5 Reasons to Jump on Facebook Ads NOW

Facebook Dollar 11

Some marketers are hesitant about the need to spend marketing budget on Facebook advertising and why / how / where they should find those dollars. A sensible Three Step Process for succeeding in the new Facebook landscape includes creating content most likely to be shared by consumers, putting ad dollars behind it to boost it, and enabling your community to make you part of their community.

Here are 5 reasons why this small investment will pay off.

1. Impressions rule. We talk a lot about interactivity and engagement. But don’t underestimate the plain ol’ audience impressions you’re gaining with Facebook ads. We may not know how great the positive effect of social media impressions are on your brand for years.

Look at TV advertising: buying habits in 2014 are influenced by TV ads from many years ago. If you want to influence the brand of beer I buy today, you should go back in time to 1989 and make better beer ads. That Spuds MacKenzie…he was rad.

  

2. The cost per impression for Facebook ads is almost nothing compared to that of television or newspapers. And your Facebook ad may actually interact with a consumer as opposed to getting skipped on DVR or never read.

herb2

Media Sales guru Herb Tarlek says,
“Newspapers: Kids today don’t read.
And Television: Stinkerino.
Facebook: where your ad dollars buy more!” 

 

3. Even better news is that your competitors may now be on their way off of consumers’ radar. Let your competitors complain about the lack of organic reach and wish for the glory days of 2012. Meanwhile, you can spend a few bucks, target ads to your demo, and be where your competitors’ customers live in 2014.

 

4. He with the best creative wins. Facebook may be like the Super Bowl in that all of the best content will be paid advertising.

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5. You’re proving your product’s value.

Brands behave now on Facebook like record labels or recording artists have always been with radio – looking for free airtime or spins of their content on media that someone else owns and controls.

There’s a lot of competition and limited amount of space and time for your fans. If you want to guarantee exposure, you will need to pay. If you’re not willing to do an inexpensive add buy, then how confident are you about your business?

henry ford

Moving to the Dark Side

 Apple
I’m starting a new journey today and I need your help! I’m making the complete move from PC to Apple beginning today.

The last Apple computer I had was an Apple II in high school. I don’t remember what year I stopped using it but I’m pretty sure Siouxsie and the Banshees were still together.

MacBook Air
Hmmmm. It's ... shiny.

I would love to hear any advice or tips via comments below that you want to share about moving from the PC world to a Mac, especially:

•What do you like best about Mac?

•Is there anything I should be watching for?

 

Now then, to start with, where the hell is the right click???

Apple iTunes Announcement: Beatles???

Today over on the iTunes Store, much of the pricey real estate is promoting a big announcement tomorrow at 9am CT / 10am ET. You’ll see the same thing at apple.com.

iTunes Announcement

Let the speculation fly! I am once again predicting the announcement that The Beatles catalogue will finally be available via iTunes. Last year, I speculated that this would be a big Apple announcement in the near future but I didn’t see it taking this long.

I may be way off … many folks on Mashable or elsewhere are predicting application-related news. I’m guessing Beatles simply due to the timing; a mid-November roll-out means that it’s product or content FOR SALE. It must be something that will ring the iTunes Stores cash register. See you tomorrow at the “the store”…

Apple LogoApple Records Logo  

 

 

Top Ten Influencers Covering iPad Apps

 

 
 

iPad Spock
Pitching iPad Apps Would Be Logical
 
Here’s a list of the Top Ten Most Influential Writers Covering iPad Apps: 
 

Christina Warren – Mashable
Yukari Kane – Wall Street Journal
Roman Loyola – MacWorld
Eric Zeman – Information Week
Jay Yarow –  Mashable
Nick Mokey – Digital Trends
Paul Krill – CIO Magazine
Brian X. Chen –  Wired: Gadget Lab
Jared Newman – Network World
Erica Ogg  – CNet News

 

If you’re doing media relations for an iPad app or just following the developments, this list is a great place to start! These influencers were uncovered using MatchPoint on 3/22/2010.

 

 

Apple’s Ongoing Brilliance in Driving Demand

 

In anticipation of the next big Apple media event this Wednesday, everyone is guessing that the big announcement is the launch of Apple’s Tablet.

Well, it’s no longer really guessing due to Apple’s well-planned PR “leaks”. Check out the latest on Mashable.  So, surely the Tablets are on the agenda. But I’m hoping for these two announcements:

 

 
1. Ending of exclusivity with AT&T

2. Change of name for the iPhone. Seriously! Is anyone using the phone anymore?!?

My suggested new name is the “iText-iSearch-iUseApps”. No? Yeah, too clunky.  Okay, let’s stick with iPhone.

I’m hoping there is a Verizon or other carrier deal announcement coming soon. Because with AT&T’s coverage in several places I need to go, it’s an iPaperweight.

