Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
Over the years, Facebook has been known to make small changes to how users operate on the social networking site. With Google+ becoming a threatening competitor, Mark Zuckerberg made serious changes to Facebook. On September 22, Mark Zuckerberg explained exactly what the 800 million users could expect from the new and improved Facebook at its annual developer conference including:
•Timeline: a stream of information about you
•Facebook Gestures: turning any verb into a button, similar to the “like” button. Example: Reading a book.
•Open Graph: third-party companies can connect their apps and services to Facebook using a one-time permission from the user to share stuff on Facebook
•Subscribe: subscribing to strangers or celebrities to receive posts from them without being Facebook friends
•Ticker: a real-time list of what your friends are posting
•Media: watching TV and movies, listening to music and reading news all within Facebook
Watch the whole video here
September 29, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: advertisements, analysis data, apple, applied research, ask, audience, audiences, best serch engines, bing, bing search engine, bing toolbar, blog marketing, branding, business marketing, changes to facebook profiles, content, content definition, content for website, content management, content management system, content management systems, content manager, content share, content sharing, content website, contents, decsion making, direct marketing, email marketing, f8, Facebook, facebook ad, facebook ads, facebook advertisements, facebook change, facebook changes, facebook fans, facebook likes, facebook links, facebook posts, facebook profile change, facebook users, facebook.com, facebookcom, faebook games, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, google search engine, how facebook is changing, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, image search engine, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, Kansas City, KC, list of search engine, list of search engines, location based service, location-based marketing, location-based services, Mark Zuckerberg, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable.com, media content, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile, mobile marketing, mobile phone tracking, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new technology, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, people search, people search engines, product marketing, public relations, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, search engine, search engine linst, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine optimizer, search engine optimizing, search engine ranking, search engines, search engines list, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, share content, share content from, share this content, sharing content, site search engine, small business marketing, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, tip, tips, top apps, top search engine, top search engines, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, video content, viral marketing, web content, web content management, web marketing, web search engine, web site content, website advertising, website content, website search engine, website search engines, what is a search engine, whats new to facebook | Leave A Comment »
Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
Sharing and finding content over the Internet has become easier then ever, and now social media is changing the ways search engines track quality content. This article from Mashable.com takes a look at how social networks have impacted search engines.
How Social Media Affects Content Relevance in Search
Old school SEO pros cover your ears, or be prepared to adapt your craft: Search engines are changing, and social media is a huge part of that change.
Bing, Google, and an increasing swath of nimble little search engines like Blekko and DuckDuckGo are incorporating social data into their results. This is potentially great news for new businesses trying to achieve visibility in search. It’s less great news for sites that rely heavily on link buying (illegal, but hard to catch), producing huge volumes of borderline-useless content (long-tail, content farm approach), or just really old domains (previously an SEO trump card).
Both Bing and Google admitted in interviews that their search results are positively affected by social signals, such as tweets, Facebook Likes, and +1s.
“As ideas, thoughts, questions and answers are shared more freely and easily than ever, the increased amount of information from social sources provides great benefits to users,” says a Microsoft spokesperson for Bing (who asked to remain anonymous).
“The links that you build through social media, the references, the authority — all can have an impact in various ways on how you are ranked and listed even in ‘regular’ search results,” says Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, in an email interview. “Social media allows for people to provide more trusted signals.”
Search Engines Adapt to SurviveSince the early Internet days of Excite and Webcrawler, the principal goal of search engines has been to help people find what they’re looking for. Google rose to dominate the industry by tracking better indicators of content quality than anyone else. It developed a complex algorithm that measured which websites were “voting” for others by linking to them.
Essentially, it was social media, but for websites rather than people. If your site had lots of links from relevant sites, your Google rank climbed. Plenty of other factors, like putting keywords into headlines and titles, remained in play (and continually evolved), but the game changer of the last decade was links.
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry emerged to help webmasters play the “me rank higher” game with Google. On the one hand, website owners attempt to adhere to Google’s standards and prove they are high quality (creating relevant, high quality content and formatting it to Google’s taste). On the other hand, shadier sites try to trick Google’s secret formula, “pretending” to be good content without having to bother with creating useful stuff.
