Michael Myers

This is a ENORMOUS post. If I weren’t summarizing a presentation I gave last night, I would have broken it into a small miniseries with many guest stars including Betty White. So make sure you go to the bathroom before you start.

Last night I got the chance to speak to a class at DU that focuses on creating business plans. Social media is perfect for the startup due to the low barriers of entry and the minimal cost; other than time. It was a great class of about 15 and I had been working with Jason Lundberg to schedule a time to talk. (Thanks Jason.)

I quickly asked everyone what they were focusing on for business models and they covered the spectrum. Everything from hostels (not hostiles) to B2B consulting businesses to creating a premium vodka. There was a very mixed bag. The students were aware of social media but I don’t believe that anyone had taken them on a deeper dive. My goal was to take them on that deep dive specific to how Web 2.0 could impact their new business.

I started with the concept of the LivingMarket that I developed to help clients understand what kind of relationships they could have online.

1. Findable – can’t do anything until people can find you online. SEO, SEM, affiliate and discovery are all ways to be found. Some more expensive than others and based on your business model; imperative to enable your customers to find you.
2. Recommendable – This is the one that always gets businesses in trouble. e.g. Client wants to drive traffic to their site/their product and when you look at what they have to offer you hope that people CAN’T find  it. It’s not worth finding. It’s a real challenge to be recommendable and make sure you are before you go any deeper. WOMM is your friend.
3. Transparent – It is best to make a list of things you’re NOT willing to talk about in a blog, Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, etc. Be as honest as you can but don’t share IP and disturbingly personal stories. (You define what that means for you.)
4. Collaborative – As a startup you should be looking for ways that your customers can become involved in your business. Icenlantic skis has the one of the best examples I’ve seen with their first tracks program and everything else that they do.

We then reviewed some core readings to help understand social media. Cluetrain Manfiesto is arguably the most important. and still holds up after 10 years. Naked Conversations and Twitterville are also must reads. The important things to remember about social media is that the overall rules hold up no matter what platform you’re on. Facebook, blogging or Twitter. The what stays the same. Some examples are:

• talk in a human voice
• be honest (transparent)
• it (social media) is conversational

The difference lies in how you use those tools. Fan pages are for people that already like your product or service. Twitter only allows you 140 characters. Blogging allows you to create the maximum depth of content since it’s your site but getting traffic there is difficult at best. (There are over 1.3469 bazillion web pages and just so you know; this is the last page on the Internet.) Build it and no one will come. Build it and creatively market it and you may get some traffic.

From there we split the two types of ventures into B2B vs. B2C. For B2B, LinkedIn is your B2B keystone for anything you do socially and I like to think of it as Salesforce lite. Here are some of the ways to use LinkedIn.

• Groups – Search for groups in the industry you’re entering and complementary industries and build relationships by contributing to the groups and introducing yourself through your subject matter expertise. Share your business goals when appropriate and never hard sell.
• Organizer – This is a tool that allows you to organize your contacts and take notes on how you may be able to help them and have them help you.
• Company site – As a start-up you need to add your business to LinkedIn. This helps you get found and makes your business more valid in the eyes of those that are looking for businesses.
• Answers – This is an attempt and a free user generated knowledge base and may or may not prove to be helpful (as we found out last night). I think LinkedIn needs to partner with Wikipedia to funnel business specific information into their site.
• Account types – There are a number of account types and the middle tier is essential for startups.
• Network stats - It’s good to review how many people you’re connected with and how you might be able to partner with someone in the industry. Your personal brand is your network.
• Guy Kawasaki’s 11 recommendations for LinkedIn – Some good recommendations in here as well.

