Search engine optimisation has become essential for any business. Every single company out there now has a website and without improving its ranking on the major search engines it might as well not exist. Putting in keywords, linking to relevant sites and trying to be the logical option for crawlers is what everyone had to consider, again in the ever changing industry there is now another big player that demands consideration, social media. Social media networking sites have become the biggest deciders when it comes to the popularity of different brands, it needs to be a top priority that the companies keep in touch with their customer base via Facebook and Twitter and now Google+ in order to keep rapport going and as a way of feeding them information. It is a way of guaranteeing customers will see the content, unlike sending out millions of emails or flyers, it is a fact that the information is going to flash up on their news feeds or Twitter accounts and they are going to be interested because that individual has ‘liked’ or ‘followed’ that company or interest.

Search engines are indexing more and more social data every minute, they are considering all of that information while they are crawling making social media a very important factor within SEO. The search engines react to the most relevant signals and the next logical development in order to get the most accurate data to the user, and this is how they identify and rank content. Looking at social signals and the content that users discuss and share is a great way for the search engines to identify the relevance of the information. Therefore implementing social media activity in to SEO is a very valuable way of increasing the rankings. The way that social networking sites are used, with individuals tweeting, blogging and commenting all has an impact on the content that they are talking about, the sites are engaging with their customers, and potential clients and interacting with the public, social media is not just about links it is about trying to get valuable content which is appreciated by search engines.

It is important that you drive traffic to your website and get your brand image known; the more relevant links that point to your website and then interesting content, the more rankings will improve. With this valuable information potential customers then link to it and share it with friends and other internet users in order to gain those essential relevant links that help to improve rankings and that hold high value within SEO; this then means that links are created to your social networking site and therefore your original website. It is this kind of social media marketing that gets something out in to the world quickly and is now one of the main players in marketing your brand. It is important to integrate a social media campaign in to your SEO strategy and to seriously consider the importance of the social media sites.

Last week saw the announcement of a whole host of new Facebook features, which will have a serious effect on the way we use the social networking site. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg personally delivered the keynote speech at the f8 conference in San Francisco. The conference is primarily aimed at developers and business partners, but the main announcements will have major implications on the way that the everyday user experiences Facebook. Zuckerberg announced changes relating to the look of the profile, social integration and a major new partnership with online music streaming service Spotify. All these changes are aimed at making Facebook an ‘entertainment hub’, where the sharing of music, film, books and games is taken to a whole new level.

Timeline – Your Personal Facebooking History

One of the biggest announcements at this year’s conference was the introduction of Timeline. Timeline is a new way of viewing one another’s profiles. It is essentially a plotted history of your time on Facebook, or, if you add more content from before you first used Facebook, a history of your life. A sample Timeline profile (available to view on the Facebook website) also shows the user’s recent music on Spotify, films on Netflix and Hulu, books read, pages liked, and more. While some of these individual elements are available to see on Facebook at the moment, but the new organisation is much more streamlined and integrated.

Ticker – An Extra Feed for the Little Things

Ticker is a feature that many users will already have noticed on their main profile page. The ticker feed has been compared to Twitter. The main point of Ticker is to provide an extra feed, so your main news feed doesn’t get clogged up with information that is of no significant interest for you. For example if someone changes a profile picture, it is likely to go into the new Ticker, as it’s not something that most people would deem to be important enough to warrant a place in your main feed. Ticker allows your main news feed to be filled with more important and relevant posts and updates.

New and Improved Spotify Integration

There were numerous internet companies that were in attendance at the f8 conference, many announcing partnerships with Facebook, but the standout development is the further integration of Spotify and Facebook. The new changes will mean that a user’s activity on Spotify is more easily visible to Friends on Facebook, as well as recognising similarities in the music choice of their friends. However, it now also means that you must have a Facebook account to sign up with Spotify.

Initial Reactions

The reception of the new and soon to be implemented changes has been decidedly mixed. Many critics feel that Facebook is trying to spread itself too thinly, rather than focusing on what it is good at: being a place to communicate with friends. The recently introduced Ticker has received criticism for further changing the profile layout, in a similar way to that of the new chat box. However, it must be remembered that many Facebook changes have been criticised, primarily due to changing a layout that users are accustomed to, but these criticisms are often forgotten once users have familiarised themselves with the new features.

More positive comments have focused on the ability for Facebook to be a ‘distribution platform’. This means that it will be easier for you to discover things you like, and the ability to pass these interests on to friends. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made a point about how friends have a big influence on our choices. He told a story about how the Netflix algorithm always told him to watch the TV show Breaking Bad, which he constantly overlooked, but when told on the new Facebook platform by a Friend to watch it, he immediately decided to do so.