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September 14, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: advertisements, analysis data, apple, applied research, ask, audience, audiences, best serch engines, bing, bing search engine, bing toolbar, blog marketing, branding, business marketing, content, content definition, content for website, content management, content management system, content management systems, content manager, content share, content sharing, content website, contents, decsion making, direct marketing, email marketing, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, google search engine, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, image search engine, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, Kansas City, KC, list of search engine, list of search engines, location based service, location-based marketing, location-based services, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable.com, media content, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile, mobile marketing, mobile phone tracking, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new technology, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, people search, people search engines, product marketing, public relations, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, search engine, search engine linst, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine optimizer, search engine optimizing, search engine ranking, search engines, search engines list, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, share content, share content from, share this content, sharing content, site search engine, small business marketing, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, tip, tips, top apps, top search engine, top search engines, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, video content, viral marketing, web content, web content management, web marketing, web search engine, web site content, website advertising, website content, website search engine, website search engines, what is a search engine | Leave A Comment »
Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
Using location-based services to find the closest restaurant or to get directions is becoming the newest trend in mobile technology. Here is an article from The Washington Post on how Americans are using location-based services.
Over a quarter of American adults use mobile location-based services
Not many people are “checking in” using services such as Foursquare and Gowalla, but over a quarter of Americans are checking out their surroundings using location-based services.
The latest research from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found that 28 percent of American adults have used mobile or social location-based services to get recommendations such as the best-rated nearby cafe or directions from their current location.
Only about 5 percent of those surveyed used services that post their current locations, though smartphone users were more than twice as likely to signal their location to their friends. In a similar vein, about 9 percent of all users used the location-tagging options on social media.
As once might expect, younger smartphone users are more likely overall to use check-in services, but there was no clear divide on age when it came to hitching a location-tag to a Facebook or Twitter message.
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September 9, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: 2011 smartphones, advertisements, analysis data, android app, android apps, android google apps, app market, app store, app stores, apple, apple iphone, apple store, apple technology, applied research, apps, apps for android, apps store, audience, audiences, badges foursquare, best apps, best iphone, best smart phone, best smartphone 2011, best smartphones, best smartphones 2011, blog marketing, branding, business apps, business marketing, check-in, checking-in, chrome apps, consumer, creating an ap, decsion making, direct marketing, download mobile application, email marketing, feature phones, foursquare, foursquare api, foursquare badges, foursquare check-in, foursquare checkin, free android apps, free apps, free mobile application, free mobile application download, free mobile applications, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, gps locator, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, iphone 4, iphone 5, iphones, itouch apps, Kansas City, KC, location based service, location-based marketing, location-based services, making an app, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable.com, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile, mobile application, mobile application developer, mobile application developers, mobile application development, mobile application free download, mobile application software, mobile applications, mobile applications download, mobile applications downloads, mobile market, mobile marketing, mobile phone applications, mobile phone tracking, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new iphone, new technology, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, phone apps, product marketing, product reviews, public relations, purchase decision, purchase process, purchasing decisions, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, sample size, sample sizes, samsung smartphones, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, small business marketing, smart phones, smarthpone apps, smartphone, smartphone applications, smartphone reviews, Smartphones, smartphones reviews, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, the app store, the best smartphone, the washington post, tip, tips, top apps, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, viral marketing, Washington Post, washington post news, web ap, web apps, web marketing, website advertising, what is a smartphone, what is foursquare, what is research, windows mobile applications, www.washingtonpost.com | Leave A Comment »
Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
According to a recent story on CNN.com, smartphones still do not make up the majority of the U.S. market. However, we cannot ignore the value, power and influence of these mobile devices that are about to change the way we conduct business, review products, make buying decisions, and most importantly, interact with our friends.
Why smartphones still haven’t taken over the U.S. market
Smartphones may attract nearly all of the marketing hype and news coverage, but comScore’s latest statistics show that smartphones still comprise only a minority of the U.S. mobile market — about 35%, as of July 2011.
The other 65% of U.S. mobile handsets in use are “feature phones” — which tend to be much less expensive to buy and own. Often, these phones do not require a pricey two-year wireless service contract with hefty early termination fees.
Even though smartphones cost much more, these devices have been getting popular with U.S. consumers, even in light of the country’s economic recession. After all, a 35% market share is nothing to sneeze at — especially considering that smartphones have only been widely available in the U.S. for about five years.
