Ask/IAC Q4: Bleeding Money, But Hey, Online Ads are Doing Good!
Ask’s parent company IAC posted $1B in losses largely because it wrote down the value of its search business. But, says the AP, this is actually good news for the online ad market (and not because a competitor is about to get out of the market)—because IAC didn’t do as badly as expected.
No, because it beat estimates by 2¢ per share, a nine-figure loss “offered the latest indication that the online advertising market is improving,” as the AP says. IAC investors seemed to agree, since it the stock jumped four percent after the results were posted.
In the most recent quarter IAC took a $991.9 million impairment charge to account for decreased projections for revenue and profit growth at IAC’s search properties, which include such Web sites as Ask.com and Dictionary.com.
However, there was some true good news in the report as well. Their search business (Ask, Citysearch, etc.) saw increased revenue (up 3%)—the first increase all year. And overall revenue was up, too—an increase of 5% to $367.2 million, beating analyst projections by 8%.
What do you think? Is this good news for the industry bad news for IAC, or good/bad news all around?
Please Email This Article; Researchers Say You’ll Feel Better
If fear, scandal, sex, and humor sell newspapers, it stands to reason that those topics would make for the most popular articles on news sites and blogs. Right?
Wrong!
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have intensively studied the New York Times list of most-e-mailed articles and discovered that it was an entirely unexpected emotion that caused the average reader to share an article.
“Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” [Dr. Berger] said. “If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together.”
Apparently science-themed articles were among the most popular, with RNA, deer optics, paleontology and cosmology, among those most emailed.
Now, while the study appears to be very well constructed, there’s just one major flaw that I see here:
These were New York Times readers!
While we have many wonderful NYT readers that visit Marketing Pilgrim each day, I’d say that our general demographic is not quite the same. That said, you may want to consider how closely you mimic the NYT’s writing style. Here’s what worked for them:
More emotional stories were more likely to be e-mailed, the researchers found, and positive articles were shared more than negative ones. Longer articles generally did better than shorter articles, although Dr. Berger said that might just be because the longer articles were about more engaging topics.
For me, I think I’ll stick to scaremongering, controversial studies, and wild rumors! 
Google to Make Its Move on Facebook and Twitter?
The buzz around the Internet marketing and social media circles is humming with the news (or the rumor, call it what you want) that Google is getting set to introduce a new feature to Gmail. No, it has nothing to do with your e-mail but rather your ‘experience’ with Gmail and in particular your social experience. Looks like Google is getting into the social game. This comes on the heels of the talk of Facebook getting into the e-mail game as well. What’s going on? It’s like opposite day with Google going social and Facebook getting all e-mail on us.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Google Inc. is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. with a new feature that makes it easier for users of Gmail to view media and status updates shared online by their friends.
Google could announce the new Gmail feature as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
The change adds a module to the Gmail screen that will display a stream of updates from individuals a user chooses to connect with, said one of these people. It is a format popularized by Facebook and Twitter.
The whole idea is an interesting bit of news but is it something that people will use? I know for me that I really like going to my Gmail because it’s just that and nothing more. I can go to Facebook or Twitter when I feel the urge. Just like I have no interest in a Facebook e-mail account I can’t say that this Gmail as social tool approach is lighting any fires for me.
I am sure the industry will fight and squabble over these matters and forget that they are really yelling and screaming at a small cross-section of the real world. Whenever these announcements are made I immediately think about all of my friends who are using some of these tools but are not nearly as vested in them (yes I do talk to people who aren’t enamored with every little shiny social media object that gets tossed in the ring). Will the bulk of Gmail users welcome this? I don’t know. If they are already using Facebook and are happy what is so compelling to make a switch?
The Journal gives a little more information
The new stream will eventually include content that a user’s connections share through Google’s YouTube video site and Picasa photo service, according to one person familiar with the matter. But whether those features will be announced in the coming days remains unclear.
