Facebook Datamines Real-Time Conversations for Ad Targeting

Last month Facebook started to profile real-time conversations to target ads using a worldwide test sample of 1%, which gives them a sample size of over 6 million people.

While advertisers can already use Facebook to reach users based on profile data such as age, gender, location, keywords, interests and preferences through "likes", this recent addition provides real-time processing of data from status updates and new wall posts so that users are served with corresponding advertising messages that are relevant their current conversations.

For example: Users who update their status with "Hey mate, let’s go out for a beer tonight” could get an ad from the local Irish pub, a new boutique beer or the latest drink alcohol responsibly message by the South Australian government (see video below).



While Facebook is not the first website to serve targeted ads (Google started back in 2009 with behavioural advertising program called Adsense) this latest immediate attempt to reach the consumer with a marketing message during a conversation is a major breakthrough.

With real-time delivery of advertisements, any online discussion taking place in our lives such as getting engaged, planning a holiday, organising a dinner with friends turns has become a new marketplace for brands to raise awareness or gain top of mind at the time when people are ready to purchase their product.

This immediacy is even further enhanced if combined with GeoTargeting technology which would put brands directly in front of a potential buyer when they are activily out shopping.

If 57% of people talk more online than they do in real life as the following video suggest, then digital marketers have a great opportunity of tapping into the online conversation.

The World Is Obsessed With Facebook from Alex Trimpe on Vimeo.

Number of Australians on Facebook

Research by Social Bakers  indicates 9.2 Million Australians are on Facebook with 44.33% penetration of the population. Although if you go to the Facebook site itself the estimated reach for adverts is 9.4 million.

Social Tourism by NSW

Daemon Group is the agency behind a social media tourism campaign called "7 Days in Sydney". Their client Tourism New South Wales paid for Dearbhla and Chris (aka Dervs and Cuzzy) to spend 7 days in Sydney guided by a local.

The two students (Dervs from Dublin Ireland and Cuzzy's from Leeds in England) got an all expenses paid trip to Sydney. In return they had to share their experiences using numerous blogs, videos and pics generating content for the most popular Social Media networks.

Below is the content output from the 7 days campaign

twitter: @7daysinsydney
blog: 7daysinsydney.wordpress.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/seesydney
faceboook: www.facebook.com/seesydney
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/7daysinsydney
Email: sevensinsydney@yahoo.com.au

On the back of 7 days in Sydney, Tourism NSW also ran a twitter campaign with Virgin Airlines aimed at young travellers from Los Angeles. Jade Broadus, 25, Bobby Christian, 24 and Rob Blasko, 26, were challenged to tweet 4320 times during a 72-hour stay in Sydney. This was for every minute they were there.

NSW tourism minister Jodi McKay said the campaign had already been a huge success, with its website clocking up 7 million hits in one month as a result of the competition to find the trio.

"We've had a positive response to the competition with young Americans lining up for the challenge to put their tweeting skills to the test and experience the best of what Sydney has to offer," said the tourism minister.

Australians embrace Social Networking

According to a report by Matt Dickman's from Facebook's advertising statistics; Australia ranks seventh place in the Top Ten number of Users by country.

Pretty interesting given our small population, it would suggest Facebook is used by a quarter of Australia's online population. The top 10 are USA, UK, Canada, Turkey, France, Italy, Australia, Chile, Colombia and Spain.

UGC Reporters

The London based advertising agency Holler who has the account for Red Bull in the UK and sister agency in Sydney have launched a competition to inspire user generated content (UGC) from red bull energy drink customers. Similar to the V-Raw careers campaign from OMD Fuse for V Energy drink reviewed previously on this blog, it appears the team at Holler has identified the Gen Y target has aspirations to live out their vocational dream rather than a desk job and is inviting writers, photographers, filmmakers and presenters to report on our world and showcase their creative talents.

Assignments are progressively announced with current opportunities including Sport: Report from the O’Neill Highland Open, Head to Scotland to report on the world’s best mountain bikers, ‘Go Team Atherton!’ and Formula One’s Fast Lane. Music & Culture assignments include Fly to Austria to cover the Red Bull Paper Wings World Final and Backstage Access at Liverpool Sound City.



The site features the ability to follow Red Bull Reporters on Twitter, RSS and Facebook

Is Facebook Good For Your Business or a Timewaster For Your Staff?

On 30 October 2007 Digital Harbour hosted a Facebook for business seminar in the Innovation Building

Facebook the latest global social networking craze has swept the county over the past few months, becoming the social site of choice, especially when it comes to professionals in the digital industries. Does Facebook offer any value to businesses, or is it stealing employees time? Ultimately, is this a passing fad, like hula hoops and Twitter, or is it the shape of communications and communities in the future? The media recently reported that Facebook could cost employers up to $5 billion a year in productivity. There are more than 1.5 million Australian Facebook users, with reportedly more than 100 Australians joining the phenomenon each hour. Whether you are an active Facebooker, a frustrated employer watching your employees time trickle away, or a brand keen to infiltrate a new market, you are likely to have something to say and something to learn about Facebook. In this debate we aim to explore and challenge the various ideas currently being touted in blogs and mainstream media, as well as bring you an insight into the plethora of Facebook stories: brands who have worked within the Facebook walls effectively and those who have not.

