Marketers 'must research social media to be successful'

Display adverts can be effective if marketers research the social network that they are targeting, says an expert.
Advertisers must be willing research the social media networks that they are attempting to engage with, according to an industry insider.
Andrew Girdwood, head of search for bigmouthmedia, pointed out that much of the information that companies can use to form a successful targeted campaign is not part of the display advert platform.
He claimed that it is down to each individual agency to use their skill to find out what each social network will respond to.
Mr Girdwood explained: "Social networks can be quite challenging for display adverts and you can get it very wrong. However, you can get it right if you use all that social data available."
In his view, the popularity of display adverts on social media is down to the extensive reach that they can offer marketers.
Recent research by Webtrends revealed that 85 per cent of consumers under the age of 35 are open to brands having a presence on social networks such as Facebook and YouTube.

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Optimising social media content is "trickier

SEO marketers will soon be turning towards optimising social media content, but it will be a tough challenge for them, says an expert.
A sector commentator has predicted that it going to be hard for advertisers to optimise content on social media websites.
Will Cooper, deputy news editor for New Media Age, made his comments following a statement by Punch Communications, which indicated that the deals struck by Google and Bing with social media companies will have an impact on the reputations of brands.
Mr Cooper claimed that social networks are the next step in terms of search engine optimisation for businesses.
He pointed out that advertisers have been able to optimise videos and images so that they appear high up in search rankings, so the next stage is for social media to be looked at in this way, but he said it will be "trickier".
"I think it puts more emphasis on the content and for sites to create content that's going to get people talking," explained Mr Cooper.
A social media service such as Twitter is loaded with links, making it a challenge for marketers, he continued.

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Expert: Brands must increase presence on social media

Communication with customers can be improved if businesses are willing to engage with consumers on social media, says an expert.
Companies are missing "significant opportunities" by not setting themselves up to interact with customers across social media networks, according to an industry insider.
Research by iCrossing indicated that top brands are not connected enough to their customer base.
The company noted that when greater intimacy is achieved with consumers, the quality of communication can improve too.
Adam Lavelle, chief strategy officer of the digital agency, claimed that companies should have a dialogue with consumers, not just shout at them.
"Brands know they need to connect with consumers across new media channels, but the brutal fact is few are doing it well."
To measure the "connectedness" of brands, the agency looked at engagement on social media networks, how much presence they have on blogs and the standard of their own websites.
This week, a representative from New Media Age suggested that Google could fund its Social Search tool by having sponsored Tweets appear on the right-hand side of the display.

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Sponsored Tweets 'could fund Google social media search'

Having Twitter users paid to write sponsored content has been suggested as a way to fund Google's Social Search tool, according to an industry insider.
An industry commentator has suggested that Google Social Search could be funded by sponsored use of social media service Twitter.
Will Cooper, deputy news editor of New Media Age, pointed out that when new applications are released, people will often focus on monetisation because everything "has to be funded somehow".
He said that this issue has not yet been answered with regard to Social Search, but there have been suggestions that advertisers could pay people to Tweet about products and brands.
"But the thing they've got here is an understanding that people are looking for information on social networks," explained Mr Cooper.
It would be quite a surprise if there are sponsored links on there in future though, he added.
Google Social Search was released last week and allows users to search for content on social media platforms according to preferences and contacts in their Google gmail account.
One of the focuses of the tool is to allow people to search their friends' blogs and social networks for content.

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New social media tool 'aims for meaningful experience'

Twitter users have been urged to create lists of content using a new tool, which the company's co-founder believes will be a new "discovery mechanism".
A new Twitter tool has been developed to help people communicate more information in a cohesive manner, according to the social media site's co-founder.
Biz Stone, writing on Twitter's official blog, commented that any user can curate a list and claimed the feature will become a "discovery mechanism".
He also mentioned how several media companies have already begun making lists using Tweets, such as the Huffington Post during their coverage of the baseball World Series in the US.
"Lists also make it easier to curate tweets into meaningful real-time experiences on your own sites via the Lists API," said Mr Stone.
There are also new applications on offer to help people create lists such as TLISTS, while others provide users with a selection of recommended Tweets of this kind, for instance Listorious.
Last week the social media company announced that it is partnering itself with Google to allow Tweets to appear in the search engine's results pages.

