Blog posts will be light thru the holidays (at best), but I will be back at it the first week of January. Until then we can continue the conversation on Twitter (yes, I am smitten with with it). You can follow me here:http://www.twitter.com/gschmitt
Happy holidays!
eMarketer is out with a very comprehensive, semi-gloomy report on the future of Social Network Ad Spending this week. Written by Debra Aho Williams, the report finds that despite the introduction of significant new ad formats, eMarketer is revising down spending estimates for 2008 (to a 10.2% uptick), due to an ailing US economy and slower-than-expected revenue growth at MySpace.
At Razorfish, we are more bullish. Jeff Lanctot, who heads up corporate strategy for Razorfish, was interviewed extensively for the report and data from FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report was prominently featured.
As Jeff explained, many of our clients (such as Victoria’s Secret, Coors and Levi Strauss & Co.) are increasing social network ad spending:
“Our combined spending on MySpace and Facebook was up 32%, Q2 over Q1. Q3 was up an additional 22%. We don’t have enough data this quarter to say how Q4 will turn out, but the trend to date has clearly been strong growth.”
Jeff went on to discuss the success of Victoria’s Secret PINK which is one of the top brand draws on Facebook with over 580,000 fans and continues to use the service to make meaningful connections with the teen/college audience.
Additionally, Razorfish is finding that social network advertising is becoming a staple of today’s ad campaigns. “Some of those bigger brand campaigns [on social networks] have become staples of our clients’ campaigns, and they are considered accountable and will continue in a downturn, Jeff said. “The way the movie studios look at MySpace when they’re releasing a movie targeted to the younger demo—it is absolutely a critical part of the rollout of their movie, quite frankly, the way that MSN or Yahoo! were three or four years ago.”
The eMarketer study also cites two key findings from our Connected Consumer Study:
Ultimately, the eMarketer report is one of the best out there on the state of social media and advertising. Beyond the Razorfish data, there’s great bits on top Facebook pages, social consumer behavior, fastest growing social network sites and interesting viewpoints from AKQA, among others.
As the year wraps up, it will be interesting to see where other agencies and marketers are tracking for 2008. We hope, up.
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We can continue the conversation on Twitter and in the comments below. You can follow me here:
http://www.twitter.com/gschmitt
It’s no secret that my favorite web service of 2008 was Muxtape (now defunct, sadly) which, inspired the analog mix tape cassette culture of the 80s and 90s, allows users to create their own mixes — typically 12 songs — upload the files, sequence the songs and post.
I raved about the service twice. First, here: “Muxtape and the Future of Music” and then, again, here: “On Muxtape, Twitter and the Future of Web Services and Platforms.” In the latter post, I discussed how the most impressive web services were actually becoming platforms (ala Twitter.com).
Now, thankfully, 8tracks has taken up where Muxtape left off. Building upon the simplicity of the original service and adding key things like search, a dedicated library of songs (no uploading required) and a full-on community feature (much like Twitter, actually. Best of all, it completely integrates with Twitter, allowing users to automatically notify their communities (I will not use the word “social graph”!) when they’ve posted a new mix.
Better yet, the folks behind 8tracks smartly allow you to embed mixes almost anywhere via a nifty little player. See below for my top 12 tracks of ‘08:
Couple that with a drag-n-drop iTunes application for uploading MP3s and you’ve got the makings of a killer service.
And this time it’s all legal, thankfully. Courtesy of CEO and founder David Porter from Live365 who operates 8tracks as a non-interactive internet radio service under the compulsory license for webcasting established in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Definitely worth a spin.
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We can continue the conversation on Twitter and in the comments below. You can follow me here:
http://www.twitter.com/gschmitt
What Is The Value Of Social Influence?:
Razorfish has been trying to tackle a billion dollar problem: how do marketers identify the key influencers within a social network, and how do you really track and understand how social behavior works?
This problem is especially critical in a recessionary economy when every form of marketing is under scrutiny to prove its ROI. We think we’ve cracked the code through a data tracking solution that’s going to sound kind of geeky to those of us who don’t measure data for a living, but essential to any marketer who cares about social media: the Generational Tag (AKA Incrementing Action Tag).
My colleagues in our Razorfish Seattle office filed a patent for the Generational Tag on September 30th, 2008 and we are sharing our findings publicly today.
