With any new media there is always concern and uneasiness regarding its use, but the growth of digital has now surpassed this child-like stage, where more brands are now choosing to allocate a larger percentage of their budgets towards the use of digital media over the use of traditional media than ever before. According to the Digital Media and Marketing Association “The outlook for the South African digital publishing industry is positive with excellent results being recorded in the first quarter of 2010.”

It can therefore no longer be said that digital is an ‘add on’ to a brand strategy due to its rapid growth over the last few years. Digital should be seen as a viable platform; just like that of television and newspapers and just like with any other platform the selection for a brand will ultimately depend on the overall objectives determined within the strategy. A brand should thus always utilise a media neutral approach.

If digital does however work for the brand there are various advantages of its use. Digital can be updated and changed whenever necessary, unlike that of traditional media, so if there is an issue with a website for example, it can be fixed almost immediately. Secondly, the concept of instant links back to the world of digital and directly correlates with the ideals of the new consumer who ultimately thrives on instant gratification.  Digital media is also much more measurable in terms of reporting, as information is more freely available and through Google analytics for example information is collected and organised almost immediately.

There are many other digital tools for tracking and measuring data and many can be utilised free of charge, making it a lower cost medium in terms of measuring. Lastly, digital is more focused on Return on Investment (ROI), however it is vital to ensure what the set criteria is in order to achieve that success. According to Ahmed and Tunnah, who are both involved in large corporate digital endeavours “If you don’t have clear criteria for success and a way to measure your progress against them, there’s no way you can be deemed to succeed.”

Conclusion

Digital should no longer be seen as an ‘add on’ to a strategy, because it has gone through a rapid growth over the last few years.  It should however be viewed as a platform, whereby it is selected so as to achieve specific objectives. A brand should never just push digital to fit into a specific message, as this will simply result in wasted time and limited results. Digital offers many advantages over the use of traditional media and therefore if it is determined that digital media is relevant in achieving the objectives, the desired goals must be identified so as to measure the brands overall success.                                                                   

  How does your brand operate?

Have you used digital as an ‘add on’?

Are you operating in a media neutral way?

First of all let’s look at your newsfeed.

This has been made more efficient by removing both Top Stories (which showed the most popular topics) and Most Recent (which placed news in chronological order). The newsfeed now puts up one stream of all the stories relevant to the time they were posted, and according to Facebook “News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff.”

Facebook has increased the character limit for status update s from 420 to an impressive 5,000 meaning that brands now have the chance to say more than ever before. There are also bigger pictures in your newsfeed and you can mark stories as top stories meaning that Facebook will automatically put similar stories at the top of your newsfeed.

What is the ‘Ticker?’

Ticker allows the user to link up with friends in real-time whereby you can see immediate updates and join in conversations at any time as the news feed seems to lag in terms of immediacy. The ticker has now created the ability for you to ‘listen in’ on conversations that were meant to be private with people you may not even know (i.e. friends of friends).

What are Smart Lists?

Smart Lists allow the user to create lists based on certain aspects of an individual’s profile for example your family, school, university and so on. Once an individual in the list updates their profile or posts a comment, the list will indicate the total number of new posts by that group of people.

What about my privacy?

It is important to note that through the addition of the ticker, it is now easier for people  to view pretty much everything you post, like or add. You can limit this by changing your privacy settings to “friends only” or “custom” lists. These settings can be accessed either through the privacy setting in the top right corner of your post or at the top right corner of your page. Remember that with the new Facebook, everything you do will be shared immediately to your newsfeed so be careful when authorising various apps, and make sure you understand and are aware of your privacy settings.

According to an article by Alexandra Reid “If you’re friends with a prospect on Facebook, what you’re watching, reading and listening to, and even what locations you check into, can impact their perception of you professionally and damage business relationships.”

