Start Up Lessons Learned

Some video well worth watching from the Startup Lessons Learned Conference last week in SF. There's a lot here http://bit.ly/cuBgSx


Check out Steve Blank's "Why Accountants don't run startups"

Sourced from Venture Hacks

Re working old concepts: "word of mouth" best new thing for online marketers

There was an interesting post on Business Insider today "Facebook's Ads Work REALLY WELL When Facebook can get users talking about them" http://bit.ly/apHnzw - an article from AdAge.

Essentially it is put foreword that "branding ads" - paid ads such as banners on Facebook are much more impact full - in this case producing better click through rates to X company website - when the X company brand is followed by a friend of a user. The argument is that by developing followers - or friends - of your company on Facebook - your paid ads become more relevant and interesting to a user who's friends are following you. Nielsen research indicates - through various percentage points - that this type of user - follower - company - friend dynamic raises brand awareness, recall and purchasing intent (although it is dubious how this last percentage increase is determined as the research doesn't extend to off line purchases).

While this is good news for brands that are are actively advertising on Facebook and also developing their "follower" network - this is by no means a new, or even surprising, development. Facebook is certainly the paradigm of new social media, and one of the biggest potential advertising media platforms in the world. But that doesn't mean that the dynamic of brand exposure to purchasing will really be changed by a medium. Word of mouth - in this case seeing that your friend is a friend of brand X - is the oldest and best form of advertising. Facebook and the expanding world of digital marketing experts surely get this. But what is missing from the argument is how any user became interested enough in a brand to follow it in the first place.

50% of your advertising will work - its just a matter of knowing which 50%. The dilemma here for Facebook and any other online social/news media is how do you bring in early adopters if they don't already know about your product brand. Advertising a banner on Facebook without the accompanying follower group is no more effective than any other online banner (less than 1% of users click on the average web banner ad). So we know word of mouth is important. And we know combining paid and organic advertising is important on mediums like Facebook. But we still don't know how to generate enough interest/brand awareness with users - typically early adopters - to even get to that point. At least not if solely online.

So maybe print/radio/TV advertising is important and not really all that "dead". Im sure some wouldn't agree

Countdown: leaving for the Orient in T minus 7 days

Today was my second to last day working at Blue Water Sailing Media (if you don't know the definition of niche, special interest media - look it up under Blue Water). Wrapping things up after 4 years of highs and lows is easier said than done. In a week I leave for China - an introduction to management education via the Pacific Rim and a crash course in cultural revolution - or something along those lines.

This is a primer blog post - more interesting things will probably begin to happen when I land in Beijing if this all goes as planned.

Later on I will post stories, photos and videos of my expericnes in China and then my time at BU. Interspersed in these chronological postings will be insightful blogs on what is happening in the world of new media.

Above is a photo of a beach in the French West Indies visited in December - a reminder of what I am giving up by leaving BWS. Time will tell is this was a wise choice.