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Social media site calls for feedback on privacy policy

Facebook has asked users to browse through updates to the social networking site's privacy policy and submit feedback.
Facebook has released a restructured version of its privacy policy and has asked users to submit feedback about the online document.
Elliot Schrage, vice-president of communications and public policy, highlighted a number of updates that have been made, including notes on advertising on the social networking site.
The document also states how long back-up information will be kept for and features notes on the removal of content that has been shared.
Mr Schrage said: "Our primary goals remain transparency and readability, which is why we've used plain language and included numerous examples to help illustrate our points."
He pointed out that earlier this year Facebook became the first company to govern its policy by inviting comments and holding votes with its users for changes in regulations.
This week, the social media service called for people to report any abuse that they receive or notice online and stated that cyber-bullying cannot be tolerated by communities.

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Social media presence gives firms "human face"

By creating a point of contact on social networks companies can engage with customers, says an expert.
Businesses should be present on social media networks as it will give them respect from customers, according to an industry insider.
Geoff Galat, vice-president of marketing and product strategy at Tealeaf, claimed that social networking sites are a great way for companies to engage with consumers.
He observed that customers often just want to know there is someone available on a form of social media in case they want to get in touch.
Mr Galat said: "By establishing a contact point on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or even LinkedIn, you put a human face and name on your organisation."
In his view, customers will appreciate it even if there is only one point of contact available and not a firm's whole customer service team.
Online advertising site Marketing Sherpa recently commented that social media can be an effective way of boosting an email marketing campaign, by encouraging users to share content.

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Social media site 'supports online etiquette'

Cyber-bullies must not be tolerated and people should report them when they encounter any abuse, says Facebook.
Facebook has called for users of the social media website to be civil to each other when they interact online.
Michelle Robinson Boykins, director of communications and marketing at the National Crime Prevention Council, wrote on the official Facebook blog that bullying on social networking sites can happen to people of all ages.
She pointed out that people need to report abuse when it happens, because it ruins the fun of interacting online.
Ms Robinson highlighted the report function on Facebook as a way of ensuring that people do not feel bullied by content being shared on social media.
"This is just one step in discouraging people from behaving poorly online and potentially hurting other people. It's up to you to address cyber-bullying if it occurs to you or people around you," she added.
Facebook recently announced that it will be launching a new feature on its share tool, in which users can see how many people have looked at shared content.

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Social media users encouraged to share

Users of social networking site Facebook will now be able to see how popular shared content is when they post it on their wall.
Facebook users have been urged to share more content on the social media site, with the popularity of each link set to appear on the screen.
Writing on the official blog, Facebook product manager Mark Kinsey commented that the share tool has been developed so that once a user posts an article or video they can see how many people look at it.
He pointed out that any website can add the share application and users themselves can contact sites and request that they enable the tool.
"The share button enables you to take content from across the web and share it with your friends on Facebook, where it can be re-shared over and over," wrote Mr Kinsey.
This week, the social networking site also launched a new feature in which friends who have passed away can have their profile memorialised.
Facebook claimed this will allow people to share memories of deceased friends with other users.

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New Google social media search tool "an experiment"

Google has launched Social Search but claimed that it is in the experimental stages of development.
Consumers have been advised by Google that the organisation's new social media search tool is not yet a finished product.
Technical lead Maureen Heymans and product manager Murali Viswanathan wrote on the official Google blog that the company's Social Search will allow people to find user generated content online.
However, they added: "This feature is an experiment, but we've been using it at Google and the results have been exciting. We'd love to hear your feedback."
The tool uses information from users' Gmail accounts to help make search results more relevant.
Ms Heymans and Mr Viswanathan stressed that the information that Social Search will collect is already available to see online anyway, but they claimed that the application will allow more relevant results to the individual making the search.
This week, Google also announced that it is launching Convert, Zip and Download as part of Google Docs, which lets users download multiple documents at one time.

