Has Advertising Killed Facebook? The Truth Behind Selling Privacy

Did Facebook Blow It Or Did We?

How you market on Facebook is about to change. You're about to discover why and what you need to do. It even surprised us.

The friendly face changes, contorts, twists into something we hardly recognize. Now we stare into the cold, cruel eyes filled with greed. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - jump back, this is the face of Facebook. What? We love Facebook! It's like a favorite aunt, your best friend or and old running buddy you shared many a road trip with down through the years. How could FB screw us over by selling our personal data and private information?

The Dr. Jekyll Side

Just like Jekyll and Hyde I'm of two minds about the entire furor over Facebook in particular and Internet privacy as a whole. From a marketing perspective consumers and customers have to be confident that key information will be secure so the entire web commerce thing works. I want to know that Amazon won't scatter my credit card information and Bank of America will protect my online banking.

The Mr. Hyde Side

But as an individual I can't help but shake my head at the "delete your account" or "boycott Facebook" movements and question their grip on reality. Look at it this way. Your individual data is what you put onto the Internet. We think it's private and it's not and never ever was.

Standby for Paranoia

Everything you've every said, sent, viewed, spoken or entered on the Internet is still out there. You might remove it but it's not gone. Even old websites never disappear. The Internet Archive has 150 billion web pages archived from 1996. Forget diamonds, the Internet is forever. As a wise man once said, "Trying to take something off the Internet is like trying to take pee out of a pool."

The Writing On The Wall - Your Facebook Wall

The idea is to create a network to help friends, family and people with similar interest connect with each other. Thanks to Facebook high school classmates I've avoided for over 40 years can find me. None of this could have happened if my name and my personal information were locked away and totally secure.

With very few exceptions no one has hacked into the social media sites and stolen data. Our friends and we have simply given it away. Over a third of us have posted something online that has come back to haunt us. According to a survey by Retrevo nearly 1/3 of the people who posted before they thought said it ruined their marriage, relationships or caused problems at home or work. I know it's obvious but if you'd be embarrassed, compromised or penalized by something on a social media site … don't put it there. FB may feel like your BFF but that's not their goal.

It's All About What You Like

Facebook is five years old and valued at approximately $15 billion. But it never made a profit until 2010 when Mark Zuckerberg announced it was "free cash flow positive." How does a company lose money for five years and is worth $15 billion?

According to ComScore online marketers showed a record 1.1 trillion display ads to U.S. Internet users in the first quarter of 2010 … a 15% increase from last year. At the head of the line is Facebook with 176 billion display impressions and a 16.2% market share. And we thought Facebook was about family vacations and embarrassing pictures from that party when I got really drunk. Social media sites are building humongous databases on every member, friend and visitor. All this insight is sold to advertisers and marketers who target the display ads to our specific interests.

Has Marketing Killed Facebook?

"People like you have ruined Facebook forever!" That's what one of my neighbors spat at me at the pool last weekend. She is deleting her account in protest and feels marketing is to blame. She and many FB members are concerned that their personal data being sold to third parties. What they are missing is it has to be done. Social media isn't a right and users don't own the experience. Just because it's free doesn't mean that the tooth fairy pops up once a month to pay the bills. The intent has always been to make a profit. To increase revenue social media sites have two obvious alternatives - charge subscription fees, increase advertising options - or both.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin are like social crack. They are addictive. Let's say that 10,000 FB members cancel out of 400 million active users … net results is what? What is the alternative for their addiction? They'll come back because they "need" the sharing and the personal forum. The average Facebook user visits the site at least once a day and spends an astounding 55 minutes engaging friends and family. What will they do without it? Social media companies know this and make this addiction their business models.

So Do You Follow Dr. Jekyll Or Mr. Hyde?

Facebook needs the warm, friendly Jekyll image to attract the 1-billion users worldwide that CEO Mark Kuckerberg has targeted. And they need the action-driven, pragmatic Mr. Hyde to generate the revenue they need. What we are seeing is the social media sites facing the reality that they are in the business of selling advertising and our preferences and personal data is the marketing bait. They aren't in the relationship business.

Facebook hasn't been any more successful at social marketing than the rest of us and is struggling to make it deliver a ROI. They have to provide an effective way to capitalize on all those relationships. Display ads are clean, acceptable and measurable. That's where social marketing is going and Facebook will be offering more options at different price points.

The Big Take Away - Remember This

Marketing through a company or business page simply doesn't work and they know it. The investment in time, resources and money doesn't pay off for businesses. Content targeting will make the tool of choice display ads driven by a constantly updated database of user preferences. Every push of the "Like" button sharpens the focus on specific individuals who have the greatest interest in your product, service or company. Plus users recognize the marketing and accept it. Managing relationships is harder and more expensive than taking advantage of them. It's time to rethink those marketing plans one more time.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are going to be very, very busy.

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.

Feet On The Street - Become A Marketing Money Machine Like Sesame Street

Let Me Tell You How To Get To …

What debt does Sesame Street owe to an Italian porn movie? You'll find out.

