How will Facebook’s Graph Search affect businesses and Marketers?

At a special press conference earlier this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg unveiled the company’s newest feature – the Graph Search. The feature will utilize the social media giant’s massive database of information (called the Graph) which contains details of connections, check-ins, likes, etc., all of which have been shared by Facebook users over the course of the company’s history.

For instance, one could use the Graph Search function to look for ‘restaurants that my friends like’ or ‘retailers that my friends have been to’. These searches will rely on that person’s friends’ habituation of liking pages and using the check in function when they arrive at a destination. While Zuckerburg specifically noted that Graph Search “is not a search engine”, its relationship with Bing seems to hint at it growing into a more definitive search tool in the future, which will allow Facebook to keep users on their site for longer periods of time and to eventually break what they call the ‘Google habit’.

To read the full article click here http://goo.gl/mcqsGC

New iPad5 to be Released March 2013?

If a new report out of Asia is to be believed, we could be staring at the new iPad 5 by the end of March this year! The report from Macotakara in december said that Apple would release a fifth generation iPad in March 2013, which would be thinner and lighter. It seems that the tech gaint is trending towards bi-annual release cycles for its tablet line, seeing as it only recently launched its iPad 4 in October.

Here is an excerpt from the report:
“However Chinese news ZOL (CBS Interactive) reported next iPad mini in AppleInsider's article, according to my inside source, iPad (5) may be released in March 2013. Source told that, design of this new iPad will be like iPad mini in detail, and be thinner and lightweight [sic].”

Lets say the rumors are true, we could be looking at a next-generation iPad as thin as 7.2mm and see the implementation of less LED lights to save your precious battery life.

To read the full article click here http://goo.gl/AqBvNu

Ten Myths About Social Networking for Business

The most important thing to remember about social media is that it is still in the process of evolving.  We learn new things on a daily basis!  To keep you from any social networking misconceptions, read this comprehensive guide that reveals 10 myths of social media use and how to avoid them.

Myth #1: Everyone is using social media

Although social media has become a huge advertising platform, it is important to distribute your attention wisely when it comes to advertising.  Your first step will be to make sure the keywords on your website is optimized for Google Searches.  You can do this using the Google Keyword Tool. Make sure you choose relevant keywords that describe your product or service and choose keywords that are not used too frequently.
To increase the number of links to your site, you can start by building rapport with relevant bloggers. Send them a short note with a link to your website.

Myth #2: Social news aggregators are dead

Less popular sites like Digg and Stumbleupon don't get the same level of mainstream media coverage that Facebook and Twitter do, yet some of the most shared content on these large sites is initially submitted to these and similar social aggregation platforms. When you start using these platforms, make sure you integrate yourself with the other users. Vote on articles and other contact that Digg users submit, and also your own.  Votes will lead to more votes and increases your chances of getting your article bumped up to the “popular” section of the platform!

Myth #3: You can't do it all in-house

Social media networking is not as complicated as it may sound.  Try this: go to Google and type the following: [your product or service keyword] social network. In your results, notice how many people are registered, currently online or even replying to a conversation thread.  What are the topics of the threads with the most responses? Post a question to the forum and link to your own website and websites of people who inspire your work.  You are bound to receive a positive response to your acknowledgement.

To read the full article click here http://goo.gl/kIm6yg

Why hiring a marketing agency is the right move

Over the past few years, a new niche has grown within the marketing world, which caters to a wider audience than any field that came before it. The use of new media and social media in particular, has increased tenfold over the last ten years, and as a result, has placed new emphasis on social media marketing strategies and concepts.

However, having an entirely new form of marketing means that companies have to either hire or train brand new staff at their own expense in order to keep up the pace, or outsource the marketing of their company to specialists.

The following is a short list of reasons why it is more beneficial for companies to leave these aspects of their campaigns to professionals.

To read the full article click here  http://goo.gl/ZH0TSs

The New iPhone

Visual design is often the polar opposite of engineering: trading hard edges for subjective decisions based on gut feelings and personal experiences. It’s messy, unpredictable, and notoriously hard to measure. The apparently erratic behavior of artists drives engineers bananas. Their decisions seem arbitrary and risk everything with no guaranteed benefit.

It is easy to fail when designing an interactive experience. Designers fail when they do not know the audience, integrate the threads of content and context, welcome the public properly, or make clear what the experience is and what the audience’s role in it will be.

To read the full article click here http://goo.gl/qZKMFU

New on Facebook

True to form, Facebook has yet again done some upgrades on their look. Here is what to expect:

1.    Graph Search

Graph Search is probably one of the most important features that have been released by Facebook this year. It allows for users to connect with friends on Facebook who share common interests, while also making it easier – previously it was difficult to search information put up by friends on Facebook, because if a person is not browsing their newsfeed while the content is posted, it could be missed. Not anymore! By typing in specific search terms, Facebook will return a list of friends whose posts match the criteria you entered. This open search feature does mean that users will need to be more mindful of what they post on their pages, as well as the limitations of their privacy settings.
2.    New look of newsfeed and timelines

The new News Feed on Facebook is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also gives Facebook a clean intuitive look of a high-end interactive magazine. Sports have been revamped to a new navigation bar on the left-hand side where numerous icons (such as Facebook Messenger and Friends) are located. On the right hand side, the new exciting tabs include options for Photos, Music and Gaming. In the centre, news items like photographs, check-ins and events are being presented in a larger, colourful manner than before. The News Feed also provides users with the capability to share news on music they are currently listening to and upcoming concerts of their favourite artists. The biggest benefit of Facebook’s new News Feed is that it allows users to keep better track of friends and limits the chance of missing out on interesting stories.

To read the full article click here  http://goo.gl/f7CxHM

5 Mobile Marketing Tips

 

The Inbound Marketing Summit, which took place in New York, in April, offered terrific presentations from a variety of industry thought leaders.

 

Amongst a number of interesting topics, the most impressive presentation was the one titled “best practices for building a mobile-focused inbound marketing strategy.”

This touched mainly on the importance of considering the customer’s point of view, when building your mobile marketing strategy.

 

 

Here are five tips to consider when building your mobile marketing strategy:

 

 

1. Focus first on mobile, then desktop

 

Consumers in the US currently spend twice as much time with desktop media as they do with mobile. So why then focus on mobile first? Because the amount of time that consumers spend on their mobile devices is growing at 14 times the rate of the desktop. 

 

Marketers should focus their efforts on marketing on mobile platforms ahead of traditional desktops.

 

2. Customers want to do little and get a lot

 

Make it easy for your customers to access your mobile content – the fewer links they have to follow to get to specific content, the better. Make it easy to download content onto mobile devices.

To read the full article click here http://goo.gl/yCHjCJ