Marketing Technology 5
Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed
MT5 – #22Â Stories this week: new apps for Facebook open graph, dead SOPA, Google includes social in SERP, paid search in B2B, and social ROI.
1. Facebook’s biggest change yet: Actions are here
[AllThingsD] Facebook announced 60 new apps will join Spotify and Runkeeper in accessing the Facebook open graph.
My Take: With these innovations Facebook extends its lead over other social network services. Although we’ve seen timeline integration used as a blunt instrument in the past, the newest edition of open graph allow apps like Fab and Ticketmaster to create a more nuanced integration.
2. SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill
[Mashable] The Republican senator pulled SOPA on Friday responding to criticism. SOPA drew battle lines between old media and new media.
My Take: New media and silicon valley  won this round.
3. Search Rankings are Dead: Long Live Search Placements
[SearchEngineLand] The newest change to the search engine results pages (SERP) is Google’s inclusion of social in the results page. This is a technical, hand-to-hand breakdown of the impact of the changes.
My Take: These changes are not well received by people who get paid to game the system or competitors, but ultimately I believe search results are more relative the more personal context is included. It’s becoming harder for brands to game the system.
4. Using Paid Media to Achieve Remarkable B2B Conversion Rates
[CMI] With SEO starting to “break” CMI breaks down how to drive a successful paid search campaign – the elements: discipline, a niche-marketing strategy and lots of testing.
Wildfire Social Media ROI
5. Marketers Lack Standard Social Media ROI
[MarketingCharts] The top metrics used by social media marketers for ROI are increased fans, likes, comments, and interactions (38%), increased revenues (24%), and increased brand awareness (15%).
My Take: This is a hot button issue for me. If someone is asking you about the ROI for a social program that doesn’t yet exist, what they are telling you is they don’t understand how social supports the business. Respond with information about your customer’s social-graph. Show where are you customers and how can you benefit them using social media. If you’re not serving your customers on social media it’s an opportunity for your competitors to serve them.
However, if you have a social program you really need to be tracking metrics associated with your social and business goals. Â The popular metric categories are: audience( size and engagement), cost (savings or revenue) and brand awareness.