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Inside Facebook


RootMusic Nets $2.3 Million in Funding to Hire Engineers for Facebook App BandPage

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 03:21 PM PST

RootMusic, developers of the BandPage Facebook Page tab application for musicians, today announced that it has secured $2.3 million in funding from Mohr Davidow Ventures with David Feinleib. The company’s founder J Sider says the money will go towards “hiring engineers, expanding the team, because were always looking to innovate through technology.”

As our profile of RootMusic’s BandPage shows, the company provides cheap and powerful tools for helping artists promote their music on Facebook. Since August, BandPage has exploded in popularity, jumping from 3.15 million MAU and 20,000 artists to 12.7 million MAU and 60,000 artists today according to AppData.

While Sider declined specifics, he said well over 5% of these musicians have converted into BandPage Plus customers who pay $1.99 a month for more customization options, besting the traditional freemium model goal. The new engineers will help maintain stability of the application as it scales, as well as develop frequently requested products like an improved toolset for communicating with fans.

Going forward, RootMusic hopes to convince artists to shift their attention from ailing social networks like MySpace which was previously the best place for musicians to BandPage on Facebook where fans now spend their time.

To this effect, RootMusic recently launched its “Make the Move” campaign, which provides banners pointing to an artist’s BandPage that can be placed on their other web presences. Sider told us, “bands are frustrated with continuing to update outdated places on the internet, so we wanted to create an easy way to redirect traffic from sites they’re not interested in updating anymore.”

In the past month, BandPage helped launch new singles for Lil Wayne and Avril Lavigne, the 16th and 47th largest Facebook Pages respectively according to PageData. Lil Wayne’s Digital Manager Mazy Kazerooni said, “we saw over half a million plays within a few days. We saw a noticeable increase in daily new "Likes" after installing the BandPage tab.” Avril Lavigne is currently debuting videos about the making of her new album exclusively on her BandPage.

These promotions signal a shift in the music industry, with artists giving their Facebook fans a preview of new music before releasing it on iTunes and elsewhere. Since BandPage makes it easy to share tracks to the news feed, these promotions expose the songs to the networks of fans, creating a swell of support which generates buzz and early sales.

As BandPage pulls ahead of other Facebook music services such as iLike and ReverbNation, we asked Sider why musicians are choosing RootMusic. “[Competitors] create a really great product, see it’s being used in different ways, and spread themselves to thin. We want to stay focused on music on Facebook.” For this reason, despite potential value to filmmakers and other types of artists, RootMusic won’t be developing FilmPage, nor will it be offer off-Facebook services.

The company’s dedication is paying off, as managers and record labels who’ve used BandPage with one of their artists start bringing their full roster on board. There’s still room for boutique firms like DamnTheRadio and MXP4 to create custom apps for the Pages of the most popular musicians — something BandPage doesn’t offer. Still, it’s beginning to look as if RootMusic will dominate the self-service music Page tab application market for the foreseeable future.

Zibaba To Launch Affiliate Marketing Ecommerce Storefront for Facebook Pages

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 01:00 PM PST

Facebook ecommerce storefront provider and preferred developer consultant Zibaba is launching an affiliate store front program for Facebook Pages at the end of January. Affiliate marketers will be able to choose items from any existing Zibaba merchant, agree to a revenue sharing or CPA system, and sell these products from a storefront on their own Facebook Page.

Merchants and affiliates both pay Zibaba a monthly fee to access the earning potential of the affiliate program which is unavailable on free Facebook storefronts like Payvement or web storefronts including BigCommerce .

Page storefronts help brands monetize their Likes. Directing these fans off of Facebook in order to make purchases raises a barrier to conversion, so Pages are starting to add full checkout functionality to their Pages instead of merely providing a catalog. Payvment has gained significant traction these year, passing the 40,000 retailer milestone with 250 new businesses adding its storefront each day. Though an affiliate program has been on Payvment’s roadmap for at least four months, the company’s storefronts are currently only for merchants.

Zibaba is seeking to capitalize on this opportunity by allowing affiliate marketers to offer a selection of products which appeal to their audience and earn money for bringing business to merchants. Zibaba’s VP of Business Development and Investor Relations Michael Katz tells us that “Payvment has laid the foundation of this road, but we think there’s room for a lot of other stores.”

