The retail sector may be keeping an eye on Gap with its Australian store just two days old, but the denim giant is turning heads overseas by managing to record $US11 million in sales in one day from a viral coupon offer through collective selling site Groupon.

The offer is an example of how a well-constructed social media marketing campaign can not only benefit a company’s reputation but deliver them a solid financial return for a relatively cheap investment.

“I think this is a perfect example of how social media should be considered part of the broader marketing strategy,” chief executive of reputation management firm SR7, James Griffin says.

For more – Read on

Over 500 million users and an atmosphere of the global social networking circle, Facebook might be worth a whopping $33 billion! In a report published in the Financial Times, the tongues have started wagging again, speculating the estimating the worth of Facebook.  Yahoo, which has recorded no growth, has a valuation of $18 billion and the somewhat plateauing eBay comes in at $30 billion, therefore it could be the possible rationale behind the amazonic valuation of Facebook. The best part for the company is that it is still growing! But until Facebook goes public, most probably in 2012, the exact figures cannot be known.

Full story at Daily Finance

Ad agency Wieden + Kennedy’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” TV spot for Old Spice has won the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial.

The spot starred former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa as the Old Spice Guy, a character now well-known in pop culture thanks to the TV ads and a highly successful social media campaigns.

The Facebook Places security options are set to “Friends Only” by default, but you can opt out of the service altogether. To do so follow these simple instructions:

1. Go to your Facebook account’s “Privacy Settings.”
2. Click “Customize settings” in the “Sharing on Facebook” section.
3. Under “Things I share” click the option box next to “Include me in ‘People Here Now’ after I check in.” You have now disabled this feature.

The image below is what your settings should look like once you have completed these steps.

Another Places feature may allow friends to share your location — even if you are not currently there and even if you have already disabled self-check-in. Friends using Places can check you in or “tag” you at a certain place.

NOTE# - If you’re checked-in by yourself or by a friend, your presence at the location is visible to anyone that either you or your friend allows, based on your friend’s and your privacy settings. Your name will show up on the location’s Places page, if there is one, so everyone at the location can see that you’re there. If you are tagged by a friend, your presence at the location is seen by your friends or whoever they allow to see their posts, subject to their (not your) privacy settings.

You must approve a check-in request, but you are only given two options: “Yes” and “Not Now.”

Again, there is an easy way to disable this feature:

1. Go to your Facebook account’s “Privacy Settings.”
2. Click “Customize settings” in the “Sharing on Facebook” section.
3. Under “Things others share,” locate the option “Friends can check me into Places.”
4. Select “Disable” from the list of options. You have now disabled this feature.

The image below is what your settings should look like once you have completed these steps.

NOTE# – Special restrictions apply to Facebook users who are under 18.

116,281,366. This is the number of times the Old Spice channel videos have been viewed so far with 146,098 subscribers. A jaw-dropping number capable of creating another Tom Cruise jumping-on-the-couch-moment for the company. The viral campaign for the men’s cologne brand has been a runaway success so far owing to its catchy and funny videos which revolve around the actor Isaiah Mustafa, who portrays the image of the alpha male, someone what every man aspires to be. For the marketing agency Wieden + Kennedy, it was a job well done as it created an immense hype around a brand that was till now, struggling to compete in the shark waters of the men’s cosmetics industry. [...]