Let’s imagine that we are about to market a new energy drink. In this case, our market research had shown us that 51% of college students consider themselves energy drink consumers, while the remaining 49% would not consider the product. In order to optimize our marketing spend, we would need to focus our budget on the 51% who would consider purchasing an energy drink. This kind of niche targeting is made possible by Facebook’s ad platform.

Find Your Niche Audiences

In the case of launching a campaign for our energy drink, Facebook’s ad platform allows us to target not only by basic demographics such as age and location, but also by precise interests. We begin by filtering the Facebook community by keywords that are highly relevant to our product. In this case, we want consumers who are also energy drink consumers, so we are filtering our audience by those who have liked: Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, caffeine, taurine, and guarana. After filtering the Facebook community by these parameters, our total reach within the US is just over 7.7 million.  Our ads will be the most relevant to this audience.

If the objective is to run ads towards influencers on college campuses, then we can creatively identify them by targeting influential campus organizations. In this case, we’ve pinpointed national fraternity and sorority members, in college, between ages 18-22.

Now that our market has been identified and targeted for our campaign, the next step is to match, hone and optimize our creative messaging prior to launch.

Align Unique Creative To Each Audience & Increase Ad Relevancy

Now let’s begin experimenting with appropriate messaging and creative. Our traditional research also uncovered that a significant amount of energy drink consumption is done while our consumer is out partying. We developed sample copy and imagery that resonates with this behavior and speaks directly to this segment. We recommend doing this type of sub-category analysis, targeting and messaging for each segment in order to achieve the highest engagement rates with your Facebook ads. We ran this ad to students in college between ages 18-20 who like to party:

(Aim to spark curiosity with your imagery. This photo performs well because it’s hard to tell what’s going on here)

Target Friends of Fans

One simple and powerful way to increase the relevancy of our Facebook display advertising is to target “Friends of Connections.”  The example above features the caption “Kyle Dardashti likes this.”  This recommendation would appear for all of Kyle’s friends and similarly with all the friends of the rest of the brand’s community members, letting them know a trusted friend of theirs already likes the page. On the ad platform, it’s as simple as the click of a button.

One possible limitation to adding this feature however is that it is reliant on the number of members who have already liked our brand or product.  According to Facebook, the average user has 130 friends, but according to some sources the average Facebook fan has 310 friends[1]. For example let’s say our energy drink brand currently has 20,000 fans in its community. Our total reach to friends of fans would be approximately 6.2 million.  With a community of just 1,000, your reach would be 310,000.

There is no better recommendation than a peer recommendation. Ads with social context have a 65% increase in Ad Recall, 2x Message Awareness, 4x Purchase Intent & 25% increase in Action Rate.[2] It’s even more impactful for students with a college education or higher to see social endorsement. Add more relevance to your ads and watch engagement rates go up.

A-B Test Your Creative

Now that we have determined where our niche audiences live on Facebook and developed a strategy for targeting sub-groups within our target, it is time to optimize our content. Facebook’s Ad Platform makes A-B testing of creative easy, allowing for us to launch both imagery and written copy in a variety of combinations simultaneously, with real-time feedback on which ones are performing the best.

A simple way to quickly isolate variables and identify top-performing combinations of creative and copy is to develop a simple matrix. We recommend continually optimizing your campaigns using this method, to get the most out of your marketing dollars.

Analyze and Optimize

Launching our campaign and identifying top-performing ad combinations is only the beginning. Below is a list of tips to keep in mind throughout your Facebook ad campaign to ensure that you are maximizing your budget and generating the highest performance from your targeted ads:

Ongoing creative analysis and optimization

By utilizing A-B testing you can identify which imagery, copy, and target groups performed well. Complement your best ads with new creative variations that follow the strategy of your top performing ads while discontinuing ads that are not performing well, in real time.

Analyze the Responder Demographics reports for your ads

If your ads lean strongly towards a specific demo, consider narrowing your targeting to them to maximize engagement rates. If this compromises a balance you would like in your community then adjust or add creative that will speak to and bring in the demo you want. An example objective might be to maintain a gender balance.

