Photo Credit: Anton Diaz
Hi Social Media ReInvention Community. Sorry for not publishing and keeping in touch over the last few months. Some personal hiccups derailed and distracted me. Writing about these share-worthy links and sharing my take on why you’ll find them valuable is part of the process to get myself on track. (more…)
Facebook released its 2014 Q2 earnings report on July 23rd. Here are some mind-boggling financial performance factoids from Reed Albergotti's Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article:
Remember concerns about Facebook arriving late to the mobile advertising party two years ago? How quickly sentiments can change. Here's Reed Albergotti's Wall Street Journal (WSJ) video review of Facebook's Q2 2014 financial performance:
I've reviewed numerous articles explaining how and why Facebook continues transforming and reinventing itself under Mark Zuckerberg's visionary leadership (including but not limited to):
Noticeable patterns / themes in these articles give clues to Facebook's and Zuckerberg's long term corporate strategy.
Here's my take on the Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook 5-Point Plan for Future Growth and Mobile Dominance:
Zuckerberg described in his July 2014 WSJ article how roughly 2.7 billion people currently have Internet access. That sounds like a lot, but the majority of the world lacks connectivity. He knows Facebook's future growth is tied to increasing and sustainable investment in wireless infrastructure. The phrase "a rising tide lifts all boats" takes on significant implications not only for Facebook but also for its competitors.
Here are some key quotes from his article:
"Bringing the other two-thirds of the world online will enable them to invent and create new things that benefit us, too."
"Not only do the vast majority of people have no access to the Internet, but even more surprisingly, Internet adoption is growing by less than 9% each year. That's very slow considering how early we are in its development and that rate is only slowing further."
"The challenge for our industry will be to develop models for Internet access that make data more affordable while enabling mobile operators to continue growing and investing in a sustainable way. Efforts like Internet.org — a global partnership founded by Facebook and other technology leaders –are already under way to solve this by working with operators to provide free basic Internet services to people."
Here's a great 2013 CNN interview with Zuckerberg describing Internet.org (my apologies for any commercials preceding the interview):
2. Make Facebook THE Killer Mobile App
Flurry (the mobile ad and analytics firm Yahoo recently acquired for $200 – $300 million) says mobile users spend 17% of their time on their phones in Facebook's app. This metric shows Facebook's mobile app is the most popular app on iOS and Android devices. Facebook's Q2 2014 Quarterly Financial Reporting slides show a consistent, steady climb in daily and monthly mobile users:
Zuckerberg knows consumers live in a mobile, one-screen world. The only screen users care about is the one in front of them. That's why Facebook's mobile apps have to deliver simple, fast, and seamless user experiences.
Based on these mobile user numbers and the percentage of Q2 2014 revenues generated from mobile advertising, Zuckerberg and Facebook nailed it. And, speaking of killer, seamless, mobile apps …
In April 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion. They recently acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in February 2014. March 2014 marked the acquisition of Oculus VR (a virtual reality headset company) for $2 billion.
Zuckerberg views virtual reality as the next communication platform. It will be fun to track how Facebook leverages Oculus' technologies beyond gaming. Until then, here's a graphic from Austin Carr's Fast Company article showing the 700 million Instagram and WhatsApp users resulting from these acquisitions:
Zuckerberg's brainchild employees 7,000 people. Even at Facebook, creativity and innovation slowed under increasing bureaucracy and jockeying for resources (in both talent and money). Stringent metrics and timelines meant new products had little time to improve post-launch.
That's why Creative Labs is vital to Facebook's future innovations (and talent retention). Zuckerberg created it as a separate division in February 2014. It operates outside of Facebook's traditional product management processes with looser time constraints. That level of freedom and "small-team feeling" produced Paper, the mobile app for reading an responding to the News Feed.
Even Facebook "likes" innovations from skunkworks — cool twist or reinvention of The Hacker Way.
Facebook's successful foray into Mobile App Install Ads, and the experiments it's running with the Facebook Buy Button show how simplifying the consumer buying process results in higher conversion (and that elusive digital marketing ROI).
It's mobile phone, 1-Click Shopping:
In Austin Carr's Fast Company article describing the resounding success of Facebook's mobile app install ads, developers love this advertising medium because:
This advertising medium has resulted in 350 million app installations (Carr estimates this equates to almost $1 billion in revenue). He cites one mobile gaming CEO who invests 75% of his marketing budget in Facebook mobile install app ads because they drive $70,000 in revenues per day.
If the experiments with the Buy Button prove fruitful, Facebook can validate the ROI value of digital marketing in not only building awareness, but also in converting eCommerce sales. Here are direct quotes from the experts:
Debra Aho Williamson of eMarketer:
"With this step, Facebook is becoming even more firmly established as a major player in direct response advertising, and though this test is still only a test, it's a definite sign that Facebook wants to restart its efforts to become an e-commerce company as well."
