Facebook knows me best: what you can learn from my "interest graph" (on my blog)

Do you know the REAL KITTY? Apparently I don’t either, but Facebook does! Facebook has been gathering all of my data for 8 years or so. All of my searches, likes, articles I read, posts, as well as the essence of my eternal soul. And they have compiled a list of interests that reveal my true nature, no Buzzfeed quiz will ever get near.

It’s fascinating to look at Facebook’s compendium of…

Earlier this year, Google announced a change in the way it displays paid placements at the top of search results, essentially making them look more like the organic search results on the rest of the page. This month, Facebook reported its mobile ad revenue represented approximately 60 percent of its first quarter total ad revenue of $2.5 billion. What do two seemingly unrelated bits of news share? They are native advertising, which has become one of the most powerful communication tools for brands. And if brands want to continue reaching their audiences like they used to, they need to be on the native advertising ship now.

If you’ve read articles about native advertising, you know they either mention Buzzfeed and how well it weaves in sponsored content from brands or how The Atlantic botched its native effort with sponsored content from the Church of Scientology. But the idea of “native” includes more than online versions of the advertorial, which has been a mainstay in print publications. The definition of native advertising includes a variety of formats. From the humble paid search unit, pioneered and perfected by Google, to sponsored playlists on Spotify, native ads are experiences that mimic the space in which they appear. On social channels, they are the white space where brands have the potential to deliver in ways that are relevant and natural (native) to the people using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and so on.

Native advertising, when done right, is the opposite of interruptive advertising, which attempts to distract someone from his or her task at hand. But it’s been a journey to achieve this. It hasn’t been that long since Facebook introduced ads along the right side of the screen (small nondescript static objects quietly pleading to be clicked). This was a forced attempt to create something that was basically a display ad without any of the functionality of a display ad. In its effort to monetize, Facebook was force fitting an ad model used by the rest of the Internet. Ironically, display ads are a force fit model from traditional media, like print and TV. Meanwhile, Twitter hummed along ad-free because it recognized that adding banners would disrupt the natural flow and consumption of the Twitter feed. Of course, Twitter knew eventually it needed to monetize, but it has rolled out its advertising platform without sacrificing its user experience. And even though brands were quickly staking out their territory, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram remained free of anything resembling an ad unit until late 2013. Today, the user experience on these channels still trumps generating revenue. Ads within these channels aren’t tacked on. Instead, they are part of the experience. They’re native.

It’s the same with mobile. It’s critical to note that Twitter and Instagram have a mobile-first approach at their core. As Facebook continues to also become a mobile-first experience, the newsfeed essentially becomes the only place to reach a person. Forget about brand pages and timelines and apps your fans need to install. If you want to reach people, it better be in their newsfeed. And as Facebook continues to suppress brands’ organic reach of each post, paying for native advertising may be the only way to get content in front of the fans your brand cultivated over the past few years.

And since people are spending more of their time on social channels, native advertising is worth it. It’s only logical that a brand would want to be where the eyeballs are. As each social channel continues to evolve at breakneck speed, how a brand communicates in those spaces runs the gamut from contrived and clunky to natural and effortless. Our industry is guilty of force fitting outdated ad formats where they don’t belong. Traditional online marketing approaches primarily want to disrupt what someone is doing, such as the display banner on your favorite news site. They’re there to interrupt your attention. Click me! But this me-first attitude ignores how a real person uses a social channel.

Social channels have all been built upon the human need to connect. Whether it’s with people we know (the Social Graph) or with topics we like (Interest Graph), at the core these channels are about connection: conversation, relationship, engagement, dialog, affinity, etc. As a social channel community matures, it develops its own language and customs for connection. Some are obvious. LinkedIn connects around business and professional topics. Twitter developed its own shorthand, like RT, HT and hashtags. Instagram brought #TBT to the masses. The point is, as each channel matures, it develops a unique personality and set of expectations. When a brand wants to participate in social media, it’s not enough to say the same thing everywhere. Understanding the language and interaction patterns of a channel is critical. As they say, “when in Rome…”

It’s been a few weeks since LinkedIn first opened their publishing platform to the plebs. The blogging soapbox was previously limited to influencers like Richard Branson but now anyone with a LinkedIn account can now be elevated to the same threshold (or is the reverse true?). I was lukewarm about the release initially and after a few weeks, my views have not changed but have been reinforced. As of the end of last year, over 1.5 million unique publishers already publish on LinkedIn’s platform, reaching 277 million professionals in 147 different industries. If content was already being shared effectively on LinkedIn, what is the rationale for the publishing platform? To answer that question, we have to diagnosis the problem LinkedIn is solving. Let’s visit the patient’s history.

