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Old 05-15-2012, 02:54 PM   #1
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Default GM plans to stop advertising on Facebook

According to a report that originated with the Wall Street Journal, General Motors is expected to stop advertising on Facebook. While the automaker will still have Facebook Pages to interact with their customers, they'll no longer pay for ads which are intended to draw Facebook members to their site. Here's a link to a report from Reuters - click here

The timing of GM's announcement is somewhat ironic given that Facebook's IPO on the NASDAQ is scheduled for this Friday. I wonder if there's a reason why GM would want to rain on Zuckerberg's parade?

Concerning Facebook and the site's ability to sell cars, I've heard many dealers echo the same comments. Facebook might be a great site to interact with your customers but it's not clear if advertising on the site actually helps sell any cars.

Does anyone here advertise on Facebook? It would be interesting to hear comments - either pro or con.
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Old 05-16-2012, 06:49 AM   #2
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I thought about facebook but said no,I dont feel like a business belongs there
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Old 05-16-2012, 08:58 AM   #3
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Default Ford's going to continue their Facebook advertising

Based on a report in Automotive News, Ford will not be following GM's lead by withdrawing their advertising support from Facebook.

Personally, I have mixed feeling about advertising on Facebook. While there's no question that a lot of people use Facebook on a daily basis I also think Facebook users may not be in an "advertising mindset" while they're reviewing their Facebook page.

Google's had the same problem with advertising on their YouTube site - most people go to YouTube because they want to see an entertaining video clip and they're not in the mindset to be sold.

I still think the timing of GM's announcement is odd - GM only spends about $10 Million on Facebook advertising, why would they go out of their way to make a negative comment about Facebook in the same week as Facebook's IPO?
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Old 05-18-2012, 12:01 PM   #4
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Default Selling past the close....?

Automotive News had an interesting report indicating that GM decided to drop their Facebook advertising after attending a sales presentation from Facebook at their Menlo Park, CA Headquarters.

Apparently the Facebook sales exec spent so much time touting the advantages of Facebook's free content that the GM executives didn't see much value in paying for ads. We've all known salespeople who "sell past the close" - I wonder if Facebook has the same problem?

On a related note, the Automotive News article indicated that Facebook has a reputation for having poor "click-through" performance. On average it takes 2,000 ad impressions before a user clicks on a Facebook ad. Google, by contrast, only needs 500 ad impressions for each "click through" suggesting that the Google ads are either better targeted or that people are more receptive to a sales pitch with Google than they are with Facebook.
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Old 05-18-2012, 05:21 PM   #5
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Default Facebook had a pretty lackluster day for an IPO

Perhaps signaling and overall weakness in the market of late, Facebook's IPO was mostly lackluster today with the shares closing at $38.23 a mere 23 cents above the IPO price.

In fact, it was reported that the IPO's underwriters had to step in on several occasions today and purchase shares to prevent the price of Facebook from following below the $38 IPO price.

By contrast, shares of LinkedIn more than doubled during their first day of trading when the company went public.
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Old 05-21-2012, 08:05 AM   #6
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In fact, it was reported that the IPO's underwriters had to step in on several occasions today and purchase shares to prevent the price of Facebook from following below the $38 IPO price.

Well, I guess the underwriters got tired of supporting Facebook at $38 and they let it fall to a low of $33 so far today. (It's at $33.80 as I type this post.)

It will be interesting to watch how Facebook performs. In fairness, Google broke through its IPO price shortly after it was released and it obviously turned out to be a great investment.

One interesting side-note I heard about Facebook this morning is that an increasing percentage of their users are accessing their Facebook content on their mobile device. While that may sound like a great thing, the bad news is people who use their smartphone to surf Facebook are significantly less likely to click on an ad. I've also heard that advertisers are not willing to pay the same rate for a "mobile click" versus a "desktop click."
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Old 05-29-2012, 02:08 PM   #7
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Default Facebook closes below $29 for the first time.

OK, I know this isn't CNBC but I still can't help myself from following Facebook's IPO and watching their share price continue to drop.

Today Facebook was down over $3 and closed below $29 for the first time ever. The IPO price was $38 and some retail traders paid as much as $45 per share during trading on Facebook's opening day.

