It has been challenging for Foursquare to make money. The popular location-based check in app has made news, generated buzz, and been the subject of purchasing and partnering talks since it became relatively popular amongst the mainstream in 2010. The only thing it hasn’t done is generate a substantial amount of revenue with its efforts. Their latest attempt to enter the world of the profitable is Promoted Updates, a service whereby businesses can push their listings to the top in a way similar to promoted Tweets on Twitter. When a user opens the application, their mobile device’s GPS system…

Most of us already know that StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that recommends and personalizes web content based on users’ personal interests, social networking principles, and peers. As a result, virtual communities and networks are created of Web surfers connected by common interests. …

General Motors couldn’t have picked a worse time to pull out of paid advertising on Facebook when they announced their decision the week of the Facebook IPO. Now, the two companies are in talks to bring paid ads back into the mix at a crucial point in Facebook’s growth as a public company. WSJ reports that Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg spoke with GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson about the issue with transparency at the heart of the matter. General Motors wasn’t sure if their $10 million spend in 2011 (a fraction of their multi-billion dollar advertising budget) was having a positive…

In the competitive world of telecommunications, it’s often a matter of name recognition and trust that help people determine which service to use and which product to buy. The mobile arena is particularly top-heavy with Verizon and AT&T ranking #2 and #3 amongst the top US ad spenders behind Proctor & Gamble Co. At nearly $6 billion in combined advertising spend between the two biggest US mobile service providers last year, the stakes are clearly high when it comes to buying exposure. Here, we take a look at the top spenders in US advertising dollars. This infographic from Kissmetrics…

So, after a couple of weeks, the truth has come out about GM’s sudden Facebook ad maneuver. Or at least some of the story. It appears that there was something of a power struggle between Mark Zuckerberg and GM. And for once, kudos to Mr. Zuckerberg for standing his ground. He seems to remember what his social media baby is all about. And it’s not necessarily just about social media marketing. It seems that GM wanted to place full page ads on Facebook, an idea which was rejected. So like a spoiled child, GM took their ball and went home. GM’s maneuver forces a number of issues into the limelight regarding…

Just ahead of the much-discussed Facebook IPO, General Motors announced that they plan to cease advertising on the social networking site. They will continue to market on Facebook through the free Facebook pages but will not be paying Facebook for ads. Their reason is something that most ads executives have considered at one point or another when looking at Facebook: will it help sell more products? General Motors determined that it was not helping them sell more cars. While their $10 million annual spend on Facebook was a tiny fraction of both their advertising spend ($1.8 billion) and Facebook’s…

With so much money going into social media as a marketing and branding tool, it’s hard for businesses to discern the true value that their social media efforts are bringing. How much are they really getting when someone posts a tweet about them or mentions them on Facebook? Are they getting real value or is it all just another intangible to throw into the advertising budget like billboard signs and television ads? The folks over at backupify took their cloud data and applied it to the question, “What is social data worth?” The results help to quantify social by showing the average per-user value and…

At some point, nearly every social media startup intends to make money. Tumblr has held off for quite some time, but now they are about to roll out their revenue model: ads. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="tumblr blog (Photo credit: Zadi Diaz)"][/caption] Their model will have a starting point of $25,000 to be included in their “Tumblr Radar” and “Tumble Spotlight” sections. The Radar is visible on every users’ dashboard on the right sidebar. The dashboard is the starting point (and most commonly browsed portion) for members when they are logged in and promises 120…

Marketing execs drinking midday highballs on Madison Avenue are posh and glamorous. No wonder then that some businesses still hold traditional media marketing—glossy campaigns in print, splashy billboards, tv spots and their mindless jingles—over and at the expense of their social media marketing efforts. Just like business school is stuck in analog and antiquated ways, denigrating modern, online MBA programs in favor of prestigious institutions that have always been there. Marketing is the same way.  But the problem with this dated type of advertising push is that the information…

Celebrities are often called on by companies to promote their products by inserting their use into their “real” lives, demonstrating to their fans that they use this product or that one. Apple has never really had to do that. Verizon has, and they are doing so again on behalf of Apple’s Siri personal assistant product. In the videos below (which unfortunately have not been released to the Verizon YouTube channel yet), you can see the two movie stars using Siri to make their lives easier. …