Engine OptimisationSo you have just launched a great new website that provides lots of information all about your company and services, but what now? Unfortunately no matter how much work you’ve put into the site it will be of little value if no one can find it or even knows it exists. Added to that is the need to ensure you are attracting the right audience for your business.

Welcome the the whole murky world of Search Engine Optimisation, Optimisation is the principle of tailoring your site so that it appears as high as possible in search engine results.

It’s best described as murky because although there are principles that guide how your site can be optimised, there are no hard or fast rules that guarantee that your site will appear at the top of a search results page. Instead there is an esoteric process, much of which is best left to your web developer, that includes a combination of building the underlying structure of the sit, editing the wording of text appearing on the site, editing page titles, adding hidden ‘meta’ descriptions, and getting lots links to it.  Although the majority of search engine traffic come from Google it is still useful to aware that other search engines use their own algorithms which weights all these elements to provide their own rank for a site and therefore a similar search on different search engines will not only provide results in a different order but a site might appear on the first page of one search engine and a much lower page of another.

The best time to carry out the initial optimisation is as the site is being built. However if you already have a site there’s still a lot you can do to improve its profile, indeed maintaining and improving site ranking is a vital ongoing process. Your competitors are constantly updating their sites and search engine algorithms are also being regularly upgraded so if you do nothing, your search engine results will suffer over time.

As part of the optimisation process think about the kinds of search phrases and words the people you want to find your site are likely to use and include those keywords in the first paragraph of your homepage. They should also appear in the page headings and even in the filenames of other pages in your site. Included in the code that makes up a web page are tags that include a title, page description and alternative descriptions for images. Those elements should also include your keywords and likely search phrases consistent with the keywords appearing on the page and headings. For different areas of your business or services you offer you can hone different pages on your site with their own set of descriptions and keywords.

You may be selling high end jewellery but if you audience is searching for ‘cheap necklaces’ and finding your competitors’ sites and not yours, then you may have to reappraise your search terms.

Your web developer or specialist consultant should know how to carry out the optimization but they don’t know your business or customer base as well as you do.

Your input it vital in identifying your customers and the search phrases they use.

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Watch out for part two, coming soon.

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Facebook: Average Irish User 30.5 Years

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Luke

A decided to have a quick look back at a post from last September. The post looked at how old the average Irish Facebook user was – at the time coming in at 29.6 years of age.

Stats from last year also look at the average age of American social networkers;

  • The average Linked In user is 44 years of age
  • The average Facebook user is 38 and 61% are over 35 years of age
  • The average Twitter user is 39, with 65% of users aged over 35

It’s interesting to note all of the major social network sites then indicated that the average user was pushing 40. In fact if those figures stayed in and around the same it’s only the average Facebooker clinging onto their 30′s.

User Demographics Ireland

Here’s how the different age brackets in Ireland breakdown according to SocialBakers.com

Users & Demography for the Ireland Source: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/ireland

 

In the last 12 months Facebook in Ireland has continued to grow considerably, from 1.73 million users at the end of summer 2010 to over 2 million today. To kind of put that growth into perspective Facebook almost grew a Twitter during that time. Okay, not exactly a Twitter since those stats are a few months old at this stage, and Twitter has grown again, but it’s still significant.

Using Facebook’s self serve ad’s creator I crunched some numbers to see if this growth has had any impact on the age of the average Irish user. Facebook growth will reach a plateau at some stage in the near future. In December 2010 84% of Ireland’s online population used a social network. Plus there’s over 2 million Irish Facebook profiles, and in May Comscore estimated Ireland’s online population stood at just over 2 million. But not everyone could be on Facebook, there’s a certain amount of duplicate profiles and perhaps not everyone went online in May.  Although the latter is hard to believe.

After crunching numbers it would seem we are all growing old on Facebook together, a year later and the average Facebook user is also one year older at 30.5 years of age. What those numbers hide is the amount of underage (ie. under 13 years) on the network who lie about their age to join. Some recent Irish research points out that 49% of 9 -12 year olds have lied about their age to join a social network. Also what’s missing is ages 65 and over with only one age bracket for those 64+. So the assumption is these two undisclosed groups balance each other out.

Taking the figures on face value it would indicate no major skew towards an older age group as seen in the USA. Irish Facebook-ers are still considerably younger than our American counterparts. So we’re one year older, now to test if we’re any wiser.

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Facebook Video Vs Youtube: Which is Best?

