I recently had a chance to sit down with ING Direct Canada CEO Peter Aceto and Mark Nicholson, Head of Online Experience to discuss ING Direct’s social media campaign that has brought the financial services company to the forefront of the social media buzz.  I recommend all readers to checkout Peter Aceto’s twitter feed, one of the liveliest CEO feeds on the web.

What draws you to use Social Media to connect with your clients?  What advantage does it have for ING?

Peter Aceto: As a direct business model where transparency and openness are two of our core philosophies, it just makes sense that we’d engage in conversation anywhere people gather to discuss important issues, including Facebook and Twitter. Social media allows us to engage in meaningful dialogue with our clients, most notably giving them another direct access point into the company to help answer their questions and discuss innovations they are looking for from us.

Do you find that social media changes the traditional rules of PR?

Peter Aceto: Social media has provided an avenue to have the types of conversations we want to have with Canadians. It’s exciting to be able to have an open dialogue on this platform and another medium in which to reach and connect with people. While I don’t believe that social media replaces traditional media, it certainly allows people to engage more fully in the news they read, and share their reactions and thoughts on the world around them. Although there is more transparency and time required to engage in this forum, it suits a brand like ING DIRECT with values based on openness, fairness and being direct.

Do you have any specific stories of how your experiences with social media have surprised you?

Peter Aceto: Social media has allowed me to have a very honest conversation with people. It has provided me with a means to reflect on our business and the decisions we make each day as a business. It forces us to remain authentic and true to who we are and what we stand for. I’m blown away by Canadians’ passion for our brand and in helping others to empower themselves using basic savings principles.

Today people are questioning the expensive financial or investment advice they have been getting. They are now turning to friends, family and peers for advice on these products. Social media help broaden this discussion to a wider group of people – extending its reach from the family get-together on Sunday to a network of thousands.

How has social media helped ING in the face of overwhelming media criticisms regarding financial institutions’ role in causing the financial meltdown and global recession?

Peter Aceto: Social media allows us to talk directly with Canadians in an open forum – through Facebook via our fan page “Save Your Money” and Twitter via @CEO_INGDIRECT.  It has allowed us to share the facts as we know them. I think Canadians appreciate having a forum where they can ask ING DIRECT questions about their money – including questions about the global recession and how it affects our business. Facebook and Twitter allow us to reassure Canadians that their money is safe with us, give them tips to help them with their savings challenges, and ideas for how to save during difficult times – for example options for guaranteed investments such as short-term RSPs or TFSAs. It’s always important to save, even during a recession, and our voice in this space is helping to inform people that they have options and can always find ways to save, even in small ways.

Although ING DIRECT is one of the Good Guys, the lack of trust of financial institutions is a reality. We’ve built a trust relationship with our clients over the last 13 years that is serving us very well now. This trust was greeted through our openness, honesty, and transparency that our clients are not surprised by fees, charges or other bad news. We’re direct and truthful.

Do you get overwhelmed by the number of personal responses required to keep a direct communication line open with all followers/customers?

Peter Aceto: Absolutely. This space is all about immediacy. The level of interaction from our clients has surprised and delighted us and it’s kept us actively engaged in the conversation as its coming fast.

How do you deal with negative publicity potentially generated through social media? Are you just going to tweet positives?  ie. Online communities scoff when corporations get into social media because they tend to only push positive stories relating only to their own company.

Peter Aceto: I’ve dealt with both positive and negative publicity in an open and transparent fashion. For example, I had a Tweeter who was unhappy with the wait times in the call centre attributed to the RRSP deadline. This Tweeter called us out on it and I reached out to let [him] know we were listening.  The platform allowed me to explain directly why it was happening. In the end, this person understood our position and appreciated the quick and direct way we interacted with him about it. ING DIRECT’s intent in being in this space isn’t about just pushing the positives – it’s about listening and making our business better for our clients.

What are the initial results of your campaign and are they encouraging?  How will your social media campaign grow/evolve?

Mark Nicholson: While we don’t look at this as a campaign per se, the results since launching the Facebook fan page have been quite promising.  We reached 1,400 fans in just under a month and the conversation is alive!  Clients are asking some really good questions and interacting with each other on a broad range of savings-related topics.

