This Week in Social

With all the information flying around on the interwebs about emerging technologies, best practices, and awesome case studies, it can get a little confusing on what to read. This week was even more crazy with the announcement of Twitter’s Promoted Tweets, Facebook jumping into virtual currency, and shifts in consumer behavior on social platforms. Below is a selection of articles that I found extremely useful to wade through all the content out there.

Online Video Viewers Hungry for New Tech
With YouTube turning 5 this week, we still see it reign king in online video ranking way above other video platforms. However, we’re beginning to see a shift from strictly user generated content and more towards network programming and news.

How do the Most Successful Companies use Social Media?
The social media tools studied are diverse and serve many purposes. Companies reported using these tools for several reasons. They reported that the tools provide the following:

• Another way to communicate
• Added value to customers
• Product/brand awareness
• Ability to keep up with trends and competitors
• Demonstration of product
• A more cost effective and productive form of marketing

Portals Vital for Users and Marketers

“eMarketer estimates more than 57% of all US online ad revenues will go to the four major portals in 2010. By 2011, nearly 9% of total media ad spending in the US will go to these four sites.” An amazing display of the continued power of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL.

Full Details On Twitter’s Long-Awaited Ad Platform: Promoted Tweets
I’m sure you’ve probably heard about the Promoted Tweets on Twitter. It’s a long-awaited ad platform that will be pretty exciting to see it play out. There was a lot of buzz this week around the new launch, so here are a few other articles with different opinions.

Businesses Split on Paying for Twitter

First Take Analysis: What Twitter’s “Promoted Tweets” Means To The Ecosystem

Facebook May Be About To Jump Into The Virtual Currency Offers Game
Virtual currency is becoming a huge hit online… So big in fact, behemoth Facebook is getting into the mix. With no real details about what offers they will provide, it’s a great mystery to see how this virtual currency will work in Facebook’s favor. Then to see how brands can tap into the predicted $2 billion/year industry.

Consumers Follow Social Brand Referrals
68% of consumers said they would be likely to buy a product or visit a retailer fan page based on a positive referral from a friend. By engaging our online community in a positive, “shareable” manner, we can tap into their social network and begin to build new, positive relationships.
What is a Facebook Fan Worth?
$3.60 each… According to AdWeek, “On average, a fan base of 1 million translates into at least $3.6 million in equivalent media over a year. The company’s findings are based on impressions generated in the Facebook news feed, the stream of recent updates from users’ networks.”