After that we about talked B2C businesses. I chose to talk about Facebook primarily because of the overwhelming user base. It’s best to think of Facebook as an Internet that sits on the Internet. Here’s some facts that get the point across:

• 400 million users on Facebook and 100 million mobile users.
• 1/2 of “active users” access Facebook everyday. To my knowledge they have not defined what an active user is.
• Facebook traffic is second only to Google. People are staying on Facebook all day. Can they avoid becoming the next AOL?
• Omniture recently signed a deal to embed its analytics in Facebook. Analytics is the forgotten art. As a startup the more you know about how people are viewing your Facebook account/site, the better off you are.
• The coming of Rockmelt; a browser specific to Facebook. Again. An Internet that sits on top of the Internet.
• 77% of fan pages have less than a 1,000 followers. This is because, on average, they update their page every 16 days! (It’s best to think of content on the Internet as produce at the grocery. It has a shelf life of about 2 days. After that; no one wants to digest it!)
• To get an application created for Facebook it’s best to use one of the developers on this list. (I added this one not so much as a fact but more of a, “you might want to consider”.)

The student starting the premium vodka company asked if Facebook was the best place for him to advertise given the fact that Facebook does not allow for businesses to promote alcohol. Great question. I indicated that based on the demographic realities of Facebook it is a great place to focus on. He simply would not be able to advertise. He could create a fan page like Jack Daniels has. (Check your liver at the door!)

From there we talked about Twitter.

Intent based marketing - Twitter has more people than any other platform talking about what they are going to do. Most everything else on the web is past tense. When you’re starting a business you want to “get in front” of those customers and help them realize what you can do for them before they make a buying decision.

search – The search mechanism that is built into Twitter is fantastic for determining what you’re target market is looking for. If you live in a larger city it will also give you location specific information much the same way that Foursquare does. This is an essential tool for research.

oneforty – This is Google for Twitter applications. They have all Twitter apps indexed and based on your business model you can find  whatever you need to leverage Twitter.

The rules – Building a Twitter account is a process and I outlined some rules for creating a robust account in the 7th class of ITEC 4700.

WeFollow – This is a great way to find out who are the SMEs/thought leaders in your target market. I like how they divide the  most influential and most followers. Not the same thing!

bit.ly & SEO – bit.ly is the number one URL shortener when it comes to getting clickthroughs AND as a business you lose Google juice by not using your original URL.  Weigh this fact before tweeting something out.

After comparing the needs of B2B & B2C companies, we talked about product based businesses vs. service companies and how they may best utilize social media.

Advertising – focus on the your niche. Use Google and WeFollow to find the best sites to place your add. As a startup you don’t have much money to spend. If can you afford advertising (affiliate, banner, etc) make sure it’s in the right venue. Look at Facebooks social advertising and if you can afford it, take a look at Lotame for “influencer marketing”.

Virtual goods – I recently did a post on virtualizing your product and last nights focus was merely to create complementary virtual products on Facebook. Many businesses are diversifying revenue this way.

iPhone applications – You may be able to create an app version of your product and if not; can you sell it through eCommerce enabled apps that others have created; bundling your product with other complementary products. (That’s right. Two, count’em two semicolons in one sentence!)

Blogging - talking about your product on your site, Facebook, Twitter, etc lets people who love the product know where the product is headed and allows them to five you feedback.

As for startups providing services,  I recommended the following:
Blogging – At its worst, blogging creates Google juice. At its best customers and potential customers are providing invaluable feedback to help you direct your service (or product).Blogging whether it ’s micro-blogging on Twitter or Facebook messages is imperative for a startup.

iPhone, BlackBerry & Android – Depending on where your market is you may chose to get involved in the application landscape. The entrepreneur should go to Distimo and sign-up for their free monthly report to determine if their target market is buying apps and if so, on what platform.

Subscription - If you’re going to monetize your content (including advertising) it better be deep in your niche. No one will pay for the weather and someone who is a SME for that vertical will smell BS quickly. Freemium may be the best way to get paid for your niche content. In this model the user is paying a subscription and not being exposed to advertising of any kind OR they get the ads in exchange for free access to the niche content.

Facebook for fans - Did I mention that there are a lot of people on Facebook? There are an you should be there if you feel as though your service worthy of recommendation.

