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Mar 18 2013
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Digital Marketing, Google, Influencers

Google Reader Added to the List of Dead Google Products

Photo Courtesy of: Slate

Google recently announced it will be discontinuing its Google Reader July 1, 2013. This has caused a lot of angry response from Industry Early Adopters/Influencers; one group even started a petition to save it.  Many people rely on using a reader to stay current on the topics trending in social media and digital marketing. There are many other readers out there, and some of them like Feedly, offer a seamless transition from Google Reader to their product. However, this is not the point.

The point is, Google is causing many people to wonder if it is worth using their products in the first place in fear that they will be discontinued. By taking action like this, Google is diminishing the trust of their users. Since 2011, 70 features or services have been eliminated. Slate created a Google Graveyard full of tombstones for all of their discontinued services pictured here. You can leave a flower for your favorite product on their website.

What this means for the internet marketing agency is it is more important than ever to be sure your digital platforms are diversified. This is also wise from purely a portfolio standpoint, but a lesson should learned that online platforms are in indeed transient.

 

Google Reader’s death sentence and fear of what’s next 

 

 

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Mar 15 2013
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Digital Marketing, Facebook, Search Engine, Twitter

Facebook’s Potential Adoption of Hashtags a Bid for Ad Revenue

facebook-hashtagsSocial media giant Facebook is reportedly planning to co-opt the use of hashtags, a search trademark of their rival Twitter. The move has the potential to put the two social networks in direct competition for advertising dollars from social media marketing services.

Facebook is now testing a new feature that would allow users to click on hashtags in posts, which would send them to a page where content and discussion utilizing the hashtag would be grouped. This is similar to how Twitter currently integrates hashtags into their search functions.

The new Facebook feature is notable for its integration into the Graph search function, which allows users to search their social networks in very specific terms. The Graph search currently uses Facebook likes to catalog and deliver results, but this is flawed because users like posts and content on an impulse or whim, or out of social obligation. Hashtag use, and therefore  search, signals a more deliberate use of the term, and is more valuable to digital marketing companies seeking high ROI.

Facebook is making a play for the audience’s eyeballs during live or ongoing events, like The Superbowl, NBA Finals, or the Grammys. However, the major hurdle Facebook would have to clear is its own privacy settings. Unlike Twitter, many users keep their posts private or contained to their personal networks of friends, and therefore wouldn’t show up in a hashtag search. It means that the public posts that would show up would only be a very small portion of the conversation actually happening on the platform.

Facebook Hashtags: a Play for Real-Time Ad Dollars

Photo by Mike Cogh

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Mar 07 2013
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Digital Marketing, Google, Social Network

Google+ Updates Visual Layout

5920040910_242ec1dd3cThe latest update from Google+ brings several revamps to the visual layout of the social network. Google+ already allowed a big cover photo to match Facebook’s new Timeline layout, but this new layout will allow even larger pictures. Users can now use an image that is up to 2120 by 1192 pixels. That is a very large image. For brands this is good news because it allows the first image to be more eye appealing and because the image is chosen by the brand it allows the best foot forward as the initial impression.

Google+ is now placing all local reviews in one handy spot on the profile page. Under the tab “Reviews” local users will be able to easily see all the reviews for the brand.  The final review is a change to hovercards. A hovercard is the image that appears when the mouse is hanging over an avatar. The hovercard is now larger and because the image is controlled by the brand this can be a help. The hovercard is also a place for launching certain functions, like initiating a hangout. This will help brands appeal to people when there is only tangential relationship between what the user is looking at and the brand.

Google+ Launches Updated Profile Pages With Larger Cover Photos, Revamped Local Reviews & About Tabs.