How are you measuring the success of your social media campaigns?  What metrics are you using?

Mark Nicholson: We are working with one of our partners, The Social Media Group, to develop what is called the Conversation Index for the Financial Services category.  We are leveraging this to measure our efforts in the social media space. It’s not all about measurement however. How do we know how often people mention ING DIRECT at the dinner table? We don’t – but the conversation needs to happen and we want to be at the table.

Have you allocated new/additional budget for your social media strategy?

Mark Nicholson: We have focused more of our traditional budget on the social media strategy and based on early results, will continue to shift the budget to support these initiatives.

How are you aggregating conversations and feedback from social media and incorporating it into your business plans?

Mark Nicholson: We are currently measuring the conversation and some of the raw feedback through our partners as well as through tools such as ScoutLabs. This information provides us an invaluable feedback loop whereby we can react, respond and adapt where necessary.

Do you see social media as a brand new form of advertising and marketing, or a complement to traditional methods?

Mark Nicholson: We aren’t approaching social media as a platform to advertise.  We are currently using social media as an open communications forum – to listen to and address Canadians’ expectations of us.  That being said, we will look at opportunities that use social media to augment our marketing efforts where it makes sense.

Do you consider the Canadian Superstar Saver Search a success?  What was your goal with that contest?

Mark Nicholson: Yes. The Canadian Superstar Saver Search was a screaming success.  The spirit of the contest wasn’t about selling product.  It was about people living the brand.  We had over 200 videos submitted in just more than six weeks and they ranged from big to small productions.  The top 10 videos had over 1,200 hours of viewing time.  The specific objectives were two-fold.  The first was to move the metrics surrounding brand awareness and innovation.  The secondary objective was about being first to market.  We wanted to be the first company to leverage the new YouTube platform for a contest in Canada. We achieved both successfully.

Tags: Advertising, Marketing, Social Network by Tim McKillican
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I just ran across one of the most interesting blog posts I’ve read lately speculating on Web 3.0 over at Master of 500 Hats.

Not to steal Dave’s thunder, but there are a couple points I want to highlight.  The Microsoft bid to buy Yahoo is primarily to shore up it’s dominance in the Email/Instant Messaging online sectors.  Sure there are side benefits like buying up Yahoo’s advertising, search and traffic, but the winner of the Internet will be he who controls the user.

But with the battle to own the user comes the battle to own the user’s social graph, currently controlled by Facebook/MySpace/Bebo/hi5/could continue to list ad nauseum.  I keep referring to it, but all future web advertising will be contextually driven by your social graph, where brands are providing social relevance to users.  Ie. “Your friend Katie just saw (insert cookie-cutter Will Ferrell movie) and rated it 5 stars!” (ok I kid, it will be impossible for a Will Ferrell movie to be rated as excellent again… the days of Old School and Anchorman are over).

I think it’s also highly important to note the fact that we as users on the Internet now have hundreds of logins/passwords for every individual site on the net.  This is a problem that needs to be solved, and while attempts have been made (Microsoft Passport or the community driven OpenID), nothing will happen until one company owns enough of the user’s Internet life to make it beneficial for the user (really, what’s the difference in consolidating your logins from 60 to 50?).  Alternatively, if the smaller communities can build enough momentum around the OpenID concept, it could be viable, but whether that is a possibility remains to be seen.

The final piece of the puzzle are the e-commerce/payment conglomerates.  Look for the Microsoft/Google duopoly to put pressure on eBay (and their very valuable PayPal) and Amazon for merger/acquisitions in the next few years.

Where do the small players stand in this heated battle?  Well, I sort of compare it to the open source community who has not only weathered giants like Microsoft’s attempts to push them out, but actually blossomed in the modern Internet era.  If the small guys can provide real value to users, by churning out innovations while being completely flexible to quickly capitalize on new ideas, they will have a direct line to sink their (small) teeth into the necks of Google and Microsoft.  And instead of a one-sided parasitic relationship, Microsoft and Google will leverage these small-time players to come up with new innovations and either partner or swallow them up for big money when it makes sense.  And sometimes these guys will have such momentum that they will swim past these sharks to potentially become a shark themselves (could Facebook be this shark?  That question requires an entirely new post) (and one more side point – I’m not sure whether I should perhaps be calling Microsoft and Google ‘whales’ instead).

