Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Facebook and Walmart Go Local In a Big Way" plus 5 more

Facebook and Walmart Go Local In a Big Way
Google Gets High Marks for Social Responsibility
Tablets Slowly Eat Away Mobile's Lock on Non-Computer Traffic
The New iPad Facebook App Is Here! The New iPad Facebook App Is Here!
New Study Shows Online Video Viewers Don't Mind Ads. . . Sometimes
Moms Say: I Go to Facebook to Socialize, Not to Shop

Facebook and Walmart Go Local In a Big Way

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:43 AM PDT

Maybe Walmart is finally getting the idea that they need to be a local company despite their mega-corporation status. For years they have let their Google Place pages languish in the territory of "unclaimed" but that appears to have changed.

Now they have gone social in their local attempts by creating a Facebook Page for every one of their more than 3,500 stores. An AP story tells a bit more

The world's largest retailer announced Tuesday a partnership with the social networking site that offers Facebook pages specifically tailored for each of its more than 3,500 locations. Those pages are designed to allow its customers to interact with its local stores as well as get information on new products, events and discount offers. The partnership marks the first of its kind for a merchant and underscores how companies are using Facebook to develop a deeper relationship with its shoppers by responding quickly to their demands with the goal of increasing sales.

Here is a picture of the page used to get one started down the path of making Walmart a local and social experience.

Your next stop is getting to your local Walmart page which looks like any other Facebook page but it is local. As you can see by the numbers of folks liking a local store that this idea is indeed really new.

One point of interest is that I couldn't get the process started in Chrome so I turned to Firefox and everything worked as intended. I know more than a few people who have trouble doing "normal" activities in Chrome. While that's a side note to what Walmart and Facebook are doing it is possibly an important one since the frustration of not being able to get the process started may make some not participate at all.

The AP story continued to give some more corporate insight into the move

"This allows us to make our stores relevant on a local level," said Stephen Quinn, executive vice president of Wal-Mart's U.S. division, during a media conference call late Monday. "This addresses our 'next-generation' customers who are using a lot of social media. A national message is often not as relevant."

Wow, how forward thinking of Walmart! Did it really take them this long to figure this out? I sure hope not but why wouldn't this approach have happened much sooner if Walmart had actually figured out the local, social, mobile nature of the world these days. Oh and nine straight quarters of revenue decline might have had something to do with it. Just sayin'.

As for the experience itself the retail giant is promising that this won't be your standard Facebook page experience.

Carolyn Everson, vice president of global marketing solutions for Facebook.com, said the partnership with Wal-Mart goes beyond a "simple local tab." "This is embedding the social media phenomenon into the core of the offering," she added. She noted that Wal-Mart has worked hard to engage its Facebook fans. Facebook isn't currently working with other merchants to develop this localized approach because it doesn't have enough resources, she added.

This is an ambitious undertaking even for the likes of Facebook. Does it make you interested enough to become a follower of your local Walmart? Of the over 9 million people who like the Walmart corporate page how many will make the jump to the local side? Only time and promotion will tell but this is one social media venture worth keeping an eye on.

Your take?

Google Gets High Marks for Social Responsibility

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 04:51 AM PDT

Google gets a lot of heat from a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Some of it is very warranted while some of it is simply grousing. The feelings for Google as a company run the gamut from anti-competitive (ask Yelp for their thoughts on this one) to simply being better than the rest (check out this post from Mike Grehan for his take on Google and competition). In all of business there are few companies that elicit such strong reactions for perceptions ranging from very good to very bad.

While all of this business perspective on Google's reputation is interesting, especially from a negative standpoint, it's most important to consider the opinions that count more than we like to give credit: the consumers. Findings from the latest Corporate Social Responsibility Index conducted the the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and the Reputation Institute, Google is doing just fine as far as their reputation goes. Here is a look at where Google falls on the Top 50 for 2011.

For the complete Top 50 list you can click here.

