Battle of the Buttons

Posted in Social Media on July 22nd, 2011 by Matthew Read

We have talked a lot recently about the introduction of the new Google+ social network and the Google+1 button and how these, along with Facebook and Twitter, are, now more than ever, changing the way we look at search and our activity on the web.

We are now seeing a much more socially interactive web experience, and this can most clearly be seen with the rise of social network buttons. You can now go onto a blog, news article or just any old web page and see a Like, Tweet, +1, LinkedIn Share, Tumblr, Delicious, Stumble Upon and maybe even a Digg button.

So which one do you choose? Do you +1 it, Tweet it or Like it? There are so many options and it would seem ridiculous to use all of them every time you wanted to promote a piece of content!

Which Button?
All of these sharing buttons have their uses and, although their designs and interactive actions are all similar, their purposes can vary greatly. Obviously, on the surface there is the basic element of user preference, with some people loving Facebook and not understanding Twitter etc, but the reasons for choosing one over the other run much deeper than this.

For example, we can predict that people interested in SEO will most likely be focused on the Google+1 and Tweet buttons. This is because we are already aware that Google works with Twitter data and uses it as part of their ranking algorithm and it would be highly unlikely for them to not use data from their own social network button as well, meaning the +1 and Tweet buttons would have the biggest impact on rankings of all the social network buttons.

However, people who have just found a piece of content they want to share with their friends might favour Facebook, whilst people who have found something relating to their job may want to use the LinkedIn button and share it with their colleagues and business connections.

Who will come out on top?
Well, as each one can be seen as holding a different purpose they may continue to all serve a function and continue to be used, although Google does have the advantage of being the only button that appears directly in search results.

However, one new element that has come into play that may affect the amount of clicks these buttons get is sites creating their own. Sites such as YouTube, Sky Sports and SEOMoz have their own online communities and their own like and dislike buttons that effect it, making them much more appropriate to the content they are on and a much more integrated element.

Buttons here to stay?
Whether you are a fan of the Facebook Like, the Google+1, the Tweet or YouTube’s own thumbs up and thumbs down, one thing is for sure, social sharing buttons are being used more and more and becoming a much more important aspect of search, social and the way we view the web.

So which is your favourite button? Why not tell us below or show us by clicking on one of the ones attached to this article.

Me Talking Social Search with Fourth Source

Posted in Press on July 19th, 2011 by Matthew

Yesterday I discussed in an article over at Fourth Source how social media is impacting Search in 2011. The main topic of consideration was that of the new Google+1 button, and the addition of a new social media site, Google+. For those of you living under a rock, the Google+1 button is set to rival the Facebook Like button, while Google+ aims to rival Facebook as a social network.

The main consideration of the article is how these recent developments are going to affect search itself – so if search is a big part of your marketing mix then it’s well worth a read. The negative aspects of +1, along with other social networking sites, also get a mention in the article.

You may be interested to read more of my regular posts on the Fourth Source website, where you can also find the rest of my views on how social media is impacting Search in 2011.

Google+ Hits 10 Million Users but can it Rival Facebook?

Posted in Google, Social Media on July 14th, 2011 by Angelina

Since its launch, just a couple of weeks ago, Google+ has created a huge buzz in the online marketing world. With a report showing that the social networking site has already reached 10 million users in its 2 weeks test stage, it makes Google+ one of the fastest growing networks ever!

Google investors will also be happy as so far, revenue for Google is estimated to be up by 28% compared to the prior year. Investors polled by Thomson Reuters already expect the search engine to report net revenue of £4 billion.

Here at Gravytrain we managed to get invites to Google+ this week and have been getting to grips with the new social network. Like everyone else in the digital marketing community, a few of us are excited about the new social network and see its strong potential to rival Facebook, while others see Google+ as no competition to the current social media giants.

However, the main feature that most Google+ users seem to like is its privacy settings, which shows that the way we use social media could be changing.

While other social networking sites such as Facebook have seen innovative advances and an increase in popularity around the world, it doesn’t reflect how we actually interact with other people in real life. In real life, we don’t tend to share personal thoughts or content with everyone that we know. We’ll usually share certain things with certain people.

As mentioned in a previous post about Google+, the social network allows us to have different ‘circles’ of people where we can share different content with each group, whilst keeping other information private. Some people will use different social networks to connect with certain people, for example, Linkedin for work, Facebook for friends and family and Twitter for a mix of both. With Google+ and circles, it brings all these different groups into a platform that we can manage in one place, without embarrassment or worry over who sees what!

Arguably, Facebook does allow us to create lists where we can group different people, but to be honest, they are quite fiddly, weren’t really promoted and not clearly visible. Google enables us to have a social network that we can control ourselves, restrict the content that we receive and share information with certain groups, mirroring our online behaviour to how we socialise in real life.

Analysts however, have suggested that Google+ still has a long way to go before it matches Facebook’s popularity. Facebook announced last week that it had over 750 million users and is looking to enable video chats through its joint venture with Skype, which sounds quite similar to one of Google+’s video chat features, “Hangouts”. However, it’s still early days for Google+ and only time will tell whether the project will be successful.

