Ever since the Twitter’s launch there have been thousands of tools that help expand the experience.  Most people tend to think of the Twitter clients (e.g. Tweetdeck), but there are also a lot of really valuable analytics tools.  Using these periodically will help you to optimize your efforts.  We’ve listed 7 free tools (many have paid premium options) and their best case uses below; tell us which tools you use regularly and how you use them, and we’ll add them to our list!

1. People-powered search results
Every site that incorporates Facebook open social graph tools (like buttons, comment boxes, etc.) is being indexed and ranked by Facebook based on how much Facebook users engage with the content.  As more and more users ‘like’ websites Facebook is beginning to include the popular sites in the Facebook.com search box.  This approach is different from Google, which ranks sites based on linking and content relevancy.  Instead Facebook is prioritizing search results based on what the Facebook audience is saying about sites on the web.  Facebook will also likely prioritize search content based on what your specific friends recommend as well.  Brands can get a head start in ensuring they’re in the Facebook.com search results by implementing Facebook open social graph plug-ins in a smart way and fueling users to start ‘liking’ their content.  Brands can also influence how their sites are listed in Facebook’s search engine by including special meta-data in their site code.

2. Socially powered content farm
Facebook is now automatically building what they call “community pages” for any topics that users list as interests in their profiles.  These community pages enable Facebook to serve up content through their search box that “locks in” users by providing them internal site content rather than sending them out of Facebook the public web.  The community pages are filled with pictures + text pulled directly from Wikipedia about the topic, as well as a stream of status updates that Facebook users have posted on their walls about the topic (any status updates from a viewer’s friends are highlighted first).  Currently the “community pages” are not able to be edited by anyone, and brands cannot claim pages.  However, brands should monitor the conversation that is being aggregated on community pages, and they can join in the stream by publishing content on their own pages about the subjects.

Though we’re still at the early stages of Facebook’s search product and the changes aren’t very visible yet, it’s important for us to pay attention to this on behalf of our brands.  With over 500 million users, Facebook has the ability to make major waves in search very quickly.  We can help prepare our clients for this by recommending smart Facebook SEO tactics- building a robust Facebook presence, leveraging the social graph plug-ins, and watching the community pages.  We need to lead this forward thinking as social search hits prime-time.

Read about how Google is tackling Social Search

Further reading on Facebook SEO:
http://www.allfacebook.com/2010/06/facebook-unleashes-open-graph-search-engine-declares-war-on-google/
http://staynalive.com/articles/facebook-and-the-new-seo/

Promoted Tweets are promoted content, not promoted ads
Ad tweets aren’t separate ad content, they are regular tweets that appear in an advertiser’s actual Twitter stream.  That means they need to provided value to a brand’s regular followers, not just new recruits.  If brands don’t respect that, they will lose the followers they’re recruiting by spamming them.

Promoted Tweets are promoted or demoted based on the value they deliver to consumers
Twitter’s new “resonance” score judges  Promoted Tweets based on how users interact with them.  That means if PT’s are getting RT’d, favorited, clicked on, or @replied then the PT’s will stay highly visible.  If users aren’t engaging, the Promoted Tweet will dissapear with the Normal tweet stream.  The resonance score will force advertisers to really think about what content they pay to promote, and to provide real value, otherwise it will again be a waste of money.

Promoted Tweets are tied to intent not eyeballs
Since at least Twitter’s first evolution of Promoted Tweets is tied to search, the ad content will only appear when a user is looking for related information.  Between search inciting relevancy and the pressure as illustrated above on the ad content being highly valuable from to users / followers, I expect the Promoted Tweets to deliver a positive ad experience.  One that, if done correctly, could change user expectations and demand for advertising content across the board.

To begin with, if you are happy with your Ning community (your audience is engaged and you are seeing the ROI you are looking for) we strongly recommend you consider spending the money to upgrade to one of the paid options.  For a relatively minimal cost you will have added features, custom domains, and the ability to remove ads- all things that will be nice for your budding community.

However, if anyone needs a community presence at no cost, or is simply looking for another option, there are a variety of alternatives.  Many social platforms are quickly announcing that they are building migration tools for brands to shift their community over.  Popular blog service Posterous is opening a migration to a private community contribution blog.  Grou.ps , another (less well known) white-label social networking tool has set up a forum to help people port over their communities as well.

The most important thing to do right now however is to really think about what your needs are, and which social platform is right for your brand.  Certainly there are differences between a blogging-centric community on Posterous versus a private social network on grou.ps, and identifying your objectives & laying out your strategy are the only clear way to start identifying which next step will have the best chance of success.

