Yesterday, we dove into Search Plus Your World (catch up here if you missed it).

Here’s how this new social searching platform can have great potential for your brand:

Let’s say John Doe is looking to remodel his bathroom. Because Google is the largest search engine, we’ll assume he uses Google to search out how-to tips and product recommendations. For now, let’s assume that John Doe has a Google account. On his personal search page he sees a few of the people in his circles have +1’d a particular brand of paint and added photos to Google+ of remodeling projects they have completed using certain floor tiles. John Doe also added The Home Depot to his circles and sees posts from them about bathroom remodeling tips including videos they posted to YouTube.

Now let’s assume that John Doe doesn’t have a Google account. He searches for the same keywords and in the right hand side bar he sees several Google+ profiles from prominent remodeling companies and DIY stores. Next to some of the search results he sees a picture of the person or brand who authored the post.

Because people trust people they know and because the human eye is naturally drawn to pictures as opposed to text, the search results that are associated with a Google profile will most likely get more hits than those that are not. If your brand has a Google profile and is using it to its full potential, you could start seeing the benefits of Search Plus Your World very soon.

It seems like every few weeks there’s something new from Google to talk about. This week’s hot topic is Search Plus Your World. You’ll recall that when Google Plus was introduced there was a lot of talk about the concept of social searching, the idea that search would be about more than keywords; it would integrate a person’s social network into the search experience to deliver better results. We first saw this take shape in the form of the +1 button on Google and Facebook Likes displaying in Bing. Search Plus Your World is phase two of the social searching phenomenon.

Search Plus, as most are calling it, will deliver personal search results for anyone logged in to their Google account, including photos and information shared by their contacts on Google+. In addition, a list of related people and pages on Google+ will appear in the right side bar even if the searcher is not logged in to their Google account.

Google also has been slowly adding use of the rel=”author” HTML tag. This tag is designed to designate who is the original author of any content on the web and link it to their Google profile, which Google hopes will one day serve as the central location for information about the author/brand. What this means right now is that, if set up properly, when a post you write or a page you authored shows up in a search result, your picture will display next to the result with a link to your Google profile. For well established brands and thought-leaders, this can add instant credibility to the search result and increase the likelihood that someone will click through to your website. This feature is still being phased in and there’s no word yet on when displaying pictures will become standard issue for anyone with rel=”author” added to their page, but it is starting to show up.

Check in tomorrow to learn how this can have great potential for your brand.

By now I’m sure you’ve either asked or been asked one of the following questions: “Why should my business be involved in social media?”… “Is my Facebook page really generating more sales?”… and “What’s the ROI of paying someone to manage my presence on social media?” These are all very important questions, but unfortunately they are often very difficult to answer with concrete numbers, unlike the same questions about more traditional advertising methods. Until now.

Previously, these questions were usually answered with a narrative explaining how social media differs from traditional media and that included the words “fans,” “followers,” “comments,” “likes,” “retweets,” and “engagement.” These words however, never conveyed concrete figures that could be turned into ROI. And, inevitably, a few weeks or months later the same questions were being asked.

These conversations are now changing thanks to the new Facebook Insights. Think of it as website analytics for your Facebook page. The new Facebook Insights offers a barrage of data including how many fans you have, how many friends your fans have (the potential number of people you could reach if fans share your content), how many people are talking about your page, your page’s weekly reach, and how each of these numbers have changed from the previous week. You can also see what content was the most effective by looking at the reach, engagement, talking about, and virality numbers for each of your posts.

Digging deeper, the Likes, Reach, Talking About This, and Check-ins tabs break the data down by demographics so you know if you are reaching the right audience. These pages also let you know how you reached people (organic, viral or paid), daily breakdown of page views and unique views, the most popular tabs on your page, external referrers, and how people are accessing your page. You can break all of this information down into whatever time frame you prefer for accurate comparisons.

Taking all of this into consideration you should be able to present some pretty concrete numbers on whether or not your efforts on Facebook are reaching the right people and whether or not they are responding.

Demonstrating conversion rates with these numbers is still going to require some extra effort (like asking new customers where they heard about your company, offering deals only on Facebook and measuring the response, etc.), but it’s a good start. But you should not only be using these numbers for reporting… use them for improving as well. Take a look at what kind of content you get the best response from and do more of that. You should constantly be honing and refining your online strategy (not just on Facebook) by looking at the numbers (Insights, Analytics, or any other reports you generate).

I would suggest that you open up your Facebook page right now and click on the Insights tab. Take the guided tour and if you’re looking for more information and ways to use the data check out the Facebook Insights Guide for Page Owners.