An important aspect you should however take note of is secure browsing. According to Carl “By default, Facebook sends your access credentials in the clear, with no encryption whatsoever. Switching to HTTPS is important because a browser extension called Firesheep has made it especially easy for anyone sharing your open wireless network—at cafe or conference, for example—to sniff your credentials and freely access your account.”

In order to change this, it is important to go to your account settings, select the security setting and enable the secure browsing option.

What should brands be aware of?

With Facebook’s new social plugin it is now possible to drive additional traffic to your site. The social plugin is installed on the businesses website and must then be permitted access by a Facebook member. Each time a user visits the businesses website a notification (stating that the page has been read) can be returned back to Facebook whereby a post will be shared on the users’ wall, and newsfeed. This facility is available to developers via Open Graph

A new button referred to as the ‘Subscribe Button’ could also assist in benefitting brands and their engagement with consumers (followers). The subscribe button allows the individual to subscribe to updates by public figures of the brand, who can share posts for the individuals who have subscribed. Additionally the brand can subscribe to regular influential visitors assisting in mutual relations. The subscribe button shares similar resemblance to the follow button on Twitter and works in a similar way.

The Ticker can be used to a brands adavntage as long as a brand has a cohesive strategy whereby updates are placed thoughtfully and interaction with consumers is relevant. Brands need to create relevant, consistent and interesting stories so as to keep the user interested and willing to engage regularly with the brand.

Conclusion

According to SodaHead a public opinion forum, 86% of users are against the Facebook changes with many saying that Facebook is overloading the user with too much information from both the Newsfeed and Ticker, being compared to a kind of Twitter feed, but it’s important to remember that “We are its product, not its customers,” says Andrew Brown editor of Cif belief, with its customers actually being the advertisers.

“As companies increase their social media marketing budgets to encompass almost 20% of their entire marketing budgets (in the US), and with online advertising comprising another 15% of marketing budgets (in the US), LinkedIn and other social media sites are vying for a potential third of marketing budgets over the next few years” - Neal Schaffer : ‘Social Media Today’.

LinkedIn Statistics:

LinkedIn has grown considerably to become one of the most important social networking sites. Stats indicate that:

• LinkedIn is the fastest professional networking site.
• LinkedIn now has 101 million members worldwide (LinkedIn Ad Platform: 2011 Stats).

The main difference of LinkedIn (from Facebook):

• It is a platform created as a closed and trusted networking site for business professionals.
• Its main targeted market is in the hearts and minds of the professional demographic.
• Compared to Facebook (described as the center of consumer culture for businesses), LinkedIn concentrates on establishing professional relationships between businesses.

Three main LinkedIn benefits (for your business):

With LinkedIn competing for the attention of businesses to include it as part of online strategy, they have number of nifty features that set them apart from other social networking sites.

• LinkedIn Company Pages

Competitors such as Facebook have recently upgraded their company/business page platform, and so has LinkedIn with the ‘enhanced’ company pages (announced November 1, 2010). These LinkedIn Company pages are more customizable (able to add Twitter feed, Office location map, add Blog feed & Careers tab) although not as extensive as FBML customisation from Facebook.

LinkedIn also allows users to “Recommend” company products and services (opposite of “Like” – on Facebook), add comments to the recommendations, and see who in their network made what company recommendations.

Example of well optimized LinkedIn company page below

• LinkedIn Groups

The LinkedIn Groups, compared to Facebook Groups for example; offer more significant engagement with the professional community as there is plenty of room for discussions, and sharing the discussions among industry leaders not like the small status update boxes on the Facebook groups platform.

LinkedIn Groups also have the ability to send daily and weekly digests which Facebook Pages lack. This therefore creates even more engagement from Group members.

However, the main problem with LinkedIn Groups is that they are a private world: Unless you were a member of that Group you couldn’t see inside it – although this may change soon with the talks of LinkedIn Groups being given the option to make them ‘public’ or ‘private’.

• LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn has their own Pay-Per-Click advertising in 3 types: Banner Ads, Media Box Ads and Direct Ads.  Neal Schaffer from ‘Social Media Today’ states that we must always bear in mind that: “Facebook has companies and LinkedIn has professionals (professional demographic)” – so when targeting your ad audience it is important to consider this.

Other features to look at once you have created your company page on LinkedIn include the “Follow Us on LinkedIn” button and a host of Applications that may be added to your page (these will be discussed in our next blog post).

For more LinkedIn reading visit:

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/nealschaffer/252062/linkedin-vs-facebook-business-2011-battle-begins : [LinkedIn vs. Facebook for Business in 2011]

http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/2010/09/linkedin-demographics-and-visitor-statistics : [BooleanBlackBelt LinkedIn Stats]

http://www.slideshare.net/amover/linked-in-demographics-and-statistics-2011 : [LinkedIn Ad Platform: 2011 Stats]

I know what you are thinking – and the answer is Yes!! I am lazy to write a blog that some of you may not have time to thoroughly read through. Besides, like Mani Karthik says, “SEO is not always serious stuff you know” (I also took the liberty of adding a short explanation to the terms in each cartoon: For my non-SEO folk). Enjoy

Happy Birthday

Keywords and phrases strategically placed and crafted into your website can significantly boost your ratings in search engine results

Rankings

SEO is no longer about ranking anymore. The significance of ranking has disappeared with the use of personalized search, universal search, real-time search and local search in the SERP’s. Search Optimisers are crazy about this factor, often worrying about drop in their rankings for competitive keywords.

Changed Algorithm

Search engines like Google are frequently changing their ‘algorithms’ that can help your site rank number 1 for targeted keywords. Just imagine there was an algorithm to get to heaven?! – a constantly changing one at that.

No Follow

Basically the No-Follow attribute instructs the search engines how they should value a particular link, in this case not to index the link.

Socialitis

Not only Search Engine Optimisers suffer from “Socialitis” – addicted to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr).

Click here to see more SEO cartoons. Props Mani Karthik for insipiring this blog with his blog post.

Current local (South Africa) trends show that:

• There are ten million mobile Internet users in SA (Five million PC Internet users in SA)
• One in six Google searches in SA originates off a mobile device.
• In South Africa about 40 percent of mobile phone users have WAP-enabled phones.
• The top Mobile Applications currently in South Africa are: Mxit – with 15 million+ users – and Facebook.
• Mobile search and eCommerce will be a large area of growth in 2010.

In short, this indicates an importance for businesses to target mobile searchers and users of mobile applications.

Some of the best Mobile Site examples I can give include BBC, the Goal mobi site, and College Humour (N/B: “these examples obviously look better on your mobile phone – feel free to suggest your favourite mobile sites below“).

However, when creating a Mobile Site it is also imperative to build and optimise the Mobile Sites so it is user-friendly and accessible on the Mobile Web.

Mobile Design and SEO Best Practices
When designing a Mobile Site one aspect to consider is that one must understand that mobile searchers/users are different from PC searchers/users. In order to cater for Mobile users designers must:

• Provide an elegant experience by considering whether individuals possess a smart phone (for example an iPhone with fully featured web browsing) or a standard mobile phone (with stripped site features).
• Consider that phones are not used like PC’s – users are usually on the go therefore the site should be more goal oriented – Relevancy and Simplicity is key.
• Mobile designs are to conform to the new W3C standards in order to create mobile-friendly style sheets (CSS).
• Mobile Sites must be small, lightweight and fast-loading site – (< 20kb / page).
• Consider User Agent Detection –  this is another form of transcoding which takes into consideration the type of mobile phone an individual uses to search and provides more uniform browsing experience for various device types.

