The Real Price of "Free" Services

What’s the price you pay for a “free” product?  A free eBook will cost an email address.  A free coupon or gift certificate may cost 10-15 minutes filling out a survey.  What is the cost of the free use of Gmail, YouTube, and Google Analytics?  Information.  With every mouse click, Google is collecting information about what users search for, what ads are clicked on, what users write about, what they watch, and what apps they like (Dickey, 2014).  

The information Google has collected from their customers has given them a perspective of customers in regards to their online behavior. As they develop driverless cars and Google Glass, Google aims to have a better understanding of customers’ lives off-line as well.  Their quest to be innovative and integrated into customers’ lives has put them under fire because of their questionable collection and utilization of customer information.

The controversial component with Google is whether or not the customers are aware of what they’re “paying” for these free services.  Many times privacy policies are long and challenging to read.  Sometimes companies, such as Google, disregard their privacy settings and collect information in ways that make their customers uncomfortable.

Google in the News

Google has been in the news numerous times for their questionable data collection tactics.  Many of their products and services have woven their way into our daily lives and as they continue to do so, more and more customers disagree with how and why their data is being collected.  Acquisitions and lawsuits have caused customers to be wary of Google’s data collection. 

Google’s acquisition of Skybox Imaging (which includes satellites and high-resolution imagery and videos from around the world) means that they can watch everything in real-time.  Google positioned the acquisition of Skybox as a tool that will help keep maps and other technology up-to-date for customers.  However, Google can also use the intelligence to determine when competing products will be released based on shipments coming to and from their warehouses (Dickey, 2014).  Being able to gain that information about their competitors means they can gain other valuable information from their customers.  Google hasn’t been upfront about the information they gather from customers, which has landed them in a number of lawsuits.

In 2013, 38 states filed a lawsuit against Google for “causally scooping up passwords, e-mail and other personal information from unsuspecting computer users” with their Street View mapping cars (Streitfeld, 2013).

Additionally, Google was under scrutiny for “prying and spying” as they analyzed users’ messages on their network and sold the byproducts to advertisers.  Users that were impacted sued Google saying that the invasion violated federal wiretap laws (Rosenfeld, 2014).  The privacy accusations weren’t limited to Google products and services. 

Google was directed to pay $17 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed that they bypassed privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser.  Safari was set up to block third-party ad cookies and Google found a way to get around those settings and track user behavior without their consent (Tung, 2013). 

Privacy

An evaluation of the 50 most popular American Web sites revealed that their privacy policies were composed of 145, 641 words and that it would take the average internet user between 181 and 304 hours to read the privacy statements for the Web sites that they visit each year (Moretti & Naughton, 2014).  On top of that, policies may change on a yearly basis, which means customers would have to reread that information annually. 

Privacy information responsibility needs to be shared between the service provider and customers.  Customers need to be aware of the privacy information prior to pressing accept and using the service.  The discouraging part is that providers don’t make the process easy for customers to understand how their data is being used.    

Providers

Providers intentionally make it difficult for customers to understand what they’re reading.  According to Moretti and Naughton (2014), they do this for two reasons.  First, being vague and “elastic” in their language helps to protect themselves against lawsuits and fines.  The second reason is that gathering this kind of information includes a significant financial incentive, which results in companies making it difficult for customers to opt-out.

Co-founder of Disconnect (an app that blocks third-party Web sites from gathering data), Casey Oppenheim said, “They know that if they tell people every single way they’re collecting information and using it, then most users will share less information, which would mean less money for them.” 

Users

According to a study by Pew, “half of Americans are worried about the amount of personal information about them that is online” (as cited in Moretti & Naughton, 2014).  However, a 2015 US Consumer Confidence Privacy Research report found that only 23 percent of people had read the privacy policy on a Web site or app (as cited in PR Newswire, 2015). 

With technology making peoples’ lives easier everyday, customers need to take time to understand how companies are using their information.  Web sites need to share in the responsibility and make sure that they’re doing what they can in order to make it easy for customers to understand the privacy policies for their sites.  When customers are well informed about how their information is used, they can better decide if continuing to use the service at no cost is worth the company gathering their information.

My Take

Data collection can be used to make customer lives easier and more enjoyable.  Sites such as Amazon and Netflix use customer data to make suggestions that allow customers to find new products and shows.  Google offers many industry-leading services free of charge because the data they collect from customers has a great deal of value.  In my opinion, customers need to be aware of the information that’s being collected and how that information will be used.  It’s valuable for customers to know the difference between collecting data that is anonymous and data that has personal information attached to it.

As previously mentioned, the responsibility must be shared.  I do not think it’s right for providers to create privacy statements that customers do not have time to read and cannot understand the language.  They are not providing customers with the information and tools necessary to be able to make an educated decision about the tradeoff that comes with data collection.  For some customers the “free” price tag on these services might not be a greater benefit than the data that companies are collecting.