Get Satisfaction – Get Satisfaction is a social customer service site. Complain here and the company will respond most times. It costs nothing for the user or the startup to use. It can be a great branding experience assuming you resolve their issues. If they take the time to ask for help, there is a good chance that you have a up and coming service.

Then we talked about monetizing social media:

Cost reduction – The only cost associated with social media is your time.(Yes I know your time is valuable and hiring a marketing firm may be well beyond your budget.)

Research – Googling to research your market and finding the thought leaders in your vertical on WeFollow is again free except for the time it takes.

Customer service – Get Satisfaction is a great way to handle customer service. Did I mention it’s Free?

Revenue - People buy from those they know and trust. That is what Web 2.0 is all about.

Qualified leads - potential customers can read your blog posts, tweets, LinkedIn group participation and get a feeling for what doing business together would be like. If they like what they see, you’re more likely to get the business.

Networking – Depending on your model, your network may be one of the most valuable things you have. As a entrepreneur it’s indispensable

eCommerce & mCommerce – Enable your customers to buy your product through the online and mobile world. This can piggy back on someone else’s ecommerce/mCommerce engine and if it fits your model; do it!

Advertising – Unless you have a huge amount of traffic, you’re not going to make money on vanilla advertising. That is why finding the niche sites is so important and the industry moves away from a CPM model and towards a CPA model, successfully advertising will become more difficult.

As an entrepreneur, you’re not only building your business; you’re building your personal brand. Here are a few essentials:

LinkedIn: do it! – Your LinkedIn account needs to be buttoned down tight. This is what potential customers & strategic partners will think of you. (If HR and your grandmother like the information contained and the picture you’ve used; you’re good.)

What AREN’T you willing to do – Make a list of things you aren’t willing to do to be found, recommended, transparent and collaborative. It’s easier to list what you won’t do and this is harder when your starting a business and your desperate for an opportunity.

Your personal brand is your network – It is important to maintain a healthy network online and this is an idicator of the strength of your personal brand. Someone says they are a CEO and they don’t have any connections on LinkedIn or followers on Twitter (or worse yet; they aren’t even there) does not bode well for their brand.

Google yourself – Take some time and find out what’s out there on the interwebs about you. Go to Google, type your name in and look at the results. Now look at the images tab. (Up to you as to whether or not you decide to remove the filter from your results.) Can be scary. For me it’s easy. It’s always the image of the killer in Halloween. I should sell cutlery.

Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel – Dan wrote a great book on personal branding and I recommend everyone read it. Now.

Rebrand – This is easier for entrepreneurs to understand but you should always be ready to rebrand yourself. If you think you will spend your life in one vertical doing one thing, think again. Does not happen.

Lastly we finished up with talking about the evolving online landscape. If you read this blog regularly you’ll be familiar with most of these. If you don’t read this blog regularly, please do. It’s good for you!

Virtual world colliding with the real world – Examples of this are augmented reality (browsers and flavor 2), QR codes and applications like RedLaser.

2013/2015 & the Touchweb – If the Aztecs are wrong and we’re still alive after 2012, by 2013 the number of smartphones will outnumber PCs. By 2015, more people will be surfing using smartphones instead of PCs. (According to Gartner.)

Cloud Business – Social media tools are free and applications like Get Satisfaction and CrowdSPRING can help you create an amazing brand for your business with minimal overhead.

The Splinternet – More than ever a business needs to think about all of the “online” venues they can participate in. Should I have a mobile site? Should I have an app? Android or iPhone? What does my YouTube channel need to look like? The online business world is messy and I’m not so sure there is any offline business. Plumbers have websites!

One of the students asked; “When does it end? It seems like too much.”. Unfortunately we’re only 10-15% into the social media revolution and I’m sure that when TV started many marketers thought; “Should we put an ad on TV? Print works fine.”. (Now with TiVO the answer is; no.) Marketing is messy now and yet very powerful. It requires vigilance.

5 Eras of social networking - We focused on the fifth era; social commerce. We are all headed towards a form of entrepreneurship. Social media is making that a reality within the next five years and the economy has helped as well.)

