To celebrate this week’s Facebook IPO bonanza, we’ve dedicated our Five Things You Might Have Missed blog entirely to Facebook marketing, news and management! You’re not going to want to skip this one — well, unless you work for GM.
1.) Facebook Got Run Over by a Car Company: Just as planet Wall Street was getting ready to pop bottles over the initial public offering for Facebook, GM had to rain on their parade. The car maker announced on Wednesday that it would be pulling a massive $10 million dollars in Facebook ads. The reason? “They don’t work.” Facebook isn’t a place for shoppers, according to GM. Ouch. Way to be a downer, GM. But seriously, we all sort of saw this coming (and kind of agree.)
2.) And they’re off! Facebook threw its hat in the race to become the next Groupon this week alongside heavy hitter American Express. AMEX and Facebook are just two of dozens of Groupon wannabes out there in BrandingLand, but unlike those other clones, these two have the financial chutzpah to potentially take a chunk out of Groupon’s business. It’ll be a race to the finish to see who really profits as deal mania finally tapers off.
3.) Hype ‘Rises:’ So maybe Facebook doesn’t work so great for that whole ad thing, but you can’t argue with its power as a hype machine — especially when it comes to entertainment. The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment in the Christopher Nolan Batman films, is a great example of how Facebook can pimp a product brilliantly without ever having to purchase an ad. Loaded with clips and exclusive contests, TDKR’s page is a one-stop-shop for fanboys and movie freaks.
4.) IPOh, I get it: We were a tad baffled on how Facebook would actually make money on this IPO thing, so thankfully those folks at CNN did a great job of explaining how an Internet brand becomes a cash making machine.
5.) Ads in Action: It was all well and good to hear about GM’s dissatisfaction with Facebook advertising, but how do they really work for the little guy? According to our final must-read on the list, not too darn good. This fascinating NPR piece about Pizza Delicious in New Orleans breaks down the numbers, dollars and likes behind purchasing a real-life Facebook ad. Eye opening stuff that could sway small business owners who are trying to decide whether or not to dip their feet in the Facebook waters.
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