Cowell Turns to SEO to Change His “Mean” Image

Simon Cowell’s new gig as one of the judges (and executive producers) of the U.S. version of his hit British TV show “X Factor” means that his reputation as the “King of Mean” judges on “American Idol” might not suit him so well. The New York Daily News reports that many observers are suggesting that Cowell has turned to search engine optimization tactics such as negative suppression to turn around his public persona.

Judges on “X Factor” mentor certain performers and help them gain favor with the voting audience. This means that Cowell will want people at home to like him in order to get behind the acts he is mentoring. One way that Cowell might be doing this is to push negative articles about him on online sites down in search engine results while promoting articles that feature him in a positive light.

Although his spokesperson denies that this is happening, several experts believe that an SEO firm like Reputation Management Consultants - which has a strong UK presence - could be behind the sudden rise of positive Simon Cowell webpages as Web site results.

Former Universal Music and EMI executive and blogger Hans Ebert has also accused SEO firms working on behalf of Cowell of doing more sinister activities. A blog post he made that was critical of Cowell’s stint on “American Idol” was pulled for 12 hours after Wordpress received a complaint that it violated its Terms of Service. The blog was restored and Ebert traced the source of the problems to a firm in Bangladesh which has been hired by a London SEO firm in the past to monitor Web activities relating to certain celebrities.

Twitter Unveils New SMS Messaging Features

Twitter has added new features to its micro-blogging service making it more SMS-friendly.

One of the new features includes Fast Follow, a way for people in the U.S. — including those without Twitter accounts — to receive Tweets on their phones. According to Twitter, users can experience Fast Follow anytime they see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV.

In a post on the Twitter blog, the company gives this illustration: “For example, let’s say you want to get Tweets from New York City’s office of emergency management (@NotifyNYC). Just text ‘follow NotifyNYC’ to 40404 in the US.”

Another new SMS-friendly feature available on Twitter is the ability to receive an SMS message on your phone anytime selected people Tweet. Users can select people by hovering over their name or avatar and clicking on the phone icon that appears in the hovercard. Users can easily turn the SMS alerts on or off by sending ‘on [username]’ or ‘off [username]’ to 40404 in the US.

Finally, to keep up with the latest Tweet, users can text ‘Get [username]’, which will send that user’s most recent Tweet to your phone, even if you don’t follow them.

Twitter Adds Sales Force Muscle from Facebook, Yelp

Twitter continued to make hires to bolster its sales force this week as it tries to leverage its growing popularity into advertising revenue. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the social media site is bringing in top talent from some of its top social media rivals in order to stimulate its sales team.

Joining Twitter as their new director of East Coast ad sales is Dan Coughlin, who is the former director of media sales at Facebook. Also coming on board at Twitter is Amanda Levy, who was the first ad-sales person at review site Yelp and will serve as the sales director in the Western region.

Both Coughlin and Levy will be heavily involved in implementing the new Promoted Suite program which includes Promoted Tweets and will soon evolve to include Promoted Trends. This program allows advertisers to pay for selected tweets to show up at the top of selected search results or when subjects show up as “trending.”

“We’re putting together a top-flight sales team as we begin to open our Promoted Suite of products to more companies,” said Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief operating officer, in an emailed statement.

Vonage Launches One-Touch Facebook Calling App

Vonage announced last week the Vonage Mobile Application for Facebook, making it possible for users to call Facebook friends who have the same app directly from their friends list with a single touch. The new one-touch calling app is free and available for Facebook users worldwide.

“The Vonage Mobile app for Facebook is a tangible example of our commitment to deliver extraordinary value and a better communications experience for individuals and their social networks, across broadband-enabled devices, around the world” said Marc Lefar, Chief Executive Officer of Vonage Holdings Corp. in a press release. “This is just the start. In the future we will expand on this service to include a wide range of integrated voice and messaging services that change the way people communicate.”

After downloading the application, the user will need to enter their Facebook ID and password. The app will automatically load Facebook contacts and the Vonage logo will appear next to the friends who have downloaded the same app. Users can call any friend without having to be online.

Facebook’s Privacy Controls Now Mobile

Facebook has now made it possible for more than 500 million users to control how they connect and share information on the social networking site via any browser-enabled mobile device.

According to the announcement, Facebook users can now access privacy settings from any location regardless of the type of device they have. The company boasts to be one of the few companies that offer the same privacy controls to their mobile users as the desktop version.

“Wherever you are connecting and sharing through Facebook, you should be able to make real time decisions over your information. Now you can,” wrote Michael Eyal Sharon, Facebook’s mobile product manager, in a post on the company blog.

By utilizing privacy controls, users can authorize important information such as who can see the content they post on a day-to-day basis. Users can also fully customize granular settings and read Facebook’s privacy guide.

Users can access privacy controls on mobile by going to m.facebook.com/privacy or by going to the Settings page and clicking the “Change” link next to the words “Privacy Settings.”

The Affiliate Summit Can Increase Your Marketing Knowledge

There’s a session for everyone at the Affiliate Summit 2010 East on August 15-17 at the Hilton New York. It’s the number one place for marketers, vendors, bloggers and agencies to learn tips and tricks from the leading experts in the affiliate marketing industry. It’s also a great chance to network with other people in the field and make connections which could help you make the perfect partnership. The show-opening Meet Market gives you a great chance to do just that.