"If the test is successful and rolls out, Facebook could eventually earn money on the feature by charging a fee or revenue share in exchange for processing payment and improving conversion rates. It could also use the purchases to prove return on investment to advertisers, encouraging them to buy bigger campaigns."
Mark Zuckerberg is the next Steve Jobs (along with Sergey Brin and Larry Page). I was publicly criticized for making that statement more than three years ago. He is a visionary leader. Remember how Facebook originally started out as a desktop application? That's what makes its reinvention as an industry leader and emerging pioneer in the mobile space so impressive.
And, it only took two (2) years! I can't wait to see what's next as Zuck & Company keep moving fast and breaking things.
If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
If Yes, Grab Some Coffee (Because This is a Long Post). Social Media ReInvention Community Members know of the tremendous respect I hold for Mitch Joel. His books and art have tremendous influence on my marketing strategy and creative perspective.
CTRL ALT Delete Is a Gift on 21st Century Career Leadership and Opportunity Management. Mitch frames and delivers his compelling arguments in two (2) sections:
1. Reboot: Business – The 5 Massive Movements
2. Reboot: You – The 7 Triggers
Yes, his book describes corporate and marketing strategy opportunities impacting organizations (big or small). Yes, his book contains important personal branding / personal reputation implications.
But, all twelve (12) principles focus on individually identifying and framing opportunity (and having the collective or individual courage to pursue it).
We All Have the Opportunity to Differentiate Ourselves and Lead. CTRL ALT Delete's resounding themes are to:
That's why our futures depend upon studying and practicing CTRL ALT Delete's teachings. Others with vaster audiences and authority than mine share that opinion.
Invest in Yourself and Buy CTRL ALT Delete. Here are four (4) important questions Mitch Joel asks about building competitive advantages to reboot our organizations and individual careers:
Creating a Unique Competitive Advantage. Direct relationships as a competitive advantage (versus price) is best described by these CTRL ALT Delete quotes (page 11) on how Apple executes its retail strategy:
The solution for Apple was to create a "cradle to the grave" business model where the customer is–at every touch point–directly speaking with Apple's brand. A true, direct relationship–in every sense of the word. Apple could not win on price (their computers and other devices are usually much more expensive than their competition's), so they had to win by being there for the consumer and by making these consumers a part of a more complete brand ecosystem.
At the time that Apple first launched retail stores in 2001, the common practices among retailers was to cram each nook and cranny of space with merchandise to maximize the sales per square foot. Sadly most retailers (and businesses) still hold on to the traditional thinking. For Apple, it was less about every square foot of retail space and much more about evey square inch of the direct relationship. Apple didn't start in the retail business to compete with other consumer electronics stores; they went into retail for the direct relationship with their customers. Apple's attitude was: "Why give that power to Best Buy or anyone else?"
Apple Hired Angela Ahrendts Because of Her Ability to Build and Nurture Direct Consumer Relationships. Angela Ahrendts hiring as Senior Vice President of Retail is Apple's signal to re-engage its devoted following. Her retail philosophy is grounded on the ability to feel, empathize, and become a brilliant brand ambassador. That's the foundation for direct and strong consumer relationships (from Austin Carr's October 15, 2013 Fast Company article):
"My dad used to always to say that he could teach anything but he couldn't teach how to feel. That's the hardest part when you have 11,000 people: How do you teach them how we feel?"
"The thing is, I don't want to be sold when I walk into a store to be welcomed. The job is to be a brilliant brand ambasador. Everyone is welcome. Don't be judgmental whatsoever."
"Don't sell! NO! Because that is a turnoff."
Converse Directly With Your Connections and Followers. Don't just tweet out links and "like" stuff. Mitch's observations about building direct relationships highly applies to our personal social network connections. For example, participating in Twitter by sharing links your followers find helpful is a starting point for establishing authority and reputation.
But, if you want to "own and nurture" a long-term direct relationship, you have to directly converse with your followers. Mitch talks in depth about this concept throughout the book. These types of direct conversations are powerful and solidify lifelong loyalty and relationships:
Check Out Mitch's Video Sharing Several Factoids on Mobile Trends:
Real-World Case Example: Apple Acquires Topsy. The rationale for the Apple-Topsy acquisition comes straight from this section in CTRL ALT Delete: The One Screen World – The Shift From Four Screens Down to One (pages 90 -109).
The entire chapter describes how consumers operate in a mobile, one-screen world. The only screen consumers care about is "the one currently staring them in the face."
Mitch further makes a compelling argument: The most important consumer screen resides on our smartphones.
Twitter Is Mobile, Untethered, and One-Screen Savvy. It's a social media platform focused on telling Apple WHAT We're Thinking WHEN We're Thinking AND WHERE We're Thinking It. This November 2013 Bloomberg-Businessweek article describes how the Twitter API, its meta data, and tweets provide rich consumer data.