The Data Problem:
Today social media apps (widgets, applications, viral media, etc.) cannot track or account for unique individuals other than those who download the application and those that download the application from a friend. Couple that with the lack of known quantitative methods for identifying key influencers within a social network in regards to a specific application and you’ve got a big problem for the industry. Some would say a billion-dollar problem, actually.
Core Questions We Tried To Answer:
The Razorfish Incrementing Action Tag Solution:
Our solution is the Incrementing Action Tag which is a set of functions within a social media application that creates a variable that may be read externally based on where the user acquires the application. When a user downloads the application from the original source, the Incrementing Action Tag notes the source and assigns the downloader the value of first generation (or one). When another downloader obtains the application from somewhere other than the original source (e.g. a friend, other website, etc.), the Incrementing Action Tag looks at the variable (or generation) assigned to the current source and increments it by one; thus making the next downloader generation two or other appropriate generation number.
The Incrementing Action Tag is thus able to identify (via a cookie and unique identifier and not through personally identifiable information) and track social media, identify how far removed (generation) cookies are from the original source of the social media, and identify key influencers (again no PII- see note above) of users of social media.
In essence, this technology enables our agency to create a system that allows us to value and reach key influencers across the Internet, regardless of property.
Here’s an example from a widget we recently tracked:
Successes Thus Far:
We’ve successfully used the action tag in three instances with three different clients. We’ve seen as many as four generations of pass-along for these social media applications and are now looking to begin using the Generational Tag on all social media applications so that we can build our knowledge of social media applications.
Thought this is still in its early days, we’ve definitely taken a big step forward towards tracking social influence across the web and maybe, just maybe, starting to crack a billion-dollar problem.
Congratulations to the Seattle team that made this all happen: Marc Sanford, Sandy Schlee, Steve Ebeling, Kelley Maves, David Niffin, Christopher Castle, Frank Kochenash, and Jesse Drogin.
For more on Razorfish’s efforts on Social Influence Marketing check out Shiv Singh’s work on the Going Social Now blog.
It’s been too long in coming, but I’ve finally made the leap to Twitter. You can follow me here:
http://www.twitter.com/gschmitt
I promise to update much more frequently than Digital Design Blog and keep the topics and conversation similar. Although I’m hoping it will be a bit more lively and informal.
See you there.
Do consumers really use Twitter?
That’s the question that I’ve been asked the most since we released FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report just over a month ago. Here’s the stat that draws the most attention:
28% of “connected consumers” use Twitter with some frequency. Of those, 5% use Twitter all of the time, 8% most of the time and 15% use Twitter once in a while.
For those who are not familiar with the study, we surveyed 1000+ U.S. “connected consumers” earlier this summer who have certain usage behaviors (broadband access, ecommerce activity, social media activity, digital media consumption, etc.). For the most part, this group tends tends to mirror the U.S. broadband population and is — depending on what research you read — about 165 million people. We look at it as a leading indicator of internet usage behavior and forward trends.
As Brian Morrissey of Adweek was the first to point out, first on Twitter (fittingly) and in later discussions, if you do some crude math based on the bps you get some 46 millionodd people in the U.S. on Twitter according to our study. That’s a big number.
Since Brian first brought it up, I’ve had several other queries around that line of thought (most recently as of last week) and it’s nagged at me ever since. So here’s my take:
Twitter participation (e.g. registered users) is soaring and — most significantly — Twitter posts (which can be read by anyone, just like the NYTimes) are quickly becoming a trusted news and social source by a wide swath of consumers. We can no longer define Twitter usage just as those who register and post but must also include those that read and discover Twitter through search.
Rationale:
First, Twitter usage is way up. If you look at publicly accessible data sources like Quantcast or Compete, Twitter.com is averaging 3.5 million unique visitors per month. That roughs out, crudely, to 42 million uniques. Given that run rate, it’s not hard to imagine how Twitter could get to 40+ million uniques per year sooner than we think.
Second, Google is indexing Twitter posts aggressively. John Battelle who runs Federated Media and Searchblog noted that earlier this month here. And it does so according to PageRank. In addition, Technorati was also quick to index. There is no registration to read a “tweet” which means this type of microblogging content is as open and as accessible as an article from the NYTimes or a video on YouTube.
