Social Media Optimization News | Social Media Marketing Tips

The debate over the importance of social media in the area of online direct marketing continues according to industry experts around the globe. However, the focus of this debate has now shifted to discussing about the best way it gives value to companies. However, there are still those who argue against the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook in their online direct marketing campaigns. There are plenty of marketers today who look beyond the hype of social media, in an attempt to get a better insight about the other marketing methods. They do this in spite of the focus that most companies place on the social media platform. From technology platforms to analytics, all companies face a number of challenges. Many hire outside partners in order to help them address these issues, but in most places the market is flooded with people think that social media is the only way to build a successful online presence.

Marketers are now saying that social media users’ demographics can be tapped into to bring about more targeted advertising, but are still unsure about how such sensitive information should be handled. But these issues too will eventually be settled. Social media sites tend to understand the audiences better, and because of this understanding of user behavior, they manage to collect important information each user. But this could also lead to collecting users’ private information, and advertisers should be very careful about using their users’ private information. This can be very important to the user, and this is why it is very important for advertisers to know how to handle it. Advertisers need users’ personal information to target them with specific products and services that are a part of what they are interested in.

Reports have shown that YouTube was the fastest growing social media site in the month of April for the second consecutive month. This online video sharing website now accounts for nearly 1 out of 5 visits to a social networking site. YouTube is now established as the third biggest site, overtaking Hotmail recently. However, Facebook on the other hand has lost market share of the number of visits for the second consecutive month in a row, dropping to below 55% of market share for the first time since last year. The fastest climbing social networking sites were Twitter, Yahoo!, Tumblr and Answers. MySpace and Club Penguin have noticeably dropped in market share.

It was announced earlier today that Osama Bin Laden is indeed dead. This momentous news will go down in the pages of history. In years to come, you’ll probably be asked where did you get this news? Most people say that they found out about this from social media sites like Twitter. As US President, Barack Obama, announced this news today, he not only addressed the world through the TV but through Internet live streaming and social media as well. From the start of the speech, right to the end, Twitter recorded more than 4000 tweets per second. It has become increasingly common that the news actually broke on Twitter. The news of Osama’s death was released on Twitter even before the President announced it on TV. A few minutes after the media outlets began tweeting, the news was the most talked about in the US. Social media has played a very important role in bringing the world closer to the news, what with photos take from phones being shared across these sites.

Social media sites like Facebook can really enrich your kid’s lives, but they can also be detrimental to their physical and mental health as well. Reports on kids and social media have studied kid’s usage of social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs and video gaming sites. Reports have shown that social media sites can be beneficial for kids as it helps them stay in touch, socialize, entertain and even do their homework well. These sites can enhance your kids’ creativity and help them develop various technical skills. However, on the flipside, social media can lead to depression, cyber-bullying and exposure to inappropriate content also. Too much time spent surfing through social media sites can lead to kids neglecting their studies, physical activity and even sleep!

Today, everybody seems to be tuned into social media, through their computers or mobile phones. Everybody seems to commending social media for its various uses. But what can the flipside be? Here we will talk about the pros and cons of social media. Pros of Social Media Although a lot of people say that social media is killing our psyche, it is however in fact working wonders in a number of fields including journalism. It opens new windows for new opportunities in every field. The most important aspect of social media is that it is easy to access and made specifically for the audience. Getting the latest news on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is easy now. However, it can work wonders for journalism in many different ways. Blogging is a reliable source nowadays. Blogs are probably the fastest way of spreading news and can do so even before a reporter published or broadcasts a story. Twitter is another great way of spreading news. In the latest Japan disaster, Twitter feeds...

Search online for a specific topic and you’ll get mixed results that could relate to or not relate to what you are looking for. This can be very frustrating form a browser. So, in an effort to get better and more personalized search results to online queries, most search engines have started tapping into social media sites for recommendations. This step is considered to be the most groundbreaking step in the last few years of online search, and has managed to make the online search experience a better and smoother experience. Internet searchers are constantly on the lookout for the best search results and should not be fooled by low-quality websites that take advantage of loopholes in the system. And what better way to do this than by using social media sites? Only one friend will know what their other friends want and can recommend the best and most tailored links. Online search has been a frustrating experience off late. And this is why introducing people is a great way to boost onli...