Run ads to your own community

These are the members who have subscribed to read your messaging. Since only 5-15% of your community members actually see your posts, ads provide a cheap alternative and effective way to reach them.  When more members are brought back to the page to engage, the EdgeRank on the brand posts increases and your reach is higher. Ads targeted towards community members have 7x the click-through rate of external ads.

Practice these tried and proven techniques and you’re half way there! Take a peek at Facebook’s Marketplace Ad Platform and tweet me @kyledardashti with any questions.

As an early adopter of social media (nearly the 1 millionth Twitter user, and avid Friendster contributor ca. 2003), I’ve truly spread my soul over the Internet. I’m everywhere and nowhere at once. So what happens when the “big show” is over?

In real life, I’m a husband and father, and with that comes the all-too-real responsibilities of solidifying my estate with wills – both living and passing – life insurance, disability, you name it.

A fifteen-year-old isn’t thinking about this stuff. But in 2012, when anyone shuffles off this mortal coil, their 17,000 LinkedIn connections, 5,000 Facebook “friends”, and their fifteen Twitter nom-de-plumes all live on – and are sometimes prompted to interact automagically.  Aaaaawkward.

Each platform has its own rules. When your next-of-kin produces proof of your passing, some sites give the option of locking and memorializing your likeness for Internet posterity. Some take your presence down altogether. Some don’t have provisions and you’re seemingly active from beyond the grave.

These are considerations you should take into account just like any other part of your digital life. You should still be in control of the message.

It’s never too early to make provisions as to how you want your digital remains handled. I feel like an insurance salesman, so please don’t shut your door on my foot.

Here are some options.

You could:

1) Note your wishes in a will. It’s easy enough, just a little creepy.  Supply your usernames and passwords in a document. Leave it with your lawyer (AKA friend you trust, safety deposit box, hope chest or Trapper Keeper). The challenge here is keeping it up to date.

2) Employ the services of a company who holds onto social media logins for just this purpose. They’re out there and they’re not expensive. I know that they hold similar problems of updating, but it means that you don’t need someone to sift through your life to your cache of logins. That can be an emotional toll on anyone. For more info here’s a link from ages ago:http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/social-media-after-death/

3) Not care and live on. Consider it a cyber-haunting (see http://ifidie.net/). Depending on who you are, and who your acquaintances are, they’ll either love it, or be horribly scarred by it.

A while ago a “service” called the suicidemachine.org came out. It’s was a method by which you delete your accounts with one quick log in. Quick. Painless. Seems to me that if a password-escrow service partnered with them, the full deletion process could easy, and peaceful for everyone.

As for me?  Well, after my Space Viking funeral (read Space Viking, funeral – not space, Viking funeral), I plan on having someone Foursquare check me in to heaven. Then straight to the bin with the rest.

Whereas previous years’ presenters touted impressive product specs in all their glory, this year marked a championing of product lifestyle benefits over hardware, namely the ability to better connect consumers with their devices and with each other. This is only a natural evolution – as digital sharing becomes an increasingly essential force in the way we interact, a successful product is one that delivers on those consumer needs. Mashable’s Peter Pachal said it best: “It’s not so much a trend as a reality: consumer electronics must go social to stay relevant.”

Much like any nascent trend, one can only expect some of these social product integration efforts to take off and others to crash and burn. Here are the social winners and losers of CES 2012:

Winners

1. Mercedes-Benz

image courtesy of MSN

The automaker introduced its “Mbrace2″ system, which connects cloud-based apps and smartphones to its vehicles. Motorists can now stay completely connected while on the road through apps for Facebook, Yelp and Google Local Search. Imagine being able to check-in from the road through your car’s navigation system, sharing your estimated arrival time, receiving real-time notifications about friends nearby, or being notified of nearby locations friends have “liked” on Facebook. For those of us weary of the safety risks, fear not. The apps have been optimized to ensure road safety and anything requiring text interaction is disabled if the car is in motion. Robert Policano, Mercedes’ Product Manager for Telematics Services, claims the service is no more distracting than a standard in-car navigation system or radio.