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Social media "barely tapped" by online retailers

Industry players need to move their internet stores to where the customers are, it has been suggested.
Online retailers need to take greater advantage of the benefits of social media, an industry expert has said, as consumers are spending an increasing amount of time on pages of sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
"E-commerce on social media platforms … is in an early stage," senior analyst at eMarketer Jeffrey Grau remarked, adding that web-based business on such channels "has barely tapped" the potential offered through people conducting more and more of their "regular activities" in these areas.
He went on to say that the leading brands in the e-commerce industry are aware that they cannot wait for users to find them, but instead need to "place their virtual storefronts where their customers congregate".
Mr Grau further commented that this knowledge implies that ecommerce is in a state of evolution, replacing a transactional experience in favour of a social one.
Earlier this month, companies were advised by Rachel Pasqua of iCrossing that social media can be combined with search engine optimisation to give users more information on topics of interest, through the use of iPhone app Say What?.

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Social media 'a necessary element of SEO'

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to use social media within their search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies, it has been suggested.
The important role that social media plays in search engine optimisation (SEO) has been highlighted by one industry analyst.
In an article for web resource SEO Consult, a user known only as James stated that the growth in popularity of social media sites - such as Facebook and MySpace - has altered the SEO landscape.
He said that there is now a real need for organisations to work social media networks into their SEO strategy.
"This kind of optimisation has been coined SMO, or social media optimisation. It involves the placement of items into your site that will appeal to social media users and make it easier for their networks to link to you," James asserted.
He concluded by outlining a number of techniques that can help drive consumers in social media networks to a site, such as creating a list of users who have recently used the site to reward them, as well as ensuring that articles are published regularly to keep the resource fresh and interesting.

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Yahoo! social media application 'may not last'

The new social sharing tool from Yahoo! may need to make changes if it wants to compete with other big players on the market, says a sector commentator.
An industry expert has commented that Yahoo! MeMe will struggle to survive in the social media jungle if it does not evolve.
James Glick, media account manager at CheezeDMG, wrote on Netimperative that MeMe a "polished application" on which he enjoyed sharing pictures and videos.
However, he suggested that it could have greater success if it is integrated with Flickr and Delicious.
Mr Glick remarked that the application could also be improved by allowing users to insert Yahoo! tools onto the display, such as weather, videos, news and music.
"One thing's for sure, unless Yahoo takes a long hard look in the mirror, MeMe won't have the long-term future it wishes it had," he explained to the website.
In his view, the 2,000-character limit for posts may be losing the attractiveness for some users.
A recent article on Marketing Sherpa predicted that social media may become the most usual way of sending quick messages, but is unlikely to take over from email for receiving receipts and other transactional material.

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Monetised side of social media site extended

The number of paid-for gifts available to purchase on Facebook has been increased, with music, officially-branded sports products and charitable causes all now appearing.
Social media site Facebook has extended the range of gifts available on the website that users must pay for.
Will Chen, a Facebook engineer, wrote on the company's official blog that people will now have the chance to buy officially-branded sports products from the US National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer to send to their friends.
He pointed out that users will also be able to buy songs for each other which can be played on their walls or through the company powering this type of gift on the site, LaLa.com.
"With a greater variety of gifts, we hope that you will have even more freedom to express how you feel for every occasion," commented Mr Chen.
And for more charitable gifts, he highlighted the Causes application, which allows people to donate money on behalf of friends and raise awareness of specific charities.
This month, Causes commenced the second annual America Giving Challenge, in which charities will compete for prizes based on how much money they can raise over the course of 30 days.

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Social media 'will not kill email'

People will still use emails for more official business messages, even if social media is likely to become the normal way of chatting, a marketing website has suggested.
Although social media will reduce the use of email to an extent, it will not make it obsolete, according to a marketing website.
Marketing Sherpa claimed that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter look likely to become the normal way of communicating short messages.
However, it would seem unlikely for social media to take over from email in receiving confirmations of business transactions and other more formal correspondence.
"When we look at media use over the last 15 years, we see a pattern of aggregation and adoption rather than replacement. Some media suffer in the exchange, but none are eliminated," said the website.
In a survey carried out by the website, 78 per cent of people said that they use email to share links with friends or family, while 22 per cent used social media.
This week, Facebook announced that it has developed the design of its groups feature, so that people can collaborate online more easily.

