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Archive for the ‘News & Interviews 2.0’ Category
Jan 2010 08

Ford’s Updated Sync Includes Twitter Integration

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

Allan Mulally, CEO of Ford

Ford and Microsoft introduced Sync, the in-car communication system, in 2008. Yesterday at the Consumers Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Ford’s CEO Allan Mulally announced an updated version with a long list of new features for the successful Ford feature.

On top of increased voice recognition capabilities, Internet radio, maps and personal settings is a Twitter feature.

The feature reads Twitter messages to the driver and Mulally said that eventually the voice recognition technology in the Sync will allow drivers to dictate their responses and even their own Twitter updates.

Concerns are being raised about the danger of increased distractions for drivers. Doug VanDagens, Ford’s Global Director of Connected Services responded by saying that driver’s already read their Twitter feeds but because Sync reads the messages, drivers will be able to keep their hands on the wheel.

Ford has been very successful with their ability to recognize the influence of social media in today’s culture. They’ve created successful social media campaigns like Fusion 41 and the Fiesta Movement.

The updated Sync will be included in 2010 Ford models.

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Dec 2009 13

New Study Finds More Women on Social Media

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

According to SheSpeaks Second Annual Media Study the number of U.S. women with at least one profile on a social networking site grew from 58% in 2008 to 86% in 2009. Of the 86% of women on a social networking 72% log in daily. In 2008 only 53% of women logged in daily.

The biggest number is that half of those active in social media say that social networking sites influence their shopping habits and 40% have used a coupon code.

Here are more of the studies findings:

Site Popularity:

  • Facebook saw an increase in popularity from 42% in 2008 to 87% in 2009. With 95% of all those active in social media claiming a profile on Facebook. That’s an increase from 65% in 2008.
  • MySpace dropped by 33% to 42% of women active in social networking. However, the site remains popular with women between 18-24.
    Twitter was added to the study just this year with 38% of particpants active on Twitter.
    LinkedIn also saw an increase from 17% in 2008 to 22% in 2009.

Results Based on Age:

  • Women under 30 saw an increase of social networking participation from 86% in 2008 to 95% in 2009.
  • The largest increase was with women over 50, which saw a 126% increase in usage from 31% in 2008 to 70% in 2009.

Popularity of Online Activities:

  • Watching Videos Online
  • Commenting on blogs
  • Posting product reviews

Effectiveness of Social Networking Ads:

The percent of women that click on advertising on social networking pages increased from 2% in 2008 to 9% in 2009 and the percent of women that ignore ads on their pages decreased from 26% to 21%.

Purchasing Influence:

The study found that the leading influence in whether a women buys a product is and email from a friend or family member, however, this method saw a decrease of 7% from 2008. The only two methods to increase from 2008 were:

  • “A blog post I read,” which increased from 27% to 53%
  • “Information obtained on a social networking site,” which increased from 27% to 43%.

The study was compiled based on responses from 1,500 SheSpeaks members.

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Dec 2009 09

DellOutlet: How to Make a Few Million with Twitter

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

Everyone is talking about the monetization of Twitter.  The site boasts millions of unique visits a day and astronomical growth from 2008 to 2009. But are they making any money? The answer is who cares if Twitter makes money.

The question all of us should be asking is how can MY BUSINESS make money with Twitter?

Dell seems to be answering this question very well. It’s being reported that Dell is crediting Twitter for $6.5 million in sales. Dell had reported earlier in the year that Twitter was responsible for only $3 million in sales but in the last 6 months as popularity for the social networking site has grown even more, they have made an additional $3.5 million in sales.

DellOutlet provides a combination of services. Dell employees will Twitter daily deals, customer service responses, and tech support.

Although $6.5 million is less than one percent of Dell’s yearly profits, it’s still a strong indication of Twitter’s potential for sales. Dell has committed 100 employees to their Twitter efforts. It will be interesting to see how they step up their game in light of these profits.

Check out Korenne Richardson’s post on how dealerships can effectively use Twitter.

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Dec 2009 02

Infiniti Reveals Latest Model on Facebook

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

Yesterday, Infiniti unveiled the new 2011 Infiniti M live on Facebook. This is their second virtual reveal of 2009.

The reveal allowed Facebook users to give their real-time feedback. One of the last comments being: “Infiniti your (sic) a joke.” I’m not entirely sure what the comment was referring to but hopefully not the fact that the reveal happened on Facebook.

infiniti

Infiniti seems to be ahead of the curve with their “virtual reveals.” The program was 15 minutes long with terrible sound but the picture was just right. The relatively short reveal left enough of the audience wanting more. It was a great tease.

The video was provided through UStream.com which is growing in popularity for live shows and premieres. Rapper 50 Cent premiered his feature film directorial debut on UStream.com with a moderately successful 255,000 viewers, which would be a successful theatrical premiere for any film.

Online video monster YouTube aired a U2 concert that attracted 10 million viewers. Social media sites like Facebook and YouTube are becoming serious competitors in the world of breaking news. Many news channels simulcast news reports on sites like UStream with numbers comparable to traditional TV ratings.

Infiniti is not the only car company to provide virtual reveals. BMW often unveils new products BMW TV.

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Nov 2009 21

Facebook Creates Targeted Updates

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

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On Wednesday, Facebook Page’s Notes laid out how to use a new targeted update feature for fan pages. The update is best for pages with fans in multiple locations or who speak multiple languages, not your average Joe, because so far fan admins can only target fans by location and language.