Be Prepared for Big Changes

Whether you appreciate the new Facebook changes or not, it is undoubtedly one of the biggest periods of transition that the company has gone through. It will be a little while before all of the changes are implemented, but will alter the way we connect socially. These changes will also have an impact on the way advertisers use the power of Facebook. As yet the full extent of this is not known, but will likely give companies an opportunity to interact with users in whole new ways.

Super search engine Google has taken a leap forward in to the realms of social networking. Joining in with the fun of liking, digging and tweeting, Google now aims to have everyone ‘plus oneing’. The +1 button that was rolled out in March, which allowed people to like Google searches has been expanded in to more sites on the internet. The new revelation in SEO is being used on websites such as masher, Bloomberg and addthis. It hopes to expand its presence to sites like you tube and blogger in the very near future.

Google’s +1 button has been put in place to compete with the Facebook ‘like’ button. With Facebook having over 600,000,000 active users it is a force to be reckoned with, the Facebook like button has been very popular and become a global phenomenon, a second nature to most. The +1 button allows Google users to show their appreciation for a blog, a site, an object, anything on the internet that they want to share with friends. It is a quick and easy way for people to find pages that they will like, or that friends think they should ‘check out’.

Problems have already been highlighted for the new feature. Currently the webmasters like their balanced world and their social media strategy. They will need to implement the +1 button dynamically and quickly without upsetting their current social media strategies. A belief that the increasing amount of buttons with all the different uses is going to start confusing the consumer and after all, those are who we completely rely on to press the buttons and up ratings of the websites!

Clicking the +1 button publicly gives something your stamp of approval. It can help your friends, contacts and others on the web find the best stuff when they search. As the internet is now such a vast sea of information, the +1 button will refine the mass of knowledge and make searching even quicker. Social media has changed the current world, where would we be now without Facebook and Twitter? And in the grand scheme of things they have not been around for very long! So for this reason it is not a surprise that Google want to become more social.

So can Google really take on the powerful forces of Facebook? With the internet moving so quickly and the sheer impatience and thirst for current technology it is likely that they could. The majority of social networkers have now worn out the Facebook ‘like’ button so maybe they will look for something new and exciting. Google is a trusted search engine so curiosity will certainly drive people to try it out. So sit back and watch the battle of the buttons begin.

In the last five years Facebook has gathered huge momentum as one of the largest promotion platforms on the web. As a phenomenally popular site that is logged onto daily by most of its users, Facebook promises sure-fire success through its unmatched ability to target specific audiences on a grand scale. Skyrocketing profits are owed to its eminence as an advertiser, with a massive $1.86 billion collected in ad revenue in 2010 alone.

Facebook’s new sponsored story feature adds a new dimension to its established mode of advertising, which has always been positioned neatly in a separate column to the right. Sponsored stories take advantage of existing content provided by users, as a marketing leverage. The activity that appears on Facebook newsfeeds, such as application use, likes, place check-ins and status updates can be transformed into advertising opportunities. For example if a user comments that they; ‘Just had the best coffee in Starbucks with Sarah’, using place check-ins, Starbucks could then stamp their logo next to the message to reiterate their famous brand. Place check-ins also pinpoints the location of their friend’s visit to deliver a useful advertising package.

A Facebook customer support representative commented on the topic of sponsored stories, saying “We are committed to keeping Facebook uncluttered by advertising. Our goal is to only present ads that are useful and non-intrusive and we are continually working to increase their relevance.” However, some may not be pleased with adverts entering a domain that was once free from advertising. Maybe some of the success attached to Facebook lay within its clean presentation, where adverts seemed to sit gently at the side, instead of vying for attention.

Stories in a newsfeed engage a user; friends that visit a profile page are more inclined to be interested in another’s updates. A friend’s activity which is accompanied by a colourful logo reflects the fun of a storyboard. Sponsored stories also work on the notion that we tend to be lead by friends when making decisions about products. If our friends enjoyed a product or service, then we are also likely to do the same. We trust in our friends’ choices, so that the adverts they inadvertently fuel exist as reliable endorsements, we take notice of.

Promotion is never a fixed medium. It continues to branch out and cleverly evolve, in order to reach us; either through subtle infiltration or bold statements, advertising will always continue to catch our attention and influence how we part with our money.

