In case you are too, hooked to the micro-blogging service of Twitter you can now find us posting our findings and thoughts on social media and online marketing on a regular basis. No, this is not the type of ‘going for lunch’, ‘back at the office’ twitter posting. We are going to be sharing facts, thoughts and experiences of results driven direct marketing campaigns on the web, as well as more specific items about social media and search engines.

Follow us
http://twitter.com/social_media_uk

Check out our new Twitter marketing services page.

Surprising news from Nielsen, with recent research showing that people prefer to use their social media inbox, profile and tweeter messages to communicate and interact. Difficult to think that shifting through endless spam, which none email provider has eliminated, is more fun than posting pictures on Flickr and profile updates on Facebook or Twitter.

It should not be surprising then that the mood shifts to a more ‘protected’ environment, where spam is less spread. A cleaner and more fun space, social media networking.

With that, marketing should follow. Social media is a central meeting place, a square, where billboards are projected whilst people consume thoughts, ideas, products and services.

Word of mouth and viral marketing take a different meaning and new networks are empowered in months. Trends spead lightining fast. Can you keep up?

The recent economic downturn is changing the way we think about our personal and corporate spending. But how can you keep your marketing budget in a credit crisis and get more out of your ad spend?

Surely a look at the basic principles of marketing won’t hurt:

1. Forget about market share. ROI is king when calculating the effect of your efforts. Refocus your campaigns around this concept and cash flow is bound to improve. Read more

I have just received a notification to a Google Webinar in full Dutch. Although I pride myself in speaking 4 languages, Dutch is not amongst them. This is not a dig at Google AdWords, we all get it wrong guys. It is simply a shout out to every search and email marketeer, who has messed up big time, somewhere along his professional career and felt like hiding under the table. Come out friend, you are not alone.
Read more

Microsoft’s past has shown the creation of monopolies in the software market and Google is now afraid, Bill Gates and company will try to do the same online. Senior Google vice-president David Drummond has reminded the world of Microsoft’s illegal attempts to monopolise trade and using it’s affluence now to infect other markets.

Valid argument or not, this is the most serious effort by Microsoft to compete in the space Read more

The internet arm of Microsoft corporation, MSN Search has made an offer to buy Yahoo Inc. for $44.6 billion dollars. Needless to say that this move has been discussed in the past, as the only way for Microsoft to really compete with Google in the online space.

Of course this also means that Mr Gates might be soon be owning parts of your life, such as your pictures (Flickr) as well as the majority of email globally, that is if you add Hotmail and the very popular Yahoo mail.

Overall all of this is moving towards a bitter monopoly of duopoly of the internet space, something that works against the very principles of the internet as a communication medium. For how long will Bill Gates able to survive in this space is debatable. Sure thing is, when money runs out eventually, people start thinking about adding value.

News that search giant Google is going to introduce social media elements, such as voting search results for specific queries and approving or disapproving them in order to modify their own search results.

The big question is:
I am continuously logged in to my Google account. If I disapprove of one site in a specific query and that site refreshes it’s content and provides something useful a few months later…will I then lose it forever? Read more

A real threat to newspapers has cropped up in Google news. A recent deal with Associated Press and the Press Association means that Google will pick news stories straight from the source without the need to display heavily duplicated content.

This has to be a good development as more people that invest their time in writing original articles will get more exposure. Newspapers are looking to lose out but they are already benefiting from large traffic numbers due to their status and trust element by Google. Read more

The professional networking site LinkedIn has launched profile pictures functionality for members. There is a huge division over the websites decision all over the web.

The main pro argument is that faces are often easier to remember than names. In particular for people with the same name.
The other side claims that this Facebook-style move will detract attention from professional experience and someone’s work and bring prominence to their appearance. Read more

Likeness is a very popular app in Facebook and key in the effort to turn Facebook into a dating service. The Likeness application has now developed an UNRATED version. However listen to this. The first quiz:

List crimes you are MOST likely to commit first:

• buy drugs
• drive drunk

Read more