Similar to affiliate portals outside of Facebook such as ClickBank and ShareASale, merchants offer an incentive to affiliates such as 25% of revenue or $2.00 per lead. Affiliates then leverage their existing Facebook audience or send traffic to their branded storefront through advertising. Zibaba charges affiliates and merchants $20-$100 a month depending on their number of Likes and how many products they want to sell.

For consumers, the storefronts are easy to browse and search. Social features include the ability for users to Like and comment on products, and publish these actions to their stream. If users Like the Page hosting the storefront, they can receive a 10% discount on their purchases.

Users can’t currently build a single shopping cart across different Zibaba stores the way Payvment’s persistent shopping cart works, but Katz says Zibaba plans to add this feature. Each store’s individual shopping cart won’t be cleared if users navigate away or log out, though.

The fifteen-person, Tel Aviv-based Zibaba team received some funding two and a half years ago, and have been developing Facebook apps and providing Page management services since. The company is now seeking $2 to $4 million in additional funding. They plan to use the money on branding and marketing to enlarge their merchant base from its current 20 stores and attract affiliate marketers. We’ll be following Zibaba to see whether it can establish a niche for itself, or if it will be pushed out by larger competitors.

Update: To be clear, users add delivery details within Facebook, but are directed to PayPal to enter payment information, meaning Zibaba isn’t a truly self-contained Facebook storefront. Thanks to Ann for the tip.

Highlights This Week from the Inside Network Job Board: Ubisoft, PlaySpan, Nanigans, & More

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 11:56 AM PST

The Inside Network Job Board is dedicated to providing you with the best job opportunities in the Facebook Platform and social gaming ecosystem.

Here are this week's highlights from the Inside Network Job Board, including positions at Ubisoft, PlaySpan, Nanigans, Menue, Arkadium, and A Bit Lucky.

Listings on the Inside Network Job Board are distributed to readers of Inside Facebook and Inside Social Games through regular posts and widgets on the sites. Your open positions are being seen by the leading developers, product managers, marketers, designers, and executives in the Facebook Platform and social gaming industry today.

The Facebook Marketing Bible January 2011 Edition Is Now Available

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 10:00 AM PST

Facebook Marketing Bible

The January 2011 edition of the Facebook Marketing Bible: The Comprehensive Guide to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook is now available!

The Facebook Marketing Bible has enabled thousands of marketers, social application developers, publishers, and entrepreneurs to navigate and get the most out of the increasingly sophisticated marketing opportunities on Facebook.

The web edition of the Facebook Marketing Bible is comprised of detailed resource pages, comprehensive how-to guides, and case studies analyzing today’s most successful marketing and advertising campaigns on Facebook.

In addition, Inside Network is pleased to announce that through January 31st all customers who purchase the Facebook Marketing Bible will also receive a free $25 Facebook Ads advertising credit, courtesy of Facebook (see terms).

Now that Facebook has crossed the 500 million active user mark, there’s never been a better time to reach your target audience through marketing on Facebook.

The January 2011 edition includes updates on the following topics:

  • The best Facebook Pages strategies and designs and how any business can adapt them for higher fan counts, and more engaged users.
  • Facebook’s profile redesign and what it means for advertisers and Page administrators.
  • Offline promotion for your Facebook Page, Place or campaign through the company's recently launched Like Button stickers and QR codes.
  • Facebook Places and Deals, the company’s evolving location-based feature that presents new marketing opportunities for businesses both on and offline.
  • Facebook Groups, a new way for users to connect and collaborate with others who share their interests and affiliations, and new ideas for marketing with Groups on Facebook.
  • Facebook Questions, and how these new user-facing feature can offer a new ‘no-cost’ marketing channel for brands, advertisers, and developers.
  • Facebook's Open Graph and Social Plugins, the features and code that brings "instant personalization" to your website off Facebook.
  • Facebook's latest advertising guidelines updates and what they mean for advertisers throughout the ecosystem.
  • Audience growth and engagement, including best practices for holding on to fans, keeping marketing channels open, and re-engaging your audience on Facebook.
  • Plus, comprehensive walk-throughs of Facebook’s tools for advertisers, web content publishers, and Page administrators.

Learn more about the January 2011 edition of the Facebook Marketing Bible at FacebookMarketingBible.com.