[For examples of strategic blogging, read our previous post Chris Brogan Teaches Strategic Blogging]

1) Why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is so critical now for brands

• People voice interest in wanting to buy products from brands that align with their personal values, but often don’t due to factors such as awareness, perceived cost, and availability
• CSR is important to brands because it helps them differentiate themselves between competitors and connect people to the personality of the brand
• Stat: 70% of people believe that companies can make a bigger difference in the world than governments can
• CSR is now a standard expectation by consumers rather than a progressive opportunity; consumers require brands to give returns on the investment they’ve received in the market
• Measurement of CSR needs to move beyond the incremental advertising impact to how much social value a company is generating; this forces brands to invest not only in the funding of programs but execution of them as well
  • ex: Pepsi Refresh Project- Not only is Pepsi funding projects, but has partnered with organizations that can help bring people’s ideas to life
  • ex: Time Warner gives money to help young people get educated in science, math, & technology fields, and ROI is judged based on the “number of minds with new educational opportunities”
• New brands are entering the market that maintain CSR a their core, and legacy brands need to prove they’re truly embracing SCR to compete in the public eye
  • ex: Method & Greenworks are “CSR” brands from their origin; A legacy behemoth though like Pepsi will effect significantly more change by making improvements, such as when they reduced the plastic in their bottles and started making bio-degradable chip bags

2) Why social media plays a critical in activating in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Social media is an important channel to help maintain transparency & authenticity around how funds are being allocated
  • ex: (RED) needs to ensure the public that donated money is allocated responsibly
• Social media enables people to spread the word about brands that represent their ideals
• Social is also the environment where companies that are socially irresponsible are discussed, and it’s important to be part of the conversation to make sure consumers know the brand’s efforts

Pepsi’s efforts with the Refresh Project that they kicked off in replacement of their normal Super Bowl spend is getting a lot of attention as one of the most high profile CSR efforts. Pepsi stated that they are tapping into the generational undercurrent of “seeing the power of the individual’s idea”, the same way they would have tapped another cultural trend as the core of their business. They’re giving control of the program over to their consumers, and providing the resources to the public to ensure their investment doesn’t go wasted. They’re investing heavily overall in transforming their company to one that matches performance with purpose, which has lead to their green efforts along with their CSR efforts. It’s a long term shift that will be manifested throughout their company, not just the marketing side.

Why is this critical for companies to recognize and incorporate in their SEO? Because your corporate website, no matter how well it’s ranked, is being quickly overshadowed by all of the social content g your brand.  Now results are filled with a slew if blog posts, tweets as they happen, and the links a person’s friend shared about the brand on Facebook.

Don’t worry, though- brands don’t have to be left in the cold.  They do need to start engaging consumers in social spaces, producing content of value, and making their content sharable.  That way the valuable information is getting shared and enforced by advocates and being included by Google in the spaces reserved for the user’s social graph.

This, by the way, is why SEO was on my list of 9 Reasons Why Social Media is important for the bottom line.

(image courtesy of Cibergaita on flickr)

Over at the DraftFCBlog I have a new post up all about how to be a savvy marketer you need stop simply reading about new products & services like Twitter and Foursquare and you need to jump in and experience them for true insights:

It’s clear to everyone that old world disruption advertising models have a smaller role in the future of marketing.  As advertisers we need to be able to know how to engage with our audiences in meaningful and valuable ways.  The only way we can do this is if we invest real time in experiencing and learning the new media landscape.  We need to stop asking what tweets are or why someone just became “mayor of the 33rd & 5th street Starbucks.” We need to sign up for these new and unusual (or possibly scary or stupid) products and services, or we’ll be left behind.

Read the post and let us know what you think.  Are you jumping in?

When I jumped over to Digg this morning a new McDonalds campaign was being displayed displayed:

Check out this morning’s early risers:
Stories so fresh they’re not on the homepage yet

It’s nothing flashy, but it’s clever enough that it made me smile, and even made me consider going downstairs to get an Egg McMuffin.  And really, that’s all it needed to do.

post-script: I do seem to have an infatuation with advertising on Digg lately- they just seem to be making real progress with campaigns that fit for their audience

Recently Mashable started running a series of “Seizing Opportunities” videos with their sponsor UPS.  The ads are done in white-board style, feature the usual UPS music, and focus on a social media topics that Mashable editors can speak to in a useful way in just a few minutes.  As an execution I was already impressed, but it turns out the Mashable program is just one piece of UPS’s overall content strategy.  The bigger picture can be seen on the UPS “Popurls brown edition:  The Dashboard for Business News” page.  Here UPS has created a valuable content hub designed to help their customers with everything they need to know about business – curated news on specific topics, “seizing opportunities” videos from a variety of content partners that can speak with expertise on specific topics, and their own commercials.

All together it seems like UPS has come up with a killer strategy.  They’re utilizing key strategic partners like Mashable to create custom content that’s tailor suited for Mashable’s audience and also manages to be synergistic with the ideal UPS customer – a business person looking for business solutions.  This same custom solution is being built out with TechDirt, VentureBeat, and other niche blogs.  Then it’s all being aggregated to provided a very valuable, well rounded solution center for their consumers- all while ingraining the catchy UPS soundtrack & logo into the customer’s head for quick reminder when their packaging & shipping needs arise.  Proving once and again that producing valuable content is the best strategy.