Once the Mobile Site has been built, Mobile SEO steps can now come into play. These include:

1.    Validating the page with the .Mobi Validator or the W3C Validator
2.    Following ‘traditional’ on-site  SEO Best Practices such as:

• Major keywords in the title tagging
• H1′s and body text
• Rich keyword Meta Titles and Descriptions
• Keyword-rich anchor text for internal links

3.    Mobile Search results tend to reflect ‘Local Search results’ – your site must be optimized for local type searches. Also submit your business info to local directories making sure your site is verified and included in sites like Google’s Local Business Center.
4.    Get the Mobile Site spidered and indexed – submit to major search engines:

• Google Sitemaps
• Yahoo! Submit Your Mobile Site

In short, the above Mobile Design and SEO factors are to be strongly considered when building a Mobile Site. These aspects help provide a solid Mobile Site foundation for your Mobile Campaign or Strategy. For further Mobile Campaign or Strategy enquiries, visit our Virtuosa website.

Google Buzz has surprised many experts who thought Google would never make it in the social media world. In the past Google suffered embarrassing setbacks with their attempts at creating a rival to Facebook and Twitter. Google Friend Connect and Orkut never really left the ground but Google Buzz shot into outer space.

The growth of the newest challenger to the social media crown has been phenomenal. According to statistics released by Google, just after the launch on the 9th of February 2010, there have been over 9 million posts and comments in about 56 hours, amounting to around 160,000 posts and comments per hour.

Google Buzz also generated big shock waves in mobile phone market. Google revealed that over 200 mobile check-ins per minute, nearly 300,000 mobile check-ins per day. The key to this success is the fact that Google Buzz is embedded into Gmail.

Gmail has millions of users around the world and by putting the Google buzz tab just under the inbox tab; Google applied a very innovative idea. When a user logs into their Gmail account they are greeted by a Google Buzz tab. The system is almost similar to Twitter the greatest difference is its integration to Gmail.

Many Gmail users find the system very convenient, when they open their e-mail account, they can quickly read the newest mail and won’t have to leave the account to create a social media post. Twitter, Flicker, Picasa and Google Reader can also be connected to the system. You can share pictures but this will be saved at Picasa. The most convenient aspect of Google buzz is that you don’t have to set it up if you have a Gmail account.

Key Features

• Simple interface
• No set up required
• Social media integration
• E-mail integration

Initially there were major privacy concerns. The system had an auto follow function where a user automatically followed people he regularly sent e-mails to. According to Ben Parr Co-Editor of Mashable “the auto follow function can let people figure out your email habits.” Google has changed this to an auto suggested model. This allows you to control who you follow. Another concern is that your inbox can be flooded by Buzz spam.

There are clear indications that Google Buzz is already taking some market share from Twitter and Facebook. People are spending more time on their Gmail accounts than before and this is surely taking some time from Twitter and Facebook. The Buzz threatens Twitter and Facebook’s ad revenue. Advertisers are certain to be impressed with the reach that Google Buzz has.

The future of Google Buzz will depend on how it is going to react to upgrades by the two social media giants. Some predict there is going to be a major dog fight between the three networks. If this fight gets very intense Google buzz will be the last network standing. Google has immense resources and will be able to match any upgrade. Google has been salivating for some time now at the prospect of properly sinking its teeth into the social media world. It has shown great determination at penetrating the social media realm overcoming numerous setbacks. Like a hungry dog biting into a bone it won’t let go of its new grip on social media.

What Influences The SEO Landscape Today? talks about how quickly our online world has changed and the role that SEO still plays. If you are finding it hard to stay ahead and don’t know too much about how Social Media is integrated these days, then I suggest you have a read. Enjoy.

Just the other day I came across a site that had a serious drop in its Organic traffic and this got me thinking of strategies that could be used help the site recover from this slump in Search visits.

Anywoo, I thought I’d write a short blog – (well 3 short tips to think about actually) – that you can employ in order to Increase Organic Search Engine Traffic to your site.

1. Choosing keywords –Choose your keywords wisely and implement them correctly. Get a mixture of longtail keywords as well with your niche keywords. Longtail keywords drive some major traffic to your site if focused on over the long term.