The latest warning to be issued by doctors is Facebook Depression! This is the latest in a series of disadvantages that social networking sites have been presenting off late, and it poses as a serious emotional danger for troubled teens especially. Although there are many debates about whether the depression already exists in these vulnerable children and just gets worse or is triggered off by negative influences; it is still being recognized as a condition that is triggered off by social networking sites. Facebook is no place for emotionally vulnerable teenagers. Social media sites present a false reality to youngsters through friends, contacts, status updates and happy pictures of popular contacts. To emotionally vulnerable youngsters who are yearning for popularity, this may make them more depressed. Most youngsters do not realize that the image created on social networking sites is far from the truth. Texting, emails and spending time on social networking sites can increase mood sw...

Pfizer, the pharmaceutical conglomerate, has been using social media to boost its Real Danger Patient Safety campaign. The second phase of this campaign, which began as a cinema advert, uses Facebook and Twitter to warn the public about the dangers of medicine spam. The campaign’s website explains that medicine spam is in fact an unwanted online communication that is not only confined to email but can also affect other social media sites as well. Counterfeiters adopt the latest technologies and prey on unsuspecting people. The campaign explains how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other online forums can be used by counterfeiters to send medicine spam. Pfizer’s own Viagra and other erectile dysfunction treatments are some of the most counterfeited drugs, and there are thousands and thousands of websites that sell fake versions. However, the problem is growing what with counterfeiters now targeting lifesaving medication for cancer and heart problems.

Facebook is no more only about interacting with friend, updating status messages and posting photos. Now, more and more users are taking to Facebook to gather more health information. Statistics have shown that 41 percent of the people, who use social media, use it as a healthcare resource. Many people confess to using Facebook for the medical content contained in it right from diet plans and exercise tips to the health education videos. The information gleaned from these social networking sites does have an impact on most people’s future health decisions. Yes, many responsible citizens are now turning to social networking sites for their health care decisions, thus ensuring that many hospitals and health care providers are also ramping up their social media presence. Patients use social media sites for a number of health care needs, including: Watching health education videos. Getting diet plans and exercise tips. Learning about future health events. Studying various diseases. Health ...

The latest in the fast food franchise network to use social media to grow is Go Sushi! Go Sushi is the latest store to harness the power of Facebook in order to build its business. The owners Angela Matthews and Jo Watt turned to Facebook to promote the brand. There are now around 273 fans who keep receiving special offers and updates from the store. The national marketing manager for the brand, Carly Taber has said that the growth of the customer base and popularity of the store has continuously been increasing since last year. The brand owes much of its success to social media sites like Facebook for building its online popularity.

Many art shows and museums have taken to using social media to talk about art. But for many, social media is a lot more than that! Many people feel that the photos and videos shared online are works of art themselves! The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has recently created a work of art from anonymous Flickr photos, the 4 Guggenheim Museums recently displayed 25 YouTube video that were selected by esteemed judges, and the Volta art fair at New York exhibited videos that were uploaded to Vimeo. Many art collectors and curators feel that the whole concept of posting on various social media sites has led to a logical reflection of art in our times. Art basically characterizes its time and explains what life is all about now. The art of today is all about the Internet and is longer about being in galleries and museums. But for many others, the very concept of art is hazy. What after all qualifies as art? Computer and video art made by artists have found places in museums for years now....

Yes, cash is the best way to donate and it is precisely what all the relief agencies need in Japan right now. Organizations are requesting people to focus on monetary donations after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on Friday last week. With more than 430,000 people displaced and around 24,000 literally stranded, disaster response is of utmost priority right now, with all the necessities such as food, water and medical attention topping the list. But collecting donation, bottled water or canned food in your locality isn’t really the best way to help. It is extremely time consuming and expensive to ship donations overseas to Japan at the moment. It is more useful for relief agencies to use money to purchase resources locally instead. Taking this into account, the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army are groups that are now accepting donations via text messages. But text donations also have their own set of limitations. Organizations do not receive the donation money from the ph...