Ironically, Facebook's IPO has been reported to be one of the first IPOs in a long time where the average retail trader could obtain shares at the IPO price. Some analysts wonder if the Facebook IPO may drive retail traders out of the market as they surmise the game is rigged so only the large Wall Street companies can make any money.

Concerning Facebook, I rarely use the site and don't have an informed opinion on whether it's a good investment or not. That said, I know I'm much more likely to click on an ad originated by Google than I am on Facebook and that's Facebook's greatest challenge.
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Old 05-31-2012, 08:06 AM   #8
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http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...chester-united

I don't know about the areas you guys live in, but professional soccer never caught on here. And from the people I know around the country, it's the same everywhere. While I completely understand dropping Facebook advertising, this is the answer? It's like Wagoner never left, the poor decision making has to end somewhere. Just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong on the whole soccer deal.
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Old 05-31-2012, 09:54 AM   #9
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Lakeshore, You are NOT wrong on either topic covered in your post!
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Old 05-31-2012, 10:00 AM   #10
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WORD OF THE DAY:

"INEPTOCRACY"

•A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
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Old 05-31-2012, 10:12 AM   #11
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WORD OF THE DAY:

"INEPTOCRACY"

•A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
That's great! And sadly oh so true...
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Old 05-31-2012, 10:55 AM   #12
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I don't know anyone who successfully "advertises" on facebook. What does work is keeping the public informed about your product.

As for soccer, go to any soccer/football field on saturday/sunday and you'll see lots of soccer followings. The majority of parents drive minivans, suvs or crossovers. I have attended soccer games at Soldiers field in Chicago with 30,000 people (90% + are Latino). Manchester United for those that don't know is considered the most valuable sports franchise on earth. When the World Cup was held in Chicago a few years ago, tickets were impossible to get. I know I tried. It is not as big in the US as football/basketball, but it is a big sport here as well as overseas.
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Old 06-01-2012, 09:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 57years View Post
WORD OF THE DAY:

"INEPTOCRACY"

•A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
My Dad sent me an email about a week ago with that.

Sadly, it really does ring true.
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Old 06-01-2012, 09:48 AM   #14
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I don't know anyone who successfully "advertises" on facebook. What does work is keeping the public informed about your product.
I think GM concluded the very best attributes of Facebook are the ones they (and everyone else) gets for free. The ads were a poor value for GM because the click-through rate was so low compared to Google and other sites.

I'm no expert on Facebook, hell, I hardly use their site, but my bet is they'll come up with some fee schedule where companies like GM, Coke, Nike, etc. have to pay for a premium site to get maximum exposure.

It would be like AutoTrader where the dealers who are willing to pay the most get the most exposure to customers looking to buy a car.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chryslersrt8 View Post
As for soccer, go to any soccer/football field on saturday/sunday and you'll see lots of soccer followings. The majority of parents drive minivans, suvs or crossovers. I have attended soccer games at Soldiers field in Chicago with 30,000 people (90% + are Latino). Manchester United for those that don't know is considered the most valuable sports franchise on earth. When the World Cup was held in Chicago a few years ago, tickets were impossible to get. I know I tried. It is not as big in the US as football/basketball, but it is a big sport here as well as overseas.
Interesting comments - especially the part that 90% of the fans who attended a Professional Soccer game were Latino. I know the Seattle Sounders Soccer Team has a pretty big following and I've heard that a lot of the fans are Latino. Maybe soccer advertising is an effective tool to reach that demographic group?

That said, given that GM has been puking up market share lately as they attempt to rein in incentives, it seems strange that the GM marketing executives would dump the Super Bowl in favor of soccer advertising.
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Old 06-01-2012, 11:39 AM   #15
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I'm not saying if cost is not an issue, that a Super Bowl ad might not be more beneficial than soccer. In the US that would be insane. But if cost per retention is figured, maybe advertising with other non-baseball, football, basketball makes sense.

Let's face it, a lot of ads on TV get fast forwarded and not even seen. And with the advent of Dish's skip commercial programming (or whatever they call it) how long until TV advertising goes the way of newspaper advertising.
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