According to SEOWizz, “Carry out a keyword search using each variation to find more low competition longtail keywords … depending on the niche keywords, start writing and incorporate the longtails NATURALLY”.
WHY:
• 75% of all search’s are longtail keywords
• 20% of search’s everyday are completely unique to Google’s algorithm

The right keywords on your site creates powerful content that can be crawled and searched by search engines more efficiently – therefore giving better Search Engine Results Positioning (SERP’s).

2. Optimised Copywriting & Keyword Density – One method to increase traffic to your site through organic traffic is by having your copy re-written and optimised with the keywords you would like to target for that page. Bearing in mind that a web page can only be optimised for no more than 2 – 3 keywords (your primary, secondary and tertiary keywords), make sure you add unique content in your copy for your site as possible.

Other simple strategies to consider in your copy include:
• Header tags for your page titles (include your keyword)
• Linking keywords to other relevant pages on your site
• Bolding of important keywords on the web page

Click the image below to see an example of a Perfectly Optimised Web Page by SEOmoz

3. Analyze your competitors sites – It is vital that you take a look at the keywords that your competitors are ranking high for. The keyword tool you can use for this is the Google External Keyword Tool. This may give you an idea as to other keywords that you may have missed out in your research.

It would also be advisable to find your current position in the major search engines. Analysing your competitors ‘result positioning’ – SERP’s – on search engines compared to your positioning not only allows you to draw up a real-time comparison between you and the competitor, but will help you get a clear idea of where you rank for keywords compared to you competitor.

Note: I always think of it as a chance to be motivated or seat back a gloat at your competitors SERP’s.

Last thoughts: Always remember that a web page can only be optimised for no more than 2 or 3 keywords, and as SEOWizz says, “anymore than that and you’re simply giving your page too much work to do”.

For more resources on Increasing Organic Traffic, read:
• SEOWizz: Increase Organic Search Engine Traffic The Easy Way
• SEOMoz: URL Rewriting – Increase Organic Traffic By Using Dynamic URLs That Look Static

Anywoo, I finally stumbled across this comprehensive article by SEO-INRA titled “Want me to follow you on twitter?…10 Reasons I Won’t !”

This definitely sums up some of the reasons why *I* also would not follow some Twit peeps and allows you to look at your Twitter account in retrospect and get tips on how to improve on your content and followers.

Here are some of the tips that i found interesting:

To read the rest of this article by SEO-INRA click here.

To the non-twitters the idea that anything of value can be said in 140 characters or less might seem ridiculous. But it was twitters that kept the world informed about the atrocities that were taking place in Iran; tennis lovers, through Twitter feeds, kept abreast of how the drama unfolded at the Wimbledon final, Michael Jackson fans were updated on how the funeral proceedings went on ‘tear by tear’. I mean even dogs now have twitter pages. Dont believe me – twitter ZaDog (although it still puzzles me how that dog learnt how to spell the word “woof”).

But what most Twitter users don’t understand is that in as much as it about whom you follow, it’s about how many people follow you. To put it plainly in Joe-the-plumber language, you may follow a million people but it’s no fun having two people following you.

During my daily ‘Googlage’, I came across some interesting twitter statistics on HotelMarketing site on its 11.5 million users and how people are using it.

• 72.5% of all users joining during the first five months of 2009.
• 85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update/day
• 21% of users have never posted a Tweet
• 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people.
• 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity
• New York has the most Twitters users, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco and Boston; while Detroit was the fast-growing city over the first five months of 2009
• More than 50% of all updates are published using tools, mobile and Web-based, other than Twitter.com. TweetDeck is the most popular non-Twitter.com tool with 19.7% market share.
• There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%)
• Of the people who identify themselves as marketers, 15% follow more than 2,000 people. This compares with 0.29% of overall Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people.

You can view the full report at Sysomos.

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