Table of Contents excerpted from the full January 2011 Edition

Building Your Brand through Facebook Pages

  • Facebook Pages and Public Profiles
  • The Profile Page – A Walk-Through

Designing Your Facebook Page

  • The Wall Tab for Making Pages Dynamic and Viral
  • How to Choose a Landing 'Tab' for your Facebook Page
  • Adding Custom Modules to Your Page

Communicating Through Your Facebook Page

  • The Basics of Status Updates for Pages
  • Demographic Targeting for Status Updates
  • Updating Facebook Page Status Via Text
  • Receive Page Status Updates Via Text
  • How to Avoid Having Your Page, Open Graph Object, or Application Unliked, Removed, Muted, or Blacklisted

More Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page

  • The Basics of Status Updates for Pages
  • Increase Engagement and Insight through Status Tagging
  • How to Grow Your Page's Audience through Page Invitations
  • SMS Subscription Service for Pages
  • Branded Virtual Gifts on Facebook Pages for Viral Advertising

Advanced Strategies for Facebook Pages

  • The Best Facebook Page Strategies and the Pages That Use Them
  • Strategy: How to Promote Your Page in 6 Steps
  • Marketing Strategy: 4 Reasons Why Marketers Should Invest in Pages Before Groups
  • 10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know
  • 8 Best Practices for Retailers on Facebook
  • Marketers Actively Bidding for Generic Facebook Pages

More Ways to Market on Facebook: Questions, Places, Open Graph, and Deals

  • How to Create a Deal with Facebook Deals
  • The Places We’ll Go: How marketers can use Facebook’s new location features
  • Facebook Questions – A Walk-Through
  • How Marketers Can Get The Most Out Of Facebook Questions
  • Implementation Options: Like Button
  • Facebook CTO Bret Taylor Discusses the Open Graph
  • Quick Note on Groups and SEO

Facebook Ads for Brand Marketers

  • Facebook Ads: Read Before You Get Started
  • Facebook Ads – A Walk-Through
  • The Facebook Ads Manager
  • Facebook Self-Serve Ad Types: Page Ads
  • Facebook Self-Serve Ad Types: Event Ads

Tools and How-Tos for Marketers

  • Facebook "Insights" Metrics Dashboard for Page Managers
  • Using Third Party Tools to Manage Your Facebook Page
  • How Page Owners Can Restrict Content for Underage Users
  • How to Export Your Facebook Page Updates to Twitter

Ads Targeting on Facebook

  • 10 Powerful Targeting Methods Facebook Ads Every Performance Advertiser Should Know
  • Friends of Connections Targeting
  • Facebook Ads: Language Targeting
  • 4 Connection Targeting Tests Every Advertiser Should Run
  • From Keyword Targeting to People Targeting: Understanding Performance Advertising with Facebook's Tim Kendall
  • Time Scheduling

Policies, Privacy, and Guidelines to Watch

  • Promotional/Sweepstakes Policies for Facebook Pages
  • The Future of Sharing on Facebook: A Hybrid Public/Private Model
  • Facebook’s Guidelines for Promoting Pages Outside Facebook

The Facebook Marketing Bible is available at FacebookMarketingBible.com

Offerpop’s Tab Apps Let Pages Run Commenting Contests that Reach the Feed

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 09:00 AM PST

New Page management service provider Offerpop today launches its suite of tab apps that allow Pages to run contests. Pages pay a flat monthly subscription rate based on their number of Likes and can then run as many campaigns as they want with the simple-to-use, white labeled photo, poll, and coupon apps. Users comment to vote on contest submissions, simultaneously creating news feed stories which lead friends to the apps.

Offerpop is entering a healthy, though somewhat crowded industry. Page admins can choose from pre-fabricated apps from companies including Involver and Wildfire, design their own using self-service interfaces offered by companies including Webtrends, or services that span across social platform from companies including Buddy Media and Vitrue. Admins can alternatively purchase apps through marketplaces such as AppBistro. Profiles of the leading Page management solutions can be found in the Facebook Marketing Service Provider Directory, available through subscription to the Facebook Marketing Bible.