With Facebook’s surge in popularity, MySpace, the more established of the two seems to have slowly wilted in the shadows. It seems MySpace has become obsolete as it dramatically falls out of favour. No longer trendy, especially amongst younger audiences having a MySpace rather than a Facebook profile is regarded as a serious social faux pas.

This week rumours are circulating around the web that Facebook will shutdown on the 15th of March. However, the revelations published in weeklynews.com are false. In fact it seems that it is actually MySpace that is in danger. More panic is attached to the possibility of Facebook’s demise, which speaks volumes.

MySpace is to be sold off according to its parent company News Corp Digital Media, who hope that Yahoo will take it off their hands. Five hundred staff at MySpace are being laid off, which is just under half of the company’s total number of employees, as its Australian office closes. There has been a reported loss of 165 million dollars, in just one quarter of 2010, which demonstrates how fickle audiences can be.

MySpace’s bid to revive its popularity without competing in a race it knows it cannot win is to change its focus, renaming its company as a ‘social entertainment destination’, which has been forced to diversify its offerings, rather than just existing as another waning social networking site.

MySpace seems to have lost momentum along the way, languishing while Facebook rides a new wave of enthusiasm that has engulfed the globe. It seems that MySpace took its users for granted, standing still, while Facebook gathered pace at an alarming rate.

The audiences that once visited MySpace have abandoned it in favour of Facebook and most have bypassed it altogether. MySpace’s complacency has been their downfall, as the force of Facebook prevails.

Before MySpace had a chance to realise its position, it had lost its appeal and its competitive edge. However, MySpace continues to defend its position, with figures released, such as the creation of 3.3 million new profiles, which totals up to 70 million profiles. However, this is 430 million profiles short of Facebook’s 500 million user base. Their statement seems to be a drop in the ocean.

Social networking sites have tapped into the human propensity to want to stay connected to others, made easier by the immediacy of technology. As technology consumes more and more of existence and becomes entwined with many daily activities. Conditions such as Information Deprivation Disorder arrive, which includes withdrawal to varying degrees, occurring when we are unable to access technology as frequently as we are used to.

MySpace is certainly the more colourful of the two sites, triumphing over Facebook’s blue and white colour scheme. However, the simplicity of Facebook’s design seems to be its defining attribute, as the most recognised logo, font and colour scheme to emerge from the internet.

The design for MySpace’s new logo is a step towards revamping its image, with an inventive logo that reads ‘my’ in a Helvetica font, followed by the symbol for a space. The logo requires some effort from the viewer, which immediately engages them. The space can also be filled with user generated artwork that is revealed when the cursor hovers over an area, adding a personal touch that can be as subtle or as flamboyant as the user wants. But is it enough to attract new audience levels that will get them back on top?

It seems that MySpace is a lesson in the fragility of all business; in so much as you are never out of the woods. Being the leader of a multi-million pound industry is no guarantee of sustained success.

Even before its release, on the 1st of October, the Facebook film; The Social Network has created a media hive of speculation, as it focuses on the creation of a site that is thought of as a global phenomenon in regards to web communication. Its tagline ‘You don’t get 500 million friends without making a few enemies’ highlights the sinister aspects that circulate on the site, as well as serving as an existing link to the fact that Facebook reached its 500th millionth user in July.

The movie is based on the book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, which reveals how individuals accidentally stumble upon infinite gold mines, so to speak. The movie concentrates on the young Mark Zuckerberg and the first few turbulent years of Facebook’s conception, recounted in a series of courtroom flashbacks. Facebook is not portrayed entirely positively, together with Zuckerberg who commented; “I just wished that nobody made a movie of me while I was still alive”; his reaction communicates his belief of the media’s ability to alter perception, while holding back from a direct attack that could potentially cause more detriment to an already tarnished character.

Facebook has dismissed the movie as fiction, which is ironic in a sense as the site operates on that very basis; it is used as a tool in which we perform a digital transformation of ourselves, relying upon careful editing, where photographs are used to document the highlights in life but not normally the lowlights. A movie dedicated to social networking reveals how fanciful some of the elements can be, as friend lists become indicators of social worth and updates confirmation of an interesting life. Many portrayals online create enhanced versions of reality, including the creation of alter-egos, demonstrated by avatars which point towards insecurities, as we delete our shortcomings.

According to reviews, the plot captures emotion and betrayal; these elements can be seen clearly as a presence laid out on the digital profiles of Facebook, as the development of relationships are played out in front of an audience. The notion of a film’s captive audience translates directly to the workings of Facebook, which creates a digital stage of sorts, on which real life dramas are played out in front of an eager audience. However, the difference is that Facebook allows interaction, so that an individual can become part of the action.