In addition, there are plenty of exciting sessions, classes and other learning opportunities for everyone. Learn about how to kick start your search marketing campaign from some of the leading SEM, SEO and PPC experts in the field. Top bloggers will discuss the tips and tricks they use to get readers and earn money from their writing. Social media experts will discuss the SEO implications of social media. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

To learn more about the different educational activities available at the Affiliate Summit, visit http://www.affiliatesummit.com. Keep an eye out for Submit Express’ Vice President of Operations Victor Edinian while you are at the show: he’ll be there and would love to talk to you!

Discover Social Media Marketing Tips at SES San Francisco

Are you a marketing executive or advertising agency professional looking for greater insight into the changing world of social media marketing? If you are interested in learning more about how to utilize the latest trends, tools and technology to your advantage while creating viral campaigns through social media, you need to attend SES San Francisco from August 16-20 in San Francisco.

Professionals who go to the show at the Moscone West Convention Center gain exposure to the thoughts of the major players in the social media world. Executives from leading search engines, agencies and major corporations will explain the hottest trends in social media usage and explain how marketers can leverage this information to their advantage. You can also learn about key tools such as content optimization and analytics which can help you build a successful social media campaign.

Along with the ability to sit in on powerful sessions, seminars and special events, attendees can visit the exhibit hall where more than 100 companies will be showcasing their social media and search engine marketing tools and services. For more information on SES San Francisco, visit http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sanfrancisco/index.php. In addition, Submit Express president and CEO Pierre Zarokian will be attending the show as well. Make sure you say hi to him at the show.

Facebook Can Help Find Answers

Facebook has rolled out the beta version of Facebook Questions, a new way for users to pose questions to the more than 500 million people in the Facebook community. Currently only available to a limited number of people, Facebook Questions allows users to “get a broader set of answers and learn valuable information from people knowledgeable on a range of topics,” wrote director of product management Blake Ross in a Facebook blog post.

Facebook Questions offers numerous filters designed to help users find the answers they’re searching for. When asking a question, for example, users have the option to add a photo or a poll.

You can also tag your question with a specific topic, making it visible to people who have expressed interest in the same topic. The tagging feature also allows users to see what others are asking about the same topics. Users can even browse through other users’ questions to “find ones you may have never thought to ask,” said Ross.

Ross reminds users that all questions and answers posted using Facebook Questions are public, meaning that they will be visible to everyone on the Internet. However, if you want to ask a question to a specific group of people, the application allows you to write a question as a status update on your profile and target those people.

Amazon Taps Into Facebook Networks for Recommendations

CNET.com reports that Amazon has entered into a partnership with Facebook that will let shoppers search for gift ideas by accessing their friends’ profiles. The beta version of this new feature was launched in the “Recommendations” section of the Amazon website and will suggest gift ideas for friends based on their Facebook pages along with letting people use their own Facebook profile to come up with personal purchase recommendations.

Customers can choose to “Tap into Your Facebook Network” and link their Amazon and Facebook accounts. The opt-in program warns customers that they will be sharing your own personal information and the information of friends. Once accepted, Amazon will use the movies, TV shows, music and other items which are the favorites of your friends on Facebook to develop gift recommendations.

Amazon has attempted to alleviate privacy concerns by agreeing not to share account information or buying history with Facebook or attempt to market to the Facebook contacts of their customers. The service can be disconnected to remove any Facebook content from a person’s Amazon account.

Tips for Managing Your Social Media Identity

Whether you are an individual looking to extend your personal brand or a company who wants to leverage the latest online communication tools to reach new audiences, it’s important to have a well thought out social media plan. Blindly signing up for accounts on every social media network you can find is not the way to attract new followers (and potential customers). As with any marketing strategy, it’s important to approach social media as a tactical promotional tool.

In order to get the most from your social media campaign, it’s important to maintain consistency across the different platforms you use. Not only does this make it easier for people to find you whether they are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or another social media site, but it also creates incentives for people to follow you on multiple platforms. Taking control of your social media brand can pay major dividends for you down the road.

Many people don’t give enough thought to the handles they create when they sign up for social media networks. Sometimes they create usernames that are too cute or complex (often with seemingly random numbers added to the end). This makes it tough for people to remember who you are. In other cases, people create different usernames on different sites, either because their Facebook username is taken on Twitter or because they want to “keep it different.”

You want to make it easy for potential followers and customers to find you. If you own a business and start a website, you understand that it’s important to have a web address which is easy to remember and explains what the site is about. So why not apply the same concepts to your social media sites? Research the availability of different usernames on the social media sites you plan on using and don’t sign up until you find a username that is brief, easy to remember and is available on each site.

It’s also important to understand what you are hoping to accomplish with the various social media networks available to use during a campaign. Each social media site has its own unique strengths and reaches different audiences. Instead of just blindly posting the same content on each site, spend some time researching the various platforms and create a plan of action for each. You might use Twitter to spread breaking news about a sale on your company’s site that lasts one day and your Facebook account to set up a contest to attract new customers.

Another important tip is to keep your personal and business social media lives separate. Make sure the social media accounts you create to promote your business do just that. While you can use humor and personality to make your posts and Tweets interesting, they should all have the purpose of helping to drive your business forward. This isn’t to say that you can’t have personal social media accounts and link those to your business accounts - people like to hear about the personalities behind the companies they use. Just keep in mind if you link the two accounts, you are posting as a representative of the company. Don’t post any embarrassing personal details that might reflect poorly on your business.

« Previous Page — Next Page »