U.S. embassies have said that they find it extremely hard to establish a social media presence in most of their host countries. They feel that it is a labor-intensive practice that is ridden with many probable pitfalls. Embassies regard social media as a great way to reach out to a younger audience. But they all say that for a U.S. mission social media site to be successful, it is important to have original content, high levels of audience interaction and serious staff commitment. Most embassies however, tend to lack the latter factor. 57 missions have been examined by the inspector general, out of which 42 have active Facebook sites. The public affairs section says that it is very difficult to get the other sections to contribute. Only a quarter of these 42 missions update their Facebook pages daily. What’s more, embassies also have had to deal with users adding unnecessary and unquestionable material on the U.S. social media sites.

Social networking sites have taken the world by storm! Most people will confess that they cannot even go a day without accessing their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Most people prefer socializing and networking over the Internet than in reality. And like most things, this can pose as a problem as it tends to take away the sense of privacy that is shared by people. And secondly, social networks are not as safe and secure as they claim to be. For Matthew Foster, a Junior Computer Science major, these are precisely the same reasons for why he created worlpal.com. The site comes as a pleasant surprise to those who wish to communicate in a more private way online. Foster says that he wanted to create a full private platform where students can meet one another from anywhere in the world. The whole idea was to sort of meet someone at random, like at a store or a mall, and become friends. Worlpal.com is similar to other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, but a lot more private....

If you spend hours on end logged into Facebook, just updating your profile, making new contacts or fussing over your status updates – there’s news for you now! This is no longer considered to be a waste of time! Recent studies have shown that the time you spend on social networks may not be as detrimental as you thought it would be; or as you’ve been led to believe. Spending time online and trying to perfect your online identity by making changes to your profile can go a long way in boosting your self-esteem. As opposed to how a mirror keeps reminding us of our flaws, Facebook on the other hand helps by showing us a positive version of ourselves. A mirror just reminds us of who we really are; which in most cases can’t be perfect right? Facebook does a whole lot of good for us, but this doesn’t mean it deceives of us of who we really are. It just gives us a positive portrayal of ourselves. When you post anything on any social media site, you will be able to filter out all the negative a...

Everybody knows how important social media sites have become; so much so that even insurance companies have started taking to social media sites to find out more about the people they insure. Medical liability, disability and workers’ compensation insurers have now started using Facebook and Twitter to check for potential frauds. What’s more, health insurers have also begun to use online profiling for the underwriting process. This includes the Twitter and Facebook posts to check where current and prospective members go and what they do. Yes, insurance companies have started using social media to outdo their competition when it comes to understanding the profile of the insured. This practice also includes underwriting, like using tweets or posts to find out whether a person’s hobbies are risky – like skydiving or running - and then using this to investigate disability claims. So, patients are advised to stay away from social media sites if they are at home recovering from an illness or...

Recent reports have shown that the latest social media site to be banned in China is none other than LinkedIn. This has come about after the network became a hugely popular platform for organizing certain anti-government protests. The website has recently grown very popular in China and was holding its own against competitors like Tianji and Ushi. Twitter has already been blocked and according to recent reports, LinkedIn has also been targeted. Anti-government protesters have begun using social networks to organize demonstrations and events, and to engage other. But the Chinese government has started blocking sites in an attempt to combat these protests. The Chinese government has blocked Facebook and Twitter, forcing users to turn to LinkedIn to coordinate protests and share information. What’s more, the Chonese government has also cracked down on some local sites like Renen by blocking specific search queries and preventing users from updating or posting status updates containing sen...

Yesterday, the 7th of Feb, marked the third annual social media week. In 9 cities across the globe, there are more than 500 different events planned to help companies, organizations and individuals make the most of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Nokia is the lead sponsor for this event. But what is Social Media Week all about? And how does Nokia play a role in it? Social Media Week is basically a global series of seminars, conferences, workshops and even networking events that all focus on social media. With more than 500 registered events in New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Toronto, London, Paris, Rome, Istanbul and Hong Kong, this event is all about connecting people. And since “Connecting People” is officially Nokia’s slogan, it makes sense for this brand to promote the use of social media. But above all, Nokia has witnessed a lot of changes in the last few years. Today, consumers demand for closer interaction with the brands they choose. What’s more, consum...