This study has been going on since 2008 and Google has experienced its ups and downs. It ranked #1 in 2008, #3 in 2009, #10 in 2010 and has now moved back up the corporate reputation ladder again. Of course, it is only fair to note that the data for this was gathering in January of 2011 so there was not the specter of being called before a Senate hearing regarding potential anti trust issues to influence how people feel about the company. Maybe that will be reflected in the 2012 survey.

So why does this matter? Well, the online space has created a more fragile corporate reputation environment than at any other time in history. The ability for companies to try to sweep issues under the rug is at best much more difficult and at worst (for the companies that is) near impossible. Transparency in a real sense counts more than it ever has yet one has to wonder if it is really available even today.

It's important for Google, obviously, to maintain as pristine a reputation as possible. What is interesting is the idea that it also may be just as important for the industry as a whole that Google has as clean a record as possible in the court of public opinion. Whether we want to admit it or not, as Google goes, so goes the Internet industry. Some will bark at this notion but it's hard to deny just how intertwined the public's perception of the Internet as a whole is wrapped up with how Google is viewed.

This can be dangerous territory for sure since no one is immune to being "taken out" regardless of size or stature. I have had a trusted advisor tell me in no uncertain terms that "every deal (his name for a company) is 90 days away from extinction regardless of how big or small it is". At first I thought this was just hyperbole serving to make a point but think about how many big players have taken significant falls in short periods of time. You don't have to look too far back in fact. Netflix has gone from high flier to question mark in three short months. It can happen.

So what are you doing to make sure your corporate reputation is as spotless as possible? Are you just letting it go and hoping for the best or are you actively managing the process. In the days prior to the Internet that kind of gamble may have carried an acceptable level of risk but in today's world of instant information and thus instant opinions (be they accurate or not is irrelevant) that might be a gamble that no one should be willing to take.

Pilgrim's Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

Tablets Slowly Eat Away Mobile's Lock on Non-Computer Traffic

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:08 AM PDT

The overwhelming majority of people on the internet got there by using a computer. But in the US, 6.8% of them got there using an alternate device. The majority of those people did it with their mobile phone, but an increasing number are using tablets and that percentage is rising fast.

comScore has just released a new whitepaper called "Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits." It's a long name for a data-loaded report that should interest anyone in mobile marketing (which should be anyone reading this post.)

Take a look at this chart:In just a few short months, tablet usage jump up from 22.5% to 28.1%, and they did it by eating into both the mobile and "other device" categories.

Right now, the study shows that tablet users are generally young, male and from upper income brackets. I'm none of those things, which is perhaps the reason I'm having trouble adjusting to mine. But thanks to Amazon's new, reasonably priced tablet, it's likely that the demographics will change radically, if not this year, then certainly by the end of 2012.

comScore says that much of the growth in tablet usage is due to the increase in WiFi availability. Now people can have their Egg McMuffin and their daily paper, too.

The comScore report shows among tablet owners, 1 in 4 uses it to access news. Two thirds of owners play games on their tablet and 3 out of 4 use the device to access their email.

Best of all, 48% of tablet owners said they'd used it to make a purchase in the past month. It gets better. Here's a chart showing shopping related behaviors among tablet owners.

Nearly 50% also said they'd located, downloaded and used a coupon on the tablet in the past month. That says that even though tablet owners are usually more financially well-off, they still love a bargain.

comScore warns that even though tablet usage is growing, owners still represent a very small fraction of the US population. That means that, for now at least, you'll have to cater to the digital omnivore, aka the consumer that uses a TV, PC, mobile phone and other devices in order to stay connected to the world.

The New iPad Facebook App Is Here! The New iPad Facebook App Is Here!

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 02:40 PM PDT

Not sure there is much else to really say here. Most would give this a snarky "It's about f'in time!" so I'll leave that to those folks.

It does seem odd that this has taken so long to happen but stranger things have happened in the tech space. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it offers the stuff that Facebook does but optimized for the iPad. Was that safe enough? If you would like to see what Facebook has to tell you about the app then check out their blog post.

Many of you have been asking about Facebook for iPad. Today, it's finally here. With the iPad app, you get the full Facebook experience, right at your fingertips. It's a fun way to keep up with friends, share photos, chat and more.