2. Samsung

image courtesy of Engadget

TV got a huge makeover at CES 2012, with manufacturers showing off 3D capabilities, voice and gesture control, and fancy new display technologies. Most impressive, however, are the slew of new internet-enabled app platforms cropping up, and the social integration that comes along with them. “Smart TVs,” as they’re now being called, come pre-loaded with apps for games, social networking, and online video.

Samsung’s “Family Story” is one such innovative application being implemented on their television sets. With the ability to store content in the cloud, users can now share personal photos, videos and profiles with other Samsung TV owners around the globe. The app conveniently connects TV owners, with new photo uploads automatically made available to users you’ve allowed into your private TV network. Cloud-based sharing is nothing new – consumers have been able to do this for years through their computers. However, Samsung is taking third party apps completely out of the picture by seamlessly integrating the option into their own platform. Sharing is now literally built into your television.

Loser

Kodak

image courtesy of All Facebook

Desperate to fight the growing threat of photo-sharing mobile applications like Instagram and Hipstamatic, Kodak unveiled two cameras featuring the ability to upload your photos to Facebook. The Easyshare Wireless Camera M750 allows users who install the accompanying app on their Android, Apple, or BlackBerry devices to wirelessly send pictures to Facebook, the Kodak Gallery, and via email. The second Facebook-enabled device is the Playfull Dual Camera, which features a share button for easy, one-touch uploading.

Kodak also hyped two of its Facebook applications, which are founded on the assumption that Facebook users have a shared desire to print the photos they upload onto the platform. My Kodak Moments and Kodak Photo Collage Print allow users to create and print premium photo books and collages using their Facebook photos.Though the intent to provide utility and inspire sharing is an appreciated effort, this may be too little, too late for Kodak. Riding the Facebook wave isn’t always enough, and we’d be eager to see more social innovation from the beloved camera manufacturer.

All in all, the products speak for themselves: now more than ever, social media has become an impactful force in the design of consumer electronics. As more and more manufacturers (automotive, television, and beyond) integrate web connectivity in their devices, greater attention is being directed towards the services offered through these products. This is evidenced by the recent collection of tech/media marriages making their debut: Xbox and News Corp, DirecTV and Miso, FX and GetGlue, Netflix and Facebook…and the list goes on. We foresee a continued need for media and tech companies to partner in order to deliver on this digital convergence in the future.

Social media users are more influential, spend more on holiday gifts and are more likely to recommend a holiday gift than non-users. Their advocacy is directly influencing holiday gift purchasing decisions this holiday, and we have the proof! During the weeks leading up to Black Friday / Cyber Monday, social media users were 1.5x as a likely to make a gift recommendation to their friends and family. Better yet, those recommendations were twice as likely to result in a holiday gift purchase than recommendations made from non-social media users.

Brands that recognize this are winning big this season. Among brands that respond to consumer’s requests across their brand pages, these interactions led consumers to make a holiday gift purchase 80% of the time! While this is compelling, our research indicates that brands are only responding around 1/2 of the time to these requests, leaving opportunity on the table.

This January, Mr Youth will be unveiling a full report on how social advocacy-fueled gift purchases this season. To learn more about what brands won big, which social media consumers are most valuable, and what your brand should know about how to join this conversation, send a short email request to: MRYHoliday@mryouth.com and be among the first to receive our report when it launches!

About Our Methodology

The data in this infographic is reflective of the three week period leading up to and during the Black Friday / Cyber Monday shopping event. It is a small part of a broader, six week study on social media usage during 2011 the holiday shopping season. Unless noted in the copy as a BF / CM data point, all information is cumulative of the three week period leading up to and on BF / CM. Our full study is currently being fielded through a nationwide survey of 500 households, once a week, over the six week period leading up to the Christmas holiday (November 17 – December 19). Mr Youth conducted this study in conjunction with Survey Sampling International (SSI) and Kanter Analytics.

