Give people what they want…right here, right now.  Pretty smart.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/25/billboards-facebook-places/

According to the study , ”Forty-two percent of Americans describe themselves as sexually ‘adventurous….’”  I soon found another study by the AARP that reported, “Phone sex with a spouse or intimate partner and the exchange of erotic notes and e-mails is popular among the 45-to-49 age group.”  Great!  So it seems like a lot of us are less sexually inhibited than we were a few years ago, but there’s got to be something else driving the online behavior from the above Zarrella quote.

I soon found another study, this time from Michigan State.   In a nutshell, the study delved into the online habits of law enforcement officers.  The following behavior was observed: “as (the officers) anonymity increased, (their) informational disinhibition increased.”  In other words, their scruples got fewer as their sense of invisibility became greater.

So the missing link seems to be the perceived anonymity of the internet in general.  Even though the web is the most public form of media in human history, most people still feel like no one will ever find out what sites they’ve been visiting.  So if you combine an increased willingness and desire to view content of a sexual nature with the fact that no one thinks that they’ll get caught online, you can get a pretty powerful Sirens’ Song leading potential consumers to your content.

So given these morning reading “truths,” back to the original question – does sex in social media actually work?  Consider, if you will, a perhaps sexually adventurous social media project that we recently produced in partnership with Ketchum Atlanta for their client,  7-Eleven.

The project was called, “Wake up with a hot Brazilian!,” and can be found at - www.the711club.com.  The purpose of the execution was to drive trial and awareness of 7-Eleven’s new gourmet Brazilian coffee.

Set in a chic, fictitious club on Copa Beach, visitors are challenged to skillfully navigate a complex social scene in order to score a hot Brazilian companion for the evening.  After the user has successfully conquered their prey, the final scene of the game fades to reveal a hot, steaming cup of 7-Eleven’s gourmet Brazilian coffee sitting on your night stand the next morning. The user then receives a coupon to try a free cup for themselves.

…and the results?  As we were delighted to find out, the coupon redemption from the711club.com was the highest of any promotion 7-Eleven has done in recent history.  So it turns out that social media sex might just might sell better than good old fashion sex after all!  Who knew? (We did.)

“Maybe I am out of touch, but your promo article appears to be the first relevant message on social media. Thanks.”

Now that’s a good start to a Tuesday! You can read the original article here: Social Media is Not a Content Channel.

Social Media is on everyone’s mind, and Facebook is universally understood to be one of the biggest players in the game. Facebook has become so popular that if you don’t have a presence there, it’s the equivalent of not owning a TV – people might think you’re living in a log cabin and preparing for the apocalypse.

With so many people actively using facebook, it makes sense to use it to network with professional contacts for business purposes. After all, Facebook has over 6 times the number of users that LinkedIn has. However, Facebook users are traditionally more informal, openly sharing personal information with a select and limited group. For many, the idea of adding professional contacts to their Facebook profile causes a lot of anxiety; how can they keep the more intimate (and potentially embarrassing) details of their personal life strictly relegated to friends and family?

Facebook doesn’t make it easy. Their site has been upgraded and expanded in such a piecemeal way that much of the functionality available is far from intuitive. Unless you’re a Facebook junkie, you probably haven’t invested the time necessary to figure out how to manage the (sometimes complicated) privacy controls that they offer. Fortunately for you, I AM a Facebook junkie, and I think I can help.

In the following video tutorial (and companion slideshow presentation), I show you how to protect your personal information, regulate who sees your photos, and send your status updates to the right people. Using this as a guide, you’ll be able to blog about American Idol and post pictures from your beer-bong weekend, while your boss only sees that WSJ article you posted.

Billed as “The most highly recommended bed in America,” Tempur-Pedic’s new “Ask Me” campaign encourages potential customers to connect with actual Tempur-Pedic owners via social media. Their ad says, “Check out Twitter. Try your friends on facebook. You’ll hear it all, unedited.”

This is a very bold move on Tempur-Pedic’s part, since they cannot control what is being said about them online – but that’s exactly why its an excellent idea. This kind of integrated marketing approach resonates with customers because they’re savvy enough to know that Social Media can’t be whitewashed. If Tempur-Pedic is confident enough to direct people to the unedited world of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, they must be confident that their customers are (generally) satisfied.

I have to applaud Tempur-Pedic for “Getting It.” They’re not using Social Media as just another broadcast medium, they’re using it like they should: to get people talking about their product.