References:

Dickey, M. (2014, June 18) It’s time to admit the amount of information google gathers about us is terrifying. Business Insider.  Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-information-google-is-gathering-about-us-is-terrifying-2014-6

Moretti, M. & Naughton, M., (2014, September 5) Why privacy policies are so inscrutable. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/why-privacy-policies-are-so-inscrutable/379615/

Streitfeld, D., (2013, March 12) Google concedes that drive-by prying violated privacy. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/technology/google-pays-fine-over-street-view-privacy-breach.html?_r=0

PR Newswire. (2015, January 28). 45 percent of americans think online privacy is more important than national security. PR Newswire. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/45-percent-of-americans-think-online-privacy-is-more-important-than-national-security-300026808.html

Rosenfeld, S., (2014, February 5) 4 ways google is destroying privacy and collecting your data. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2014/02/05/4_ways_google_is_destroying_privacy_and_collecting_your_data_partner/

Tung,  L., (2013, November 19). Google pays $17m to settle safari cookie privacy-bypass charge. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-pays-17m-to-settle-safari-cookie-privacy-bypass-charge/

What's your solution? Google Analytics vs. Adobe Analytics

Google Analytics (GA) is a free, (relatively) easy to use tool for measuring Web metrics.  Some say that it’s the best option for measuring Web traffic, but are there any other Web analytic tools out there?  The answer is yes; in fact there are a lot of Web metric tools out there.  Some of them match Google Analytics in features while some match their exceptionally low price point.  The right tool for any company hinges on what the company’s goals are and which tool provides them with the ability to measure those goals. 

Something to keep in mind when evaluating Web metric tools is that it’s dangerous to compare metrics between two platforms, no matter how similar they might be.  Even evaluating metrics between Google Analytics and Blogger (owned by Google) can yield different results.  Knowing how each tool measures Web traffic is essential to selecting a tool that works best for the company.

Google Analytics is a great tool for a number of reasons, but partially because many individuals and companies use other Google tools to help run their lives and their businesses.  Many companies email addresses can be configured to work with Gmail, companies can collaborate on documents and share storage through Google Drive, and employees can share schedules and calendars through Google Calendar.  Another company that has woven itself into the fabric of companies all over the world is Adobe.  Programs such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver help companies create innovative, interactive products everyday.  As part of the Adobe Marketing Suite, Adobe Analytics (formerly Omniture and SiteCatalyst) aims to help businesses understand “the whole customer journey better by effectively using your data with the latest Adobe Analytics capabilities (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015).

Adobe Analytics Overview

“Adobe Analytics capabilities help you better leverage powerful insights across marketing channels and your organization” (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015).  Adobe Analytics aims to provide companies with a complete data perspective in order to help maximize marketing and digital efforts.  Adobe Analytics is one of the many solutions available in the Adobe Marketing Cloud and available as a subscription with the Adobe Digital Publishing suite.  As an industry-leading solution, Adobe Analytics offers reporting structures that help businesses optimize marketing efforts, deliver personalized experiences, better determine advertising budgets, monetize content, and identify problems and opportunities in a company’s digital and marketing tactics (About Analytics, n.d).

Adobe Analytics has three different options available; Adobe Analytics, Adobe Analytics Premium, and Adobe Analytics – Mobile apps.

Let’s take a look at Google and Adobe Analytics.

What do they have in common?

Dashboard and Features:  Both GA and Adobe Analytics have easy to use, drag and drop dashboard interfaces that allow users to customize them based on their needs.  Additionally, both tools provide users with access to all industry standard Web analytics.

Social Features: GA and Adobe Analytics offer insight into social media referrers.  Adobe also allows businesses to see how social media helps contribute to the “bottom line” and gives a perspective on user-generated content (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015).

Reports: Both GA and Adobe Analytics offer users the ability to customize reports based on needs.  GA has more than 80 reports to help determine the site’s success.  Additionally, GA gives users the ability to create individualized profiles to better help members of the company understand essential pieces of data (Reed College of Media, 2015).  Both GA and Adobe offer the ability to export report information into an Excel (or other) document.

Resources: Both GA and Adobe Analytics come with essential tools, classes, and resources to make the most of each product.  Google has an Analytics Academy and Google Analytics IQ while Adobe has resources such Adobe University and individualized classes.

Mobile:  Adobe Analytics has the ability to dive into the effectiveness of mobile campaigns and mobile data in order to best analyze customers’ mobile trends.  Both platforms also have mobile information that allow businesses to gain a better understanding of how their site is viewed on a mobile device and which platforms are the most popular within their audience.