MobileSocial – Mobile is a natural extension of social media since mobile devices are more personal than a PC. 100 million of Facebook users access the site via mobile device. That will continue and startups may consider creating mobile sites first based on their model. (Conduit marketing will also be invaluable and we didn’t get a chance to get to it last night.)

For students that want to follow the social media bidpes that I follow you should download TweetDeck & follow this list. Easy to set up and this method is the only way I can keep up with the changes.

For those students that did not get to take my class this quarter; you should! It will be available in the Fall. Until then if you click this link, you’ll be taken to all of the class material on my blog.

Gary Flake of Microsoft’s Live Labs, demos amazing data manipulation tool called Pivot. Yep. You guessed it. You have to install Silverlight to use Pivot. (Ugh!) Watching this makes me think of Apple for some reason . . .

Cool to think about this and Web 3.0; the Internet of things. Enjoy (yet another) video!

Scott Hoffman of Cliqology talks about consumer intent at the Webtrends Engage conference in New Orleans. He used bit.ly to help him determine the trends. The amazing thing is that this does not count tweets and “status updates” (great branding by Facebook!) that don’t use URL shorteners. I’d like to like to know that stat . . . He talks very quietly so turn it up and enjoy the video!

It’s been a couple months since I posted about one of my new favorite companies (even though their skiers), Icelantic. The person responsible for their social strategy is currently in the class I’m teaching and he’s done an amazing job organizing their social effort. I wanted to take some time and explore additional things Icelantic could do to help deepen their brand. Most of this comes from our class on social mobile and extending the product into the experience they provide.

• Icelantic branded runs – Now, as a separate business you can’t brand Go Devil at Keystone. But as a user, who co-owns that brand, you can do anything you want. Using Foursqare (specifically the API), a user could submit a run that the Icelantic community should know about. That run would then be reviewed by the Icelantic  team (internal and First Tracks members) to insure it was up to snuff and if approved it would be displayed on an Icelantic map on their site or iPhone app. This would definitely help skiers when they travel to a different mountain. If they were apart of that community, they would know which runs they should try first. It’s always tough to know where to go when you first start on a new mountain. Icelantic could then organize tweetups on those runs and get people together with a mutual love for the company/skis.
• Icelantic TV on the lift. If you checked into a lift on Foursqaure, you would be provided an invitation to view Icelantic fans performing their favorite tricks on runs that are connected with the lift, shown with hotspot on map. “He did a <insert name of trick> there and I got one better than that and I’m going to do it RIGHT THERE”. All you need is someone to video you and submit it when they’re done. You can do this with your iPhone and geo-tag it as it’s uploaded. (Not sure if you’ve been up lately but there are tons of people sliding around with video cameras/iPhones. IcelanticTV would be a small on-demand user generated mobile TV experience.
• QR codes and “Project Mayhem Lite” – For those of you that have seen Fight Club you’ll have some sense of this. Two big differences, 1) You don’t have to blow up corporate art and 2) Bob doesn’t have to get shot. What should happen is QR codes should be placed around any ski town USA/international and when users scan these bad boys, their smartphone takes them to a mobile optimized microsite that demo’s next seasons models. A small branded experience. If it’s still early in the season the microsite would tell them the nearest place, based on their location, they could check the current models out.

These are things that could be done now. Foursquare released their API this past November and Icenltanic needs to extend their product into the experience they afford their fans. This cross pollination between the real and virtual worlds will help continue to build their business and their fan base.

Almost makes me want to ski.

Last night we reviewed the concept of Web 3.0. It’s the end of the quarter so I let some videos do the talking.

Before we watched the videos below I had the students fill out the course evaluation online. This is an interesting feeling. You feel like your future is in their hands as much they feel with it with their grades. I vaguely remember this from when I attended. Strange feeling all around.