At some point, a majority of U.S. mobile users will indeed own smartphones. But that shift won’t happen as quickly as early forecasts anticipated.
Back in March 2010, the Nielsen Company proclaimed that smartphones would overtake feature phones by 2011. Specifically, they predicted that by the end of Q3 2011 (about a month from now), most U.S. mobile users would own smartphones.
That ambitious prediction doesn’t seem to be panning out.
For over a year, comScore has been publishing monthly mobile-market-share statistics that show the percentage of U.S. smartphones. I’ve been tracking these figures. Based on this data, it looks like it’ll be roughly October 2012 before smartphones actually take over as a majority of U.S. handsets.
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September 2, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: 2011 smartphones, advertisements, analysis data, android app, android apps, android google apps, app market, app store, app stores, apple, apple iphone, apple store, apple technology, applied research, apps, apps for android, apps store, audience, audiences, best apps, best iphone, best smart phone, best smartphone 2011, best smartphones, best smartphones 2011, blog marketing, branding, business apps, business marketing, chrome apps, cnn, cnn breaking news, cnn news, cnn.com, consumer, creating an ap, cydia apps, decsion making, direct marketing, download mobile application, email marketing, feature phones, free android apps, free apps, free mobile application, free mobile application download, free mobile applications, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, iphone 4, iphone 5, iphones, itouch apps, Kansas City, KC, making an app, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable.com, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile, mobile application, mobile application developer, mobile application developers, mobile application development, mobile application free download, mobile application software, mobile applications, mobile applications download, mobile applications downloads, mobile market, mobile marketing, mobile phone applications, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new iphone, new technology, news cnn, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, phone apps, product marketing, product reviews, public relations, purchase decision, purchase process, purchasing decisions, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, sample size, sample sizes, samsung smartphones, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, small business marketing, smart phones, smarthpone apps, smartphone, smartphone applications, smartphone reviews, Smartphones, smartphones reviews, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, the app store, the best smartphone, tip, tips, top apps, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, viral marketing, web ap, web apps, web marketing, website advertising, what is a smartphone, what is research, windows mobile applications | Leave A Comment »
Posted by Micah Pratt: social networking research and development
The convergence of social media with mobile applications has led to cross promotional marketing, and if done correctly, can lead to major success. Here is an article by Krishna Subramanian from Mashable.com about eight ways to make sure your mobile application gets noticed.
8 Best Practices for Deploying a Top-Ranked Mobile App
Developing a mobile app is the easy part. Getting that app noticed is difficult. And getting the app to go viral is like winning the lottery. Yet many developers get millions of downloads time after time. How?
It’s all about app store SEO, and some developers have mastered it. Here are a few tips and tricks of the trade to help get your app to the top of heap.
Time Is of The Essence
The first two weeks of an app’s life are critical and will likely determine its future visibility in the app store. Top applications develop popularity within two weeks of release, and most applications have a tendency to drop in chart position over time. Remember, whatever you do — marketing campaigns, cross distribution and so on — the quicker you do it, the bigger the impact.
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August 24, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: 2011 smartphones, advertisements, analysis data, android app, android apps, android google apps, app market, app store, app stores, applied research, apps, apps for android, apps store, audience, audiences, best apps, best smart phone, best smartphone 2011, best smartphones, best smartphones 2011, blog marketing, branding, business apps, business marketing, chrome apps, consumer, creating an ap, cydia apps, decsion making, direct marketing, download mobile application, email marketing, free android apps, free apps, free mobile application, free mobile application download, free mobile applications, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, itouch apps, Kansas City, KC, making an app, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable, mashable news, mashable.com, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile application, mobile application developer, mobile application developers, mobile application development, mobile application free download, mobile application software, mobile applications, mobile applications download, mobile applications downloads, mobile marketing, mobile phone applications, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new technology, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, phone apps, product marketing, product reviews, public relations, purchase decision, purchase process, purchasing decisions, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, sample size, sample sizes, samsung smartphones, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, small business marketing, smart phones, smarthpone apps, smartphone, smartphone applications, smartphone reviews, Smartphones, smartphones reviews, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, the app store, the best smartphone, tip, tips, top apps, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, viral marketing, web ap, web apps, web marketing, website advertising, what is a smartphone, what is research, windows mobile applications | Leave A Comment »
Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
Today, more and more marketers are turning to online marketing programs because of the noticeable role that peers play in consumers’ purchasing desicions. What many of these interactive marketers are failing to realize is the volume of social data created by the influence of peers in purchase decisions. Here is an article by Nate Elliott, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, about how to effective utilize social data.