Here are Mitch's thoughts on Twitter and the one-screen world (from page 99 of CTRL ALT Delete):
"Twitter's metoric rise and continued success have less to do with how many followers Lady Gaga has and much more to do with the fact that it was the first-ever online social network that worked better on mobile than it does on the Web. The sheer simplicity of those 140 characters of tweets makes it that much more workable and easy for consumers. Twitter's focus (from day one) was on connecting people as they were on the go. To this day, everything that Twitter does — from acquisitions to business strategy — is driven by a one-screen-world philosophy."
Consumers, Followers, and Connections Expect and Demand Immediate, Real-Time Responsiveness. Communicating and responding with our respective audiences with real-time immediacy is now a competitive differentiator (in both our professional and private lives). According to the eMarketer article: Key Trends for 2014: Always On Means Always Social, mobile, social networking via our smartphones and tablets will continue driving our "real-time" communications:
Whether we like it or not, consumers (and personal connections) expect us to be there in real-time with the right message, at the right time, in the right place.
A Personal Blog = Personal Competitive Advantage. The Internet affords anyone with a laptop and broadband access an opportunity to stand out. But, we often allow ourselves to be defined by our current job titles and bullet points on our resumes. That's a mistake.
Mitch thinks strategically and critically. In a social media age, when most tweets or Facebook status updates provide diminishing returns on our attention, the opportunity to differentiate ourselves as entrepreneurial, credible, forward-looking strategic, critical thinkers has never been higher.
Writing a personal blog allows you to maintain an identity separate from your employer (i.e., it's a portable asset). Dorie Clark, in her great book, Reinventing You, defines a personal blog as valuable, intellectual property showcasing individual expertise by:
1. Showing how you think
2. Demonstrating your individual creativity
3. Making it easy for a potential employer / great connection to find you (e.g., SEO benefits)
4. Giving you practice in an important and portable business skill set — writing
5. Proving you're technology and Internet savvy
6. Informing people first-hand how you're driven to learn new skills
Isn't Blogging Supposed to be Dead? Hardly. As Mitch points out in the section, "Your Life in Startup Mode," a personal blog describes important aspects about ourselves that a resume fails to represent:
(page 227) "You're writing to exercise your critical thinking skills."(page 225) "But for the purpose of this book, I'll define a blog as an online journal of your work. The spirit of the blog is to create a living and breathing resume and portfolio of how you think and work."
(page 224) "I still believe that a blog is a canvas that allows you to think, share, and connect with an audience."
(page 228) "Because if you care enough to blog, it means that you have something to say. If you have something to say and you're blogging it, it means that you want to share and connect. Ultimately, the world needs more people like that."
Seth Godin and Tom Peters on Why We Should Blog. This classic video from two great marketing teachers on why blogging matters deserves viewing:
Pages 190 and 193 from The Marketing of You explain the ultimate goal for connecting (online or face-to-face):
(page 190) "There's nothing wrong with asking for help, but you will always see a more positive result if you start by delivering value first—by being valuable to others before asking them for favors. Give abundantly and be helpful."
(page 193) "True influence comes from connecting to individuals, nurturing those relationships, adding real value to other people's lives, and doing anything and everything to serve them, so that when the time comes for you to make a request, there is someone there to lend a hand. Worry less about how many people you are connected to, and worry a whole lot more about who you are connected to—who they are and what you are doing to value and honor them (in their spaces)."
That sounds like a great philosophy towards achieving professional and personal fulfillment.
If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, maybe you'll also like the content I regularly read, study, and curate from the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief explanation why I decided to curate them.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Saturday.
The Three Articles I Bookmarked in Evernote
1. Personal Cloud to Replace PC by 2014, Says Gartner (Wired). In contrast to last week's curated content describing my skepticism that the concept of the PC is dead, I do agree with Gartner's proposed personal computing model. The article describes the personal cloud as "the hub" and the connected devices as "the spokes" (i.e., laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.).
The article describes the trend to move manage, share, and secure more applications / conten within the cloud.
Five (5) Megatrends are driving this phenomenon:
2. For Young Workers, the Future is Here Already (Fortune). Today's young workers, "the digital natives," are driving the aforementioned consumerization megatrend. This younger demographic communicates with multiple devices. They're entering the workforce in droves so enterprises must deal with this demographic's communication needs to maximize their productivity.
This development is driving the phenemomenon of "unified communications" (direct quote from the article):
"One area which enterprises have begun exploring in recent years is the concept of unified communications – the process of turning multiple channels of communication into a single, seamless conversation. Unified communications uses the concept of presence to help assess which way is best for one user to reach another. It then translates messages and directs them to whichever device the end user is most likely to be using at that time."
3. How Higher Education Helps the Economy (OnlineUniversities.com). It's that time of year when high school seniors receive the results of the university application process (e.g., acceptance / rejection / wait listed). Here's a cool infographic from the Staff Writers at OnlineUniversities.com on the ROI value proposition of a college education:
Via: Online Universities Resource
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):