Facebook is now essentially building “live” profiles on everyone, as opposed to the traditional static profiles that are stored in a database. Information will feed into these live profiles from across the web. For example, the music you listen to on Pandora, the articles you read on CNN, and the recipes you download on Food Network sites could all be visible to your friends on Facebook. With these new hyper-updated profiles, you will have a sense of what people’s preferences are in real time and ads will become much more targeted.

Zuckerberg also said that Facebook hopes the new tools will encourage publishers, brands and media businesses to use the products to directly incorporate their companies into social media.

The real immediate to-do for marketers is to add Open Graph protocol meta tags and the “like” button to their website content. When people visit their site, they can click these “like” buttons and instantly promote the fact that they found the site or content of value – to their entire Facebook network. This new “like” system can help influence users to take action because it will actually display profile pictures of their friends that “like” the content directly on the page.

This is being called the biggest development in social media in years. Microsoft, ESPN and Yelp are already “in” – operating “Open-Graph-enabled” websites. Countless other businesses will be onboard very soon. Within five hours of announcing this new feature over 75 of Facebook’s closest partners had over 1,000,000,000 interactions. The impact is “real” engagement between consumers and brands.

Check out this AdAge article about the Universal “Like” Button.

How do you think this platform will change your brand /client’s interactive marketing strategy?

Are you ready to take advantage?

In a new report issued this week, Forrester Research predicts that online retail sales will grow 10% per year for the next five years. Nothing earth shattering there. But get this, according to Forrester… “the web will influence 53% of U.S. retail sales by 2014”, meaning that products will either be directly purchased online or researched on the internet before being purchased at a brick-and-mortar location.

Forrester points out two categories that are primed for online sales growth: consumer electronics and apparel, accessories and footwear. Both experienced double-digit growth last year, but online sales are still less than 20% of sales so there is a lot of room for expansion.

So what does this mean for you? Your customers are online – researching your company, your products and your competitors. Are you prepared to compete in this new digital world?

Here are some critical questions to consider:

• Is your website organically optimized to achieve greater search engine exposure?
• What sorts of digital marketing campaigns are you running to drive people to your website?
• Is your website set up to build relationships with your prospects and customers?
• Do you have a social media plan where your customers can spread the word to your prospects and draw attention to your website?

These are just a few of the elements you should look at in evaluating your digital presence. If you’re looking for guidance or need help getting started, Adamson can help you with a digital assessment for your company.

Just give me a call at 314-727-9500 ext 1274 or email to aepstein@adamson-usa.com

by Geoff Pickering

In late October of 2006, Adamson put a stake in the ground and decided our service offerings were not enough to sustain our company for long-term success. Put simply, we needed to change, or run the risk of perishing. Roughly one month later, on December 13, 2006, Time Magazine announced its Person of the Year: You. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year

Time Magazine has identified a Person of the Year for more than 100 years. The honor as based on the teachings of Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote, “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” He believed that it is the few, the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny as a species. (Over the years, the magazine’s Person of the Year criteria broadened to include those individuals who had the most profound impact on the world; examples: Adolf Hitler and Ayatollah Khomeini.)

So what caused Time to divert from their tradition of singling out one person? The World Wide Web. The Web created the most profound shift in the history of communication since the invention of the printing press, enabling the masses to increase their access to information, and hence, their knowledge.

The Internet reached a point of critical mass and, more importantly, a level of understanding by businesses that their brand could singly dictate and shape the consumer opinion alone. Previously, community and collaboration on a mass scale by consumers — loyal or otherwise — to a brand was not a reality. Today, it is.

No longer can corporations cut corners. Corporations must be transparent; they must be prepared to respond proactively; and they must understand that the level of complexity in the digital age is real and not comparable to any channel or solution previously available to marketers.

Areas necessary to succeed in the future are complex but can be addressed by focusing on two critical areas:

1. A deep understanding of consumers and how they engage with brands in a meaningful way.
2. The ability to manage engagement strategies throughout the life-cycle of the consumer.

The decision that Adamson made more than two years ago has positioned us to respond accordingly, and provide clear and measurable results for our clients.

Moving forward, our commitment to you is to use our Website and this blogging platform to provide a conversational dialogue of marketing solutions provided by us, which we are certain can be successful for you.

http://www.relevantengagement.com/