After they completed the form, we talked about how I could make the class better. (I’ve been taking notes this quarter and came in with some suggestions of my own.) The following are changes that I’ll make:

1. Social media cultural readiness review. I need to cover social media from the perspective of corporate culture and will have students complete a questionnaire to get a feeling for whether their business’ are ready for social media. Going to do this at the end of the quarter since I don’t want people discouraged at the beginning of the course in case the culture they work in is not conducive with Web 2.0 methods. (I’ll also cover how to initiate corporate change.)
2. The State of Internet law. Several times, I had students ask about the legality of certain things and we covered the types of licenses under the Creative Commons model. I’m going to have someone from the DU law school come in and speak to the class.
3. Blogging about the book they’re reading on the optional reading list. Many of the students wanted to know what others were reading and would like to use blogging to share that information. The book report they’re doing is a one way street and the goal was to find a way to share what they’ve learned.
4. Live Twitter feed in class about questions in class. People could submit questions during class so when we completed a section I could answer their questions. Incredible timing for this post!
5. More case studies. I used the Twitter Case studies and some of the information in the report by Dr. Phil Hendrix in class. I’ve found that social media is still new enough that it’s hard to find free case studies. (Need a budget increase!) Much of the case study information is contained in the required readings. As more come available, I will utilize them more and maybe use an entire class to focus on one case study.
6. Create an actual business utilizing Web 2.0 methods.  One of the class projects is to create a Web 2.0 business model and I’d definitely be open to having them actualize their plan. We need better coordination between professors.
7. Have the class presentations on Facebook & Twitter coincide with the class that we’re covering that. This is a no-brainer and I didn’t do this in the hopes to give them time to read the book but get to one of the more compelling pieces of social media, namely Twitter, as soon as possible. Also, I honestly didn’t expect the presentations to be as thorough as they were. In the future I’m going to use the presentations as the foundation for the class and fill in any blanks through class discussion.
8. Divide the iPhone class into applications and device. Both are important aspects to the iPhone and should be covered separately.
9. More guest lecturers. I was planning on having the founders of Brightkite come but we could not get the timing to work. I’d also like to have Dan Burcaw of DoubleEncore come in and talk about the evolving iPhone (and iPad) landscape.
10. Have class at Jordan’s pub. While this is not a “bad idea”; I doubt much would get learned; other than to check your liver at the door. Would be memorable though.

Along with these suggestions, we talked about the environment of the class and my goal to make it a social experience. I feel like I pulled it off mainly because of the quality of students in the class. I taught as myself. I didn’t wear a suit. The class was conversational. It was awesome. Again I had tremendous students (jraddatzCO, Alexgold5, Jason_Lauer, chris_blackett, raschmi4, kompostownik) from diverse perspectives and my hope is that we will stay in contact and continue to share our passion for business, social media and the evolving online landscape. (We have, after all, created a niche social network with the class as the social object. We also decided that this class may not work as well with over 10 people and hopefully I’ll get to test that theory out very soon.)

Below are some of the videos we covered in class and we won’t be having our next class. Students need to focus on their final projects with an emphasis on being creative. It’s a huge chunk of their grade and no interpretive dance please. Tuesday will be the first set of presentations; create a Web 2.0 business model and present an up and coming web 2.0 technology. Excited to see what they’ve come up with.

Several days ago I walking with a friend towards the intersection of Yosemite and Mineral. We’re talking about something random when we heard the sounds of screeching brakes, followed by the obligatory metal on metal explosion. Someone was turning through the intersection on a red light while someone had gunned it trying to make the red light. Bad accident. My friend pulled his cell out and called 911, ~5 seconds after the accident. The operator not only knew of the accident but had received numerous calls. Now this is not a “time stood still” thing. I was amazed at how connected we all are.

Rewind to a week before. My wife and I were in the mall getting some ski clothing for my kids. As we walked across the hall to enter a store, an elderly woman walked up and asked me if I had seen a pay phone. It was tempted to respond with; “Not in 7 years.” But I held back. (Getting older does have its benefits.) Some would say this was a condition of her age. I’m not sure that’s true. My friend’s little brother is 20 and uses his mobile device to make calls. Incredible!

