Archive for May, 2011

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Twitter Announces Launch of “Follow Button”

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 by admin

Today, Twitter announced the launch of their new Follow Button.  Twitter reports this new button for sharing is “a new way to discover and instantly follow Twitter accounts directly from the websites you visit everyday.”   More simply put, the Twitter Button is Twitter’s version of the “like” button.

Twitter Follow Button

You may be asking yourself, “What is the difference between the Tweet Button and this new Follow button?”  The Follow Button is meant to produce more social connections on Twitter, while the Tweet Button is best used for sharing individual pieces of content.  With this button Twitter is able to help brands increase their connections and grow a stronger social graph.  For it’s launch 50 high profile sites were able to install Follow Buttons.  Such sites include; AOL.com, Fox News, CNNMoney, MTV.com and TVGuide.com, just to name a few.

For businesses, adding the Follow Button to your website and using Twitter to connect with your audience is a powerful and influential tool.  Adding a Follow Button is a great way to increase your brands Twitter Followers. Adding the Follow Button to your website is quick and easy, and you can configure yours right now at twitter.com/followbutton

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Social Searching: Personalizing the Web

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 by admin

Social search is changing the priority of which information is delivered to users. Traditionally search engine result order has been determined solely on algorithms, however, in a socially enabled search, a particular listing may appear higher on the list to reflect its social value.   In our whitepaper we uncover that beyond external site authority and resultant search engine result pages, search is now defined by explicit and implicit social user feedback.

social searche whitepaper image

This whitepaper is broken down into three parts, first we discuss the implementation of social searching by Google and Bing. We visually walk through the differences in the search results for these two engines. Next, a case-by-case analysis which investigates social search results for 10 fortune 500 companies, 5 celebrities, 5 video games, 5 TV shows and 5 movies helps us determine best practices that businesses can follow to enhance their social search results

Google and Bing are the front runners in incorporating social networks into their search engine result pages (SERPs). However, as exemplified in our whitepaper, social search has been incorporated by these two search engines with slightly different strategies. These variations are seen in how users enable social search, which social channels tend to be more frequently displayed in results, and the tools offered by the search engine to customize the social search.

The report draws conclusions based on tests that were run to determine factors that can lead to different social search results in Bing and Google. These include:

  • • Being signed into the particular search engine’s corresponding social networks
  • • Having “liked” a fan page that is the subject of the search
  • • Logging onto a social network before running the search
  • • Increased activity on certain social channels resulting in increased recognition by the search engine used

With social media usage soaring, this method of searching is forecasted to become increasingly popular. For businesses to thrive in this new environment, branded content must be created that is shareable, company social profiles must be maintained, and up-to-date social media and social search tools must be utilized.

If you would like to download a copy of the free whitepaper, please click here.

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Posted in Lead Generation, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media | No Comments »

10 Reasons Why Facebook is Taking Over the World – Reason 1

Saturday, May 28th, 2011 by admin

This is the last blog post is part of a ten part series.  Look back in our blog for each of the 10 reasons why Facebook is taking over the world. Or, download the full printable infographic on the Overdrive Interactive Facebook page.

top ten reasons why Facebook is taking over the world

1. Comscore’s 2010 US Digital Year in Review – Facebook accounts for 12.3% of time spent online:

Internet use has evolved into part of our daily routine, whether it be work-related or for personal enjoyment. The same can be said for social media and how we have grown attached to its modern way of delivering us a constant, immediate news stream whenever we seek it. At this point, we barely think before we type because of its second nature, so just how much time are we actually spending with social media?

Earlier this year, comScore released its report detailing the 2010 Digital Year in Review. The findings on social media usage give a true testament to how individuals and their lifestyles are evolving with social media over time. According to the report, 9 out of 10 US Internet users visited a social media site within a month. More specifically, 1 out of every 8 minutes spent on the Internet by US users was spent on Facebook.

This powerful statistic summarizes all previous call-outs to the specific innovations and uses of Facebook. With all that Facebook has to offer, it’s not only drawing in users, but keeping them on the site for significant periods of time. By August 2010, the site beat out Google and Yahoo! Sites for percentage of time spent on the internet. Whether it involves chatting with a friend, catching up on news, or posting a new video to share, Facebook users have the ability to interact with over 900 million objects on the site, which can account for the collective 700 billion minutes per month people spend on Facebook.

By looking at the numbers it’s easy to see that Facebook isn’t just another Internet fad people will forget about in a year or two. Facebook has united a significant percentage of the world’s population through its innovative pages, messages, mobile features, news feeds, and profiles to make users feel unique and in the social loop among 500 million other people. It’s all about feeling connected. Are you?

That wraps our our top ten reasons for why Facebook is taking over the world!  Download the full poster by ‘Liking’ us on Facebook and tune in on Tuesday for our new whitepaper on Social Search.

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Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

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