The Internet and Web 2.0 is a playground for innovation due to the extremely low barriers to entry and it’s massive channel to instantly reach all users around the globe.  It’s an exciting time to see all the fish in the sea battle (and work symbiotically) to control the Internet.

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Google, Marketing, MySpace, Social Network by Tim McKillican
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According to the Newspaper Association of America and referenced over at Editor&Publisher and TechCrunch,  Newspaper revenues fell 9.4% to $42 billion in the past year compared to 2006 in the US.  For reference, online ad revenues grew 19% to $3.2 billion over 2006.  What does this signal?  Well, for starters, the looming US recession has and will continue to have a definite impact on advertising revenues, as one of the first things to be cut during tight times are marketing budgets.  But is there more to it?

It’s no secret that traditional print media like newspapers are falling on hard times.  Marketing executives are being given more options with where to spend their marketing dollars, and while I don’t believe that Internet ad revenues have totally lived up to their potential, innovations in the online space are arriving that will present credible options for said Marketing execs when they determine how to optimally allocate their ad budgets.

First of all, the static ad banner on the side of every web page is starting to be replaced with interactive and engaging multimedia.  Online video ads and flash-based multimedia are becoming more and more common, attracting the user’s attention and creating a much more solid impression over and above the typical static classmates.com banner you traditionally see.

But more importantly, online ads are beginning to take advantage of demographics and eventually will leverage individual user preferences, as I alluded to earlier this month, to provide much more relevant and contextual ads that are targeted to every individual.

Finally, combine these new contextual online ads with a solid metrics and reporting system that can track every user’s interaction with the ad, and you can create an objective sales presentation to the aforementioned Marketing executive, giving him or her direct insight into how each penny spent online translates into brand impressions/interactions, and eventually, sales.  This gives the online ad realm a tremendous advantage over traditional media, because the feedback reporting mechanisms can objectively indicate the success rate of an online marketing campaign .  A complete return-on-investment can be calculated along with with every reportable stat you can imagine, so that the Marketing exec can easily gauge how to optimally allocate their online marketing spending.

Newspaper and traditional media are a one-way street.  You can get indirect feedback based on general sales lift, but nothing near what can be done through online metrics.  This gives online advertising the advantage, and with innovations still to come to provide even more creative as well as socially relevant ads to users, it appears as though online advertising is destined for continued growth.

On another note – Duncan Riley at TechCrunch wrote an interesting post last November about the need for consolidation in the Newspaper industry to improve their chances of survival in the face of increased competition for advertising dollars.

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Marketing by Tim McKillican
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One of the traditional kingpins of mass marketing – the Television – is slowly beginning to see the light shining from the modern advertising revolution. The 6 big cable companies in the US are teaming up to develop a customized and targeted ad system, paving the way for potentially lucrative advertising deals that can target ads based on a viewer’s viewing habits and demographics, giving the viewer a much more relevant and contextual ad viewing experience.

Now how does this relate to Facebook? Well, the goal of any advertising platform is to produce relevant ads that are in line with each individual’s interests and demographics. It’s in the advertiser’s best interest to maximize the relevance of the ad for each user, as forcing a 25-year-old male bachelor to watch a commercial on teen fashion products is pretty damn inefficient.

But in order to optimize efficiency, the more information that is available about the user, the more the ad can be targeted to his or her interests. And who is best positioned to have a complete view into the details surrounding every individual’s life? Yes – Facebook.

Social networks are unique in that users frequently volunteer many details about their day-to-day activities and social connections, not to mention they provide detailed demographic information (education, age, political views, relationship status, etc.). Whoever owns this data has the ability to leverage it to build a very powerful advertising system. I’d imagine Facebook will first use this data to build an ad platform internal to Facebook – but there’s nothing stopping them from then going one step further to license this information to 3rd parties, whether it be CNN.com or a new TV-advertising platform (I know, I know, that privacy point again). Google’s grip on contextually-based online advertising is about to face another dimension in the advertising wars. And don’t you think Google has realized this disturbing fact?