Third, Facebook’s “News Feed” and “Status Updates”, both of which can be updated via Twitter, are another way that consumers can interact with the service even if they don’t “tweet” themselves. Couple this with FriendFeed and Twitter widgets courtesy of Widgetbox and you’ve got a much more pervasive footprint than any .com experience.
Finally, the way people are interacting with Twitter is increasingly beyond the desktop. Earlier this year ReadWriteWeb studied the way people were using various clients to interact with Twitter. They found that nearly 44% of Twitter usage (posts or tweets) comes from clients and largely mobile and desktop apps. Much of this activity is unmeasurable — save for Twitter’s own insight (which they share infrequently) — but significant.
Given this, it’s easy to see how our “connected consumers” would cite higher than average familiarity and usage of Twitter (even though it’s only been around for two years). Combine registered users and those that “tweet” with those that simply “read” and find via search or other mechanisms (add the Election internet spike) and you’ve got a small start-up with an increasingly large footprint.
So, are there really 46 million U.S. consumers “tweeting”? Maybe not yet, but we are going to get there much faster than most realize.
BTW, you can follow me on Twitter here:
http://www.twitter.com/gschmitt
My Razorfish colleagues Shiv Singh and Jesse Pickard have just published an impressive deck on the possibilities of Facebook Connect. Very timely as more websites integrate it. In fact, this week Techcrunch announced that they were integrating Facebook Connect and rumor has it that Digg and Hulu will be adding the functionality too.
Check out their work on the potential of portable social graphs here:
RJDJ Reactive Music App
RJDJ is a “reactive” music application for the iPhone and other mobile devices. This app differs from other mp3 players in that it uses sensory input from the device to control the music that is being played. According to the RJDJ site, the app will lead to “mind-twisting hearing sensations”. The music responds to both sound and accelerometer input. Users can also record music that is generated by the app for future access. The album version, containing six “scenes” is selling for $2.99 and the single scene version is available for free at the iTunes App Store. Note that the app requires use of a headset with a microphone.
Talk to Google Mobile
Google has just released a new version of its mobile app for the iPhone that enables users to speak queries instead of typing them. According to the description on iTunes, it works best with “North American English accents”, but more languages will be available soon. There was also an interesting write up on the service in the New York Times recently in which the author points out that “search giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo all believe speech recognition is a prerequisite for the era of mobile computing”. This version of Google Mobile is location aware meaning that users no longer have to enter their locations before performing a search. The app is available for free at the iTunes app store.
Blackberry Storm: Verizon and RIM Let Loose their iPhone Killer
The recently released Storm 9530 smartphone looks like a serious contender for the iPhone. Like the iPhone, RIM’s new smartphone includes a touch screen with portrait and landscape modes, however, the device includes one crucial function the iPhone lacks: cut and paste. In addition to the Blackberry’s legendary enterprise email capabilities, the Storm includes Rhapsody music software, up to 10 personal email accounts, support for various instant messaging services, 8-16 GB memory card, 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash and video capture. The Storm retails for $199 with a two-year contract (and $50 rebate).
Via Engadget
As visitors move through your site and enter the shopping cart area, they become increasingly valuable to you. But too often marketers take for granted visitors who have already clicked an “Order Now,” “Purchase” or “Sign Up” button and assume that they are now safely on their way to converting.
In fact, the Razorfish Site Optimization team typically sees almost 60 percent of these customers dropping out of the process. Chances are, your site loses customers like a leaky bucket loses water. That’s bad news, considering 1) the significant marketing investment you’ve made to get them to that point, and 2) that at this stage each lost prospect is lost revenue.
The good news is that it’s possible to plug those leaks and significantly improve both customer satisfaction and your site’s overall business performance.
Plugging Those Leaks
1. Help users avoid errors. While it’s an obvious best practice of order form design, far too many sites do not adequately indicate which fields in a form are required. Sometimes some required fields are marked while others are not. Improvement in this one area can produce big gains.
An international wireless carrier recently implemented recommendations (many related to required form fields) from a Site Optimization study of their checkout process. After implementing our recommendations, conversions from their home page increased nearly 100%.