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Luke

Using video to promote brands is becoming increasingly important in marketing. With good quality, inexpensive cameras, it’s getting easier to shoot, edit and upload video content. It’s easier for fans too, which makes them more inclined than ever to upload something to your website, blog or Facebook page spontaneously, or as part of a competition.

Video Content on Facebook

There are two main options for using video on Facebook. You can use its proprietary video application (Videos) or opt to integrate a Youtube channel into your Facebook page using a number of free applications.

But which is the best option for you? From a brand perspective you have to work out what you want to achieve with your videos, in order to figure out which one suits. Here’s a quick overview to help decide.

Facebook Video

  • Videos can be up to 20 minutes long.
  • You can tag people in the videos.
  • People who aren’t fans of your brand can ‘like’ your Facebook page from within the video clip, just by hovering the mouse over the video screen.

Youtube Video

  • Clips can be up to 15 minutes long.
  • A Youtube tab on Facebook can look much slicker than the Facebook Video tab.
  • A Youtube channel can also be used to direct traffic from Youtube to your Facebook page.
  • A Youtube clip will more than likely rank higher in Google search results than a Facebook video.
  • Youtube tabs can display the number of views a clip receives. Displaying the views can work in favour of popular clips to increase the likelihood others will view them.
  • Youtube has online editing features.
  • Youtube annotations allow for on-screen menu options that viewers can interact with to bring them to other brand videos.
  • Youtube Insights is more detailed than Facebook’s Insights for video.

Search & Discovery

Both types of videos are easy to share and embed, however Youtube can also provide your page with an important source of traffic by promoting a link to your page in the video description, or onscreen by using the annotation features.

Youtube viewers watch a staggering 150 years of video every single day! When you think about it how often have you been sent a viral video that is hosted on Facebook video? I can’t think of one, they’re always embedded Youtube clips. A reason for that may lie in the fact it’s easier to find clips on Youtube, be it using Youtube search or Google search. Facebook video’s just don’t rank in Google search so based on that alone the decision is clear. With Google so dominant in search and their ongoing battle with Facebook, this isn’t going to change anytime soon. Even this discussion on the subject of video SEO doesn’t sway me to put Facebook Video ahead of Youtube.

Bizarrely enough Facebook search doesn’t even include a filter to search for videos. That makes it almost impossible for people to casually find your video on Facebook. The only chance of people discovering it is if a friend posts it to their wall. While you can embed Facebook Video’s on external websites, they come without the in-video Like option.

Some recent Irish research (PDF), points to Youtube as being the number one destination online when people are seeking entertainment. It was mentioned by 34% of respondents, while Facebook was only in second place mentioned by 16%. Even if you were putting up tutorials online, which may not exactly be deemed ‘entertainment’, Youtube is a better home.

Conclusion

If you intend to add videos on a fairly regular basis then setting up a separate Youtube channel will be worthwhile. The channel will come into it’s own by pulling in viewers who may not have come across your other online assets, while also acting as a source of traffic to them. If, however, you intend to add only a couple of videos per year then stick with Facebook Video – it will be easier to maintain.

There is a case for using both, mostly to take advantage of the Facebook Like feature. If you have some truly killer content and want to capture as many new fans as possible, and don’t mind losing some of your Youtube views count to Facebook Video (which doesn’t display views), then by all means use both. Just make sure to maintain both channels equally, using them both to their best advantage.

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Infographic: The Internet of Things

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Luke

The internet of things is a fascinating concept, where every offline object imaginable is connected in someway to the online world. When machines start talking to each other they can be used to make our lives better, or so the theory goes. Say you have to get a flight at 8am, which has been delayed by 30 minutes and your alarm clock is notified giving you an extra 10 minutes in bed. It is slightly Skynet but surely that’s the stuff of fiction? While I say this lightly I’m also not ruling it out – I bet my alarm clock will also have it’s own Facebook page. Meticulously logging what time I get up at, and tweeting out to it’s followers, who are other alarm clocks. This data could be useful for many things from traffic light systems to gauge when rush hour will start, or if there’s more traffic expected from a certain direction at a certain time to letting your coffee machine know when to switch on and heat up, maybe you had a meeting at the airport when you land and that person gets an update on their Andriod letting them know of the delay. Essentially it’s the accumulation and sharing of data in order to make systems run more efficiently.