Real-Time Data: GA has approximately a 24-hour “lag time” with their standard data collection, but does offer real-time insights.  Adobe Analytics can also measure Web traffic in real-time, which allows businesses to “react instantly to visitor trends with real-time reports that give you a second-by-second view of customer engagement” (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015).

What’s different?

Cost: With all of the features and capabilities of Adobe Analytics, it’s no surprise that the cost exceeds $5,000 per month.  The cost for GA is free.

Set Up and Learning Curve: Setting up Google Analytics takes a matter of a few minutes and up to 24 hours before analytic information begins to appear.  Additionally, elements of GA can be quickly understood without years of in-depth analytics experience.  For some individuals, it may take up to five days to start receiving information in Adobe Analytics and the software overall may be more enjoyable for an experienced analyst (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015b).

Event Tracking: Adobe offers two types of custom variables (traffic and conversion), each of which allows up to 75 variables to be reported.  Google Analytics only offers 5 custom variables and are more restrictive than those offered by Adobe (Gabriele, 2014).

Campaign Tracking: Similarly to Event Tracking, GA is limited in what can be captured.  The list consists of:

·      Campaign Source

·      Campaign Medium

·      Campaign Term

·      Campaign Content

·      Campaign Name

Adobe Analytics has increased options and flexibility to customize more campaign features (Gabriele, 2014).

Predictive Marketing: Adobe Analytics incorporates a Predicative Marketing component that allows businesses to detect anomalies, correlate analysis, cluster audiences, analyze audience activation and implement customer propensity modeling (Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2015c).   Additionally, Adobe Analytics can be set up to take specific actions when key metrics are missed by a user-defined margin.  This level of automation is not available with Google Analytics (Demers, 2013).

Selecting the “right” Web analytic tool can be a very time consuming process.  Avinash Kaushik recommends spending two to four months selecting, implementing, testing, and evaluating Web tools (as cited in Reed College of Media, 2015).  It’s important to “test drive” the tools and find the one that best works for the company’s goals, budget, and interests.

References:

About Analytics (n.d.) Adobe Analytics (site catalyst). Retrieved February 14, 2015 from http://www.aboutanalytics.com/adobe/adobe-analytics-site-catalyst

Adobe Systems Incorporated (2015). Capabilities. Retrieved February 14, 2015 from: http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-analytics/marketing-reports-analytics.html

Adobe Systems Incorporated (2015b). Digital publishing suite analytics tutorial.  Retrieved February 14, 2015 from: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/digitalpublishingsuite/articles/dps-analytics-tutorial.html

Adobe Systems Incorporated (2015c). Predictive marketing. Retrieved February 14, 2015 from: http://www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-analytics/predictive-analytics.html

Demers, T., (2013 May 10).  Guide to analytics software platforms: 25 analytics tools compared. Search Engine Land. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/web-analytics-software-comparison-identifying-the-right-web-analytics-tools-for-your-business-149373

Gabriele (2014, August 27). Comparing adobe analytics to google analytics. Retrieved from http://www.endressanalytics.com/2014/08/comparing-adobe-analytics-to-google-analytics/

Reed College of Media (2015). Lesson 5: Google Analytics. [Log In Required] Retrieved February 14, 2015 from www.ecampus.wvu.edu

Starting Your Social Strategy: How Many Platforms To Use

Whether you’re diving into social media, digital advertising, or any other new marketing tactic, it’s important to consider purpose and budget prior to making a commitment.  Marketing budgets are growing smaller and smaller forcing marketing professionals to do more with less.  Social media is a popular marketing tactic because most platforms are free to use and they include at least minimal metrics.  Free to use doesn’t mean no cost. Social media still requires a great deal of staff time and strategy in order to make it successful.  Prior to jumping on the latest social network it is important to consider which platform customers are currently using, what platform best aligns with company goals, and what kind of budget needs to be allocated for strategy and management.

Identifying the “right” platforms

Customers

Social media is by definition a social tool, so you want to make sure that the platforms selected are the ones utilized by current or perspective customers.  Each social platform dictates how a company is able to communicate with customers and how frequently that may happen.  For example, Facebook has great user metrics, but their algorithm may prevent users from actually seeing a company’s content.  Some studies estimate only 5% of a company’s fans will see posts from that company on their newsfeed (Frances, 2014).

It can be very beneficial to create a customer profile prior to setting up social media accounts. Social Media Today (2014) says these profiles should include (at a minimum) age, gender, income bracket, and buying habits.  Looking at customer information and comparing that to social media characteristics can help determine which platform might offer the company the best start. 

Company goals

After identifying which platforms are being utilized by customers, the next step is to determine company goals.  Would the company like to listen to what customers are saying about their company and be able to quickly respond? Would the company prefer to utilize the ad feature of the social platform in conjunction with developing content?  Determining company goals prior to joining a social media platform will help better align the purpose that drives the social platform with desired company outcomes.  This will also help in the ROI justification of utilizing the social platform. 

