Apparently, Google has been feeling threatened by the 400 million user social media platform since many brands have began shifting online ad spend from paid search to Facebook.Virgin Media, Vodafone, Carlsberg and Fiat are some of the big names that have chosen the social network as their ideal direct response advertising channel.

Recent figures from Compete Inc. show us Facebook has passed search engine giant Google becoming the top source for traffic to major portals such as Yahoo and MSN. Today, social media is proving to have a stronger influence and a greater capability to reach the masses than traditional advertising. In addition, the average time users spend using Facebook exceeded 7 hrs per month in January 2010, 10% up from the previous month.

Other benefits this reasonably new advertising platform offers advertisers is the ability to link conversion data to Facebook ad groups making ROI information easily available, as well as the ability to create, delete, modify, and even bulk upload campaigns from a spreadsheet.

In addition, bids can now be optimised in real-time, it is possible to manage budget and status for multiple groups and there is a wider range of reporting and data analysis tools available than when using the Facebook interface alone.

The following articles below were featured on NMA and both discuss how brands are beginning to shift budgets from Google to Facebook thanks to the opening of its advertising API which is enabling agencies as well as clients to have greater control over their online campaigns.

77Agency was among the first three digital agencies in the UK to be granted the Facebook Ads API Agency title late last year and since then the technology is available to clients and is also being licensed out to other agencies, clients and third-parties.

Click on image to read full story:

Click on image to read full story:

A recent study by Forrester Research revealed that because the market is maturing, many marketers are reevaluating their marketing strategies and turning to digital agencies overall to manage their interactive communication initiatives.

However, many are still skeptical about handing over the reigns to a digital agency and instead choose to play a more conservative role while sticking to their traditional agency.

The ’state of interactive agencies’ survey conducted by Forrester, interviewed 100 global interactive marketers and found that only 23% of respondents preferred their traditional brand agency to plan and manage interactive marketing activities.

Most significantly, about 46% did not consider traditional agencies of being capable of handling the interactive work. The rest had no opinion.

According to Forrester, there’s a ‘great race’ between those traditional agencies which are investing in becoming more digital-savvy and digital marketing agencies that don’t want to be seen as just the banner creators and sem marketers.

One thing to keep in mind is that if marketers want to stay ahead of the curve, whether with one or two or more providers, they must shift their marketing efforts online in order to survive in this fast-moving industry we’re living in today.

Emerging media such as mobile and social will also force marketers to change their approach and require an agency that adds more competent capabilities that comply with its client’s interactive needs and requirements.

(thanks Jo!)

This increase in participation on behalf of  social media users is forcing advertisers and marketers to shift their marketing efforts as to be able to capture people’s attention and promote their products while engaging and interacting with potential customers.

According to a study from the communications firm Cone, the majority of new media users (78%) interact with brands via new media sites, an increase of 32% from 2008.

Other findings from the study revealed that 89% of social media users feel that brands should make an effort to interact with brands online and not just have a presence within the different networks. In addition, the report also showed that the majority of consumers (58%) are still searching for brands on traditional websites and through email (45%).

More significantly, approximately a quarter of consumers said they want to interact with brands in social networks.

The chart below clearly illustrates the frequency in which users decide to use social media and tools to interact with companies.

61% of social media users believe brands should make their top priority, problem solving and providing customer service.

However, 58% of respondents did admit they would be more willing to interact and engage with brands online if they offered freebies, coupons or discounts.

Some final impressions from respondents when asked how they felt about brands being present in social media are the following:

* Feel a stronger connection (72%, up from 56% in 2008)

* Feel better served (68%, up from 57% in 2008)

* Have a more positive image (74%)

* Are more willing to engage (70%)

* Have an improved opinion when one of their friends interacts (64%)

* Choose to “follow”/”friend”/”fan” because it helps showcase their personality online (52%)

This is the opening paragraph of an article issued today on IlSole24Ore’s online edition of B2B.it, discussing our continuing efforts to address industry marketers about a series of important topics revolving social media advertising and online marketing strategies in general.

Marketers are coming to realize the possible business opportunity that lies within the relationship between leisure and advertising investment. The latest of a sequence of events organized by 77Agency and Buongiorno Marketing Services in Italy, the last of which took place in Rome and was dubbed “360 ° Marketing: Using Creativity to integrated online, mobile & social activities” with YouTube, Facebook, Key-Com and BootB as guestspeakers, highlighted the importance of focusing on mobile without forgetting the desktop or the good old TV.

The seminar in Rome, which we have spoken about  in one of our more recent posts, placed emphasis on the most popular video service in the world, YouTube, which is visited by 45% of Italian internet users, with a global share of 20% and an average viewing time of 58 minutes per month.

To close, Marco Corsaro commented that “We spend 30% of our free time online, however companies are only investing 7% of their budget on online advertising.”

In other words, the sector is undervalued and marketers are only beginning to realize that a small investment online can lead to great results.

Telecommunications was the most prominent industry in the list of categories of UK advertisers on social networking sites. Telefonica O2, Deutsche Telekom, and British Telecommunications, delivered altogether close to 950 million display ad impressions in the month of August.

Ranking second in the list of top advertisers was the retail industry, where leading brands such as Tesco, John Lewis and DFS, generated 753 million ad impressions during the same month, followed by banking brands with 248 million, travel with 213 million and last but not least, entertainment with 181 million ad views.

In addition the research also revealed that 15-24-year-olds were served the most ads, accounting for 29% of social network display ad impressions while representing 23% of the total audience. The leading marketing agency also found that, despite the demographics aiming towards younger users, all ages were reached.

comScore’s Managing Director Europe, Mike Read comments on the results: “These data suggest that every demographic segment is reached via social networking sites and that no particular age segment accounts for an overwhelming percentage of ads delivered.”