This might all sound very futuristic, but it’s already begun. This excellent infographic from Cisco demonstrates how far we have come. In 2008 machines connected to the internet outnumbered people on earth for the first time and in Holland there are cow’s connected to the internet. No, they don’t do email, but farmers can monitor their health and act accordingly.

View it full-size here.

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What do we Think of Facebook Commerce?

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Luke

F Commerce officially commenced in July 2009 when 1800 Flowers opened the very first storefront on their Facebook page. Since then, the growth of commerce on Facebook platform has been slow but steady.

Thats not surprising as many marketers ask if fans on Facebook are there to make purchases? Perhaps not quite yet but things like Facebook Credits and storefronts on Facebook are pushing the platform towards a more transactional positioning. Facebook is growing up but are users ready to grow with it?

Those brands who have jumped in since 1800 Flowers first started selling on the platform have chosen one of two routes. Some brands choose off the shelf applications, Vendor Shop and Owjo are two such Irish applications that allow brands to sell from a tab on their Facebook page. They come with social features that can draw upon the viral elements of Facebook.

Other brands have gotten more creative in how they approach sales on Facebook. Just replicating your website shop on Facebook is not going to prove very successful – you’re not giving people a reason to shop there. Think of it like a bricks and mortar store on a street you don’t usually travel down, what would make you venture down there? It’s certainly not something you can buy elsewhere.

Understanding how to make purchasing more social, fun and interesting for fans can be used to help drive sales. Not so long ago I posted 10 of the most innovative F-commerce examples which is worth reading to give you an idea of how brands are tackling the issue of F-commerce. Some are selling in the newsfeed, others are having flash sales or selling Facebook exclusive items as a way of luring in Facebook footfall. But whats it all heading towards?

A recent report from JWT delves into how F-commerce is perceived, by American and British males and females aged 20+. It looked at F-commerce from three perspectives – on Facebook, on a retailers website using Facebook Connect to log into it and bringing Facebook offline into real world shops.

Millenials to Drive F-Commerce

Michael Fauscette,an analyst at research firm IDC. He predicts 10 – 15% of all consumer spending will come through websites, like Facebook, within the next five years. After we do like to shop with friends. In the case of Millenials (aged 20 – 33) 74% like to shop with friends, 50% will post a status update when they find a product they like, 55% are more likely to make a purchase if a friend has recommended it online and 53% have asked the opinion of friends on Facebook about a purchase.

Security on Facebook

It might be millennial’s doing the driving, but marketers, brands and even Facebook have to be acutely aware of the needs and wants of Facebook shoppers, not just in terms of products but also in basics such as security and privacy.

8 out of 10 respondents in the survey  worry about the privacy implications of shopping directly on Facebook. Almost the same number don’t think Facebook is a secure platform to make purchases on, and 7 out of 10 respondents wouldn’t use an application on Facebook to make purchases for fear their data is being shared with 3rd parties.

Facebook Connect-ing Brands and Fans

Allowing fans to sign into a brands online store using their Facebook log in details sync’s their profile with the website. By allowing the retailer access to your likes, what your friends have liked the user can be shown personalised recommendations. In the survey 3 out of 10 respondents had logged into a retailers website using Facebook connect and 90% of those said they would somewhat or be very likely to browse the personalised recommendations. Millennials (ages 20 – 33) were more likely to find such personalisation useful at 51% with the average for all those surveyed standing at 46%. However this is counter balanced with a feeling of being violated on seeing personalised recommendations (at 56% of all respondents) or that big brother is watching (72%). It would seem even those who like personalised recommendations, don’t like them all the time.

Online Helping Offline Sales

Mobile apps, mixed with Facebook’s social graph can help real world sales. Just this week American Express announced a new Facebook application that sends users local deals based on their likes. In a world of Groupon clones this is a strong differentiator. In the JWT survey 67% of Americans and 45% of British respondents consult their social network while out shopping – providing more opportunities for marketers to bridge the real and virtual worlds.

It’s still early days for F-commerce, but as this report highlights, the millennial audience are more than likely going to drive it. They are more willing to share when making purchases, or seek opinions from friends. What can’t be ignored is the issue of security, it is the one constant in anything Facebook related, and all the blame has to lay at the feet of Facebook. It seems like every new feature or platform change comes with a new data leak or privacy concern. This will have to be tackled head on in order to deal with it, and even then users opinions will need time to change. However, with Mark Zuckerbergs insistence that everything be set by default to ‘open’, means this issue will never be properly tackled.