Photo by west.m

 

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Feb 27 2013
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Ads, Digital Marketing, Yelp

YP Is A Surprise Leader in Mobile Advertising

5663152018_d6f3ca5060YP, formerly AT&T Interactive, released a press announcement that in 2012 it earned over $350milion in revenue from its mobile advertising exchange. The firm then proclaimed that was the second largest mobile advertiser in the industry. That is probably not true as Facebook should be the number two spot after Google. However the size of the revenue is shocking and it does point to YP as a potential serious contender.

This is good news for the digital public relations firm. Mobile advertising will be a future place for growth and having the options limited to Google and Facebook should give some firms pause. The two are often not in competition so the agency is not able to play one firm’s pricing structure off of the other. Another contender to play off of Google will help the digital public relations firms control prices. This is important to help encourage new clients take the leap into mobile advertising. It is also important to note that YP does use geotargeting methods, so it is on the cusp of the new methods.

YP: Our Mobile Ad Network Second Only To Google

Photo by Majiscup – The Papercup & Sleeve

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Feb 25 2013
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Digital Marketing, Social Network, Twitter

Twitter Reducing Some Tweets to 117 Characters

Twitter Twitter is changing how URLs are represented in tweets and this change increases the length of the link wrapper that Twitter uses to display URLs. What this means is that a longer wrapper causes a trade-off for the actual commentary of the tweet. There are now less characters available to the tweet itself.

For the digital marketing company this will make tweets harder to make. Writing will need to be denser and more concise. The reduction is not significant, the new link wrapper is only 2 characters shorter than the previous version, so it is likely to have little impact on the digital marketing company. However, approaching the new length might require new systems and possibly a thesaurus. Even though the reduction is only 2 characters it might still become an issue when the length is only 117 characters. The digital marketing company will need to be careful and extra vigilant when learning the new format.

Photo by MDGovpics

Twitter Now Reducing Some Tweets To 117 Characters

 

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Feb 19 2013
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Digital Marketing, Google, Online Advertising

Europe Set To Act Against Google

6764585321_7a93286294Four month ago European authorities issued a report about Google’s privacy policy. At issue is the bundling of Google products into a single service so Google would be able to draw from as wide a dataset as possible to counter Facebook’s walled garden. The issue is that users have little access to their data and no ability to prevent Google from acting on the data. European authorities, notably the CNIL of France, gave Google four months to reform. Monday was the end of the four-month period and now the CNIL is setting up a working group to at against Google.

Even though this action will be confined to Google products in Europe, it would be wrong for the American education marketing company to assume there will be no effect. Because of the sheer size of the European market any changes Google is forced to put into place might very well find itself over here as well. This does seem unlikely because the US market is so lucrative, but movement in European might bolster privacy advocates over here. Congressional action would be more likely using the European actions as political cover.

A possible benefit from this action, however, is Google’s response. This is a public opinion battle and if Google can seize the moment, then it can prevent punitive action from being levied. A way to do that is to make the data Google has collected seem savvy instead of an intrusion. Google could use the data to push relevant data at users and that might win them over to the data collection. Google Now is a product that can be at the forefront of this service. If that is Google’s response, then the education marketing company can expect to see a more effective method of reaching users.

Photo by Khalid Albaih

Google’s Consolidated Privacy Policy Draws Fresh Fire in Europe

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Feb 11 2013
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Digital Marketing, Reviews, Yelp

Users Seek Out Online Reviews

5584937714_c450eb6747One of the problems facing the digital agency is about the power of online reviews. It is great to receive good reviews, however, doubt about them is called into question when bad reviews start cropping up, especially reviews that are off base about the brand’s service. It may be tempting to discontinue any services that encourage online reviews. However, new data by eMarketer shows that would be a mistake.

65% of respondents somewhat trust online reviews. A brand that is missing online reviews is viewed suspiciously by many users. This is also true of brick and mortar businesses. 70% of respondents do online research and price comparisons before visiting a brick and mortar vendor. A plethora of positive review does make some people more likely to trust a brand, however that gain is minimal. Survey results show that negative reviews are better than no reviews and the brand should be consider them valuable to its marketing efforts.