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Social media groups 'enhanced for user collaboration'Social media groups 'enhanced for user collaboration'

Facebook has improved its Group design in order to develop the way users can collaborate on the social networking service.
Facebook has announced that it has developed its group feature to make it easier for people to communicate and work together on the social media website.
Knot Pipatsrisawat, a software engineering intern writing on the website's official blog, revealed that messages and activities occurring in groups will appear on users' news feed.
He noted that group design now looks very similar to profiles and pages, but that businesses should remember there is a difference between them.
"Groups are for fostering member-to-member collaboration, while Pages remain the best way to broadcast messages to your fans if you are a business, organisation, public figure or other entity," explained Mr Pipatsrisawat.
This new group design will be rolled out over the next few days, he added.
According to Robin Goad, a research director at Hitwise UK, Facebook is "far and away" the most popular social media website, gaining 14 per cent of all page views in September.

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Paid-for social media monitoring 'more advanced'

People who wish to find out more in-depth results about what people are saying about their company on social media networks should think about using paid-for services, says an expert.
Those businesses that are willing to pay for social media monitoring services will get more complex results, an industry insider has commented.
Jason Falls, a blogger on socialmediaexplorer.com, made his comments following research from Harris Interactive, which indicated that nearly double the number of consumers are complaining about problematic online transactions on social media this year than they were in 2008.
He pointed out that by paying for a service to check what people are saying on social networking sites, companies can get far more advanced results than if they use a free program such as Google alerts.
Mr Falls stressed that the cost of the service will normally rise proportionally with the depth of information being offered.
"Scout Labs, Radian6, Spiral13, Techrigy and Visible Technologies are just the tip of the iceberg of paid solutions that are very good," he explained.
In his view, it is worth checking out some of the lower cost paid monitoring solutions, because some of them are very effective.

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Facebook is "Far and away" most popular social media site

Facebook is still leading the social media pack and a contributing factor in its popularity is the amount of time people spend on the site, says a commentator.
In terms of the popularity, social media service Facebook is still leading the way and it shows no sign of losing its dominant share of the market, according to an industry analyst.
Robin Goad, research director at Hitwise UK, made his comments on his Analyst Weblog following research by the organisation, which indicated that 14 per cent of all page views during September were of a Facebook page.
He pointed out that it is not just the quantity of usage which is important in terms of its popularity, but also how long people spend on the site each time they use it.
Mr Goad stated that this figure stood at 26 minutes 14 seconds for September.
"Although it has fallen somewhat off the media radar in favour of Twitter recently, Facebook remains far and away the most popular social networking website in the UK," he wrote in the his blog.
Last week, Facebook announced that it has developed its offensive behaviour reports, so that users can be better protected from abuse on the website.

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Companies 'still unsure on social media use'

Marketers are still not clear how best to engage with consumers on social media sites such as Twitter, says an industry commentator.
It is still not clear to many businesses how social media can be used most effectively, an industry insider has suggested.
Peter McCormick, general manager and co-founder of ExactTarget, claimed that a lot of firms are still considering which is the best way of approaching consumers on social networking platforms.
He pointed out that there is plenty of potential in social media just waiting to be utilised by marketers.
Mr McCormick made his comments following the release of a new product by ExactTarget which automatically generates Tweets based on email marketing content.
"This allows marketers to adopt a process-based approach to enhancing the interactivity of an email marketing campaign, while creating a meaningful dialogue with customers," he said.
The new Twitter integration product will be available from November 6th.
Last week, the social media site stated that it will be producing and selling wine in the future to raise money for international literacy charity Room to Read.

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Staying abreast of social media conversations 'can be free'

Business owners can sign up to free services which will help them monitor what is being said about their company, states an expert.
Companies that want to keep their ear to the ground when it comes to their reputation on different forms of social media can do this for free, an industry insider has suggested.
Social media consultant and blogger on socialmediaexplorer.com Jason Falls pointed out that the free services on offer will only give basic monitoring of online chatter, but they will show up to 85 per cent of what is being said about a brand.
He highlighted how easy it is to sign up to one of these services compared to having to run searches every day in order to understand how a product is perceived by the public.
"Through services like Google Alerts and searches on Twitter, Technorati, Bing and Google Blogsearch, you can pretty much blanket the web with ears at no cost," Mr Falls said.
Recent research published by Sage indicated that only 8.4 per cent of small businesses are utilising social media to learn more about their customers.

