PayPal to become a way to pay for Facebook ads

PayPal is extending its reach into Facebook.

Associated Press, February 22, 2010 — The companies said Thursday that advertisers on the world's largest online social network will be able to use eBay Inc.'s online payments business to buy ads. The service will roll out over the next couple of weeks.

Using PayPal instead of credit cards, PayPal says, would make life easier for small international companies to buy ads on Facebook.

Quick Shout Out: Happy 6th Birthday, Facebook!

Who knew that a little site for Harvard students would become a worldwide phenomenon?

Brandchannel.com, February 5, 2010 — Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes probably had little idea that their brainchild would eventually become a global platform for connecting friends, spreading political and humanitarian causes, posting cute cat videos, and hosting time-sink applications like Farmville and Mafia Wars. But here we are.

Facebook and Nielsen launch BrandLift tool in UK

Marketing Week, January 27, 2010 — Facebook and The Nielsen Company have announced the UK launch of a new tool called Nielsen BrandLift, which will use the Facebook platform to measure the effectiveness of online brand advertising.

P&G Embraces Facebook as Big Part of Its Marketing Plan†

Opens Silicon Valley Office Aimed at Increasing Social-Media Presence

Advertising Age, January 25, 2010 — Procter & Gamble Co. loves Facebook after all, and besides encouraging brands to develop a presence there, the world's biggest marketer has opened an office in Silicon Valley to help develop social-networking systems and digital-marketing capabilities with the website

If You're Wondering What Not To Do When It Comes to Social Media, Learn From BCS†

Don't Treat Facebook, Twitter as Broadcast Tools; Converse With Fans

Advertising Age, November 30, 2009 — The BCS might not be your favorite institution, but it has kindly spent the last week creating a useful case study in how not to use social media.

In the last two weeks, the Bowl Championship Series—which determines the sport's national championship game every year—hired its first full-time executive director in Bill Hancock, retained former George W. Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer's firm to handle its PR, and added a Twitter feed (@insidetheBCS) and Facebook fan page.

Friendless: CMOs Spend Little On Social Media

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — Twitter may be booming, Facebook stratospheric, but leading chief marketing officers are apparently yet to send the dollars wildly chasing the traffic.

A new study shows nearly 85% of CMOs spend less than 10% of their budgets on social media, and what's described as "non-traditional communications channels."

First Network, Then Cable, Now There's 'Social TV'†

Networks Try to Hold, Build Audiences With Facebook and Twitter

Advertising Age, November 16, 2009 — TV has for decades aimed to deliver water-cooler moments, from "Who Shot J.R.?" right on through to the return of Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy" last week. What TV hasn't been able to do is keep hold of its audience once people move from watching these shows to talking about them — until now. Using new social-media tools, producers are trying to build up their old-media offerings and beef up their audiences for advertisers.

The Two Faces of Facebook†

Steve Rubel on Digital Communications

Advertising Age, October 29, 2009 — I spend a lot of time gazing into a crystal ball that I know is going to be cloudy half the time. Lately I have been pondering Facebook's future.

Facebook is clearly on a roll and is knocking on Google's door as the biggest site on the web. Will it continue to dominate or see its lead slip? Here are two potential outcomes.

Why Email No Longer Rules… …And what that means for the way we communicate†

Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2009 — Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over.

In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold—services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate—in ways we can only begin to imagine.

Facebook Sets Deal to Provide Ad Data to Nielsen†

Wall Street Journal, September 22, 2009 — Facebook Inc. plans to announce a deal with online measurement company Nielsen Co., in a step to address advertisers' frustration with measuring how ads perform on the social network.Under the partnership, Facebook will begin polling its users about some of the display ads it runs on its site, such as a banner promoting a movie release.

Facebook will provide that data, including responses from those who didn't see an ad, to Nielsen, which will package it for advertisers, say the companies.