2. Provide clear error messaging. Not all errors can be avoided; however, strong error messaging can improve the chances of users successfully fixing their errors and converting. Recently a travel client implemented Site Optimization’s recommendations aimed at reducing the impact of errors on the lead generation form. After simplifying fields and improving messaging, error rates declined 15%. Users who did receive error messages were 60% more likely to fix the errors and complete the form. And the page’s conversion rate jumped 30%.
As a best practice we recommend showing all error messages together at the top of the page and in-line with each affected field. Make sure the error messages are easy to understand, reducing guesswork. A classic example of a bad error message is: “Username is invalid.” This leaves the user with no clear course of action. Instead, state how it can be fixed: “Please enter a username between 4 and 8 characters with at least 1 number.”
3. Determine the optimum checkout funnel length and guide users through it. Checkout processes have varying number of pages, but what is the optimum number to drive the highest completion rates? Since every checkout implementation has its own answer, use testing to determine the optimum process. Then always communicate the process length and user commitment (time and energy) required with messaging and progress bars. In short, make the process as transparent as possible.
Site Optimization conducted an A/B test on a domestic wireless carrier’s checkout process to understand how a 3-step funnel compared to a single-page checkout form. The 3-step process recorded an increased conversion rate which equaled a multi-million dollar impact to sales. In this example, users were motivated and invested by the third step in the process and were more likely to overcome errors than users within the 1-step funnel.
The Take-away
Granted, likening your Web site to a leaky bucket is an oversimplification. However, before running out to buy a brand-new bucket – redesigning your Web site – first consider repairing the leaks. (For the record, we’re definitely not opposed to new Web sites.)
Increase revenue and gain more customers by helping buyers avoid errors and better recover from the errors they encounter. Optimizing the length of your process and communicating progress can also help customers through to conversion.
According to a recent post in The Apple Blog, the demand for iPhone developers is up a whopping 500% within the past 8 months. This is citing a recent press release from oDesk, a technology outsourcing firm. While that number may sound overly bullish, there is clearly a new area of specialization in application design that is evolving as a result of the launch of the iTunes App Store.
Apparently oDesk has been experiencing a rapidly growing demand for iPhone specialists within recent months. The firm currently maintains a network of engineers and consultants in more than 100 countries and has seen an increase from “under 30 to over 140 jobs per month” for developers, programmers, and other consultants who are knowledgeable with the inner workings of the iPhone Software Development Kit.
Companies such as oDesk have been able to establish a considerable niche as a result Apple opening its mobile platform to third-party developers and it will be interesting to see if interactive agencies will follow suit, creating specialized teams dedicated to user experience, creative, and development for third-party iPhone applications. While we’ve seen several interactive agencies create mobile departments within their organizations, teams based on specific mobile platforms would be an entirely new phenomenon.
Due to popular request, today we are releasing Meet The Connected Consumer, a PDF download that contains our Digital Consumer Behavior Study *and* all of the data. This includes the majority of questions we asked respondents and a detailed quantitative breakdown of their responses.
Are widgets the TV sets of the future? Does social media impact consumer purchasing? Do people really use Twitter?
These are just some of the questions we are answering with FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report, which we are releasing today as a PDF download and an interactive flash experience at feed.razorfish.com.
At the core of the report is our Digital Consumer Behavior Study, which documents the results of a 2008 survey that Razorfish conducted of more than 1,000 “connected” consumers (a coveted group who spend money online and have access to broadband). In the study we look at how people “live” online today; how Web 2.0 has changed consumer behavior; what is the real impact of the “social web”; what really drives online purchase habits (especially in a down economy); and who is really using the mobile web and what are they doing.
The findings surprised even us as today’s digital consumers have moved well beyond merely sampling Web 2.0 technologies and services. They are now adopting these services at a breakneck pace and readily experimenting with new, more sophisticated offerings en masse.
The second half of FEED consists of a series of highly provocative essays that examine the ways consumers interact with digital media. Such as Tim Richard’s “Putting Jakob Back on the Shelf” and Marisa Gallagher’s “Let’s Talk About It: Designing Experiences for the Facebook Generation.”
Over the next weeks, we’ll be posting the entire report here on the Digital Design Blog. Stay tuned.
As many of you may have noticed, this week — after four years of using the combined Avenue A | Razorfish name — we are returning to “Razorfish.” One company, one name, new logo and much less of mouthfull.
AdWeek has the full story