September 21st, 2011
Facebook Ticker Returns, Dynamic UI Launched
After launching the much-hyped Subscription button, Facebook unveils another new enhancement to its user interface this week. The interesting changes is now apparent on everyone’s news feeds. The Facebook UI now sports a more newspaper look and makes the feed a lot more sporadic and real-time.
Thanks to the infamous ticker (which might become the game-changer in paid social ads) the usual feed is brought to life by making it more updated and instant. The ticker presents updates ala Twitter timestreams, so when a friend makes a comment, likes, or shares something, a user can instantly join the conversation in a snap. According to The Next Web, a handful of content will appear on feeds, but will depend on the privacy settings of your contact. Here are those:
- Likes on Page posts
- Comments on Page posts
- Status mentions
- Comment tags
- Check-ins
This is what Facebook has to say about the ticker, according to the Facebook Blog:
If you haven’t returned in a week, you may want to see a summary of top stories first. If you’ve already visited several times that day, you probably care more about recent news.Starting today, it will be easier to keep up with the people in your life no matter how frequently or infrequently you’re on Facebook.
Of course we all want to stay on Facebook, but not all users have the same amount of activity and time to be spent on Facebook. For those of you who want to get rid of the ticker, someone figured how to remove it using a Chrome extension! How ironic, isn’t it? While the ticker may tick off most users, this new Facebook tool is sure to play a vital role on Facebook’s ad platform.
Obviously, the ticker is a major distraction, heck, anything that moves is a distraction and will be easily noticed! But businesses and marketers will be smiling soon, why? I mentioned earlier that the ticker functions like the Twitter timestream. Twitter has already promoted tweets for businesses to enhance brand awareness. Expect Facebook streaming ads soon.
September 5th, 2011
Massive Growth for Local SEO
As the Web grows more social everyday, it doesn’t hinder the very lifeforce that fuel local businesses and websites – SEO. Social media has definitely taken the Internet like a storm but Search Engine Optimization remains the old reliable to optimize sites and increase conversion rates. While social media entices people to turn into potential customers, SEO is the fuel of websites which carry the social media presence of businesses. Indeed, the Internet has become a destination-location and has overwhelmed traditional local media as the primary channel to widen the reach of local businesses in critical local market.
According to the forecast of research group BIA/Kelsey, local online ad revenues will double between 2010 and 2015 to US$45 billion in the US alone. The positive trend is deemed to grow as the local advertising market has seen steady and strong growth over the last few years. The local SEO landscape appears to be positive and progressive. Here are some findings from the Local SEO Industry Survey.
- Confidence is not short among local SEOs with the majority believing that the next 12 months will result in greater revenue and them taking on more employees.
- 82% believe that they will definitely grow their business in 2011/2012
- 78% expect to increase the size of their team
Online visibility always matter which is why this is a major factor that’s been noticed by local business owners, reality checked – local business owners should embrace the Internet in terms of marketing their product or service before their competitors do. The chart above shows that 64% of local SEOs claim that it is easier/much easier to convince potential clients of the benefits of SEO. It’s not about the first-mover opportunism that drives the market already, it’s how you stay ahead against competition.