I’ve written recently about Google’s latest venture into the social networking realm with Google Plus.
By now you probably know about all its bells and whistles and have heard countless arguments for and against its future success. Some people believe, like Google does, that Circles and Hangouts will fundamentally change the way we communicate online and that is reason enough for its success. Others believe that Google is too late to the social networking game and Google Plus will fall to the wayside like Wave and Buzz.

But at the end of the day, Google Plus’ success or failure comes down to a numbers game. Google Plus is reportedly sitting at around 40 million users (no report on how many of those users are actually active on the site) while Facebook has passed the 800 million mark. Yes, that means that Google Plus has plenty of room to grow. But that also means it has a lot of room to fail.

Google Plus and Facebook are both social networks. Networks, by their very nature, thrive on the connections between members of the network. Without those connections, there is no network. The 800 million users of Facebook have a well-developed network that contains their friends, family members, groups, restaurants, stores, etc. They know how to use the network, they know where everyone is in the network, they have established their personal network and are using it well. Now enter Google Plus. Initially, the innovators and early adopters all jumped on board to try out the latest Google product. But now Google Plus must move on to the next stage and attract the early and late majority of people. These are the categories where most consumers fall and these are the categories where products meet their fate.

However, the problem is not that Google needs a user to join its network; the problem is that Google needs the user’s network to join its network.

Many individual users have joined Google Plus, but they don’t come back because that isn’t where their network is. For Google Plus to be worth a person’s time, the user must be able to connect with people they know in a meaningful manner. Think about the old adage about a tree falling in the forest. If no one is around to read your content, did you really communicate? Even if the tree grew legs, danced and sang, no one knows it because no one is around.

Google is asking people to completely rebuild their online networks on a new platform. But what incentive do they have? We can talk all day about how Google Plus helps us better target our content, how much it will improve SEO, how we could one day integrate social into every aspect of our web experience! But at the end of the day, does the average internet user care? Or do they just want to look at their friends’ pictures and play Angry Birds?

The question Google must ask is “what will it take for the average person to abandon their online network of friends and completely rebuild it?” Why should someone open a Google Plus account and devote as much time to it as they do to Facebook when they will still have to maintain their Facebook profile… because that’s where most of their friends still are?

Neil Vidyarthi hit on this question exactly when he wrote that Google must create an incentive for people to come. He points out that Google is adding new features to Plus all the time, banking that one of those features will be the one to win us all over. But more importantly, Google is waiting for Facebook to make its next big mistake. The idea is that when Facebook does something so inexcusable, Google Plus will be ready and waiting for the flood of users looking to rebuild their network. And that may not be a bad strategy considering the past blunders that Facebook has had surrounding privacy issues and the always persistent threat of security breaches. But what about right now? I don’t think Google is satisfied with waiting for Facebook to fail. It looks like it will continue churning out new features and integrating Plus with more web experiences until the the winning ticket is found.

So what does this mean for your user account or your brand page? It means the exact same thing that it does for Google. Plus isn’t dead. It still might be the next big thing. You should be there, figuring out how it works, deciding what features work best for your needs, deciding how best to use them. It’s a sandbox right now. Play around, try different things. And when that flood of people finally comes pouring in, you’ll be waiting there for them ready to go with everything already figured out. Or Google Plus will shut down and you would have been part of a large social experiment that failed. But that’s the chance we have to take. After all, wouldn’t you rather be able to say you tried something and it didn’t work than have to say you ignored the next revolution in online communication?

Kleber & Associates (K&A), an Atlanta-based integrated marketing and communications firm specializing in the home and commercial building products channel, has been chosen as the public relations and social media agency  for the International Woodworking Fair (IWF). Now responsible for expanding brand awareness of the IWF event through media relations and online communications, K&A will head up these initiatives in an effort to promote and grow awareness of this bi-annual event.

“Recently, we have felt a need to expand  our reach into new business sectors,” said Michael Burdis, IWF 2012 Chairman and President of James L. Taylor Manufacturing Company, “With their experience in the building industry; Kleber & Associates was an excellent choice.”

IWF strives to be the tradeshow where industry leaders can find the latest innovative products, machinery, materials and design. IWF 2012 will be held August 22-25, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia USA at the Georgia World Congress Center.

“We are very excited to begin our work with IWF,” said Steve Kleber, president and owner of K&A. “Especially as the company plans to introduce new products and designs for their 2012 event in the months to come, K&A is honored to be entrusted with the task to help build the IWF brand through public relations and social media.”

About IWF- International Woodworking Fair

The largest woodworking technology trade show in the Western hemisphere is held every other year at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, and is ranked among the largest trade shows in the world. Recognized around the world as the pre-eminent event for introducing and selling manufacturing equipment, supplies and innovative new technology, IWF attracts visitors from every level of the industry and over eighty countries and all fifty states.  For more information about the International Woodworking Fair, go online to www.iwfatlanta.com, or call 404-693-8333.