Common company goals include:

·      Increasing brand awareness

o   Idea for measurement: Klout

·      Increase traffic to a company web site or blog

o   Idea for measurement: Google Analytics

·      Increase conversion rates

o   Idea for measurement: Google Analytics

·      Increase subscriber lists

o   Idea for measurement: Unique URL builders or Google Analytics

·      Listening to what customers are saying about a company

o   Idea for measurement: If the sole purpose of a social media account is to listen to what customers are saying about a company, it can be evaluated without creating an account on a social media platform.  Tools such as HashTracking and Tagboard will allow companies to evaluate what their customers are saying without being on a platform, specifically if they’re utilizing hashtags to generate conversation.  These tools also serve as a great way to see if/where current customers are talking about a company to better determine which platform might be the most important.  For example, if fictituous company Awesome Marketing is developing a social media strategy and their customers are already using #AwesomeMarketing, a Tagboard search with the hashtag will display posts using that hashtag across multiple platforms.  If Awesome Marketing analyzes this information and sees that 90% of the posts are coming from Twitter - that would be a good place for them to begin their social strategy.

Regardless of the company goal that social media helps to achieve, it is important to understand how a company will measure that goal and what success means.

After you’ve determined company goals and customer information, analyzing the results can help determine which platform best fits customer and company needs.  Think of it as a Venn Diagram - the intersection of where company goals meets consumer habits can help identify the right social media platform or platforms.  The Venn Diagram below shows a very basic idea of what this could look like for a company and a customer group.

Budget

As previously mentioned, free to sign up doesn’t mean no cost for your company.  Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and more all require the cost of staff time and energy in order to develop a strategy and grow a platform.  Without the proper strategy and dedicated staff time, social networks are unable to grow and support company goals.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the budget needed to grow a social media platform and, again, it is based on company goals.  A few questions to ask include:

·      Will paid advertising be utilized? 

o   What is the purpose of that paid advertising? (Grow a subscriber base, promote an event or sale)

·      How many people will have access to this account?

o   Will multiple people dedicate staff time and require training to develop the strategy and maintain the sites?

·      How many sites will be needed to achieve goals?

o   Do any of the sites require a premium account?

·      Will money be allocated to social media monitoring or aggregating sites?

o   Hootsuite, Sprout Social

There’s no quick-fix flow chart that can be used to identify which social media platforms are going to be the best fit for a company.  No one else can determine company goals, culture, and resources.  Each company will find a different set of tools that will work best to help achieve their goals.  Don’t expect a shortcut – put in the time and resources to best develop a strategy that will lead to company success.

Examples

Seth Godin

Writer, marketer, and speaker Seth Godin utilizes a Twitter account solely to tweet about his latest blog posts.  There is a disclaimer on the site that indicates tweets to that account will not be answered because Seth is “not on Twitter.”  The purpose of the account is to tweet out his daily blog posts. Seth has also prohibited comments on his blog.  He uses social media to push content, but not necessarily engage.  His Twitter account has more than 442,000 followers and he has had 17 books that have been bestsellers around the world (Godin, 2015).  This tact works for him, but it will not work for every company.

Canon

Canon utilizes several different social media channels and has multiple accounts on each channel.  Canon utilizes Facebook, Twitter (four accounts), Instagram, Youtube, Vimeo, Linkedin, and a company forum.  Here are a few of the things they’re doing well across their channels.

·      Canon has a page on their Web site that shows customers where they are on social media and how they utilize that platform.  This page helps drive traffic to their social platforms, but each platform has a very specific purpose.  Their Web site provides customers with a clear indication of what to expect from each platform or account.

·      They encourage user generated content submissions on Facebook, which helps to drive engagement on the page and increases the likelihood that content will show up in user’s newsfeeds.  This includes a Canon Fan Photo of the Week and weekly categories that drive users to their Instagram and Twitter accounts, too.

·      Over all platforms Canon focuses on what users create with their products and engage and support them through these tactics.  They release company information as well, but focus on customer creativity and what their products can do in a real-world setting.

Canon has developed an overarching theme and purpose for their social media usage.  Building relationships, engaging customers, and support customers leads to increase brand equity and trust between the customer and the company.  This helps Canon create lasting customers and top of mind awareness.

After a company has evaluated their customer habits, business goals, and budget they can more easily determine what social networks meet their needs. For a pro and con list of social media tools, check out this Social Media Today article.

References:

Godin, S., (2015). Bio. Retrieved January 26, 2015 from http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp

Frances, J., (2014, June 18). How do you choose the right social media platform for your business? Social Media Today. Retrieved from: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-do-you-choose-right-social-media-platform-your-business