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Social media site enhances offensive behaviour reports

Facebook users are now able to give more specific abuse reports when something offensive is uploaded to the website, according to the official blog.
Users of the social media website Facebook have been encouraged to give more specific details of any unwanted contact taking place with the development of its report tool.
Jessica Ghastin, a specialist on the social networking site's user operations team, wrote on the company's official blog that it is now possible to classify exactly what sort of abuse the user is encountering.
As well as this, she pointed out that the report tool now asks for the specific timeframe of a video or section of text that is causing offence, which makes dealing with the issue easier.
"These additional details are an important part of the process. We'll continue to work to improve your experience and give you the proper tools to report bad content and behaviour," explained Ms Ghastin.
This week, the developer of Facebook application Causes told users that social media allows everyone to do their bit for charity, as people can easily raise awareness of an issue, even if they cannot make a donation.

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"Imperative" for companies to monitor social media"

Consumers are now sharing their online transaction experiences on social media websites, so businesses should participate in these conversations, says an expert.
Businesses must keep tabs on what social media users are saying about their products and brand image, a sector commentator has suggested.
Jason Falls, a blogger on socialmediaexplorer.com, made his remarks following research by Harris Interactive, which showed that 13 per cent of adults will share their experiences of online transactions on a social media service or a blog.
He claimed that this is because people trust the views and advice of people they normally interact with and these relationships are becoming more significant in terms of retail.
"It's not just important but imperative to know what people are saying about your brand online and interject into those conversations if possible," explained Mr Falls.
In his view, firms must try and talk to users about their views otherwise it is likely that their brand image could land in trouble.
However, Mr Falls informed marketers that they will not be able to control the conversations with consumers.

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Individual 'can make a difference in social media'

People are being urged to promote charities and not-for-profit organisations using social media or make a donation if they can.
Everyone can make an impact and do something good for charity using social media, an insider has suggested.
Writing on the official Facebook blog, Joe Green, co-founder of an application named Causes, encouraged users to get involved with charitable organsiations using social networks.
He pointed out that people do not need to donate to make a difference, as promoting awareness on social media sites helps share vital information about causes that need help.
Mr Green wrote: "Now, the internet - and social media specifically - is rebuilding the social infrastructure that has been crumbling underneath non-profits for decades."
The Causes application was set up to help people feel empowered to take social and political actions.
Last week it launched the second America Giving Challenge with the Case Foundation and Parade Magazine.
The first Giving Challenge in 2007/08 raised more than $1.8 million [£1.1 million] for hundreds of charities and not-for-profit organisations.

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Social media 'can combine with SEO'

A new application for the iPhone is able to aggregate comments made in blogs and social networking services into one place using SEO principles, says an industry insider.
Social media can be combined with the principles of search engine optimisation (SEO) to provide consumers with an aggregated list of opinions regarding a topic, according to an industry insider.
Director of mobile strategy at iCrossing Rachel Pasqua made these comments after the company released a free product called Say What?, which allows users to monitor what is being said on social networking sites and blogs.
She remarked that the goal was to provide a "one-click" service for customers to search keywords and phrases.
The application is available to download from the iPhone App Store
Ms Pasqua explained: "iCrossing developed Say What? to demonstrate how SEO, social media and mobile can work together to provide users with information that is real-time and relevant."
This week, new media age writer Will Cooper reviewed a beta version of new social media service Google Wave and noted that it had plenty of exciting features, such as the ability to share maps and documents while chatting online.

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Companies 'aiming to respond to social media reputation'

A new product released by Marchex will let businesses keep an eye on what is being said about them on social media websites and respond to concerns, says an expert.
Businesses will check what people are saying about their brand and their products so that they can understand their reputation in the consumer's eyes, says an industry commentator.
Writing on Media Post's Online Media Daily blog, Laurie Sullivan pointed out that the success of a company can often be measured by what sort of Tweet or comments consumers are leaving on social networking sites.
She claimed that this is because businesses want the ability to respond to what people are saying.
Now, Marchex has released a program called Reputation Management, which picks out keywords from a large variety of different sources to gauge a brand's reputation across social media.
Matthew Berk, executive vice-president of product engineering at the organisation, told Ms Sullivan: "It has about a quarter of a billion pieces of metadata for 19 million local businesses and aggregated 10 million ratings and reviews."
Recent comments by Web User editor Ben Camm-Jones indicated that a consumer's social media usage can be influenced by which occupation they are in.

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