Watch out Google – Here come’s Facebook Search

Published on June 25, 2010 by iClick Solutions. View Comments

Facebook GoogleYesterday we were searching on Facebook for the phrase “phoenix restaurant” to see what Facebook pages would show up for that phrase.  We noticed a new search result showing up in Facebook search (as shown below) that could spell trouble (or at least create a new headache) for Google.

Few would argue how powerful Google.com search is so the concept of Facebook search killing Google is a stretch. But instead start learning how this Facebook search change can be leveraged by your business as an additional opportunity for increasing awareness.

When Facebook launched the OpenGraph API at the annual f8 conference about 2 months ago, Facebook created a platform that allows sites and apps to share information about users in order to tailor offers, features and services to each one’s interests and tastes — even if that individual has never visited the site before.

Facebook Search ResultWhen you’re signed on to Facebook, participating websites like CNN.com will display information, goods and services tailored specifically to your interests — without requiring you to sign in at that website or provide it with any information.

For websites to leverage the new Facebook OpenGraph API it requires just a few lines of code added to your website.  When we 1st heard about this we immediately thought this could create new opportunities for search engine optimization.

By placing the OpenGraph code on your site, Facebook can crawl for specific information and our prediction (which is now proved to be true) off Facebook results would start to show on Facebook search.  There is a cool feature on Facebook called URl Linter and based on the example above with Yellow Pages you can see what Facebook is crawling.

This is all very exciting; however, Facebook will need to quickly improve the relevancy of results if they want people to start using Facebook search instead of Google.com. With the Yellow Pages example above if you clicked on the link it would send you to the Canada Yellow Pages showing a Phoenix Restaurant.

Facebook know’s my information (clearly from Phoenix, Arizona) so the results should only show sources that will send me to a website talking about restaurants in Phoenix Arizona.  Facebook has not officially announced this change so it is quite possible we stumbled across Facebook testing so let’s not start bashing this.

We encourage you to watch this closely to see what Facebook has in store with web search.  In addition, take the time to learn about Facebook’s OpenGraph API and how you should consider adding the Facebook meta code to your website so when (not IF) Facebook fully launches web search features your site will start showing up.  What are your thoughts around this?  Are you seeing results showing up in Facebook for non on Facebook.com results?

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How Is Social Media Working Out For You?

Published on June 11, 2010 by iClick Solutions. View Comments

Measure Social MediaSo how do you determine if the energy you and or your team members are putting into social media are proving to be beneficial to your business bottom line?  Speaking with clients many (all should) want to measure ROI of their social media campaigns but just don’t know where to start.

Businesses need to be able to determine whether or not their focus on social media is generating results and making an impact to business income.  However, when looking at “results” it is critical that the stakeholders in the organization all agree on your social media objectives.

With some businesses the objective might be increasing traffic to the website, where another business it might be to connect with customers to garner feedback about a new product or service.  Understanding the social media goal you are trying to accomplish is critical so you know if what you are measuring social media against is actually meeting or hopefully exceeding company objectives.

Before we get into what to analyze, it is also very important to understand that social media comes in a variety of flavors, each with a very different end result.  As mentioned in one of our favorite posts last year “What Results Can I Expect From My Social Media Campaign?” by Greg Finn, social media campaigns occur on social sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn where users or companies interact with others in the community.  Social media news campaigns push content out onto larger social news networking sites like Digg and Reddit.  While both of these are types of social media marketing, the results are anything but similar.

Keep in mind that if you are not measuring social media today you are not alone.  According to a 2009 study performed by Mzinga and Babson Executive Education, 84% of professionals representing a variety of industries reported that they do not measure ROI so don’t be disappointed if you currently fall into that bucket.

Measure Social Media ROI Stats

When analyzing return on investment with social media here are 3 main focus areas around social media metrics to monitor:

  1. Establish Baseline – For each of your social media profiles start out by making note of current statistics such as number of Twitter followers, how many people like your brand on Facebook, referral traffic from social media sites in Google Analytics, what is currently the most popular content on your website and or blog, monitor number of people currently subscribing to your blog, how many views you have had on your YouTube Channel, number of bookmarks on Del.icio.us, etc.
  2. Record Timelines – Keep detailed notes of important dates so when you are analyzing results you can understand why spikes happened.  With Google Analytics you can leverage the annotations feature by clicking on any specific date and noting an activity.
  3. Monitor Sales Revenue – On a month over month basis look at sales performance before you started focusing on social media and ongoing measure sales to determine ROI.  When analyzing sales drill down into individual sales details as well.  If you find that a certain product or certain geographic location is showing improvement after you dedicate more time and resources to social media analyze why so you can further improve upon results.

