This week in a surprise move Facebook says goodbye to Facebook Places as we know it, and gets ready to launch a new music streaming platform. Victoria’s Secret makes interesting use of QR codes. Stats report that women click Facebook ads more than men do, and tips for creating a viral launch page and link building with widgets.

Women Click Facebook Ads More than Men

Facebook users over the age of 50 are 28.2% more likely to click an ad than 18-29 year olds. The study is from a Facebook marketing agency called Social Code who tracked click-through rates and like rates, then correlating with gender and age data. However, Older Facebook users are 9% less likely to Like an ad than the younger generation, which Social Code CEO, Lauren O’Shaughnessy, contributes to the younger generation being “more comfortable using the like button”.

Elements of a Viral Launch Page

We’ve seen some very successful viral launches in the last year, so it was interesting to see Smashing Magazine break down the best practices of a successful viral launch page. The basic elements are straightforward, 1) have a clear value proposition, 2) be able to explain why people should care and 3) a notification form with a clear call to action. For examples and additional features that can encourage your landing page to go viral, you’ll have to read rest of the article.

5 Steps to Link Building with Widgets

First things first, a widget is a small application that you can distribute to website. It has a small user interface and used to perform an action or activity based on data living on a different server. Widgets are an effective way of exposing data or crowd sourced information in an accessible way. They are also a great way to build links back to a target site by offering a distributable application that people find valuable. The key is to create something that is both genuinely useful and relevant to your target site.

Facebook’s New Music Streaming Platform

Facebook is launching a new streaming service that will allow its users to listen to music whilst browsing Facebook. Facebook has previously enabled its users to listen to MP3′s while on their respective artists’ page, but this move takes it sitewide. Facebook has partnered with Spotify, Rdio and MOG for the launch, which is speculated to be next month. Apparently Facebook won’t host any data on its own servers, and instead act as a platform for content providers who’ll need to first make the music available via their own devices. You can read the full article from Mashable here.

Victoria’s Secret Gets Creative with QR Codes

Victoria’s Secret new ‘Sexier Than Skin’ campaign tempts viewers into trying out QR codes in a very clever way. The campaign uses billboards featuring an image of what seems to be a nude model, except for the fact that her butt is has a QR code pasted over the top. The billboard encourages viewers to activate the QR code in order to reveal what lies beneath. Once activated, the viewer is taken to a URL for the image that fills in the gap (with Victoria’s Secret underwear, of course!).

Facebook Says ‘Goodbye’ to its ‘Check-In’ Feed

Facebook has confirmed that it is scrapping the Places check-in feed from its mobile apps and interface. This means that we’ll need to say good-bye to ‘checking-in’ on Facebook. However, Facebook isn’t writing off geolocation entirely. Rather, users will be able to add their city-level location or tag a specific Place in their posts. For more information, click here.

On A Lighter Note…