Marketing flat? Customers and audiences bored? You need to polish your messages with Mad Men like Kermit, Big Bird and Elmo. We aren't talking fuzzy and fun; this is serious feet on the street.

In 1969 I raced to my college apartment to drink beer and watch Sesame Street. There wasn't anything like it on television. In one galaxy-shaking "Duh" someone noticed that kids liked commercials better than the programs. So the innovative people at Children's Television Workshop created a show that was all commercials. Chop the topics into 60-second chunks; add animation, Muppets and sprinkle liberally with jingles. Hey, it worked for Snap, Crackle and Pop.

Sesame Street changed how just about anyone under 45 learned, thought and reacted to marketing. The difference was it was intentional, designed and researched. The show had and still has far more in common with a marketing and advertising program than a television program. Okay boys and girls; grab your crayons because you're invited to sing along with Sesame Street Greatest Hits - marketing style.

Pinball Number Count

It all started with numbers. Listen to Big Bird. Never fall in love with your own research. Let research and analytics inform you but don't let them make your decisions. The Street's constant research helped guide thinking and overcome challenges still, in many cases; they did not follow the findings. Logic and experience are you’re your best guides. Focus groups are just snapshots. Remember every failed advertising and marketing program rated well with their focus groups.

Elmo's Song

Elmo isn't a details kind of - well whatever he is. Elmo loves reactions and so should you. Evaluate reactions and not approval or disapproval. How your audience responds is far more important than if they like or don't like your product, service, company or idea. Results come from action and not an intellectual exercise. Look at the responses.

Rubber Duckie

Ernie is in the tub and coming clean on how to structure your content. Don't avoid negatives. A negative can have more influence than a positive. Sesame Street doesn't sugarcoat life in the neighborhood. What you might lose is much more of a motivator to most people than what they have to gain. That's why Oscar the Grouch is always negative but always makes a point.

I Love Trash

What's that Oscar is saying? Repetition is important. Words, letters, ideas were presented over and over - day after day. Kids loved it. It bred familiarity, involvement and fostered a critical aspect of every form of early education - a false sense of security. Remember that 50-year old marketing principle that says a person needs five marketing impressions to be motivated to take the desired action? Well it's right.

It's Not Easy Being Green

I bet you thought Kermit was singing about being a frog? Nope he was singing about making money by playing to your audience. Make it easy and do two key things.

Capture Their Attention - The longer you hold your target audience's attention the greater the chance of attaining your desired results. Sesame Workshop tests every episode. If it doesn't hold a child's attention 80-90% of the time they don't air it. How do you capture attention? Kiddies you get focused.

Zero in on your audience and a single result. Sesame Street is aimed at preschoolers. That's it. Each show was "brought to you by" a letter of the alphabet but not the entire alphabet. During the episode the letter kept popping up and shuffling in and out of the other ideas and information. By the end of the show you knew that letter and could count to ten in Spanish. I bet you can still do it. Target an audience, a single, valuable idea and concept and focus on it.

C is for Cookie, That's Good Enough For Me

Listen to Cookie Monster. Who is saying something is often more important than what is being said. Sesame Street delivers friendly faces, memorable characters and a neighborhood. Put the message where it's logical and then put the person there too. If your message is about building supplies put your presenter in the store or on the building site. If you're selling fried chicken go where people enjoy your food. Boardrooms are so 1995.

Over, Under, Around & Through

Tell them when you do something new. While you focus and reinforce with repetition tease the "next new thing" while you have attention. My kids are excited to distraction by the promise of a new episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. A night of premiers almost makes them wet their pants. Now look at how Lancôme teases the next free gift. You get the idea?

Sing, Sing A Song - About Your Brand

Never assume you know how your audience thinks and that it never changes. Treat idea extensions like brand extensions. What else can you do with an idea or concept? How can it be spread, modified and used again? This is what Microsoft calls the power of increasing returns. Work every idea until you wring the last possible result out of it. By its 40th anniversary in 2009, Sesame Street has been broadcast in over 120 countries with 20 independent international versions. This idea extension drives the global marketing that pays the bills and builds the brand.

Mah Na Mah Na

Don't over-think it. Mah Na Mah Na is my favorite Sesame Street song. The lyrics are just melodic babble but it is one of the most famous songs from the show. Mah Na Mah Na is the poster child of how global generations of adults have been taught to respond. It generates a reaction. It is pleasantly but obsessively repetitious. It captures your attention with the memorable characters and the situation and I can guarantee you that no focus group ever selected it. Believe it or not but the song was originally used in an Italian porn movie. But, when Bip Bipadotta sang it we all listened and watched. They didn't over-think the message. It didn't matter if it didn't make one lick of sense. Hey it was Sesame Street. 40 years and a billion dollars of revenue later … it's what we call marketing.

Mah Na Mah Na

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Special Guest Illustrator

From time to time we feature the work of a talented illustrator to spice up the view around here and help catch your attention. Jason Towers is web and print designer as well as a versatile illustrator. He is based out of Australia but Jason is as close as www.savvywebdesign.net. As he says the Internet has no boundaries.

