8 Reasons You Need to Stop Ignoring Twitter

There have been many articles written about why to use Twitter, and we've certainly published our fair share of them. However, the landscape is constantly changing. New trends, ideas, applications, and features come out, and they further emphasize Twitter's place in said landscape. Following are some reasons why it is becoming increasingly important to marketers.

Still not convinced Twitter is useful? Tell us why not.

1. Twitter Lists

Twitter Lists are changing the game. We recently looked at several reasons why, but also consider that with the Lists gadget, your tweets may appear all over the web if you can get onto lists. They will appear on sites and blogs, which are more than likely going to be related to the niche you are in anyway if you have the right audience on Twitter.


2. The Openness of Twitter

The openness of Twitter, social media and the web in general, pretty much means that your messages on Twitter won't be limited to your Twitter audience. Facebook and other social networks will bring tweets in. People will share them, screenshot them, link to them on blogs, etc. Twitter is a means of getting your message out to more people, but it's not necessarily only the people on Twitter that will see those messages.

3. Building Valuable Relationships


Laura Fitton, the author of Twitter for Dummies, chalks up success on Twitter to four basic concepts: listen, learn, care, and serve. Basically, if you listen to the community, you will learn, and if you show that you care, you are more likely to get more out of your efforts. Serving means providing something of use to the community. If you what you're not doing that, you may be setting yourself up to fail, as Fitton talked about in this interview with WebProNews.

4. Traffic That Cares

Twitter can bring you not only random traffic, but traffic from people who are actually passionate about the niche that you are a part of. Retweets are huge in this regard. Guy Kawasaki calls retweeting the sincerest form of flattery. He has a point. He notes that people are willing to risk their reputations by retweeting your content.

5. Staying Current

Being found in Twitter searches (not to mention real time search in general, which is starting to become a main area of focus for all of the big search engines, not to mention all of the standalone real-time search sites) provides a lot of opportunity for exposure. We discussed this here and gave tips for getting found in real-time searches.

6. Connecting with Local Customers

There are a variety of ways you can connect with local consumers and customers using Twitter and Twitter-related tools. There are tools like our own TwellowHood, which let you find Twitterers in your area, for example. Another thing to keep an eye on is Google's new Social Search. It's currently just a lab experiment, but could become more. It certainly has potential.

A recent Search Engine Land article made some good points about the potential of local marketing with this tool, which delivers Google search results based on the communities you are a part of. It draws from Google profiles, which include the networks that people are connected to (based on what any person includes in that profile). If you're not familiar with this feature, watch the following clip, and you'll understand.

7. Going International and Multi-lingual

Twitter is expanding into more languages. If you thought Twitter was important to marketing already, consider that for most of its existence, it has only been available in a couple of languages. Now it's in Spanish, and many more languages will follow. That's not only going to be huge for international and multi-lingual marketing efforts, it's going to be huge for Twitter's growth, and the more Twitter grows, the more potential customers are out there.

8. It's Still Young

Consider that Twitter is just getting started in the grand scheme of things. It's still young. There are no doubt going to be a lot more features added in the future. And don't forget about the thousands of Twitter apps that are already out there that can make Twitter useful in different ways to different people and businesses. Take some time and explore them. Fitton's site OneForty.com, which is like Yelp for Twitter apps, is pretty good for that. It has reviews, and people tell why certain helps have helped their businesses.

Did we leave some reasons out? Please share with the rest of us.

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003.

Toilet Wall Graffiti 2.0?

ogle have also launched an API that allows developers to work freely with the content created in Sidewiki. Where no comments have been made on a web page, Google may show blog results relating to that page.

The potential applications of Sidewiki are interesting and frightening at the same time. For example, I can see how it could be a useful bookmarking tool, allowing you to make notes about a web site you've found which you could refer to later. You can even embed YouTube videos in Sidewiki (take a look at the Google home page to see this in action).

It also has fantastic potential as an online collaboration tool, letting you annotate the pages on a site in conjunction with team members in a similar way to tracking changes in a MS Word document and sharing document versions via Google Docs.