The examples from Facebook:

  • Global brands: Starbucks, who has over 5MM Fans across the world, may want to talk about a new drink currently only available in the U.K.
  • Musicians & Celebrities: The Foo Fighters may want to announce to fans in California that new tour dates have been added across the state.
  • Local: Red Mango may want to let fans in Palo Alto, California know that a new frozen yogurt shop is opening locally.
  • Celebrities: Roger Federer may want to separately thank his English-speaking and French-speaking fans in their respective languages.
  • Automotive: Car dealers with multiple dealerships. There is a sale on hybrids in the Oklahoma City dealership but not at the Tulsa dealership.

*I added the last one.*

It’s an interesting update that will no doubt become very handy to everyone with a fan page. People have been asking for this feature for a while. It seems Facebook has been listening.

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Nov 2009 18

New Survey Shows Video Advertising is Crucial to Success

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

Eyeblaster.com released a study today about the effectiveness of online video advertising. The study found that video advertising outperforms email and editorial content such as news, finance, sports, music.

Eyeblaster.com projects that online video advertising spending will increase from $1.1 billion in 2009 to $4.1 billion in 2013.

Some of the other key findings from the study:

  • Video growth has outpaced Rich Media growth by 60% in the last three and a half years
  • Weekdays from 9 am to 5pm is the preferred time for In-Banner and Floating video ads
  • An increase of video length by 5 seconds reduces Video Fully Played rate by 2.8% on average
  • The ROI on video ads is double that of non-video Rich Media ads

The increase in video effectiveness is attributed to the displacement of TV viewing and the increase of time spent online by consumers.

What can be taken away from this report is that a well-rounded campaign has a strong video presence. Internet surfers take the time to watch an online video advertisement 46% of the time, compared to only 30% of TV viewers.

Look here for the entire report.

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Nov 2009 15

New Study Shows Increase in Social Media Spending for 2010

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

A new report from Borrell Associates says that auto dealers will increase Internet ad spending by 8.6%

The new study references another study from Northwood University for Autotrader.com that credits the web for 54% of walk-in business. However, dealers feel the number is more accurately near 30%.

At any rate, the web is still the leading source for walk-in traffic with newspaper, radio, direct mail and radio ads filling in the other 70%.

The report states that new and used auto dealers will spend an estimated $3 billion in online ad dollars while manufacturers will spend only $1.7 billion. 2010 spending estimates will increase by 8.6% for auto dealers with a quarter of every ad dollar being spent on social media and email.

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Nov 2009 11

FEED Findings Prove Online Impact

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By: Liz Presson Brand Evangelist for GOSO, social media advocate, writer, PR, marketing professional. Central Michigan University Alum and food lover-Arlington Restaurant Bars Examiner.

FEED is Razorfish’s annual study, which analyzes how technology is changing the way consumers engage with brand. Both the FEED report and blog are written by Garrick Schmitt (@gschmitt), Group Vice President, Experience Planning. In the Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Study, Schmitt uncovered that there is a direct correlation between consumers’ online interaction with a brand and their likelihood to make a purchase.

FEED09_BrandCulture_Chart-17

65.3% of consumers report that a digital experience has changed their opinion (either positively or negatively) about a brand or the products and services it offers.

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97.1% reported that a digital brand experience has influenced whether or not they purchased a product or service from a brand.

FEED09_BrandCulture_Chart-32

64.1% of consumers say that they have made a first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience.

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Oct 2009 30

Study Says Luxury Automakers Need to Embrace Social Media

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

A study was released in early October by MH Group Communications and Forum Strategies that focuses on the success of social media for the nine leading luxury auto brands.

They ranked them in the following in terms of their ability to engage the social media audience:

1. BMW
2. Porsche
3. Audi
4. Mercedes
5. Cadillac
6. Lexus
7. Acura
8. Infiniti
9. Lincoln

According to the study, BMW and Porsche are the clear leaders with some significant challenges coming from Audi and Mercedes while the last five are simply falling behind.

The study found that most engagement took place on Facebook, and YouTube with an impressive 90% of discussion and commentary being successful. This is a truly impressive number given social media’s high tendency to go negative in terms of product discussion.

Read More »

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Oct 2009 27

Ford Fusion Goes Social

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By: Ryan Riley Marketing Strategy Manager for GOSO. Ryan provides analytical data and departmental support for GOSO. Ryan is an experienced writer and blogs for GOSO, BOALT and other sites.

ford-fusion41

After a successful marketing campaign called the Fiesta Movement, where Ford reportedly brought in 50,000 potential buyers with the use of sites like YouTube, Twitter and Flickr and with a very minimal marketing budget, Ford is going social again.

Ford has now created the Fusion 41. (41 is the number of miles per gallon the Fusion gets.) The Fusion 41 is a relay race designed to create buzz about the 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid.

The Rules:

  • 8 people will be chosen. Ford is basing the selection on “their passion for Fusion and their ability to share compelling information about the vehicle on the internet.”
  • Each will be allowed to choose 4 people to help them.
  • Each team of five will be given a list of task to do over 41 hours, continuing the 41 theme.

After tasks are complete, the teams must diseminate that information over as many social networks as possible.

The team who completes the events the fastest and gets most noticed on the social media sites is the winner. The payoff: free gas for a year and a paid for Fusion.

Both the Fusion 41 and Fiesta Movement are great examples of the power of social media in the automotive industry.

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