On November 6^th, 2011, our city hosted one of the world’s greatest road races, the ING New York City Marathon. With over $600,000 in prize money, over 100,000 applicants and over two million spectators, this iconic event is one that tops the charts for many.

In its 41^st year, the Marathon went social in a variety of ways. Here are some of the latest and greatest ways spectators were able to support their runners on another level through technology:

Official ING New York City Marathon Mobile Spectator App: This app let users track up to 10 runners simultaneously, as well as watch live streams of the race and view an interactive course map. Another fantastic component of this app is that runners could use it to push out live notifications of where they were at along their five-borough journey.

TrackMyRunners via Web and SMS: This service allowed users to track up to five runners through their web browser or track up to three runners through text alerts. This service allowed tracking on race day and afterward, and there was no advance registration needed.

SupportYourMarathoner.com: Created by Asics America, this service allowed people to support their marathoners via pre-recorded videos, images and text that played over a large LCD screen triggered by the runner’s personalized RFID tag. Click here to watch the informational video of how this technology worked.

As someone who knew several runners participating, the ING New York City Marathon App made a world of difference when it came to tracking down my runners. Starting off in Brooklyn I was able to track my runners’ progress in real-time at mile 12, then headed to Manhattan where I was able to convince spectators who were already there to let me cut in front of them by showing them my app and telling them my runners would be approaching mile 18 at any moment.

It’s great to see a sport which is usually pretty isolated find ways to engage with spectators and aspiring runners alike. Which sporting events do you think would be a great fit for this type of social technology?

Since last year, the University of Southern California has been using Foursquare to foster a sense of campus community by embracing everything from venues and specials to tips and lists. With over 18,000 followers and 135,000 check-ins to date, USC’s adoption of the location-based social platform has proven that Foursquare can do so much more than dish out badges.

In this case study we see a traditional institution proactively reach students in a way that resonates with them. True, our Class of 2015 study tells us only 12% of college students are on Foursquare. However, with the right formula and a little innovation, USC has proven that Foursquare can thrive among college students when used in a way that benefits them. Bucket list for seniors? Campus event updates? Bookstore discounts? Yes, please.

USC isn’t the only university jumping on the Foursquare bandwagon, and it’s not “new news” either. Last year Foursquare forged a relationship with 20 universities across the country to, as the Foursquare blog says, help “students, alumni, and staff connect with each other, find new and interesting things to do, and earn rewards for exploring their campus and nearby areas.”

So, on your next trip to SoCal be sure to take the virtual campus tour via Foursquare and check into at least five spots along the way. This could earn you some sweet campus swag and maybe even the True Trojan badge!

LIVE FROM OMMA SAN FRANCISCO

So how do brands build advocacy through video content? Mr Youth hosted a panel discussion with four San Francisco Bay Area students to get their candid and honest feedback on how they engage with video advertising. Watch the full conversation unfold here (Click to watch OMMA Video Panel Discussion) or continue reading for our observations and highlights from our student panelists.

(Pictured above, seated left to right: Senior Director of Marketing: Nick Fuller, Student Panelists: Daniel, Monika, Monique & Kristen)

While carrying a full course-load, students still manage to squeeze in plenty of video content each day across numerous devices and platforms. They don’t appear to be playing favorites among online sources, so long as the content is free. Pay-walls for exclusive content (Hulu Plus or Netflix) aren’t as big of an issue, given that the alternative is a costly cable package, which is resulting in nearly 86 percent of students preferring to take their viewership online (– Mr Youth “Class of 2015” study, August 2011). According to our panelists, game consoles are replacing cable boxes, with all four panelists either owning or having access to one for the specific purpose of watching video content.

Daniel: “If I share something, I am putting my approval stamp on it, claiming that I approve of this message.”

