Facebook announced this week its partnership with Nielsen to provide ad measurement to advertisers. The product, Nielsen BrandLift, is expected to prove the performance of Facebook display ads. The information will be gathered using surveys that will ask users about their attitudes and purchase intent based on display ads that run throughout Facebook. The surveys will appear on Facebook’s homepage in the same space where sponsored messages currently are. The goal is to have a look and feel that fits within the existing Facebook experience. The frequency of the surveys will be closely monitored. Nielsen BrandLift will launch in the U.S. first with select advertisers and then roll out to all Facebook partners. According to comScore, Facebook pulled a 9.1% share of display ad views in the U.S. in July, landing behind Yahoo but ahead of AOL and Microsoft. I am very interested to see what sort of quantifiable results they report because it will allow me to better evaluate placements on Facebook. Social networking sites accounted for more than 20% of ads viewed online, with MySpace and Facebook accounting for 80% of them. We know there has been a shift in user behavior online and it is only fitting that we begin accurately measuring performance as we do with other leading content sites.

http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/entry/45288/facebook-allies-with-nielsen-to-provide-ad-measurement

Every week, advertising publication Creativity Online delivers a weekly round-up of the top 20 latest and greatest creative marketing campaigns. This week, Creativity Online released its current AdCritic Top 20 list with the Gap “Born to Fit” campaign situated at number one: http://borntofit.com. The Facebook hub for Gap’s “Born to Fit” 1969 premium jeans, the website provides an excellent example of how to execute an effective Facebook Page to promote a product or service.

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With social networking on the rise, it is no surprise that companies are investing time, energy, and money to be up-to-date with sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Among the companies making these efforts are Ford Motor Co., PepsiCo Inc., and Southwest Airlines. Social networking has vastly increased the importance of a timely response to crises and consumer communication. It is no longer the case that companies have a couple of hours to respond to incidents and consumer’s concerns, but that they should be responding instantly with tweets and posts.

Companies are creating corporate Twitter profiles to monitor what is being said in cyberspace, a time consuming task to say the least, and listening to consumers’ tweets, posts, and blogs to influence company decisions. Along with launching tracking software, companies are also training their employees on how to use Twitter by teaching them how to represent their company online and interact with consumers. In our constantly technologically advancing society, it is going to be crucial for companies to be connected to the information superhighway.

I officially have a serious case of blog envy.

Murphy-Goode, a winery based in Northern California, is seeking to hire an internet-savvy wine-lover to blog and tweet about their experiences in wine country for six months. The pay? $10,000 per month — that’s $60,000 total — plus free lodging in a private home nestled in the picturesque Sonoma County Wine Country. And did I mention tasting hundreds of wines every day for free?

Talk about a buzz. Already, the social media job search has generated a significant amount of promotion for the winery: 2,000 applicants, 900 posted videos, national media attention and a major jump in traffic to the company website. What’s more, these are just the preliminary results– the official launch of the actual campaign begins August 15.

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