So far, the increased popularity of Google+ shows that they are doing something right; it demonstrates that Google is driving towards success within social networking. Google+ could potentially be something that catches on with individuals and become very powerful, which other social networks should keep in mind.

Google launches new social networking project Google+

Posted in Google, Search Engines, SEO, Social Media on July 11th, 2011 by Angelina

Last week, Google threw itself into the big world of social networking. They have launched a new project called Google+ which aims to make Google more social. It is a communications tool designed to complement and reflect all of our offline relationships. At the moment, Google+ is still in a limited field test and the service is currently restricted, unless you were one of the lucky people who got an invitation.

In the past, Google used Twitter for faster indexation of content, to power real time results and also for use in their ranking algorithm. It has been reported that Google removed real time results from Twitter and other websites such as their News and Facebook. However, Google plans to reinstate real time results using Google+.

Even though Google+ is different from Google+1, with each having their own unique functions – they do connect with each other. Users who have a Google+ account or a normal Google account will be able to click on the Google+1 button, which will essentially allow users to vote for their search results and see which websites other connections or friends have “+1ed”. Therefore, the result’s rankings will not only affect you, but also people that you are connected with through Google.

Some of Google+’s features

The main feature of Google+ is the Circles feature, which is similar to Facebook and Twitter Lists. Circles allow you to allocate contacts to Circles e.g. Family, Friends, Snowboarding Group, Acquaintances and whoever else you want in the Circle. You can then publish content to specific Circles or specific individuals, because as Google states, “not all relationships are created equal”.

At the moment, there seems to be more control over privacy on Google+ compared to Facebook. You can share photos with your family in one post, and then publish something publicly in the next post.

Hangout is another feature of Google+. It’s a group video chat feature where you can invite members of a certain group by sending them a notification. An additional feature of the new social networking site is Huddle, which is a mobile group chat service which could also become available from your mobile phone in the near future.

Sparks is an online sharing engine where you can create a topic of interest and share links with group friends who also have the same interests. E.g. you could share results of Snowboarding in France with your “powder chasing” friends.

Why Google+?

Some people may wonder why Google has bothered launching Google+. The reasons are because nowadays, search is about real-time information, people and the relevance of information to them, not just about pages.

Google has been an advocate for real time and social media for a while now, with Google Buzz, Google Places, Google Wave and not to mention the list of its acquisitions of social sites e.g. YouTube and Blogger.com.

The senior vice president who oversees Google’s social product, Vic Gundotra, said “It’s ‘project’ rather than a product because it’s an ongoing set of products and ‘Plus’ because it takes products from Google and makes them better”.

Google doesn’t see itself as a competitor to Facebook or Twitter, as they say that the way people connect online is limited – it’s just a new way to connect online with the people that matter to you.

What’s next?

For now, businesses and organisations have been warned to stay away from Google+. Christian Oestlien, advertising lead on the team behind Google+ explains that the social media site was designed for individuals in mind, “We’re working on building a optimised business experience for Google+ which will hopefully be rolled out later on this year. It will include the ability to connect to other parts of Google such as AdWords and other rich analytics”. However, their main focus at the moment is optimising the consumer experience for Google+.

In terms of SEO, social media won’t replace traditional SEO however, it will indeed help it. SEO practices including link building, content creation, keyword research and targeting will be the foundation for ranking success. Even though social media is gaining more importance and interest, using a combination of both technical SEO techniques and social media are the best steps towards success.

Sadly, we weren’t lucky enough to get our hands on an invite the first time round, but we are looking forward to when we are able to get onboard with the project.

Gravytrain visits the Online Marketing Show 2011

Posted in Conferences, News on July 6th, 2011 by Angelina

Last week the Gravytrain team took a trip to the Online Marketing Show 2011, based in Kensington Olympia’s Grand Hall. The two day conference was held by New Media Age and explored the latest digital media and marketing trends. For all of us in digital marketing, this event was a great opportunity to find out about new innovations and stay ahead of the fast changing environment.

We also get invited to give presentations at industry conferences. The most recent was Gravytrain’s Managing Director, Kevin Taylor, who was a guest speaker at last week’s Social Academy’s seminar. However, it’s great to attend conferences ourselves and hear from other industry experts.

The Online Marketing Show had an impressive speaker line up from global brands such as Dominos, Nokia and Expedia talking about their campaigns which enabled visitors to learn from them and apply the latest thinking to their own projects.

We were also able to catch up on what’s new in mobile and apps, email and more. E.g. how 4G will soon cover rural areas in the UK that don’t currently have access to broadband and how we will be able to pay for our shopping using our mobile phones in the near future.

It was particularly pleasing to see so many brands adopting a multi-channel approach and finally looking at different attribution models.

In an era where some companies operate in as many as a dozen channels, it’s never been more important to understand the value each channel contributes.

We had a great time engaging with some of the best people in the industry, and we’re looking forward to visiting the Online Marketing Show 2012!

July 2011

Me Talking Social Search with Fourth Source

Gravytrain visits the Online Marketing Show 2011

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