We’re all connected. Some of us overwhelmed while some of us are fine with being plugged in all the time. When creating products/services (mobile or terrestrial) remember that some of your biggest fans may not be using the tools that you’d like them to. Some may want to be able to pick up the phone or as crazy as it sounds or heaven forbid come into your office. As you become more transparent online, don’t forget to make sure you stay connected with your old-school customer base.  If you chose not to; make sure they understand why (cost, time, etc.)

Thursday we started off with several of my students asking if my Twitter account had been hacked. And yes, it had. Someone got in and sent out the following message: ‘hi, i’m 24/female/horny… i have to get off here but message me on my windows live messenger name *****@hotmail.com’. They had direct messaged a large number of my followers. (I was also alerted by someone who follows me.) I sent out the following message to ensure those that follow know I had been hacked: ‘My apologies. My account has been hacked! I am in fact NOT a horny 24 year old female.’. One of the few things I don’t like about the Internet.

After that we  talked about Monetizing Web 2.0 by cutting costs and/or generating revenue. From sales leads, customer service, brand awareness to research, businesses need to consider the following channels:

• Online – web site, email, affiliate, etc
• Social – Facebook, YouTube, flickr, etc
• Touchweb (smartphone)- the mobile web
• Applications – iPhone, Android, BlackBerry
• Print – Yes. I said it. Niche specific magazines are booming and of course I believe they should incorporate things like augmented reality much like Esquire recently did.

We then framed businesses into two categories; product or a service. Businesses that create products need to look to:

1. Virtualizing their product
2. Niche Advertising – On average the CPM rate is 4x that of standard advertising. Also, don’t kid yourself, the days of CPM are numbered and we are screaming towards a CPA model which makes contextual advertising even more important. It’s best to think of this form of advertising as niche content. If you go to Newschoolers you probably shouldn’t see ads for feminine hygiene products.
3. Coupons – This is a concept we’re all used to and mobile coupons for those in loyalty programs is one example. Make these coupons something that can be shared to help build your database.
4. Negotiation – empower those on the front line to move product. Competition is more fierce than ever.
5. Strategic partnerships – Bundle your product with others when selling items from within an iPhone app (or any other channel for that matter). Link your products to increase the chances of getting recommended.
6. Collaboration – Partner with your customers like Icelantic Skis has or Karmaloop.
7. Augmented reality – Product demos (in-store/at home) are something that people will share with others.
8. QR codes – Putting these codes on packaging allows users to discover additional information online. Information/entertainment and/or communication that can be become a social object if done well.

As for services the list below is recommended to drive revenue

1. Subscriptions – Rupert Murdoch & Berry Diller believe you will pay for content. I agree with Chris Anderson that people will pay for niche content. The more niche the better and this content will be the keystone for the niche social networks.
2. Niche content  – <see above>
3. Traditional advertising – I loathe this type of advertising and yet it can diversify revenue.
4. Freemium – Pay a subscription fee and members don’t see any ads. Get it for free and see lots of ads. Either way the business get’s paid and the member is in charge.
5. Strategic partnerships – Be careful before you partner with a company. Make sure you understand how much social capital they have and how the social capital you have earned (or are planning toe earn) will match up. (eg. are 100% customer focused like Zappos)
6. Augmented reality – Insert a branded AR logo in a magazine that your target market goes after. Make sure the virtual experience is compelling and easy to view. I didn’t like the fact that I had to install an app from Esquire on my machine to get the AR to work. GE’s Smart grid simply created a separate browser window.
7. QR codes – Paint the town with QR code stickers to drive business to your site. Few users are doing this now but this behavior will continue to grow. You want to get early adopters since they are the new taste-makers.

We then reviewed what businesses should be doing based on venue. Again, the venues (listed above) are online, social media, touchweb, applications and print.

Online is a huge category and you could (and maybe should) include the touchweb and social media. But I didnt. Here are the things you should be doing online.