OK. I get “it” but I also see that “it” is possibly becoming too much. Normal human beings who do not live and breath social media and who find other social interactions just as meaningful may not be impressed. Maybe I am being too simplistic but I see Google as the practical, stable older brother who is a business guy and Facebook and Twitter as the crazy younger siblings who can’t hold a job but are “fun”. That’s fine with me. Google to me is about business and practicality. Facebook and Twitter not so much. I like it that way but that’s just me.
Is it possible that the large numbers of users of all social media that we talk about are actually more casual than we think they are? Do they need to be connected with everyone, everywhere at all times? Your thoughts?
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Study Shows Facebook’s Retail Appeal
Everyone in the world of marketing whether you are online or offline (or hopefully the right combination of the two) wants to better define social media and its uses. Different sectors or verticals see how the various social media tools impact their particular type of business and no two seem to act alike. Much of that has to do with having too little real data to draw firm conclusions from and the learning curve that is occurring on the customer side of this equation.
One sector that is well suited for the social media game is the retail industry. If you are a retail outlet of any kind, high end or low end or all stops in between, social media has proven its worth more quickly than say the B to B space. A study released by ForeSee Results helps to show this and it also shows that the social media outlet, or tool, that is showing the greatest promise is Facebook. This study is taken from the customers’ point of view and was performed by the retail arm of ForeSee’s practice.
As part of a study of nearly 10,000 visitors to the biggest e-retail websites in the United States, ForeSee Results wanted to use the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to examine these issues, because the ACSI is able to show how different elements of a shopper’s interactions with a company (including on social media) impact their purchase intent, loyalty, and recommendations.
What we found is validation that social media is a viable marketing strategy when we understand what our customers want and know which social media platforms they frequent.
While that last statement in and of itself doesn’t state anything new some of the actual findings are of interest.
- 56% of shoppers to top e-retail websites who interact with social media websites have elected to “friend” or “follow” or “subscribe” to a retailer on a social networking site like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
- Facebook is, by far, the best place to reach shoppers—both because it’s where they already are, and it’s where they want to hear from retailers.
- Customers mainly interact with retailers on social media sites to learn about products and promotions—a marketer’s dream come true.
It’s the last point that needs to be focused on and has been noted here in the past as well. While we like to talk about brands and how people interact with brands and associate themselves with brands let’s face it: people want a deal. The type of brand loyalty that is desired and discussed is a lot more theory than reality. It makes for good blog posts but the main reason why people use social media is because they want something from the brands they follow: discounts. Not very sexy is it but it’s the truth.
What is the main reason you interact with this company through social media sites? (% of respondents)
Learn about sales / special offers 49%
Learn about products 45%
Get customer support 5%
Other reason (please specify): 1%
The study also told us that 81% of shoppers you are users of social media use Facebook regularly while only 16% of that same group said the same for Twitter. For those who are online shoppers but not regular users of social media still 56% of those people use Facebook and only 11% use Twitter. And as you can see, at least as far as retail is concerned Twitter has some work to do and the whole customer support thing hasn’t caught on yet.
So Facebook is the place to be but it appears that full adoption of this practice is not quite there. One quarter of the top online retailers had no Facebook presence while another quarter had less than 10,000 fans. It feels like the same conversation that has occurred for years with the Fortune 500 and blogging. Everyone likes to talk a great game but the execution is often lacking.
So what’s the takeaway here? People who are fans of brands historically are the most likely to be friends or followers in the social media space. What do they want? They want a deal. They want to be treated separately from the rest of the retail customer base of a brand because they are a ‘fan’ of the brand. So while putting together really cool ‘user experience’ type pages and sites might have a WOW factor, the one social media practice that falls to the bottom line is as old as the retail game itself: customers respond to deals.
Let us know if your experience validates or contradicts this study. Let us know if you agree or disagree. Just let us know. Oh and by the way make sure to visit the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook page and be our ‘friend’. Maybe we’ll discount something someday (usually it’s my opinion that is discounted but I’m working on that).