BUT, (and it's a big but), I can see Sidewiki being open to abuse in a similar way to Searchwiki, Google's comment tool for search engine result pages. Searchwiki has been widely panned in the search industry because it's Notes feature has been exploited by spammers, overactive PR companies and people with a chip on their shoulder about certain web brands. Unfortunately, I see Sidewiki heading in the same direction. And fast.

Any user controlled element of a search engine is open to some level of abuse. But I don't see a huge amount of comment filtering going on yet and have already seen evidence of spamming (view the Microsoft home page with Sidewiki installed and you'll see anti-MS entries like this one).

Yes Google have a usefulness rating system in place, a Report Abuse link and are flagging some comments with the disclaímer "These entries may be less useful" but I doubt their filters will be able to keep up as Sidewiki takes off. There's also going to be the troll factor which will undoubtedly lead to the system becoming worthless if it's not carefully controlled. I've viewed Sidewiki entries on some major sites this past week and it's already starting to feel like Toilet Wall Graffiti 2.0.

Sidewiki has program policies but spammers don't care about those and trolls don't read them. Besides, one man's graffiti is another man's gospel.

Google's catch phrase for Sidewiki is: "Contribute helpful information to any web page". To that, I say: Define helpful.
About The Author
Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S.

Using Twitter And Social Media To Build Your Brand

Social media is becoming increasingly important to retailers and brands. With the meteoritic rise of Twitter, finding the right approach to successfully engaging an audience is key.

Coverage of the Shop.org 2009 Annual Summit conference continues at WebProNews Videos. Stay with WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.

In the session "Twitter and Social Media All-Stars" the panel of experts discussed the best ways to leverage Twitter.
Kevin Ranford, Director, Web Marketing, 1-800-Flowers.com
Kevin Ranford
Director, Web Marketing
1-800-Flowers.com

Denise Zimmerman, President & CSO, NetPlus Marketing, offered some guiding principles for using Twitter. Plan with a purpose in mind by engaging and adding value to conversations. Monitor feedback and expect the unexpected. Every business needs to determine their own guidelines and determine what works best.

Tracy Benson, Sr. Director, Best Buy Interactive Marketing & Emerging Media, said social media is not organized. Best Buy looks at goals and then involves other parts of the company.

Kevin Ranford, Director, Web Marketing, 1-800-Flowers.com, said when getting started in planning for social media marketing to figure out what customers want.
Alison Jeske, Senior Director, Product Management, Drugstore.com
Alison Jeske
Senior Director,
Product Management
Drugstore.com

Alison Jeske, Senior Director, Product Management, Drugstore.com, said they start small but must involve all channels of business. Manage your campaign and learn how you can expand it.

When defining a purpose, Ranford said they mainly listened to their customers and let them define it. The key is to listen and apply. 1-800-Flowers.com is now on Facebook and customers can order directly from there, which will help with the holiday season. He said by responding to customers via social media helped to tie their efforts together.

Benson said one of the lessons learned using social media is you "have to realize you can't control the conversation, you can only host it." This sometimes means taking a step back and not overdoing it. Be ready to respond to a crisis and know when to ask for help.

By Mike Sachoff - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 17:01


WebProNews Reporter/Anchor Abby Johnson contributed to this report.

FTC Orders Sears To Destroy Tracking Data

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Sears to end a program that placed spyware on customers' computers that would track their online browsing.

The company, which includes Sears and Kmart, offered online customers $10 in return for installing the tracking software.

Sears Security Issues

The FTC said the software monitored consumers' online secure sessions, including those on third party websites and collected personal information from those sessions, such as the content of shopping carts, online bank statements, prescription drug records, video rental records, library borrowing histories, and the sender, recipient, subject, and size of emails.

According to the Commission, the software also tracked some computer activities that were not related to the Internet. Only in a long user license agreement, available to users at the end of a multi-step registration process, did Sears disclose the full extent of the information the software tracked. The Commission charged that Sears failed to adequately disclose the scope of the tracking software's data collection and it violated the FTC Act.