The research was conducted amongst 599 Americans and 412 British aged 20+, between May 20th and June 1st 2011. The full Social Commerce report can be downloaded here.

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Add Your Facebook Friends & Photo’s to Google+

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Luke

There’s been countless articles posted on Google+ in the last few weeks. Is it a Facebook killer, a Twitter killer, a LinkedIn killer a Foursquare killer? The truth is it’s probably none of the above. An interesting stat I picked up on last week was Google’s Q2 profits in 2011 coming in at more than Facebook’s entire revenue for 2010. If something is going to undo Facebook it will probably be Facebook itself (think privacy, user satisfaction and too many ads for a start).

Add Facebook Friends

Soon after Google+ launched facebook blocked an application that allowed users to easily export their friend list, as this post points out, afraid people will migrate their list to Google+. Yes we have been here before, if you can cast your mind back to 2010 Google blocked Facebook from accessing user info, on the basis that Facebook doesn’t share it’s info, so why should Google? It perhaps underlines Facebook’s fast and loose attitude towards privacy, Facebook shares your information when it suits them too. They share this information with Yahoo for example.

It’s precisely this loophole that’s exploited in this video, which shows you how to get around the Facebook block on exporting your friends list.

Add Facebook Photos

One of the most used, and most engaging features on Facebook is photos. It’s also one of the most important to the platform as it keeps people locked into using Facebook. After all if you have 3 years of photo’s uploaded to Facebook it would be a lot of hassle to re-upload them elsewhere – and in many cases the photos on Facebook may be the only copy you have, so first you would need to be able to download them.

You can download them on one by one, or, thanks to this article, use a new Google Chrome extension called Move Your Photo’s which allows you to do just that – from Facebook to Google+. You’ll need to be using the Chrome browser to make full use of this, but you can selectively pick and choose what albums and photo’s you wish to bring across. It won’t take across any comments, descriptions or tags, but at least you get those all important photo’s.

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Facebook Credits: Moving Towards F Commerce?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Luke

The last few weeks have been kind of important for Facebook’s virtual currency Facebook Credits. It’s now available to purchase in 47 different currencies, from Bolivian Boliviano’s to Chinese Yuan’s (Who know’s, it’s probably even more stable than certain other currency’s too?). On July 1st all virtual games transferred to using Credits as the only in-game currency for Facebook games, thus increasing the reach of the currency offline and it’s importance online. Not so long ago I looked at 5 different uses for Facebook Credits, outside of gaming, these examples weren’t the easiest to come by since Credits are relatively new.

Each of these steps might seem small, but making Credits easier to purchase and increasing the options where people can spend their Credits can only help increase awareness and their attractiveness. Indeed, getting people into a transactional frame of mind when on Facebook, can only aid in the development of Facebook commerce.

Suffering From Awareness & Antitrust issues

However, a recent study by Inside Social Games, amongst 2,000 active Facebook game players only 66% were aware of Facebook Credits. Highest level of awareness being amongst fans in the USA, followed by Asia, Latin America and Europe is just marginally ahead of Africa. Of the 66% who knew of Credits, 51% of those (around 33% of the overall population) had made purchases using them. Several respondents noting they had only used free Credits allocated to them in a promotional push by Facebook.

Remember this study was conducted amongst active gamers, where Facebook Credits have been available since February 2010. I can only assume this level of awareness is much lower in the average non-gamer on Facebook. This points to a clear lack of awareness of what Credits are, and their widespread use won’t come via a push from Facebook – but a push by brands to integrate them into their sales and marketing. That’s not the only problem facing Credit’s either. An Antitrust suit filed in the USA last month may seek Facebook to loosen it’s monopolistic rules governing payments on the platform. Although Facebook have been steadily increasing their lobbying power in the USA over the last year, scoring a recent success in California over privacy.

It’s Not All Bad News…

If it is going to be brands that help drive awareness of Credits then this week the announcement by the BBC and Channel 5 to accept payments for shows using Credits, is another small, but important, step in the right direction.

Fist up the BBC will make episodes of Dr Who available for fans to watch on Facebook, this is just the first step for the TV broadcaster who will follow in Warner Bros. steps by adding more content. Warner Bros. began by offering The Dark Knight to rent, but have more recently added films such as Inception.

Last year Channel 5 bought the rights to Big Brother, the TV reality show that started it all, the TV reality show that has a lot to answer for. Channel 5 is no stranger to the Facebook platform, last year they embedded their player on Facebook. This new run of Big Brother will integrate a voting app where fans can vote on who should stay or go in the show – fans will have to use Credits in order to vote. Thus shifting some phone revenues to Facebook.