Now to address the privacy police. Of course Facebook, Google, and anyone else who owns private customer information would not dare to release it without the user’s consent. No one is disputing that fact. But as with any market-driven solution – Facebook et al. must will come up with an incentive so that it’s in the user’s best interest to make their demographic information available (individual identities will remain private, of course, so this scenario is quite feasible). Those who choose to remain anonymous can do so, but their personal experience will be limited, and most will end up consenting so as not to disrupt their experience.

This mutually beneficial relationship will drive unmatched efficiencies in modern advertising. You’re a 25-year-old male who just bought a new pair of skis? Let me show you an ad for Whistler promoting the powdered ski slopes and the happening party scene. Swap the 25-year-old to a 55-year-old and we’ll instead contrast the powdered slopes with some fancy dining and relaxing amenities. This will all be done automatically and will drive ad relevance and positioning to new extremes.

It’s an exciting time to be a part of the modern advertising revolution.

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Google, Marketing, Social Network by Tim McKillican
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Late last year, Federated Media, one of the first blogosphere advertising publishers, announced a big move into Facebook. The centerpiece of the announcement was the integration of the Hewlett-Packard brand to the Graffiti application. This turned out to be a proof-of-concept for Facebook marketing, with HP’s brand and printer offerings integrated into the application workflow itself. For example, after a user draws a picture on Graffiti, users are shown Hewlett Packard’s branded “Print Button”, and taken to the HP website to print the images.

Along with other moves into what they call “conversational marketing”, FM has shown an aptitude for looking forward in a market in the midst of transformation. Their recent move to secure a second round of funding is no doubt a response to the large amount secured by Glam Media, and the precursor to a new era for online advertising, where companies will vie for the use of social networks’ targeted advertising to present their products to their precise target demographic.

While the many competing technologies (OpenSocial, Facebook, OpenID) that will be used to tie a user’s preferences and profile to an advertisement are still developing, demand will steadily rise. With attractive Facebook marketing strategies, like FinancialTimes’ recent campaign, sprouting up, more and more companies are going to question whether their existing advertising budget, locked in mass-market print & television ads, is properly allocated. And if they start looking to Social Networks, companies like Glam Media and FM stand to pioneer a new market.

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, Social Network by Neil
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I, like thousands of other Facebook developers, have come to the realization that nothing is going to happen overnight. Facebook ads are not going to pour from the sky raining cash on applications far and wide. The money just isn’t there yet.And this post is in response to the discontent and negativity pervading the blogosphere upon this realization.

Just like when eBay, Yahoo and Amazon started their ascent, things are unpredictable. People aren’t really going to bite until there is a proven use and revenue stream for social networking applications. Why advertise on Facebook when click through rates are sub par? Why advertise when you’ll be featured on a small banner alongside “John’s Pants Corporation”. There’s no glamour and in fact at this point it could damage your brand. Blah.

Can revenue be created? At this point, the money is still in the air, but you can secure yourself a future in one simple way. By adding value for your user. I had a short discussion with Jamal Ashraf, founder of 12-million Facebook App-install powerhouse Esgut.com, and among other things, he pointed out that the economy of Facebook is yet to be decided. Every aspect of Facebook, in fact, is under transformation. The only consistency is the number of users, and the consistent amount of time per day (~20 minutes) that people spend connecting. There are 50 million+ users, and if you provide them with value, they will engage. The focus needs to be on something that will enrich their lives in some sort of way.

Why bother if there’s no money? Because $0.00 is the future of business. Large corporations and basement-bound two-man development teams are on the same playing level. Whoever can generate the most creative way to integrate useful products into popular applications will be the winner: Companies that market to and understand social networks and application developers who attract users.

It’s not easy, but seeing the creative ways in which Graffiti plans to fuse with Hewlett-Packard, I think we can all agree that the potential is there. An HP sponsored comment board and the HP sponsored “What Do You Have to Say?” segment. IMHO, that’s integration and positive branding in the social networking world.

Reading the article, we can see that Federated Media also plans to get involved with the massively popular “Addicted to…” series of applications, which all focus on specific TV series or cult followings.

In my opinion, if you want to win out here, stop crying about low click through rates, and start pounding on vendor’s doors, promising them a fantastic way to reach a completely new market.

Tags: Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, Social Network by Neil
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