Users Seek Out the Truth in Online Reviews

Photo by Margaret Ornsby

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Feb 04 2013
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Brands, Digital Marketing

Detroit Welcomes Marketing Expert C.C. Chapman

This week we welcome the influential content creator himself, C.C. Chapman to the Detroit area to provide some valuable insight on how to make things happen.

C.C. has years of professional speaking experience with a variety of companies, marketers and content creators.  He often speaks about building passionate consumer communities as well as the the strategic value of content-based marketing.

C.C. Chapman visits Detroit

In 2007, C.C. launched his own marketing agency, The Advance Guard, which he sold in 2009. He has helped create, manage and execute ambitious online and offline marketing campaigns for startups and multinationals. His clients have included American Eagle Outfitters, The Coca-Cola Company, HBO, Verizon and many others.

The keynote speaker and consultant is also a best-selling co-author to the book ‘Content Rules‘. Content Rules demystifies the idea as organizations as publishers and clearly explains how companies can create remarkable blogs, podcasts, webinars, ebooks, and other web content that lures in customers. Author C.C. Chapman will also discuss concepts from his latest book ‘Amazing Things Will Happen’  which is his guide to living a happy and fulfilling life.

There are two opportunities to see C.C. Chapman this Wednesday, February 6th:

  • Conor O’Neill’s Celtic Room in Ann Arbor with LA2M
  • 318 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • 11:45am – 1:00pm
  • FREE ($3 suggested donation)
  • MotorCity Casino Hotel (21+) in Detroit with SMCD, BCU & MCC
  • 2901 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201
  • 6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • $10 (first 200 people receive a free hardcover copy of his new book!)
  • Purchase advance tickets here

For more information, please check out C.C.’s website at http://www.cc-chapman.com/ and follow him on Twitter @cc_chapman.

 

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Jan 21 2013
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Digital Marketing, Facebook, Uncategorized

SEO for Facebook’s Graph Search

Even though it has only been a few days, Facebook is already releasing some tips for the brand that wants to be seen more often in Facebook’s Graph Search. One thing that is important to note is that having a Facebook page is not necessary to be in the results of this search. If a person has created a Page for a brand or location, then that data will be searchable. This means it is best for the brand to control its own information by maintaining a page. This can be a huge selling feature for the digital media agency as it tries to recruit new clients.

The easiest tactic to improve Graph Search results will be to make sure the About section of the brand’s Page is accurate and up to date. People will be using it as a local search option, so inputting an address will open up those searches. This is important even if the address is not important to the service rendered, such as a social media agency, because it will then come up in local searches. Interaction with content on the Facebook Page will increase the number of connections Graph Search has to draw from. More tips will come along in time, but for now the agency needs to lay down the ground work from which other SEO tips will be useful.

SEO for Facebook Graph Search? Facebook has Some Tips.

Photo Credit: JayCameron

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Jan 14 2013
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Digital Marketing, Social Media, Technology

Bit.ly Releases API

4614306718_da0d350f06Bit.ly has been making moves lately to become the premier link shortener for the internet. The service has also changed its layout to become more social. Now users can friend other users to see what links they are shortening and where they are being posted. The new design has already logged millions of users and looks to become more important in the future. Now there is an API, which allows quick access to the data about which links are being shortened, and the sorts of traffic those shortened links are generating.

The social media agency can use this API to better keep track of what is going viral and possibly use it as a way to spot a trend early in the making. One of the benefits of the API is the realtime tracking. Not only is data delivered nearly instantaneously but it is in a format that can be quickly parsed for immediate results. The new API also delivers “burst spikes” which are those sudden interests that were not expected. This is the best new feature for the michigan social media marketing firm. Now there is a way to see what is happening without having to know keywords prior to finding the data. This allows better discovery for the brand that is concerned with timeliness issues.

Bit.ly Releases Search API To Discover Hot Stories & Discussions

 

 

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