Sears has been ordered to destroy all information previously collected and if it uses any tracking software in the future it must clearly disclose the types of data it will monitor, record, or transmit.

In addition, the disclosure must be made before installation and separate from any user license agreement. Sears must also disclose if any data will be shared with a third party.

By Mike Sachoff - Tue, 09/15/2009 - 12:16

Google’s Lobbying Expenditures Up 30 Percent YOY

Still trail Microsoft's, however
Our elected representatives might want to get used to running into Googlers around Washington. A fresh lobbying report indicates that Google’s ramped up its efforts in this area by quite a bit.

Between April 1st and June 30th, Google spent $950,000 on lobbying activities. That represents an increase of 8.0 percent compared to the $880,000 it spent last quarter, and an increase of a whopping 30.1 percent compared to the $730,000 it spent during the second quarter of 2008.



As for what Google focused on, the search giant talked to lawmakers about a number of different issues, including the regulation of online advertising, online consumer protection, health information technology, and copyright issues related to the Google Book Search settlement.

Renewable energy policies and the Smart Grid were on the company’s agenda, as well, and cloud computing was discussed several different times.

It’s probably not appropriate to worry that Google’s got too tight a hold on lawmakers’ ears and wallets, though. Jessica E. Vascellaro noted, “[O]ther tech giants still spend far more on lobbying. For example, Microsoft spent $1.9 million in the second quarter. AT&T spent $3.1 million.”
By Doug Caverly - Thu, 07/23/2009

Digital Music Sales Closing In On CDs

The majority of music sales still come from CDs, but digital music sales are making up an ever- greater share of the U.S. market, according to NPD MusicWatch.

CDs accounted for 65 percent of all music sold in the first half of 2009 compared to paid digital downloads, which comprised 35 percent of music sales. By comparison, paid digital music made up 20 percent of sales in 2007 growing to 30 percent of the music market last year.

"Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Russ Crupnick, vice president of entertainment industry analysis for The NPD Group.

"But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010."

When it comes to the unit-sales volume of all music sold, iTunes leads in the U.S. with 25 percent of music units sold, which is up from 21 percent in 2008 and 14 percent in 2007. Wal-Mart remains in the second spot with 14 percent of music volume sold at their stores and website and Best Buy ranks third.

iTunes continues to cement its lead in the digital music arena, as consumer downloads from iTunes represented 69 percent of the digital music market in the first half of 2009 followed by AmazonMP3, a distant second at 8 percent. Wal-Mart leads all sellers of CDs with a 20 percent share of the physical music market, followed by Best Buy at 16 percent and Target and Amazon tied at 10 percent each.

"The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple's success in holding that market, has increased iTunes's overall strength in the retail music category," said Crupnick.

"But the importance of the big box retailers shouldn't be dismissed, as long as the majority of music consumers continue to buy CDs."
By Mike Sachoff - Tue, 08/18/2009

Relying less on print

The majority (92%) of advertisers are using Internet advertising in their media campaigns followed by print advertising at 88 percent, according to a new LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll.

At the same time, less than half are using radio advertising (46%), television advertising (46%) and mobile advertising (39%). The Harris poll found there is a regional difference as advertisers in the South are more likely to use radio advertising (57%) and television advertising (56%) while those in the West are least likely to use both (39% each).

Among those advertisers who are using each of these types of media, there is a difference in the level of usage since last year. Three-quarters of those who use Internet advertising (74%) say they are incorporating it more often while 69 percent of those who use mobile advertising are using it more often compared to a year ago. Unsurprisingly, the largest drop is with print advertising as half (49%) of those who use it are using it less often compared to a year ago while 41 percent are using it the same amount.

Of those who use Internet advertising just 14 percent say they use it in a standalone campaign, while 54 percent say the use it in an integrated campaign with other media and 33 percent use Internet advertising in both types of campaigns equally.

Four out of five advertisers who use Internet advertising use it as a branding device (79%) and two- thirds use it to drive information gathering for an offline transaction (65%). Slightly less than three in five advertisers (58%) use Internet advertising to drive online transactions while 57 percent say the use it to promote community around their brand.

