LinkedIn and Twitter join forces

LinkedIn has announced a new partnership with Twitter that allows users of both social networking services to interchangeably update their statuses from either service.

“The idea is simple,” said Co-Founder of LinkedIn Allen Blue. “When you set your status on LinkedIn you can now tweet it as well, amplifying it to your followers and real-time search services like Twitter Search and Bing. And when you tweet, you can send that message to your LinkedIn connections as well, from any Twitter service or tool.”

While LinkedIn is designed to help users build their professional identity on the Web, updating a status has also proved valuable to users. According to Blue, status has helped LinkedIn users find new assignments and jobs as well as launch companies. Integrating its services with Twitter allows LinkedIn to broaden its audience and in turn provide a better service to its users.

However, as Ian Paul of PC World points out, don’t forget that these two services are very different from each other. In a recent article titled Do’s and Don’ts for users, Paul writes, “If you integrate your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, be prepared to make smart choices about what you share across these services, because what’s perfectly acceptable on one network, may not work on the other.”

LinkedIn users who still wish to join accounts with Twitter can check the Twitter box under their Network Updates box on the homepage and follow a few simple steps. Twitter users can choose to either send all tweets or select tweets from Twitter back to LinkedIn as a status update.

The new features are scheduled to roll out gradually over the next couple of days.

Burberry teams with Facebook on “The Art of the Trench”

Fashion line Burberry has joined the growing list of high-profile companies who have attempted to merge their high-end brand with the world of social media. The Guardian reports that Burberry has partnered with Facebook to create a new Web site called “The Art of the Trench,” featuring user-submitted pictures of people wearing Burberry trench coats.

Through the site, users can not only post their own photos but also share their photos and comment on other people’s shots. While the bulk of the content will be crowdsourced, the first set of pictures posted was from Scott Schuman of the fashion blog “The Satorialist,” the first of many planned collaborations between Burberry and fashion industry celebrities.

Along with pictures, the site details the history of the Burberry trench coat with pictures dating back to 1910. The site also has modern-day video and photo ads featuring top models such as Stella Tennant and Kate Moss.

New survey highlights Facebook’s success in business

WebProNews reports that a survey conducted by Business.com showed that Facebook is by far and away the most application used by companies with a social media presence. 83 percent of companies with at least one or more social media outlets reported having a Facebook account, compared to 45 percent for Twitter.

“We are constantly analyzing trends to determine exactly what tools business professionals leverage most for purchasing,” said Ben Hanna, Ph.D., vice president of marketing at Business.com. “This survey was a way for us to benchmark where businesses, and business people, are finding value in social media.”

An interesting element to the survey was looking at the use of social media by company size. According to the survey results, micro-businesses with less than 10 employees were the most likely to utilize social media outreach as a key marketing component, while large companies with more than 500 employees were the least regular users of social media.

Social media marketing project designed to encourage Mexico travel

Latino social network Quepasa.com announced today that it will be collaborating with Mexico’s Tourism Board to create an online initiative aimed at promoting tourism to Mexico, reports Reuters.

According to the article, Quepasa.com plans to promote Mexico’s destinations through online communities, which will index content related to specific destinations and facilitate user interaction via blogs and viral tools. In addition, both Quepasa and Mexico’s Tourism Board plan to approach online travel agencies, hotels and airlines to gain sponsorship for a broader viral campaign using the Quepasa Distributed Social Media platform.

“Over the last several months, Mexico has received an unfair share of negative press,” said John Abbott, CEO of Quepasa. “We believe that the word of mouth nature of our social media platform in combination with content relevant to the North American tourist provides the most effective and authentic solution toward reestablishing Mexico as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world.”

-Melanie Saxe

Businesses stay committed to social media investments

Businesses continue to support the social networking activities they have established despite tight budgets, reports Computerworld. According to a survey of 400 companies conducted by Deloitte LLP, the majority (94 percent) of respondents said that they plan to maintain or increase their investments in social media tools and online communities, while only 6 percent said they plan to decrease investments.

According to the article, “The study found that as social media efforts mature, companies are turning their attention to ‘lurkers’ — people who observe a community but don’t participate. Twenty percent of the respondents said that their companies have set up formal ‘ambassador’ programs, which give lurkers special treatment to encourage them to become more active.”

Traditionally, businesses use metrics such as the number of active users and how many people post or comment to gauge the success of their social networking efforts. However, Deloitte said companies should consider other measures as well such as increase in search engine rankings and referral links on other Web sites.

-Melanie Saxe

NHL uses social media to bring fans closer to the game

The National Hockey League is attempting to make the fan experience more interactive on its NHL.com Web site. The NHL has added a host of social media features as a way to capture new fans and create a more rewarding experience for hardcore hockey fans.

For example, as part of the post-game recaps, fans can see “fan views” featuring pictures and videos captured inside the arena, in the hopes of giving a fan who didn’t attend a game a better feeling for the experience of being there live, and perhaps entice them to attend a future game to get the same experience.

“Social networks aren’t about Web sites. They’re about experiences,” said Mike DiLorenzo, director of social media marketing and strategy for the NHL. “Blogs are the original social networking tool. They bring a voice and perspective to the NHL media property that may not currently exist. We’re trying to encourage more of our users to write about their favorite team and inspire more dialogue.”

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