1. SEO – If your site can’t be discovered, you don’t exist.
2. Adsense – Google’s adsense is very successful with its text-based ads. I like to call this out separate from advertising because of its location in the overall flow.
3. Advertising – <see section below>
4. Affiliate – Sharing links with other sites that fit into your business landscape increases SEO and allows others to find you outside of search and SEM.
5. SEM – These are the paid text based ads on the right hand side of the search results page.

For social media

1. Social advertising – This is done on Facebook and outlined here.
2. Lotame – This is a great firm that identifies influencers specific to your goals and then helps you put together an offering for them to share. (e.g. a new movie is coming out and they find the right crowd to give the first movie preview to.)
3. Conduits – Make sure that your customer/potential customers can share your product/service with others. This could be a YouTube video, Flash-based product demo, forward to a friend, etc. Let customers/potential customers market for you but remember, your product/service needs to be worthy of recommendation.
4. Twitter coupons – Send out offers to your customers via Twitter.
5. Sales leads – Keep connected with those that may have a need in the future through LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Much of social media is networking and you’ll give business to those you know.

For the touchweb (smartphones)

• iPhone (& iPad) – Applications themselves have become social objects. People with iPhones are always asking each other what new apps they have downloaded. The iPad is going to be a monster hit and will change the way many utilize the Internet and applications. How should your application address the differences of the iPad and how much more should you charge for it? If you give the iPhone version away for free you may want to charge for the iPad version.
• Search based – Mobile advertising is expected to make up 73% of all mobile advertising within 3 short years. Make sure your company participating appropriately.
• Coupons – Again, coupons have the opportunity to become much more social when they are shared with a smartphone. Bump the smartphones together to share the coupon.
• Product demo – If a customer can see a small product demo on my smartphone while standing in front of the actual product, it will them make a decision.

Applications

1. Revenue from app – This is easier to do for a service than it is for a product AND if businesses start to virtualize their products, applications would be the perfect vehicle.
2. In app transactions – Many are giving apps away with the expectation that users will buy items from within the app. Distimo reported on this recently and but I can’t find the report.
3. Advertising – In app advertising is very successful currently. It had 50% click-through at one time but so did the Internet when it first happened. Look to this number to decline but if you can jump on it now; do!
4. Subscription – WSJ is currently charging for access to their application and I could not find anything on how much money they’re making. If they aren’t they may need to give a base portion way and then charge for specific area; a la carte.
5. Partnerships – This is the same concept listed above. Bundle your product with others to offer something compelling.

Advertising

1. Situational – This will soon be possible and would have you receiving the right ad based on your past purchasing behavior in the right context (time of day & location). Google and/or Apple is going to do this.
2. Mobile search – This type of ad is based on your location and what you searched on. If you search for sushi and your near Colorado Blvd and Exposition the search should return Osaka Sushi. (AND if it does you better scamper over their and try the Zombie Brains. Excellent!)
3. Contextual – Online, (touchweb also) you will see ads related to the site you’re on.
4. Behavioral – Based on where you have been online recently (including touchweb) you receive relevant ads.
5. Social – <see social advertising under social media above>
6. Destination – Make the ad so compelling that they come to see it. Think BMW films. (Not necessarily viral and hopefully social.)
7. Intent based – Twitter & Facebook are key to this with their lifestreaming. People talk about what they are going to do and as a business you can offer them something before they do it; coupon, upgrade, etc.

Whoa. This is a long post. My eyes are bleeding.

The way this particular class roled out there is much overlap and if you made it this far into the post; congratulations. We didn’t even cover the customer service and building brand depth, but we have been talking about that for most of the quarter. The main point is that there a lot of ways to make money utilizing social media and the online landscape. Based on your business model plan on 1) testing them all and then 2) monitoring how successful they are and 3) tweaking to increase conversions.

Below is my “incredibly visionary” presentation created with Prezi. Next class we’re reviewing the artist as yet to be known as Web 3.0!

I recently saw this on Mashable and its got some amazing numbers!