The comments are rife with the usual frantic Facebook freaks going over the top that something doesn't work right or complaining about other parts of Facebook. Funny that they just don't get it that Facebook ignores them but anyway…….

Well, let's all celebrate! The Facebook iPad app is here! The Facebook iPad app is here! Woo hoo!

Marketing Pilgrim's Social Channel is proudly sponsored by Full Sail University, where you can earn your Masters of Science Degree in Internet Marketing in less than 2 years. Visit FullSail.edu for more information.

Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community

New Study Shows Online Video Viewers Don't Mind Ads. . . Sometimes

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 12:13 PM PDT

A new study from Dynamic Logic and blip.tv, shows that viewers are watching more online video and less TV — but not by much.

The numbers show a 9% decrease in cable TV watching vs a 26% rise in viewing via PC. The real trend is in mobile, with a modest rise of 19%, but you can expect that number to keep climbing as more tablets make it into homes across the US.

The study also found that online viewing habits were starting to mimic those of regular TV viewers. Both capture the majority of their audience during the primetime hours of 8pm to 11pm, with 6pm to 8pm, coming in second for web shows.

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor

43% of blip.tv's viewers had a positive reaction to advertising that was presented before an original web series. This wasn't the case with streaming TV content. There, only 30% reacted positively. This could come from the fact that people perceive TV shows as having a large budget, thus they can afford to stream without ads. Web shows, on the other hand, often come from small, struggling artists who need the ad dollars to make ends meet.

Dina Kaplan, co-found of blip.tv had a slightly different take on it:

"It's clear from the research that web series fans are beginning to watch less television, while at the same time increasing the amount of content consumed on the web. It's also significant that our viewers are more accepting of advertisements on web series, perhaps because fans are grateful to the advertiser for making the show possible. That's a very different mindset, for a viewer, than seeing an ad on a show that was originally created for television."

When asked to rate the different types of advertising by preference, 35% of those surveyed chose banner ads. Pre-roll ads came in next at 15%.

Blip.tv is home to original web shows such as GamePron News, Nostalgia Chick and The Spoony Experiment where a nerd reviews games and movies. I'm sensing a theme.

Are you ready to invest in web show advertising?

Moms Say: I Go to Facebook to Socialize, Not to Shop

Posted: 10 Oct 2011 11:45 AM PDT

84% of moms are using Facebook, but few are using the social network to shop. That's one of the findings from the new report from The Direct Marketing Association and Mom365.

When asked about seeing offers on Facebook, the moms complained that they were inundated with too many offers, often from the same sender (42%). On the other hand, 72% of moms say they have liked a brand on Facebook and they did it in order to get better offers. That's kind of like buying the weekly paper then complaining about too many papers, right?

The entire report is filled with contradictory information which I'm sure is right on target. What it proves is that we've yet to figure out how to effectively use Facebook to contact our customers.

The report also points to the concept that a few users are responsible for the biggest returns. For example, 40% said they've bought something based on a recommendation they saw on Facebook, but 60% said they rarely ever discuss brands within their circles.

What do moms want from marketers?

§ They want relevant deals, that get right to the facts.

§ They want want coupons and rewards.

§ And they do not want to have to jump through hoops to get them. Multiple webpages, forms, logins — forget it. If they can't access the deal fast, then they'll move on to the next one.

When you look at that criteria, Facebook is the ideal place for marketers to meet moms. You have an opted-in customer with an available profile, an easy way to distribute deals to followers and no additional hoops are required since the moms are already logged in through Facebook.

So why isn't it working? In some cases, it is. I subscribe to several deal blogs a day and Facebook sample and coupon offers often reach their limit within hours of posting. People are anxious to scoop up the Facebook deals, but whether or not these coupononers are turning into customers is anyone's guess.

With the holidays coming, there's an even bigger question. Can marketers get Facebook users to buy straight from the fan page? That's Facebook's next big hurdle and I don't see it becoming a trend any time soon.