We recently posted an article about the famous Oscar photobomb on Social Media Today. Here's a brief excerpt:

If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow)

March 3, 2014

Last Sunday, Oscar host Ellen Degeneres broke Twitter with the most epic of all selfies. The picture was retweeted more than 1.3 million times in less than an hour, breaking President Obama’s 2012 victory photo which had 780,000 retweets. The star-studded photo included famous actors like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, (half of) Jared Leto, Channing Tatum, Kevin Spacey, Lupita Nyong'o and surprisingly, Lupita Nyong'o’s non-celebrity brother, Peter. The media was ablaze shortly, calling attention to Peter’s photobomb. What Peter did in this opportunistic moment happens thousands of time each day on Twitter, as the “normals” interact directly and in conversation with the celebrities of their field. That’s the power of Twitter and marketers can take a lesson.

Hace unas semana recibimos una invitación por parte de Aventura Capital para hacer una presentación sobre Interesante.com a la comunidad de emprendedores de Tech Startup Nights para transmitir las experiencias vividas en el 2013 y, sobre todo, dar algunos consejos a la comunidad de emprendedores de México DF.

Tech Startup Nights es un espacio que se abre el tercer jueves de cada mes y que se ha convertido en "la noche más especial para el ecosistema de startups de tecnología mexicano". Sin duda es una iniciativa muy enriquecedora pues busca que los emprendedores, diseñadores y desarrolladores compartan información y colaboren entre ellos.

En este espacio, en su versión #23, el 20 de febrero, Claudio Cossio realizó la presentación Interest Graph y Marketing de Contenidos.

Algunos de los puntos más destacados de su presentación fueron:

El equipo - "estamos convencidos que no podemos llegar a nuestro objetivo sin integrantes que son excelentes en sus áreas de trabajo".

Los advisors - profesionales con amplía experiencia en diferentes industrias que "aporten una ventaja competitiva a la hora de tomar decisiones que el equipo fundador enfrentará durante la vida del emprendimiento".

La evolución de los contenidos digitales - "ahora todo es abierto y cuantificable y esto abre muchas áreas de oportunidad". Se destacaron algunos emprendimientos en este espacio como la aplicación de dating Glimpse o el buscador de contenidos Web Stagram, ambos basados en Instagram.

Aquí pueden ver el reportaje que la revista Vértigo Político preparó posterior al evento:

Given the huge chunk of advertising that auto brands claim every year, we weren’t surprised to find in a recent study that auto enthusiasts are the most in-demand audience persona for social ad campaigns.

In this article, we’ll go into what exactly an “Auto Enthusiast” is and how we target it.

View the report on Slideshare: Top Personas in Social Advertising

Why Automakers Love Social Advertising

In 2012, automakers made up 20% of the top 25 advertisers by spend, with a combined spend of $3.9 billion. Why are automakers among the biggest spenders in advertising?

For one thing, cars are among the biggest purchases the average person will ever make (along with a home and children’s educations). And people buy, on average, 9 cars over their lifetimes. So each buyer’s loyalty is valuable.

Then there’s the time involved. Big purchases like cars require longer consideration time (one to three months, according to Lab 42) than little purchases like sandwiches, so automakers also benefit from making an impression at multiple places in the decision process.

Social is one of those places. Because people use their favorite social platforms to discover new things, social presents rich opportunities for raising brand awareness. From sport and muscle cars, tuner imports, safe and secure family cars, luxury vehicles, down to more niche products like hybrid luxury vehicles, people are sharing and discovering information about cars.