Now that you know what key metrics to monitor with your social media campaigns sit down with your team to agree on social media objectives and start tracking results today.  We recommend on a monthly basis update each of the key social media metrics and meet with your team to discuss results.

If you are measuring social media ROI today what kind of results are you seeing?  Are their tools you are leveraging you recommend others look into?

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Yelp Video Option Added To Business Pages

Published on June 9, 2010 by Jay Feitlinger. View Comments

Yelp VideoYelp announced a new Yelp video option this week on the Yelp company blog.  As you know, we are huge fans of leveraging video online and besides photos, videos is one of the best ways to showcase your products and services.

Video has an appeal to online audiences because we all want to “see” something before we want to “read” something. Imagine you are considering traveling to Hawaii.  Would you rather read text or watch a video of someone’s amazing experience relaxing on the beach, scuba diving, etc.

In the context of internet marketing, video can be used to enhance the consumer experience by educating the viewer about your product or services, increase your brand awareness and adding personality to your organization to help you stand out against your competition.

A video that demonstrates how a product works, with customer reviews, would give you that extra credibility that you can help solve your prospective customers need or problem.

Yelp’s new video option gives businesses the opportunity to appeal to potential customers on Yelp with an entertaining and informative video, rather than reading text.  I don’t know about you but watching someone sharing their experience would prove to be quite interesting.  Check out Cole Hardware to see a video example.

Yelp Video Example

What are your thoughts?  Do you find video to help you make a buying decision?

Difference between Facebook Profile and Facebook Fan Page

Published on June 7, 2010 by Jay Feitlinger. View Comments

Facebook PageSo you created your Facebook account and are operating your business under it and are starting to get some results.  Along the way someone suggested you consider creating a Facebook Fan Page for your business.  You might have put that suggestion off for a few months; however, with the amazing growth to over 500 million users on Facebook you decided to look further into this to see if there are any differences between a Facebook page and a Facebook profile.

Sorry to tell you but there are big differences (and confusion) between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Fan Page for businesses.  We wanted to explain the difference between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Fan Page and then share with you steps on how to create a Facebook Fan Page for your business (which is our recommendation).

Here is the difference between a FaceBook Profile and a FaceBook Fan Page:

  • Facebook Profile – This is for individual users and is created by visiting Facebook and signing up for an account. You’re putting your “Face” on Facebook.  It’s your name, picture, video of your kids, etc. Posting updates in your life makes it easy for you to connect with your friends! You’re posting your status updates, videos, pictures, sending messages, writing on walls, and socializing within Facebook. A Facebook profile should NOT be used as your business page.  If you create a Facebook profile for your business ONLY your friends will be able to see your updates, custom Facebook tabs, etc. and will limit your reach.  For a prospective customer to see what you have to say they would need to click the ‘Add As Friend’ Button which will not be effective for businesses.
  • Facebook Fan Page – Once you create a Facebook profile you can use that account to create a Facebook Business Fan Page for your business. This is where you can post business information: events, videos, photos, specials, promos — and encourage your fans to ‘like’ you, post testimonials and help spread the word about your business stories. You can check out iClick Solutions Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/iClickSolutions.

Facebook Pages are important for 3 main reasons:

  1. Get your business to show up high in search engine positions as Facebook is a very popular website
  2. Get unlimited “fans” for your Facebook Page, unlike the limit of 5,000 friends that regular Facebook Profile capped at
  3. Visible to visitors because Facebook users do not need to request to be a friend to view a Facebook Fan Page

Facebook Page Signup

To Create A Facebook Fan Page follow these easy steps:

  1. Log into your Facebook account at www.facebook.com
  2. Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
  3. Select the type of business:  Local Business, Brand, Product or Organization, or Artist, Band or Public Figure.  When you select a category, use the dropdown menu to select the sub-category which are: Local: Other Business, Automotive, Automotive Dealer / Vehicle Service, Banking and Financial Service, Bar, Cafe, Club, Convention Center and Sports Complex, Education, Event Planning Service, Grocery, Health and Beauty, Home Service, Hotel / Lodging, Library / Public Building, Medical Service, Museum / Attraction, Park, Pets, Professional Service, Real Estate, Religious Center, Restaurant, Store, Technology and Telecommunications Service, Travel Service. Brand, Product, or Organization: Products, Airline / Ship / Train Station, Communications, Consumer Product, Fashion, Film, Financial Service, Food and Beverage, Game, Government, Home Living, Hotel / Lodging, Non-Profit, Online Store, Pharmaceutical, Professional Service, Religious Organization, Rental Cars, Retail, Sports / Athletics, TV Show, Technology Product / Service, Travel, Website.  Artist, Band, or Public Figure: Other Public Figure, Actor, Athlete, Band, Comedian, Critic, Government Official, Model, Musician, Politician, Sports Team, Visual Artist, Writer
  4. The above step is VERY important because once you select it, you can’t change this. You’ll have to take down the page, lose all of your fans, and create a new page.
  5. Next, enter your Page Name. This is also very important. The page name and subcategory appear in the drop down menu when people search.  For example, we appear in Facebook as iClick Solutions Internet Marketing Agency (as shown below).  Choose the name of your company, brand, organization, etc., that most people will recognize. This can not be changed later and does impact your results with search engines.iClick Solutions Facebook SEO
  6. That creates the Facebook page. You should fill out the Info, upload some photos, and start the process of engaging with customers.