Will Facebook Allow Purchases Without Credits?

There’s an interesting article on Digital Times about the recent Skype integration with Facebook. It states any Skype paid services purchased on Facebook will be done so by using Credits. This will probably extend to other services Facebook will incorporate into the platform – such as Spotify. Not forgetting the countless games and apps already using Credits, will any purchase on Facebook not include Credits? When you consider Facebook earn 30% profit on Credit’s sold, they surely hope Credits is the currency of the future.

will also include all Skype paid for services, be paid for with Credits

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How Google+ Can Succeed: Privacy, Mobile & No Ad’s

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Luke

I read through a fairly lengthy article on Wired.com this morning detailing the last year of progress in delivering the new Google + product. I haven’t tested the product yet so these are only my thoughts on how a superior product could compete with Facebook. (There’s an early and fairly positive review here.) After the failure of Buzz and Wave to make any kind of impact last year, launching a product that could compete with Facebook would be deemed a success. A lot of people point to these past failures as future indicators, but one would think a company as inventive and talented as Google would not continue to ignore past lessons in designing future projects.

Looking at the bones of the product and the information released so far Google is leveraging many of its biggest assets to ensure Google + will be a success. Not only will this have a knock on effect for Facebook, but also Twitter and Bing.

1. The Best Bits of Facebook & Twitter

Google+ has a stream of relevant content much like Twitter and the Newsfeed of Facebook. Much like the latter it will use an Edgerank type formula to bring more relevant content to you. Things like the +1  button, and your ‘circles’ of contacts will aid in this relevancy selection. But it must be pointed out how Google is leveraging the web in it’s favour, Google has indexed the web, Facebook hasn’t. Therefore Google can draw upon a much greater pool of information giving users more depth. There’s also an emphasis on photo’s, which is one of the most popular features on Facebook. However, I doubt Facebook will allow fans to easily export their photo’s to a rival service.

2. Features Facebook and Twitter Don’t Have

A lot of the focus is on how Google + will compete with Facebook, but it pretty much takes all the good points of Twitter too. For example ‘Circles’ are like Twitter Lists as Google explain;

Circles makes it easy to put your friends from Saturday night in one circle, your parents in another, and your boss in a circle by himself – just like real life.

It makes you wonder why Facebook have made creating such groups cumbersome.

Another nice new feature is the Hangout – a video chat service that allows you to talk with your friends via video. This is something available via Gmail for sometime, but again not really on Facebook for some reason.

Huddle is a group sms text feature, Sparks seems like a type of Google Alert that finds stuff for you based on your interests.

As a way of encouraging people to use Google + there’s an Instant Upload feature which will send your photos and video to a private album. You can then decide who to share with from there. Facebook may have ring fenced older photo’s but if Google can include a post to Facebook feature wouldn’t uploading to Google + make more sense?

3. Privacy & Control

If there’s one issue holding back Facebook it’s privacy. By default everything is set to public, which is bizarre when you think about it. Perhaps a small portion of society want everything to be public, but the vast majority don’t. Even when launching new features, such as the recent facial recognition, it’s set to the setting that will annoy everyone the most. This isn’t just bad for users, it’s also bad for businesses looking to generate money from Facebook. I mean would you feel comfortable sharing credit card information with a platform that has continually violates your privacy? Probably not. Google is much more trusted in this regard and, if I am seeing this correct, you won’t need a Google + Business Page, (like the Facebook Page). Instead good content from websites will populate the stream directing people to brand websites.

4. Mobile Focused

Mobile is the future and in Andriod Google have a product that is continually growing in stature. There’s 500,000 activations per day, and that’s growing by 4.4% week on week. Throwing this onto those mobiles, (not to mention Gmail and Youtube) and you are looking at a lot of potential users. Of course this is an area Facebook could tackle, but would they have the resources to adequately develop a mobile operating system?

5. Less Advertising, More About People

Marketers won’t like this, but Facebook is a very spammy platform and it takes some digging to find content worth reading nevermind sharing, (even amongst friend updates). Google already has a significant revenue stream even without the success of Google +. Facebook doesn’t. There’s huge pressure on Facebook to monetise its product which has resulted in more adverts for users, an impetus on brands to get on Facebook regardless of being it good (or necessary) for their brand, and Facebook is testing out new ad formats – which may only add to the confusion of what is an advertisement on Facebook. In general people don’t like or don’t want advertising. Google + could, theoretically have no advertising. To the average person that’s an incredible proposition.