He continued, “Given the overall reach and volume of ads delivered on social networking sites, brand advertisers who ignore this channel may be missing a significant opportunity and enabling their competitors to gain a dominant share of voice in the channel.”

Yesterday, 77Agency in collaboration with Buongiorno Marketing Services, held their 3rd social media event in the month of October dedicated to marketing professionals in Europe. The event was held last night at the private member club, the Soho House London, where we then had the opportunity to network informally with our exclusive guests including the NHS, Virgin games, Cowshed, Comcast International Media group, IPC Media, Elemis, Paramount, Mobile Squared and Bauer Media, over some drinks and light refreshments.

This time the guestspeaker of the night was the online business network Viadeo, with its 8 million user base and 700,000 participating companies. In representation, Viadeo’s Europe COO, Peter Crosby, discussed about the use of business social networks for marketing as well as the practical and measurable methods to get the best out of social media for your business. But before he went into the details of things, Crosby ran a Live twitter feed and poll via mobile to assess the current attitudes and usage of social media by the seminar guests!

In addition, Adhish Kulkarni, MD Buongiorno Marketing Services UK, also took the floor and spoke about the 65million users who are accessing Facebook from their mobile across the globe. One curious fact, these users are typically 50% more active than non-mobile Facebook users. He mentioned how mobile is redefining the concept of targeting, in other words, it’s becoming the ultimate anytime/anywhere communication channel.

To close, our MD Marco Corsaro, talked about developing a coherent social media strategy for brands, making use of the viral effect of Facebook to drive brand awareness, sales and build a brand community. He commented that 30% of our active time is spent online, yet online advertising typically accounts for only 7% of advertising spend. Moreover, in Europe, users spend an average of 25.7 minutes a day using Facebook, visiting 2.6 times a day and 50% of users login everyday.

He then outlined some of the advantages the Facebook advertising platform offers marketers and these are:

* Highly targeted advertising  based on standard demographics but also on hobbies and interests such as music, books, tv shows or even birth dates!
* Engagements ads introduce viral into the mix
* Video ads, ‘become a fan’ ads, events, polling and even search is now possible, all of which are helping brands to interact with consumers and build solid brand communities

Also, Facebook have a number of tracking tools which are constantly being developed to improve targeting and help the advertiser make the right decisions when it comes to defining a social media campaign through Facebook.

For more information on 77Agency Seminars & Events, stay tuned on www.77agency.com/seminars/

Many thanks to Adhish Kulkarni, Peter Crosby and Marco Corsaro for sharing their insights!

The most popular video site in the planet has just launched a new ad format, currently available in the U.K., France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands– YouTube Promoted Videos. The new ad format allows for advertisers to choose, through the AdWords interface, a promoted video ad template so that when a YouTube viewer clicks on your promotion, they see your video. You only pay when people click to see your video – not when people see your promotion.

The YouTube Promoted Video ad option consists of a thumbnail on the left and three lines of text on the right. When a user clicks on a video ad, he/she will be taken to the YouTube page or channel with the video. Any user can promote ads on YouTube for just a few dollars a day, though most of the promotions on the site are run by larger organizations.

According to Nielsen, online video streaming is growing slowly but surely. This September, total video streams increased 24.8% compared to 11.2 billion streams in the same period last year. YouTube in particular leads over 50% of all video streams in the U.S., a total of 6.7 billion streams.

Just like sponsored links on Google, advertisers will be able to pay for their Promoted Video when users click on the ad. In addition, advertisers will also be able to add a ‘call-to-action’ clickable overlay on videos to engage people and drive them to their websites.

Watch the YouTube Promoted Video presentation:

Last Thursday, for the second time in Italy, 77Agency and Buongiorno Marketing Services, in collaboration with Key-Com and BootB, presented 360° Marketing: Using creativity to integrate offline, social & mobile activities, at the beautiful Adriano Hotel in Rome.

This time, the keynote speaker was Angelo Liverani, Agency Relationship Manager- Google Italy, who spoke about the benefits and opportunities that the greatest platform for user-generated content on the Web– YouTube– has to offer. Liverani also talked about the role of YouTube in the media mix including targeted advertising campaigns along with several case studies.

77Agency, who in 2009 was officially recognized as Google Analytics Authorized Consultant and Google Website Optimizer Consultant and who currently has a portfolio of clients such as Lavazza, Dimensione Danza, Barclaycard, RadioDeejay, RCS Group, Lottomatica, JP Morgan and Saxo Bank, aimed to offer to the exclusive attendees of the seminars, useful insights about the importance of using creativity in the development of multichannel campaigns, the integration of online campaigns with offline activities and finally, mobile social media.

Other additional speakers included Key-Com, who spoke about the importance of merging online marketing initiatives with the offline world. As we know, billions of people are now online, and the rapid growth of emerging technologies and social communities is at a very high point. In addition, innovative advertising campaigns can capture the overflow from the online world, while at the same time merging it with traditional offline mediums to engage the right audiences in a direct and creative manner.

Buongiorno MS on the other hand, explained how social networking and consumer generated medium have moved beyond computers. There’s a bigger audience that’s now accessing their favorite social network from their mobile devices, therefore, there’s definitely a monetizing opportunity there for marketers.

Last but not least, BootB, the online pitching engine, enlightened the crowd with its innovative concept of giving brands online access to an unlimited amount of creative proposals from which they can choose without going through the hassle of booking meetings or tweaking strategies continuously.

77Agency’s next seminar, Developing a Coherent Facebook and Social Media Strategy, will be held at the Soho House London, October 15th. Book your place now at seminarslondon@77agency.com