April 2010 has been a busy month in search and social media, so I cherry-picked six news stories which should be of interest to online marketers among which, a report on Facebook advertising; Facebook dropping the fan button; Ning becomes paying; and Google introducing site speed in search ranking.
1. Nielsen report on Facebook advertising
Nielsen just produced a research report in conjunction with Facebook on the topic of social media advertising value.
The report distinguishes between three types of ads on Facebook: paid media (classic home page ads), hybrid media (branded ads showing friends who advocate the brand), and last earned media (organic impressions shared by fans of the brand with their friends), at this stage of engagement, the brand benefits purely from the viral effect - it seems hybrid impressions are 4 times more likely to generate a purchase than home page impressions.
Related article: To Buy or to Earn? The Optimisation of Facebook Ads
2. Facebook drops fans for "likers"
Third week in April, Facebook released a new version of the platform whereby the concept of fans was replaced by "likers". With this change the new "like" button takes on the functionality of the "share" button. The new feature will make it apparently easier for people to commit (as opposed to becoming a fan). Since its launch last week, however, the "like" button has had quite controversial reception. Check Zac's blog post for more information.
3. Ning becomes paying, Bebo is closing
Ning which hosts 2.3 millions social networks, including many in the education sector, is due to become a paying service in the very near future. Users are being asked to upgrade to premium accounts (ranging from a few dollars per month to a few hundred)*. Some other companies are already offering alternative solutions to those who want to keep a service free of charge. But how easily users will be able to migrate their data and users' profiles to rebuild their community elsewhere, is another problem entirely.
Spring is harsh on historical social networking sites, and the closure of Bebo was announced by AOL if they can't find a buyer to take over by May. Bebo lost 60 percent of its audience in just over a year. However, the site still hosts successful communities who are now wondering, as are Ning's, where else they should migrate their members.
These two stories highlight the crucial issue of data ownership on social networking sites. We could also wonder who would be ultimately accountable for the wasting of the investment made by companies and groups in building their communities on these sites.
* Last week Ning released their pricing scheme, it looks like educators will still have access to a free version, which will be sponsored by a yet un-named educational company.
4. Google officially introduces site speed in web search ranking
Site speed is an extremely important factor in making the experience of visiting a website a good one. On April 9th, Google announced they had included site speed as a new signal in their search ranking algorithm. So far this signal only applies to English speaking visitors on Google.com, but Google plans to roll this out to other languages and countries soon.
Check Google's article on their webmaster's blog to find out more.
5. Foursquare reaches 1 million users
On Friday 23rd April Foursquare announced they reached the milestone of 1 million users. Foursquare's been around a while but soared exponentially from 170.000 users at the end of last year, thanks to the mobile web and smart phones (see the Google Trends chart below).
The game which invites players to check-in in places they go to (shops, restaurants, offices etc..) has been recently used in the UK by Domino's Pizza, Debenhams and just last week, by the footwear brand Jimmy Choo as a customer loyalty tool with a viral effect.