140 Proof social ads not only allow auto brands to zero in on just the people who’ve demonstrated interest in cars, but they also target many different types of auto enthusiasts, from “NASCAR Conservatives” to “Eco-moms.”

Under the Hood: Reaching the Auto Enthusiast in Social

We do this using our proprietary Blended Interest Graph technology, which filters the social spectrum of interests signals like posts, check-ins, pins, likes, etc. to offer meaningful content recommendations to targeted audiences.

As the only company to target social ads based on interest signals from multiple social networks, 140 Proof has the unique ability to identify large, desirable audiences like “Sustainability Moms” or “Car Customizers” and deliver ads to these audiences at scale.

To date, we’ve worked with top car brands such as Chevrolet and Infiniti to create high-impact campaigns, and over the years we’ve learned a lot about what makes the auto enthusiast audience tick.

Here’s a look into this highly desirable social audience.

AUTO ENTHUSIASTS

“Auto enthusiasts” is the largest and most general auto-related persona. This persona includes people who are generally interested in auto topics and products and people who are currently in the market for a new or used car. In social, they ask for or offer opinions on car brands, models, and financing. The more they enjoy driving or working with cars and the deeper they are into the shopping process, the more auto-related influencers they follow and like. Who targets them: Automakers, Parts Retailers (ie, Pep Boys), Road Services (ie, Meineke) How they identify themselves: They follow or like: Jalopnik, Scott Monty, Google Auto, Car and Driver, Chrysler, Edmunds... They check in at: car shows, auto parts stores, car dealerships… They see and say words like: test drive, Chevy, Ford, dealership, lease... Popular Sub-Personas: In-Market Auto Shoppers, Tuners, Sport and Muscle Car Lovers, Family Drivers, Luxury Car Shoppers Related articles:

Top Personas in Social Advertising

The Top 10 Social Moments of 2013

Unpacking the Travel Persona: Using Social Cues to Target Ads

From Cave Paintings to Leonardo da Vinci: the Evolution of Persona Targeting

As I walked out of yet another tech event last night, a young man asked a few questions about me and proceeded to tell me about his start-up.  We strolled down the block, and a sense of deja vu ran through me as he explained the same business model I feel like I've heard a thousand times in the past six months.  Anyone in start-up environs has undoubtedly heard the same thing and it almost always includes omniscient words like "purchasing" and  "social graph".   At it's core, the business model uses Facebook, most often, to help people engage with 'friends' and gets them to purchase or join something because of the 'friendship'--- I call it 'tag-along theory'.  I smiled and nodded as we talked about the marketplace and his competitors on a superficial level.  And then we parted ways.  This brief exchange has been running through my mind over the course of the day, not because it was unique, but more because it was anything but, after all I've coined a phrase for it.  I sometimes worry if I have somehow become a little too cynical and dismissive.  No doubt many of these ideas I'm sure will take off, raise a round or two and garner some level of PR and success.  But I find myself frustrated with these doe-eyed founders who don't analyze beyond the buzz words of the moment.  These are the entrepreneurial equivalent of 'the empty suit', with no individual sniff test for reasonableness.  They believe in 'tag-along theory' because they actually live it. 

'Monsters are due on Maple Street', Twilight Zone

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I would consider myself an amateur anthropologist.  Sit in a Starbucks for an hour or survey some comments at the top of your Facebook feed as if you are an alien, objectively reporting back to your mothership about this life form called "human" and you will be too.  And if there is only one thing I have learned it is that words carry weight and influence behavior.  For instance, the word 'friend' is defined as someone with whom you have a "mutual bond of affection".  Think about most people in your facebook social graph and I'm sure that definition would not apply, say, the ex-girlfriend who cheated on you, a random person you met at a social function, your high school bully.  A friend is someone with whom you would share intimate details of your life, good or bad.  A friend is the person who actually cares to see travel pictures and the baby's first crawl.  A friend will know about the steps and missteps you're taking to improve your life, not just the milestones posted on a wall. Yet, every "Facebook friend", gets private snapshots, not because var facebookFriend == var realFriend, but because we've all confused the definitions.

Friend = "a pal && a confidante"