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Apple and Apple PR

 
apple-logoApple-logo9
 

 The Biggest Release That Wasn’t Released…Yet

 

 

 

 

Many Beatles and iTunes fans spent the past few weeks speculating that The Beatles catalog would debut on iTunes at the same time as the remastering of their catalog on CD and the debut of Beatles Rock Band, making a perfect hat trick. Many in the PR community also anticipated this cross-promotion no-brainer.

However, the lack of an iTunes announcement on 09.09.09 made the Apple gathering a non-event for some. But just wait…the delay will create yet another publicity-friendly event in the future. And, even more important to Apple Inc and Apple Records, a future Beatles / iTunes event will ultimately drive more sales via more product downloads.  Steve Jobs even said, “we’ll see you soon.”

This masterful delay didn’t waste a great event and allow the iTunes availability to get buried in the PR and ad frenzy of Beatles CDs and Rock Band by Apple Records or the new iPod launches, iTunes 9 update, and the return of Mr. Jobs by Apple Corp.

After all, September is the time for releasing holiday gift choices (CDs, video games, and new iPods) not downloadable songs which won’t really drive holiday sales. It’s very smart of the two Apples to delay a deal and announcement until 2010 or later.

 

A Brief History of Beatles Repackaging 
 
The 2009 remastering project is not the first time the band’s records have been repackaged and sold amid a flurry of positive PR and fan response. If you were born post-Beatlemania, chances are your first Beatles record was not Meet The Beatles or Sgt Pepper’s, but was one of these previous top-selling collections:

2006 Love200px-LOVE

Love is a remixing, editing and splicing of a hundred or so Beatles tunes mashed together as a soundtrack for Circe du Soleil. It sounds like blasphemy to purists, but being produced by Sir George Martin makes it not only legitimate but fun to hear. I think the platinum-selling Love was also was a test for the 2009 remastering project.

 

 

 

 

2006 Capitol YearsBeatlesCapitolAlbumsVol1albumcover
200px-BeatlesCapitolAlbumsVol2albumcoverThis remixing of the first 8 US Capitol Beatles albums was the first time some of the US versions of Beatles records made it to CD.

 

 

 

 

 

2000 The Beatles 1200px-The_Beatles_1_album_cover
This is virtually the same set of tracks as 1982’s “20 Greatest” released on CD and promoted to the next generation of fans. The result: over 10 million copies sold in the US alone!

 

 

 

 

 

1995-96 Anthology 1, 2, & 3

200px-Anthology1coverNot truly a greatest hits compilation; the Anthology series featured alternate versions, demos, outtakes, and historical live performances. It also served as a companion piece to the much-hyped ABC documentary series of the same name. The Apple and Capitol promotional machine did phenomenal job making sure every person on in America knew about this release

 

 

 

1988 Past Masters Volume 1 & 2
1988 Beatles Box Set200px-Past_mastersbeatles
This release was significant as the first complete box set of all albums on CDs plus the two Past Masters CDs of singles and B-sides not available on any album. This set is virtually identical to the 2009 release but not remastered.

 

 

 

 

1982 20 Greatest Hits200px-20GreatestHitsalbumcover

Absolutely nothing special about this release – just repackaging the same ol’ songs and selling millions of copies to a new generation of fans, that’s all.

 

 

 

 

1982 Reel Music200px-ReelMusicalbumcoverfront

In the 70’s and 80’s, Capitol seemed to like to have a twist or theme to tracks repackaged and compiled. I guess this gave consumers a reason to care. This one featured only music from the Beatles movies (???). This also featured a “new” track: a medley of the Beatles movie songs taking advantage of the Stars on 45 fad happening at the time.

 

 

 

1977 Love Songs200px-TheBeatlesLoveSongsalbumcover
The repackaging theme for this compilation was obviously the band’s love songs and ballads.

 

 

 

 

 

1976 Rock ‘n’ Roll Music200px-BeatlesRockNRollMusicalbumcover
The repackaging theme for this inferior compilation was old-time rock n rolls cover tunes written by Chuck Berry and others. I assume the thought behind this choice was the fact that these cover tunes were not included in the 1973 Red and Blue albums below, even though “Twist & Shout” and others were some the band’s most popular early records. These tracks were poorly selected and remixed and the packaging looked substandard. It’s interesting that this compilation itself was repackaged four years later and split into two budget-priced albums.

 

 1973 The Beatles 1962-1966 (aka “The Red Album”)200px-Beatles19621966

 

These are the granddaddy of all compilations, great hits, and repackaging! These mega-selling albums were #1 worldwide instantly and sold well for the next two decades.

 

 

 

1973 The Beatles 1967-1970 (aka “The Blue Album”)200px-Beatles19671970

 

 

 

 

 

 

1970 Hey Jude200px-Heyjudealbum
At the time, Apple and Capitol tried to spin this release as a new Beatles album (in the US only). But the only thing new was the packaging. All tracks were previously released as singles or b-sides, but never included on previous Beatles albums. The plan worked, with the record reaching #2 on the US album charts.