Liveblogging the Google Social Event
Google is set to announce a new social tool at a 10:00 am event on its Mountain View campus. Due to the last-minute notice, we’re not on the scene, but Google is providing a webcast via YouTube that we’ll be using.
Stay tuned for the liveblogging to start at 10 am or shortly thereafter….
Okay, so it’s [...]
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SMX West Networking Activities and Parties Scheduled
We’ve already highlighted the exceptional content and highly qualified presenters at SMX West. But there’s another aspect of the show that is just as important and valuable – networking. And with hundreds of companies sending delegates (so far), there are lots of people to network with!
Keep reading to learn more about the networking opportunities and [...]
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IAC Q4 Earnings: Search Growth 3% But Takes $1 Billion Loss On Ask.com
IAC, the parent company of Ask.com, reported their fourth quarter earnings today and overall, it was a good quarter of revenue for IAC, being up 5% year-over-year in revenue. On the income side of the balance sheet, IAC was up 47% from Q4 of 2008 to Q4 2009. Search, which includes Ask.com, was [...]
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Share Well With Others: How To Get Social Content To Go Viral
Promoting content in social media is only half the battle. Once it is in the face of thousands of visitors, there needs to be some sort of emotional and psychological drive to get them to share that content with others. This is key in creating a “snowball effect” that will build perpetual motion to reach [...]
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Is International Social Media Marketing Just Too Difficult?
Social media marketing is pretty tricky – but it is too tricky to ever roll out international campaigns? Where do you start from when you’re targeting international social networks – success at home or do you need to start all-over?
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Can Kindle Resist Apple’s Attempt to Douse It?
Since its unveiling last month, the iPad has been labeled a Kindle killer. The parallels are obvious—the largest (and newest) Kindle has the same size screen, both have Internet connectivity, and both can be used to read books. But that just about sums up the Kindle’s selling points, and the iPad’s features list continues on out the door. So could a full-color touchscreen tablet computer and a B&W eReader really be considered the competitors the media continue to make them out to be?
Heck yes, if Amazon has anything to say about it. Last week, Amazon acquired touchscreen maker TouchCo. The small startup had developed a new way to add touch screen technology. (Kindle direct competitor the Sony eReader already has a touchscreen version, which outsells its cheaper alternative.)
Meanwhile, the technology for adding color to the E Ink device has long been in the works. The exactly-like-paper interface has long been the biggest selling point of eReaders, but despite the development of a color version by E Ink four years ago, nearly all E Ink displays are in black and white. The acquisition of creator E Ink by PVI last year seemed to pave the way for a color Kindle by the end of this year.
But does Kindle really care? They’ve released an app for the iPhone, enabling the Kindle’s parent company, Amazon, to continue to benefit from other devices. If users are willing to put up with the eyestrain from reading hundreds of thousands of words on an LCD screen, Amazon is willing to take their money on ebooks. (We can debate over how much Amazon makes or loses per ebook right now—their ultimate goal could just be to make us all dependent on them for all our ebook needs.)
Then again, maybe they do. The New York Times takes a look at job listings for Amazon’s Lab 126, developer of the Kindle:
One job opening in particular, for a Hardware Display Manager, tells the applicant that “you will know the LCD business and key players in the market.” The key point here is the word “LCD,” which means the Kindle is possibly exploring color (unless they are hiring an LCD manager to simply gain an understanding of the color-display market).
Other job openings include Wi-Fi specialists (the current Kindle has only a 3G wireless connection), and openings for someone to “lead the software development teams that develop and maintain the applications.” The applications division could signal a move to create more apps for the Kindle, or someone who will manage the latest app store developments after Amazon announced a new software development kit was released last month to independent programmers.
What do you think? Is Amazon gearing up to pit the Kindle against the iPad—and will it be enough?