Scroll down - there's much more!

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.

Stop Scope Creep - The #1 Killer Of Projects, Programs, Marketing & Events

The Curse of the Scope Creep

Scope Creep may well be the #1 cause why projects, initiatives, programs and events don't meet expectations, targets and objectives. "The unplanned expansion in the size, requirements or parameters of a project." That's just one definition for what we all know and loathe as Scope Creep but let me add mine.

Scope Creep is the difference between getting what you want - and wanting what you get.

Have you ever stared blankly at the end results, looked to the heavens and screamed, "Where did it all go wrong?" Dear Heart you have been trampled upon by the insidious requirement crawl. Let me put it as unemotionally as possible.

Scope Creep is an insidious killer … it murders opportunity, results and returns. It strangles communication, personalization, involvement and willingness. It destroys relationships and fosters resentment, frustration and dissatisfaction.

Was that objective an unemotional enough? I strive for professional detachment.

The Cause of the Creep

No one starts out to manage a project that does a death spiral into a black hole. So, where does it come from?

Cause #1 is a "jump right in" mentality. The project begins before you investigate and take the time to think it through and develop attainable requirements.

Cause #2 is asking the wrong people at the beginning and listening to the wrong people along the way. It takes the right people, the high-level managers or executives who have a wide-ranging understanding of the desired results and the ultimate end-user, customer or audience. How many times have you watched people attempt to get everything decided before they show it to upper management only to have the entire thing get derailed because of assumptions?

Cause #3 is not clearly defining the desired results, the ultimate end-user and the boundaries of the project. Decide on what you are going to do and what you are not going to do. And determine the "language" of the job. We assume that everyone understands a “process” in the same way. Why are we doing this and what do we want to happen?

Cause #4 is too much navel contemplation and putting the wrong things first. Head scratching is not a job description. A meeting is for the audience and not the people on stage. A program, initiative, or project is for the end-users or customers. If it doesn't fit into their logic, workflow or ways of doing things it simply doesn't work. The time to think about adoption, integration, marketing, and usability is at the beginning and not at the end.

Cause #5 is what I call the Subway Sandwich Syndrome. Have you seen the TV commercial where the annoying boy keeps pestering his parents with requests? They keep saying "No" until the kid gets to a Subway Restaurant where he's told, "You can have anything you want for the same price." Along the way there will be attempts to add things or change the project. In some cases it's an effort to squeeze elements in without increasing the budget. In other cases it's changing things in the name of "adding value" that really add very little. The simple truth is you can't have anything you want for the same price.

As you might have guessed I'm not a big fan of Scope Creep. I've seen too many valuable programs stagger off-track like a bunch of drunken goats.

Two Sides To Scope Creep

If you are developing an internal project, program or initiative keep your eyes on the prize. Think about "what else we can do" after you have delivered the project and evaluated its performance. Make delivering on the primary results Job #1.

If you are developing or producing a project or event as an outside supplier create a formal Scope of Project. Explain that your budget and deliverables are based on this agreement. This makes it easier to tell a client that you can't absorb additional costs when things change. It's your choice to do a 15-minute video for the cost of a 10-minute one, not the client's. But when you look at your profit at the end of the job remember all those times when you said, "Okay." You may discover you are the Scope Creep.

Killing the Creep

Remember those old movies where the angry mob chased the monster down? Well you can do the same thing and improve your efficiency and billables. The way to head off scope creep is not to let it get started. Before the project begins get serious about defining the scope.

1. Determine the results and focus.

2. Assemble the high-level core team based on ability, insight and capability.

3. Research the ultimate end-user or audience to determine what is valuable, needed and will have the greatest positive impact.

4. Research the ultimate end-user to determine how the project, program, initiative or event can be structured to make it valuable, practical convenient and logical. How do they want it?

5. Clearly define the scope, boundaries and who has the responsibility for approvals.

6. Set a development/creative/production schedule that gets everything completed, tested and perfected in the least practical time.

7. Determine the "change management" procedures that would justify modifying the scope of the project. Then stick to them. This is the biggest "Must Do" step.

Getting What You Want

Put everything into a Scope of Project that's written in simple language, distribute it to the critical people and get their agreement. Make sure that everyone understands that modifications have an impact on time, costs and resources. Someone will be absorbing them with every change or unplanned expansion of the project. Then monitor the heck out of it.

Keep the focus on the desired results and the most important people, the end-user, customer or audience. Challenge every unplanned change or addition against the desired results. If it doesn't make it faster, easier, more efficient, more enjoyable, more affordable and more valuable - don't do it.

Managing a project is like sailing a ship across the ocean. Set the course and follow the compass exactly. Just a few degrees off course can put you hundreds of miles away from your destination at the end. You want to make this a pleasure cruise and make sure that the Scope Creep misses the boat.

It's the difference between getting what you want - and wanting what you get.

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Scroll down - there's much more!

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Please Subscribe! There's a new article every week and we are determined to give you valuable information you can use to be successful and make more money. So, go to the Be The First To Know box and just fill it in.

Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.