When brands get the message right with this generation, the opportunities are endless.  Members of this generation admittedly share video advertising and other content daily across their social networks, with 70 percent actively seeking new sources of content via peer recommendations online (Mr Youth nationwide poll, October 2011). Our panelists recognize the power they have over brands through recommendations across their social graph.

YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO HOOK THEM

Daniel: “I know if the ad is something I will continue watching within the first five seconds.”

A generation skeptical of advertising requires a straightforward approach to your marketing pitch. We do mean “pitch,” since our panelists suggest that the direct benefit of watching the advertisement must be communicated within the “first 5 seconds” or they will instantly tune out.

Still, they know video ads are a small price to pay for free content. Our panelists preferred pre-roll ads best, with the option to select between ads from the same brand. Consider this an opportunity to learn more about their preferences, while increasing the likelihood they will watch. And don’t even think about interrupting their viewing experience with a rollover or other non-linear variation–at best, they find these highly annoying and disruptive.

BE ENTERTAINING, UP FRONT & ON BRAND

Monique: “If you are straight forward, clever & humorous, I am more likely to watch.”

The good news for marketers is that this generation is still very receptive to video advertising. Developing successful content requires paying attention to a basic formula that revealed itself through our panel conversations:

Clear Intention + Entertaining + Intelligent + On Brand = Successful Content

Our panelists view a clear distinction between ads that “try too hard” to be funny or entertaining, and ads that entertain while conveying a clear product benefit. They prefer the latter, and ask that video ads begin from a place of honest intentions (be straight forward about what you are selling, and keep the message on brand) while also making it entertaining.

Daniel: “I like it when a brand is able to make fun of itself & not take itself too seriously. It shows me that they get our generation.”

None of our panelists felt it would harm a brand to crack a small joke about itself every once in a while. They expressed that “big brands take themselves too seriously,” and find brands more relatable when they are willing to poke fun at themselves.

Monika: “It is exhausting to watch a commercial that is pulling at your base emotions & over stimulus. We are rational people & would like to make rational decisions.”

For all of the reasons above, they love the recent Allstate “Mayhem” video campaign. The intention of the ad and benefit to the consumer are clear: Allstate Insurance will cover its customers against the inevitable “mayhem” that happens in everyday life. They appreciate the witty humor and candid nature of the pitch. In contrast, our panelists view advertising as misleading and deceptive when using too much “visual stimulus” as a way of pulling on their emotions. They appreciate advertising that treats them as intelligent, rational decision-makers.

THEY APPRECIATE THE UTILITY OF HOW-TO VIDEOS

Monique: “How-to videos make things functional & relevant to our lives. If you could inject a product into a video while showing me how to use it, I would totally watch it.”

This generation is resourceful and willing to roll-up its sleeves to solve every day problems. How-to videos provide brands with the perfect opportunity to sell-through education, demonstrating the unique benefits of the product while helping the consumer complete a specific task. All four panelists seemed to enjoy these videos and reinforced the value they provide. They also mentioned that they would be very likely to remember the products demonstrated while watching.

THEY GET BEHIND BRANDS WITH SIMILAR IDEALS

Monika: “Brands needs to communicate a bigger ideal to be remembered, more so than any image or name. When I find a video, I want to understand the POV of the person (or brand) that is producing it.”

Genuine advocacy requires more than just creating funny content and hoping that it goes viral. Brand advocates want to know the purpose behind the brand and its advertisements. They want the “POV” of the content curator, whether it is a famous Indie film director, or Annie’s Mac ‘N’ Cheese. They are likely to share commercials that convey important messages, or are attached to a social movement or cause they care about. Our panelists actively research brands and products (ingredients especially) when considering a purchase. Ensure that they find all the right answers when they look it up online.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While our panel consisted of only four students from the San Francisco Bay Area, they did reflect many of the same views as the college students we spoke with over the summer in a larger, nationwide study on the college freshmen “Class of 2015,” (Read our study on “5 Ways To Friend The Class Of 2015” at: www.Meet2015.com). Our panelists desire straightforward video ads that provide a benefit for watching and a clear product benefit from which they can make rational judgments. Tie your message to a bigger purpose or ideal, and they will reward you–not only with their attention, but also through their online sharing and endorsement.