The Social Network is from the director David Fincher who is known for his dark films and although the content is not driven by sweetness and light, there are flourishes of humour that separate it from other Fincher films, such as Se7en, the Panic Room and Fight Club. An instant injection of cool is administered through the portrayal of Napster founder Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake; the film’s edgy feel is also reiterated by the Hollywood comments of actor Kevin Spacey, who described the film as a “great story for people that don’t really know how it happened. Very filmic, very modern, very cool”.

This is the first genre of its kind. It is surprising that the concept has not been made into a movie sooner; in a society where news stories, such as the murder of Meredith Kurtcher are controversially snapped up as a cinematic opportunity; the comparatively mild media of Facebook seems to have been left to simmer. However, with a guaranteed interest of half a billion people, who are users as well as the extension of people who know a user and few signs of waning interest, now seems the perfect time to capitalise further upon the global sensation. Just as an insatiable curiosity fuels Facebook, so does it work to attract a loyal fan base to the box office.

It has been claimed that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter now hold just as much influence on a teenager’s development as parents, peers or family.  Is this surprising?  A teenager is impressionable, willing to experiment and looking for adventure, and all this could be affected or achieved whilst sitting in front of their computer screen.  At a time when Facebook has just accumulated over 500 million users, will all the people be an appropriate ‘friend’ and should social networking be taking the place of parents and family?

Social Networking is a major sector of the technological world, with businesses, celebrities, and hundreds of millions of users online.  There is certainly a range of cultures, perspectives and information made available to users, and they can then form their own thoughts on this.  Celebrities are a big influence on teenagers and with verified accounts on Twitter, a teenager can ‘follow’ their favoured celebrity, mentioning them in posts and can ‘re-tweet’ anything they find important.  Having this connection with a celebrity is a good thing for an impressionable teenager; however can this go too far? Appreciation groups, fan pages and community pages are ever present on Facebook, and are all of them suitable for a teenager to read or even be a member of? Generally Facebook is good at monitoring these pages, and keep any unsavoury pages offline.  But does this stop them making an impression on the reader?

Is social networking helping or hindering our teenager’s development? A recent UK Strategy and Markets Development study found that teenagers spend a quarter of their time on Facebook or Twitter.  What did a teenager do pre-Facebook or Twitter, keeping people aware of what they were up to via ‘tweets’ or ‘updates’?  Now retailers are using social media to advertise their products or service, teenagers are now more than ever susceptible to online media and marketing and clearly have the time to read and digest it.    There has been an increase in the use of smart phones, which means young people can access the internet on the move, receive emails and post straight from their mobile to sites.

Facebook, Twitter and blogging have exploded in popularity surpassing Myspace, and teenagers could be seen at the centre of this.  Facebook originally created for university students has become a global phenomenon, with one of the first questions when meeting new people is no longer for a phone number but ‘Are you on Facebook?’  With such a vast network, it wouldn’t be smart for companies to ignore this.  Restaurants can put reviews up, smaller shops can try and get recognition and big companies can announce launches of new products or services.  Social media should be an integral part of any online marketing campaign as companies begin to realize the possibility of tapping into this lucrative market.

Many companies have a hard time understanding how best to use social media to promote their business online. It’s not that the principles of Facebook, Twitter and the others are difficult to grasp – they’re not – but, the real business potential can be a lot harder to fathom out. Since social media marketing works differently between businesses depending on what their aims are, there are no guarantees that what works for one will work for another.

That’s the beauty of social media, it’s flexible enough to accommodate an incredibly varied range of marketing approaches and still deliver success. It’s not a strict medium.

An uncomfortable fact of today’s commercial world is that people no longer trust messages from companies, on the whole. This makes marketing an increasingly precision process where even the most meticulously crafted promotions risk failure.

What people do trust is word-of-mouth recommendations, and this has always been the case. These recommendations come from fellow customers (or potential customers) and they come with an inherent credibility that companies can rarely match in their own communications. Social media is the biggest opportunity for word-of-mouth recommendations, well, ever. It has a worldwide span, it’s instantly accessible to anyone from anywhere, it’s permanently available, it’s accumulative and it all leads back to your door.

Word-of-mouth has grown from local to global, and it’s going on right now in tweets, Facebook posts, blogs and forums. Failure, refusal or just a straight-forward inability to get into social media for business marketing is tantamount to ignoring the latest incarnation of the most effective form of advertising of all-time. Is that something your business can afford to do?