6. And for Brands?

While I say no advertising, Google will be under no pressure to monetise the service, but ads may appear at some stage. But this gives Google a distinct advantage over Facebook and Twitter. However, if there is little to no advertising what’s in it for businesses? Well for one, content in the stream will come from brand websites and not a Google+ brand page (ie. their version of a Facebook business Page). Information will be shared because it is good, which puts an emphasis on creating good content driven sites – and a focus on blogging.

In saying that people may still want their brand updates, so perhaps a way of subscribing to a more consumer friendly RSS feature might be called for.

7. Will My Friends use it?

Thats the big question for any social network, if your friends aren’t using it then why would you even bother? What Google are doing with Plus is incorporating your contacts into the service. So I could include my parents in a circle called ‘Family’, even though my parents may not even use Gmail, any content that gets shared with that circle will be sent to them via email. This is clever in one sense, no one is excluded even if they don’t use Google +. I’m sure Google will also use this as a way to drive awareness of Plus, but it also brings back nightmares of Buzz spamming my inbox. Which is something they  need to get right from the get go. But it does make Facebook’s walled garden approach seem dated.

8. The Launch

A slow launch, using feedback to influence the product development as it’s opened up to more and more people. Sounds a lot like the launch of Facebook as it was rolled out across university campuses. Google know they have to get this right.

From early reports everything looks great, the product doesn’t seem rushed or half finished. Google have done their homework. The real test will come when it’s released to the public

Google+ Demo

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Klout Earns You Facebook Freebies!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Luke

A few weeks ago I came across this interesting article on Twitter alerting me to Klout Perks. I’m not sure how familiar you might be with Klout, but it ranks you based on your social media activity. Not just on how many people follow you but also on how influential you are. It recently began to include your Facebook and LinkedIn profile’s to gauge your true Klout score – from 1 to 100.

Klout Perks

Klout Perks can earn you freebies, after all if you’re influential online getting access to something exclusive may encourage you to tweet or post a status update about it. Essentially the brand giving you the exclusive content (or freebie) in return for what could count as a promotional message – although the sentiment of that message is not controllable.

This Bundlepost explains how Klout have gone beyond the simple check-in, It’s author, Robert Caruso, was rewarded with a Klout Perk for Subway the day after he visited them. He explains;

“…they are also able to track various places I check-in to, my social media content, as well as brands I tweet about, then use this data to provide promotions for brands. The ability for a brand to target influencers based on their interest in a brand AND also tie their follower counts and Klout score into that data is beyond brilliant. Major brands can generate buzz through those people who can generate the largest reach and reward them for doing so.”

In other words Klout Perks could deliver highly influential and targeted individuals for marketers to share exclusive content or information with. This is very similar to how bloggers often get promotional items in return for reviews, except Klout measures Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Klout Gets You Facebook Content

I’m sure you might be familiar with the ‘fan-gate’ or ‘reveal’ option for Facebook Pages, where you must click Like in order to access exclusive content on a tab. Today Involver announced they would use Klout data to fan-gate content on Facebook – klout-gating as it were. Only fans with a certain Klout score and above would be able to access the information. The first brand to use this is Audi USA’s Facebook Page. Depending on your Klout score you may be able to access a free ringtone or desktop image.

Will Klout-Gating be Useful?

Often with new developments like this on Facebook, brands rush to employ features that can often be a little gimmicky. While the concept of Klout-gating is good, not too many people, outside of marketers and social media types use Klout. Perhaps these are the people Audi want to reach in order to get them talking about their brand. But a desktop image or ringtone, as Audi offer in this case, will hardly set the social channels alight.

Involver’s paid for versions will offer greater customisation and this is where a Facebook Page could come into its own. For example the page of a Shopping Center with countless shops that could each be doing something of interest. However if I visit the page and all I see is a campaign for a ladies clothes shop i won’t be interested. But if Klout can determine I might be more interested in their tech products, male clothing or even a drinks deal then Klout-gating may be one of the best developments for Facebook marketing in some time. There’s tons of data online that could help brands target individuals better (as in the Subway example above). But there’s a few hurdles, such as lack of understanding what Klout is – and of course what if your product has a greater appeal than tech marketing types?

Posted in Facebook, Facebook Marketing, Social Media | Tagged , | Leave a comment