SPENDING LESS TIME ON FACEBOOK

Overwhelmingly, teens are openly and seriously considering spending less time on Facebook as a direct result of the recent changes. Only 4% of teens plan to spend more time on Facebook. According to our research, 47% will maintain the same level of usage, electing to “put up with the annoyances” in order to access the features that made the platform valuable to them in the first place: visiting friend pages, commenting on walls and engaging in chats.

USER EXPERIENCE IS CONFUSING, BUT TOLERATED

While teens admit that it will “take some getting used to,” the challenges are much deeper rooted than becoming comfortable with changes in navigation. Many of the teens who participated in the survey called the changes “confusing, annoying, disappointing and useless,” (among comments made repeatedly in our discussion forums). Teens mention Facebook’s biggest strength is its simplicity and ease of use. Only 19% of teens felt that the interface was easier to navigate, with 45% saying the page feels cluttered by all of the new features. Social media fatigue may become a bigger problem, with an onslaught of updates streaming through the newly-added ticker, causing 35% of teens to feel “uncomfortable” with the new level of sharing.

NEW TIMELINE IS “AWESOME”

In the eyes of our teens, the Timeline is everything that the other improvements are not. While it has not officially launched to the masses, we were able to find a handful of teens that were ambitious enough to have installed timeline on their own. Timeline received the most praise from teens in our study (27% said it was their favorite above all Facebook features). Securing a position on a teen’s Timeline will have meant that your brand achieved a defining connection in the life of a teen. In contrast, apps that are currently auto-posting their way on to Timelines of unsuspecting teens will need to quickly adapt in order to maintain long-term relevance and placement.

TICKER IS A “SCROLLING STALKER”

Since most teens have between 100 and 500 friends, the ticker scrolls too-fast to provide meaningful updates. The ticker is seen as a distraction, over-communicating their activities without providing any real value. Only 17% see any value in viewing friend activity this way, with 31% of teens trying to ignore its very existence on the page. They worry that a ticker provides information that “is not theirs to see” in the first place, with the word “stalker” being mentioned on several occasions.

AUTO-POSTING APPS, WHEN DONE RIGHT, A RISK WORTH TAKING

Overwhelmingly, teens view apps as not adding value to their news feed. They view apps as “clogging” their wall with “spam” and an unnecessary level of communication. At best, “it depends” on the type of app being used. The top apps on Facebook with teens are Twitter (27%), Ticketmaster (21%), Yahoo (24%), Netflix (20%) and Spotify (15%). Apps that allow teens to discover new content they might enjoy (like Spotify) were tolerable, with 37% of all teens liking apps that allow them to share music. Apps provide an additional way for brands to gain awareness, with 42% of teens noticing a brand through a friend’s app usage. Based on these responses, we can surmise that for an app to be received favorably, it must deliver value, not only to the initial user, but also to the user’s friends as well. Do this correctly, and you are likely to win new users (70% of teens are “likely” to try an app that they see a friend using).

DOOR OPENS FOR GOOGLE PLUS

The opportunity for Google+ as a result of the changes to Facebook is a viable one. According to the survey, 25% of teens will be using Facebook less and Google+ more, with 10% saying they would drop Facebook completely. Among teens that are already using Google+, they rave about the platform as being cleaner and “more social” than Facebook. Lack of knowledge about Google+ seems to be the biggest barrier to entry among teens who express interest in staying loyal to Facebook. Also, teens have opted for staying with Facebook over Google+ because the majority of their friends are already on it.