Make sure you check out Facebook Pages Product Guide to learn more. If you need social media marketing assistance with your Facebook page contact iClick Solutions today.  We will start out by reviewing your Facebook page and your competitors Facebook pages, provide you step by step instructions on where you have opportunity to improve your page and grow your fan base.

In addition, iClick Solutions can help you with setting up and ongoing management of very targeted advertising on Facebook.  Any questions fill out the comment area below:

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Best Internet Marketing News Of The Week May 31 2010

Published on June 6, 2010 by Jay Feitlinger. View Comments

Best Internet MarketingThe iClick Solutions internet marketing team dedicates countless hours (probably too many) reading internet marketing news, updates and using all this knowledge to create innovative ideas for our clients each and every day.

Each week we are going to highlight the best internet marketing news that we have seen you may have missed and should read. Makes sure to subscribe to iClick Solutions RSS, via email on the right sidebar and / or connect with us on Facebook so you don’t miss out on these weekly internet marketing updates and learn how to leverage internet marketing and social media to connect with your customer online.

For the week of Monday, May 31, 2010 here are iClick Solutions Best Internet Marketing winners that you want to make sure you read:

  • Mobile Shopping Doubles in 2010 by eMarketer – Mobile commerce has been slow to catch on. According to Multichannel Merchant, four in five multichannel retailers have no m-commerce presence. But while consumer usage of mobile shopping is still relatively low, it is increasing, prompting firms such as Coda Research Consultancy to predict a doubling of m-commerce revenues in the US this year, to $2.4 billion. There has also been a doubling in usage of mobile shopping, according to PriceGrabber.com’s “Smartphone Shopping Behavior” survey.
  • Online Reputation Management is Easier by Joe Hall – Well it’s not as easy as writing silly poems. But it’s probably easier than capping underwater oil spills. And, apparently it’s easier than umpiring a baseball game. But one thing it is most definitely easier than it is: off-line reputation management. Yup that’s right there’s a difference between online reputation management and reputation management done off the Internet. While many of the same tactics and underlying strategies are used, the situation is oftentimes approached and handled in a completely different format.
  • Top 5 Trends in Banner Marketing for 2010 by Majon International – Internet marketers may not be espousing the untold riches that banner advertising can bring any more – the era when a cost-per-click model was a revolution in advertising is actually pretty far gone! However, smart Internet marketers have definitely not left banner marketing  behind! There are still plenty of people making plenty of sales, and building positive brand recognition through banner marketing. Today we check out the top 5 trends to watch in designing banners for 2010.
  • Google Now Comes In Your Favorite Flavors by SEO and Tech Daily – Over the past few months, some subtle changes have been main to the main Google Search page, most notably a flattening of the Google logo and font size changes. The page remained plain, simple and easy-to-use. Assuming you’re not using a personalized version (ala Firefox, private branded portals, or numerous Linux builds), you’re greeted with a simple logo and search bar.  Google’s ‘universal search’ fades in at the top.
  • Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART] by Matt Silverman – Korean boy band Super Junior takes the top spot on this week’s list, demonstrating once again that Twitter is truly an international affair. And in classic Twitter form, international diplomatic crises rank right up there with pro sports upsets as the most talked about topics on the network. And if you’re concerned about Justin Bieber (as we all certainly are), rest assured, he jumps back into the trend party at number seven.
  • How to Build a Successful Business With a Small Audience by Jonathan Mead – More subscribers. More traffic. More followers. It’s easy to get caught up in the race for more. More is better, right? We all want our businesses and blogs to grow. But not all growth is ideal or even beneficial. Sometimes blind growth can be harmful. More contacts and more eyeballs doesn’t always mean better eyeballs. Would you rather have 1,000 people’s eyes completely glued to everything you do, or 100,000 with an attention span rivaling a fruit fly on amphetamines?

If you have any thoughts regarding above articles please share below. Also, if you have a suggestion for topics you want us to focus on with next week’s best internet marketing tips please Contact Us and let us know. We would love to hear from you.

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