Founded a year and a half ago, the New York City-based, eight-person Offerpop team seeks to differentiate itself by licensing apps which rarely require users to grant extended permissions. The company’s founders said they aim to “minimize barriers to participation” and score new fans with low-touch applications, not complex, bloated apps which force users to upload content to participate. The apps are inherently viral, since comment votes appended with a link to the app are posted to a user’s stream by default.

Offerpop’s clients include Hotels.com, ModCloth, and Skype, and the company raised $1.4 million in Series A round led by Windcrest Partners. Rates for licensing the suite range from free for Pages with less than 500 Likes, to $2,000 a month for apps with up to one million fans, with pricing set on a case-by-case basis for even larger Pages. Unlike some other tab app providers, Offerpop doesn’t charge extra for Like-gating or white labeling.

To set up the apps, Page admins sign into the Offerpop dashboard with their Facebook credentials and choose an app type to create. There are currently three app types to choose from: Photo Contest lets fans vote for their favorite user-submitted photo, Tug of War lets fan choose between two admin-selected options, and Exclusive lets brands give away unique or sharable coupon codes.

Admins are then shown a pre-populated template making it easy to know which content goes where. They set a schedule for entry submission, voting, and winner selection, choose whether users must Like the Page to participate, and can save the campaign as a draft, set a publishing date, or implement it immediately. The CSS of each app can also be modified for advanced customization. Admins can edit campaigns even after they’re published, see campaign results, and view or download up-to-the-minute performance analytics on views, engagement, and Likes generated.

While these apps are nothing new, building the voting mechanism on top of the Facebook comments plugin is innovative. Occasionally, the approach of not forcing users to grant permissions works against Offerpop, such as when it would be easier for users to select one of their Facebook photos instead uploading a new one. Still, Offerpop is a good choice for Pages who are particularly concerned with drawing new Likes through feed exposure. As the company adds more apps such as a photo caption contest to their suite, we’ll see if they can compete with more well established Page management companies.

Likes, Dating and Games Appear on This Week’s List of Fastest-Growing Facebook Apps by DAU

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 08:00 AM PST

The last of the holiday apps have disappeared from this week’s AppData list of fastest-growing Facebook apps by daily active users. They’ve been replaced by several large utility apps, as well as a handful of sizable games.

Top Gainers This Week
Name DAU Gain Gain,%
1. CityVille 16,971,602 +1,416,008 +9%
2. Likelicious 471,871 +421,334 +834%
3. Texas HoldEm Poker 6,848,469 +359,662 +6%
4. Hey I Like 594,021 +359,080 +153%
5. Give Hearts 1,422,899 +317,436 +29%
6. Windows Live Messenger 11,738,331 +300,008 +3%
7. Are YOU Interested? 976,241 +196,210 +25%
8. Bejeweled Blitz 3,876,922 +194,170 +5%
9. FrontierVille 5,970,568 +193,729 +3%
10. Café World 3,295,202 +170,122 +5%
11. Status Shuffle 857,906 +165,048 +24%
12. Badoo 1,257,974 +153,670 +14%
13. Zuma Blitz 1,124,458 +148,480 +15%
14. Horoscopes 3,247,278 +136,269 +4%
15. Formspring 895,437 +134,271 +18%
16. Games 1,431,253 +134,052 +10%
17. BandPage by RootMusic 601,849 +132,912 +28%
18. Zoosk 626,638 +125,553 +25%
19. Birthday Cards 499,408 +124,439 +33%
20. MindJolt Games 1,623,564 +117,994 +8%

CityVille is again at the top of the list, but this may be its last week as the leader on this particular chart. The game’s DAU gains have slowed significantly, despite its continued monthly active user growth; although its stickiness, or percentage of MAU that returns as DAU, is not totally stabilized yet, it looks like it will come to around 20 percent.

Likelicious and Hey I Like are both by Digitware, and are effectively identical, offering their users the ability to make up their own quote for friends to “Like” or choose one from a pre-set list. Both apps are losing MAU but showing a large uptick in DAU, which usually indicates that the developer has figured out some clever way of bringing users back.

Two more related apps, though not by the same devleper, acn be seen at numbers 7 and 12: Are YOU Interested? and Badoo, the two Hot-or-Not style dating apps on Facebook. Badoo has managed to surpass AYI in both MAU and DAU, but as you can see from the respective growth stats, the battle is not over yet.