Web2.0 vs Web 3.0 and The App Economy

Earlier today I came across a talk by the Marc Pincus from Zynga at this years Web2.0 Summit. If you have 10 minutes it is well worthwhile taking a look.

 

In the presentation Mark highlights the movement from Web1.0, with links and banner ads being the path to revenue, to Web2.0 with currency and monitization coming from SEO, SEM and Google Ad Sense and Ad Words. He goes on to describe new Web3.0 Third business plan of the internet that is generating revenue from the “app economy”.

In this app ecomony, Mark talks about how sellers of the future will increasingly use social media and friends/network sharing for sales of product and become less reliant on Google ad clicks. I believe that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg both in relation to Google type advertising and social media generated sales and that the market for both approaches is still in it’s infancy.

 

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Social Media Backlash of iSnack 2.0: Publicity stunt or genuine stupidity?

Yesterday I wrote about how more retailers are using Social Media Marketing and the effects of Social Media. Today, more evidence of the effects of social media!

When the famous Australian spread Vegemite launched a new spread, made from Vegemite and cheese, they ran a competition to name the spread. From 48,000 suggestions the company then decided on “iSnack 2.0″. Publicity stunt or genuine stupidity?

Kraft cans iSnack 2.0
I’ll leave you to contemplate but what followed was a campaign of outrage through social media channels including thousands of complaints on Twitter and pages on Facebook like Boycott iSnack2.0. After just 4 days and a clear thumbs down by the greater community, the company have come to their senses and are canning the name.
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Social Media Marketing on the Rise

eMarketer published a report called Hopes and Fears of Social Media Marketing yesterday covering how US Web retailers plan to use social media and community building tools in the coming year. The report suggests that web retailers surveyed are accelerating their use of, and commitment to, social media.

96% of online retailers surveyed currently employ or plan to employ Facebook Fan Pages within the next 12 months, and 84% plan to use Twitter for publishing.

Online Retailers: 99% Plan to Have Facebook Fan Pages

The report provides strong evidence that retailers are understanding the importance of Social Media and avoiding Social Media is becoming less of an option. According to an August ’09 study, the top Social Media networks being embraced include:

  • Facebook (74 percent)
  • YouTube (65 percent)
  • Twitter (63 percent)
  • LinkedIn (60 percent)

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Business Tools: Elimination, Pareto and Parkinsons Law

I recently reread ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’ by Timothy Ferris and I think it’s a must read for any entrepreneur. I found the first two thirds of the book most useful in particular concepts around ‘Elimination’, ‘Pareto’ and ‘Parkinson’s law’. My bullet point summary of these concepts are as follows:

Elimination – Time Management

Ferris recommends doing away with time management and focusing on achieving the few important things that need to be done every day. Concepts include:

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Restaurant Promotion: What Level Of Discount?

Following my blog ‘Restaurant Promotion: What discount should I offer” I was asked by a fellow marketer for some feedback on the level of discount. His question was ‘have you seen 10% work better than offering 5% off?’. From experience, better or higher discounts have a better chance of redemption for two reasons:

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Restaurant Promotion: What discount should I offer?

OK, so you own a restaurant or café, you have been approached by a local discount program, you have read my last post, followed the 8 guidelines, decided discounting is for you and now you ask yourself ‘what discount should I offer?’

The best advice I can give for coupon restaurant promotion is to (1) limit your exposure and (2) use ‘perceived value’ to your advantage. Attracting new customers with a discount coupon is great for business as long as the terms of the offer limit your exposure by not giving away too much margin. You also want perception of value so potential customers feel compelled to use the coupon.

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Discount Marketing Plan: Should you provide a discount?

I have assisted many companies with running their local discount reward programs and part of this process involves contacting local small businesses and asking them to provide some discount for members of the reward program. One of the first questions I’m usually asked is ‘should I provide a discount?’ and the answer isn’t always clear so here are some guidelines:

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