Event Notes by James Portz

Speaker 1: Philip Phelan

Philip Phelan is Director of Glass, an inter-disciplinary research and communications planning consultancy, a Facebooker, and a slightly sceptical digital and mobile advocate.

Excessive Face Book (FB) is a symptom not a cause
Shift in advertising
Fosters innovation
Fosters greater interaction
One brand ambassador is better than Ten
FB may be like JUDGEMENT DAY
- Modern, Open, Transparent, Dynamic- You may not like what users say

Not everyone uses FB the same way

• Keep in touch
• Grab attentions
• Distribute information
• Shape opinion
• Operating System

Social Operating System

• Friendship
• Sex & Relationship
• Individual Creativity
• Personal Advancement
• Discovery & Exploration

1.5 Million Australian users per month

More mature than other social networks, more educated, white collarApplication to map network of contactsVisibility creates comfort

Tips for Marketers

• Use the social connections
• KISS
• Mimic the user experience features
• Post Organisation Events
• Join Groups
• Deliver a value exchange
• Personal space
• Sponsor or co develop application
• Plan to involve users all the way through

Eg 1. Summer Heights High Appreciation Society
Fan Site set up by the ABC 5,000 membersViral marketing Campaign for organisation with little marketing budget.

Eg2. We want funky little pubs in Sydney
Lobby/Activist Group 6,000 membersCreative grass rootsPetitionsTimelyFundraising

Eg3. Target
Sponsored groupUni Student focusDesign/affordabilityBack to school campaign increased sales in this segment $6.1 millionFacilitated party planning & redecoration Dorm survival guide
FB wasn't the ideal place for their traditional market.Be respectful of FB environment


When it goes wrong
Eg1. WalmartWas bagged because of its work place policies
Eg.2 McDonaldsCareers - negative feedback by former employees, company ended up switching off comments
View McDonalds FB Group
FB for business still in betamode.Business needs to embrace mess, variation and complexity
Marketing with FB is more like marketing communications than advertising



Speaker 2: Steven Johnson (Mosaic)

Stephen Johnson is Founder and Managing Director of Mosaic. Stephen is a brand and experience architect known for his conceptual and strategic abilities. He is an educator and public speaker in virtual communication and social media innovation.

It may be daunting for your company
Built on open API exposing it's closed social graph. Shield each of it's users behind a cloak of absolute privacy

Swam Intelligence

"Artificial Intelligence technique based on the
collective behaviour in decentralized self organised systems. Typically made up
of a population of simple agents i.e. FB agents interacting with one another in
their environment."

When Less becomes More

Often restricting options can have an amazingly positive effect on conversation. Enforcing structure can have a tremendously positive impact on innovation

Open Dialogue "Could be dangerous if you don't have a voice to answer back"
Are people tired of endless Choice? - Sounds counterintuitive

• Simplify
• Optimise
• Partly Restrict

"Closed is the new open" Does it restrict intimacy? Stops Spam
"Users don't care is an application is closed"
"Build a closed eco system on top of it's own social graph

Success 3 million users in 3 Months
Top Friends Network Decrease the barrier to adoption to lower the barrier to spread the word about an application

Popular FB Applications

• Circle Of Friends
• Kiss Me
• Fun work
• Poke Pro
• Friends Wheel

The FB gift store is a good way to raise revenue
FB Apps - easy load but are they any use?
Consideration Unless you are capturing some data from FB app is it worth it?

Broad Themes driving Change
1. Personalisation
2. Collaboration and Community
3. Visualisation (weighting of popular items and topics i.e. Tag Clouds
4. Ubiquity digital channels becoming more pervasive/holistic
5. Immediacy (instantaneous)
6. Digitisation of the inner circle

"Well, our first dip into Facebook was a bit of a learning curve! We set SlatteryIT up as we have set up ourselves personally, only to be kindly reminded by clever ones that the whole spirit of facebook is about linking up "people" and not linking companies with people. So, welcome to our second try. We are now a group! Hope this works! Thank you for visiting." - Rachel Slattery

Consumer Generated Media Social Networks are reshaping the context of marketing communications towards collaborative.
Digital is enabling new behaviourRicher levels of engagementIs becoming the dominant channel for consumer fulfilment

Giving the average Joe a voice
Baby steps to getting it right
Embrace Social Network for business is a shift in authority
Touch your target audience if you don't participate your brand may become invisible
Loyalty, Commitment, Advocacy
Use FB to build loyalty with existing users

Additional Reading

http://www.peoplesearchnews.com/social-networking-/how-can-social-networking-help-your-business-succeed/