Facebook User Numbers Peak -- and Decline? by Erik Sass

Another day, another column about Facebook, whose stock price just keeps going lower -- $28.26 at the time of writing, down 26% from the IPO price of $38. And it turns out the stock price isn't the only thing falling: a look at comScore numbers from the last couple years suggests that Facebook's growth in the U.S. may well have peaked over the last year, and might even be declining. ...Read the whole story

  • Salesforce.com Expected To Buy Buddy Media, Ups Social Marketing Muscle by Gavin O'Malley

    Amid broad consolidation in the social marketing space, Salesforce.com is reportedly closing in on Facebook specialist Buddy Media. Buddy Media and SalesForce.com have already agreed to terms --- which value Buddy at more than $800 million. The would-be deal comes just a week after Oracle agreed to buy social marketing firm Vitrue for a reported $300 million. ...Read the whole story

  • tourism Florida Campaign Dangles Tourism Packages by Karl Greenberg

    The sweepstakes-focused campaign dangles a grand prize of three Florida vacation packages, but there are nine other single-vacation prizes. People can enter daily through the end of June on Visit Florida's Facebook page, or at a VisitFlorida.com microsite. ...Read the whole story

Integrated Display, Social and Mobile Video Ads Boosts Brand Engagement by Daisy Whitney

The addition of display ads and social media features to mobile video can boost the effectiveness and engagement of a mobile marketing buy. That's the finding of an analysis of mobile video advertising conducted by Rhythm New Media, a premium mobile ad network. ...More

  • Is Social Advertising Broken? by David Berkowitz

    As Facebook's stock limps along, a popular refrain says that social advertising doesn't work. Ross Douthat, in a recent New York Times opinion, goes as far as to say that Facebook's IPO is a sign of how the Internet "created a cultural revolution more than an economic one." If Facebook is the biggest proponent of socially targeted ads and it can't convince investors that it will grow rapidly, that must be a scathing indictment of its whole model, right? ...More