Posted by: Grant Garcia, Marketing Coordinator

Facebook users can now book airline tickets through Delta Airlines without leaving the popular networking site. Delta is the first travel company to implement a social commerce channel on Facebook, opening up new possibilities for the ways in which travel is booked online.

After navigating to the “Book a Trip” tab on Delta’s Facebook page, users click on a virtual ticket window to find and book a flight. Delta Air Lines then requests permission to access the user’s basic Facebook data. This information allows the user to book tickets with friends and share their travel plans in their friends’ news feeds.

While this is a revolutionary first step into social commerce for the travel industry, Facebook has been facing privacy concerns lately, and some users have been hesitant to share their personal information on the site. This lack of trust may discourage Facebook members from using Delta’s service.  We’ll have to wait and see how popular this new online ticketing tool becomes and how many travel companies follow suit.

Posted by: Grant Garcia, Marketing Coordinator

Historically, email has been a great way to effectively maintain customer contact, while also providing useful industry news and resources. However, because online marketing is evolving and becoming more competitive, inboxes are overflowing with messages that are poorly targeted and irrelevant to users. How, then, do you get your message to rise above the clutter? Incorporating social media and mobile marketing into your email programs can enhance contact with customers at different touch points, while also encouraging interaction.

Companies are utilizing social media calls to action within their email marketing campaigns but are lagging in the implementation of mobile-optimized email. Business emails often include the “Like us on Facebook” or “Follow us on Twitter” buttons, but that’s not enough. According to a recent eROI survey, 63% of marketers say that they’re not even measuring the use of mobile devices for email subscribers. In the same survey, nearly 15% of marketers said that optimizing email marketing for mobile is not important. These statistics are frightening considering that 70 million smartphones are currently in use, with predictions that they will overtake traditional phones within the next 12 months, according to Technewsworld.com.

Inc. magazine ranked conversion-driven marketing agency 90octane no. 1,953 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies reporting at least $2 million in 2009 revenue. The agency also ranked 37^th for the Denver, CO metro area. The list represents the most comprehensive look at America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2000, 90octane is a pioneer in response-based interactive marketing tactics. The agency creates custom lead generation, lead nurturing and search engine marketing programs for its clients in the B2B, B2C and nonprofit fields. View 90octane’s Inc. 5000 Company Profile.

Posted by: 90octane Staff

Last month the 90octane staff attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field in Denver, CO. We had a wonderful time… even though the Pittsburgh Pirates bested our hometown team 4-2.

Posted by: Chelsea Maxwell, Senior Marketing Coordinator

We hear about social media all the time: “Twitter this. Facebook that.” It borders on annoying, but here’s the thing – it actually works. Many types of companies recognize the value of social media marketing. Non-profit organizations are no exception.

With around 500 million active Facebook users worldwide and Twitter sitting at a cool 190 million users, it almost seems silly for a non-profit organization not to dive into social media. According to a study conducted by Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D and Eric Mattson in 2009, comprised of the 200 largest charities in the United States, “Ninety-three percent of the charities studied have a Facebook profile, 87% have a Twitter presence and 65% have a blog. This new study, a longitudinal look at social media usage among the not-for-profit sector from 2007-2009, reveals that social media has become an incredibly important part of the communication strategy for US charities.”