With the recent news that social media platform Twitter would be introducing promoted tweets to its streams, internet marketers are wandering how this will affect marketing and how it can be used to a marketer’s advantage. The promoted tweets are expected to start showing up in users’ Twitter streams within the next couple of weeks, although some are already live. But what does this mean for any search marketing agency worth its salt? Let’s have a look.

Let’s begin by discussing what a promoted tweet actually is. It is similar to a Google AdWords ad in that it is a paid for ad. The promoted tweet is, however, a tweet that will be placed at the top of the search results in a user’s Twitter stream and will be identified by a different coloured background and will be labelled that it is a promotional tweet. Users can then retweet, reply or favourite it as they can with any other tweet. A benefit of promoted tweets is that advertisers are able to send their message out to users who don’t necessarily follow their account.

What you say on the web is forever and social media is the permanent marker on the white wall of the giant warehouse. By now you should know that Google permanently indexes everything said via social networking platforms. You can consider tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn messages and all other forms of social media updates to be an online tattoo. If not carefully planned and properly thought through these social media will be a tattoo on the forehead of your online presence… and that is not a pretty sight. Social media is a responsibility, not a job for the intern who knows about this “MyFace” stuff.

Moderator:
Massimo Burgio – Global Search Interactive

Speakers:
Bas van den Beld – State of Search
Marcus Taylor – SEOptimise
Jim Yu – BrightEdge
Cedric Chambaz – Microsoft

Bas van den Beld – State of Search

SE’s are trying to figure out user intent and they are trying to give you the best and most relevant info. This can be difficult as a computer at home can be used by multiple people. So they are trying to work on user experience for example showing calories on recipes

Google has chosen two directions to join search and social:

Firstly through Page Rank (Which is essentially a social signal). Google is good at making connections. So they figure they can work out connections between people as well. As Eric Schmidt said :-  “We know where you are, we know what you like”

DEMO Spring 2011 has just wrapped up, and the world of emerging technology is abuzz with news of the launches seen at this year’s conference. There was a clear focus this year on harnessing social networks to give Internet users an opportunity to personalise their online experience even further.

The DEMO conference is a global event designed to showcase the most exciting new technology and provide industry networking opportunities. One launch that might be of particular interest to a search marketing company was Heystaks.

It’s impossible to ignore the power wielded by social media in both business and personal networking; but while any SEO agency would agree that these platforms are ideal for the promotion of content and the sharing of ideas, the privacy concerns posed by these platforms are also unavoidable. Recently, a bill known as the Social Networking Privacy Act was proposed by a US senator eager to impose stricter privacy laws on networks like Facebook.

Does censorship have a place in social media? Or is the very idea laughable?

Whether you work at a search marketing company or a non-profit organisation, the use of social media to promote a positive online image and create greater brand awareness will be a familiar concept. A company’s social media profile will be carefully crafted to suit the image of the brand, and those in control of the social media account can often find themselves facing difficult choices – should they practice a level of censorship by screening comments, so only the “good stuff” reaches the public? Or will they find it more beneficial to publicly respond to any negative feedback, demonstrating total transparency?

Online petitions aren’t something that everyone is entirely active in but most are aware of. Many of us receive a constant stream of emails asking us to save this or stop and prevent that and most of the time, these online petition requests end up in our dusty spam folder, never to be read again. On the other side of the spectrum lies the over-petitioner – the person that clicks and signs everything in sight, hoping that their contribution will make a difference in the world. Online petitions are a somewhat grey area with some enthusiasts believing that their click is making a difference and others believing that all online petitions are a sham and that no affect comes from these causes. Do online petitions make a difference or are you signing your life away for nothing?

Facebook Places, the new location sharing feature of social networking giant Facebook, has officially launched in the UK. This development will certainly make things interesting for search marketing services and social networking enthusiasts. Facebook users are now able to update their status complete with their current location. The smartphone-based Facebook Places service also allows users to see which friends have visited that location recently, or which friends are currently nearby. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg says he wants “to make the world an open space”. Facebook fans can track their hero’s movements virtually by using the Facebook Places service.

Of course, the launch of Facebook Places has raised privacy concerns. Not all users are comfortable with the implications of sharing their locations. However, the creators have put stringent privacy control in place to ensure that Facebook Places users can be selective about what information they wish to share.