Internet users find many aspects of online advertising very annoying. The majority (80%) say they find ads that expand on the page and cover the content very frustrating while 79 percent say ads where they can't find the close or skip button are very frustrating.

Three-quarters of consumers (76%) find Internet ads that automatically pop up very frustrating while two-thirds (66%) say ads that open if they are "moused over" are very frustrating. Three in five consumers find both animated ads that automatically start playing and ads that play music and/or have loud soundtracks to be very frustrating (60% for both).

"Although the trend among advertisers is clearly towards the Internet, advertisers have to walk a fine line," the study concludes.

"At least three in five consumers are very frustrated with six of the main Internet advertising characteristics, and there is the potential to see a backlash forming. To be successful, those that advertise on the Internet will need to come up with more engaging ways to connect with consumers."

Facebook Talks new Privacy Features

Facebook Talks new Privacy Features

They're Not Just About Privacy, But Relevancy as Well

WebProNews just sat in on a conference call and webcast with Facebook, where the social network's upcoming changes to privacy settings were discussed. These were designed to give users more control over what they share with whom. Are you looking forward to privacy changes with Facebook? Share your thoughts.

The features were discussed a bit last week, but were elaborated much more in this discussion. The company made clear up front that the changes were not related to talk of a Facebook payment system, and have nothing to do with advertising or info that Facebook will make available to advertisers. Users still have control over what info is shared with advertisers.

Facebook says its mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. The new privacy controls enhance this and will allow people to share with as narrow or as broad of an audience as they want.



Facebook discussed the new features as broken down into three principles:
1.Control

2 Simplicity

3 Connecting

The changes were initiated by pain points that users made known to the company. The company acknowldged that privacy settings can add up and pile up over time, and not always be as clean a process as one would like. They wanted to simplify this.



Control

Facebook says when people can easily control the audience, they share more and more meaningfully. There is definitely something to that statement. It's a relevancy issue just as much as it is a privacy one. Certain status updates may be more appropropriate for a certain group of people.


Facebook has removed regional networks. The company says that these generated a lot of confusion and reduced user control. People were joining networks that they were not sure who all was in. It is a fragmented user experience. They say something like 50% of people don't even join them. They also said the concept doesn't really fit into the new model.

Simplicity
The new settings make privacy more simple. You can choose between the same set of privacy options throughout different features. There is a single set of privacy controls wherever you are on the site. If you make a change in one place, it stays consitent throughout the entire site. There will be a universal lock icon (as shown in the top image), so that you always know where you can adjust settings. They are consolidating six different privacy pages. For each setting, there is a question mark so you can tell exactly what each thing is for.



As far as sharing options, you can: 

- share with everyone

- share with friends and authenticated networks

- share with friends of friends

- share with your friends (like always)

- customize who all you are sharing with when you have specific pieces of content for sharing with a specific audience

Connecting

During the connecting part of the dicussion, they talked about the transition period, which is definitely important, considering how upset some users got after the big redesign of Facebook.

They are testing six different transition tools that users will see when the settings roll out. Basically, the company is just testing different ways to give users the ability to opt in to settings. They want to make sure that people really understand the changes that are happening.

When Facebook rolls them out, users will sign on to the site, see a transition tool, then they will be asked about settings. Once they provide their preferences, they will get a confirmation. Of course, settings will always be able to be adjusted on a post-by-post basis via the publisher box.

With regards to the "everyone" option, this is divided into two distinctions - minors and adults.

The new privacy settings and controls are still in the testing stages and will be rolling out soon. You're probably wondering if info will be indexable by search engines. Facebook says "It's certainly something we've talked about, but it's not like that at this time."

By Chris Crum - Wed, 07/01/2009 - 13:09

Alt Text 21: Snarking Validation
Added: Feburary 24, 2009
Have you ever suspected you're the only intelligent person on the planet? If only there were some way of proving it so that you can get the adulation and free beers you deserve.