HOW TO: Utilize Social Data More Effectively
Last year, American consumers posted more than a billion opinions about products and services online, according to data collected by my company. With peer influence playing such a prominent role in consumers’ purchase decisions, it’s no surprise many interactive marketers are tapping into that influence via viral marketing programs and influencer outreach.
However, the vast majority of marketers ignore the staggering volume of social data all this influence creates. And those who do study social data typically use it for the wrong reason: to measure the brand impact of their marketing campaigns.
Social Data Is Often Based On Small Sample Sizes
With so many opinions posted online, you might assume it would be easy to find a reliable sample of data to analyze for brand impact. But even popular consumer brands often find it difficult to collect usable social data.
For instance, I recently reviewed a listening report for a global sporting goods brand — one that sponsors leading teams and athletes around the world and has strong brand awareness. I was surprised to see that the brand was mentioned in social media only a few hundred times each week in the U.S., and less than 100 times each week in other key markets around the world.
To make matters worse, the low quality of many social sentiment analysis tools reduces sample sizes further. When listening tools can’t decide whether comments are positive or negative, they’re usually labeled as having “no sentiment.” Three-quarters of the mentions for this brand were tagged as such, leaving less than two-dozen weekly usable posts in some markets.
If you asked your market insights team or your survey provider to analyze 25 consumer survey responses, they’d tell you it’s impossible to find statistical significance in such a small sample. The same standards must be applied to social data as well.
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August 4, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: advertisements, analysis data, applied research, audience, audiences, blog marketing, branding, business marketing, buy decsion, consumer, consumer behaviour, consumer reports review, consumer reports reviews, consumer research, consumer review, consumer reviews, consumers, creators, data mining, data mining is, decsion making, direct marketing, email marketing, Forrester Research, Google, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, Kansas City, KC, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable, mashable.com, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mining data, mobile marketing, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, product marketing, product reviews, public relations, purchase decision, purchase process, purchasing decisions, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, sample size, sample sizes, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, small business marketing, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technology research, trends, Twitter, twitter marketing, viral marketing, web marketing, website advertising, what is research | Leave A Comment »
Posted by: Micah Pratt
Here is a podcast from Valerie Jennings, entrepreneur and CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing.
“Hi this is Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing. I want to offer a few tips about how you can use social media to protect your brand, build awareness on the Internet and drive traffic to websites like your blog or primary company website or even a landing page. Some of the things that we look at are competitor analysis reports, so that we can see how competitors are appearing on the Internet in comparison to some of our clients. Additionally, we try to make sure that we have all of the holes plugged as far as having a Twitter account, Facebook page and do they have their LinkedIn site set up properly. These are some simple things you can do as a business owner to make sure that you have all of your social networking sites reserved so that a competitor does not try to take the name or hijack your brand.”
Click below to listen to the rest of Jennings’ tips on how to use social media to protect your brand and drive website traffic.
July 29, 2010 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: analysis business, awareness, blog, blog image, blog marketing, boy blog, brand identity, brand marketing, brand name, branding, business advertising, business marketing, business research, companies website, company website, company website design, competitive analysis, competitive intelligence, competitor, competitors, d blog, des blog, design company website, email marketing, facbook, facebok, Facebook, facebookcom, faceboook, fail blog, Google, hear video, industry research, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, Kansas City, KC, LA, LA Times, les blog, linkdin, LinkedIn, listen video, Los Angeles, market research, market research jobs, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing blog, marketing branding, marketing campaign, marketing communications, marketing companies, marketing research, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, media marketing, net blog, New York, New York Times, NY, online advertising, online blog, online brand, online marketing, podcast, press release, press releases, product marketing, public relations, radio podcast, search engine marketing, search engine optimisation, search engine optimization, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, skyblog, social marketing, social media and marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, strategic analysis, target audience, to video, trends, Twitter, twitter marketing, video, video podcast, videos, viral marketing, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, watch video, web design company, web marketing, website advertising, website design, website marketing, youtube video | 2 Comments »
Valerie Jennings 
Cassie Stubs
Katie Stumpf