TEENS TAKE THEIR “LIKES” SERIOUSLY

The value of a “like” has only increased with the latest changes. With the walls of “like”-gating crumbling down, a “like” can now stand alone for what it truly is: an endorsement by a consumer, signaling that something meets his or her approval and is therefore ok for his or her friends. Teens take the action of liking something very seriously, with 57% of teens viewing a “like” as a reflection of their personal brand. 37% view a “like” as a direct endorsement to their friends, and 39% view this action as a way of signaling to a brand that they would like to receive updates. This is the one occasion in which the new ticker has proven to be useful (at least for brands), since 56% of teens have seen a friend “like” a brand while glancing at the ticker stream.

BRANDS MUST EDUCATE BEFORE ACTIVATING

Many of the latest features are not well known among teens. When we asked teens which features they were aware of, only 48% had heard about “Top Story,” 51% knew about “Subscribe” and only 36% knew they could post on a brand’s Facebook page without having to “like” it (25% of teens said this was their favorite change). Brands could benefit from educating teens on how these features work, and clarify exactly how taking action would result in their endorsement, sharing or communication of the brand.

WRAP UP

While teens are currently in an uproar about the changes on Facebook, the vast majority will likely stay onboard, getting used to the new experience. Brands must be mindful of the unchartered opportunities and risks associated with these features, and take a leadership role in helping teens navigate this new arena.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

This data was obtained through Crowdtap, a technology platform that helps brands connect directly with influential consumers. Crowdtap was initially developed within Mr Youth before raising venture capital and spinning off in July of 2011. Survey questions were launched to a nationwide audience of 14-17 year olds teen boys and girls, generating over 2,000 responses. Qualitative insights (and quotes) were collected through an online discussion forum of 100 teens.

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS

Send any questions regarding the insights of this report to Nick Fuller, Senior Director of Marketing at Mr Youth and the author of this report. You may reach him directly via email at: nickf@mryouth.com

Over the last year there has been an exponential increase in the number of websites asking users to sign in using Facebook connect. Some tout the ease of joining a community, others want to connect your interests with the interests of your friends, and some just ask you to do it for no apparent reason. Until recently I have yet to see any website give me something in return for taking that action. As a marketer I know that their desire to connect me with other people or make sign-up easier is just so they can make money. It’s about data collection, optimization and ad targeting. I get it, and most other consumers get it, so why not give me something worth my while? Why not show me what my data is worth to you?

Well, my dreams have come true. Hulu, in an effort to beat Netflix (and get their numbers up for a quick sale), is in the midst of a big push for their Hulu Plus offering. The online video provider has seen some success with the paid version of its free service, but not to the extent that Netflix has seen success. Their answer to that problem is free trials, and their ask form consumers is simple: Give us access to your Facebook data and one status update about Hulu Plus.

So, according to Hulu, your Facebook data and one status update is worth $7.99.

We are the Mr Youth interns. In honor of Social Media Day last Thursday we are sharing our POV on the good life of YouthNation, the present and future of social media, and whatever else crosses our young, millennial minds in 140 characters or less:

- Elizabeth C: Social media icon sheets & comforters will replace dinosaurs and rocket ships.

- Kara B: #D0M!N@T!0N

- Jon I: Some people think the internet is ruining are ability to comunikate, but I think we’re just fien. The future is #social.

- Thomas S: I am not witty enough for this, I defer to the Twitterverse.

- Vinny S: Emoticon Media, The future of Social: – A typical day.

- Annie D: Social media helps to engage the brand and the customer through dynamic, interactive, and unique experiences (games, applications and videos).

- Lauren F: I have a feeling Facebook is going to lose its spark soon. The site has lost its simplicity and exclusivity, #unlike.

- Alison W: SM lets me stalk a dog named Boo on Facebook, tweet at Barack Obama and keep in touch with my grandma in Florida #EndlessPossibilities…

- Adam P: In the modern battle of David versus Goliath, social media is the slingshot.

- Alexa D: Rule #76.5: Social Media plays like a champion.

We want to hear your musings on social.  Tell us in the comments!