Very recently, Google made two big announcements – one you probably heard about, and the other you probably didn’t. Most people know that Google finally introduced brand pages for Google+, its social network launched this summer. Since the beginning, brands have been trying to get on to the site but Google has repeatedly denied their attempts, stating the network “wasn’t ready” for brands. But it seems like it’s finally ready. The brand pages have a similar look and feel to profile pages and allow users to subscribe to the page by adding it to a circle, just as they do with people profiles. And just like with Facebook and Twitter, it provides companies with another avenue to connect with their customers.

But more important than all that is the effect these pages will start having on search and online advertising. With the introduction of the +1 button, internet users could rate pages that they like, indicating to their friends which sites may be worthwhile and which are not. In essence, the +1 button made search more social. And now brand pages will make it even more social by aggregating all the +1 of a brand or company into a central location. The +1 history of a user and people in their circles will factor into the Google search algorithm to make search results more relevant to each person. In addition, this data will be factored into the Google Ad targeting algorithm, taking into account the +1 activity of a brand’s connections and the +1 activity of paid ads. Content that the brand generates with high +1 activity (on any platform) will feed information into the targeting information, allowing brands to better target ads and increase their influence. Google doesn’t just want brands to use this as another communication platform; it wants brands to increase their cumulative online presence.

Another announcement by Google last week flew lower on the radar and was overlooked by many companies in the excitement of Google Plus. Think Insights with Google was officially taken out of beta with a brand new look. The website is essentially a think tank of research about a variety of trends, industries and insights. For example:

• 70% of smartphone users use their device while shopping in stores
• Search activity doubles after becoming a mom: moms conduct 21 searches per week vs. 11 for non-moms
• Adding seller ratings to a search ad can boost click-through rates by more than 10%

In addition, Think Insights for Search (still in beta) also offers a wealth of information about search trends like:

• Canada produced the most searches for home building on the internet, followed by Australia and the US (Montana was the state with the highest number of searches for home building)
• Green home building is the top rising search in the home building category

Allowing you to organize search data by regions as small as cities, businesses can tap into this knowledge bank to improve their search optimization and online ad targeting. It also gives access to case studies and insights like the Zero Moment of Truth theory, organized by industry, media platform, audience, and marketing objective. I highly recommend that you spend some time on these sites… discovering what information is available.

All in all, it was a big week for Google and a big week for businesses looking to improve their online presence. How do you plan to use Google+ Brand Pages and Insights for your brand?

Earlier this year, Google introduced Google Wallet, a revolutionary way to pay for items using Near Field Communication (NFC) to turn your smartphone into your wallet. But Google’s not the only one turning smartphones into something more powerful.

Blackberry announced that starting in 2012 several of its phones will be equipped with NFC technology similar to that used by doors that are unlocked by tapping cards to a card reader.

Image source: Geek.com

So instead of using a card to get into your apartment building or office, you’ll just need your smartphone. Blackberry says this will create an extra layer of security by allowing users to set a PIN on their phone that must be entered after the door has “scanned” their device. Preventing thieves from being able to access your home by stealing your card, they would now have to figure out your PIN, too.

There’s no word yet on whether other phone manufacturers will start adding similar features to future phone models, but with NFC technology already being explored by other manufacturers (again, think Google Wallet), it seems to be a logical progression of events. This could have major implications for both door and door lock manufacturers and security companies. If home security via smartphone is the way of the future, doors that come standard with this technology and integrate into the home’s security system could be a very real possibility. And why stop at the front door? Could we see security system keypads replaced by an NFC receiver? Or perhaps a security system that detects when an NFC-enabled device goes out of a home’s range and automatically arms the system? Smartphones already touch many parts of our lives, and soon they will change the way we think about home security.

As election season draws closer, candidates are eagerly throwing their hats into the ring in hopes of gaining early momentum and public confidence. Evident in the last national election cycle, social media plays a key role in political campaigns now. As more people spend more time on social networking sites and less time in front of traditional media, candidates are being forced to use new tactics to reach their constituents. This year, a new service from Facebook is changing the political game once again, and this change has an important implication for brands as well.

Bloomberg Businessweek recently spotlighted Michele Bachmann’s campaign as one of the first to take advantage of Facebook’s just-released advertising tools that the company is currently marketing to politicians. Rather than targeting ads based solely on demographic information, the new software allows candidates to tap into the mass amounts of information that Facebook regularly collects about its users including likes, interests, status updates and more. Using this information, campaigns are able to create ads tailored to very narrow and specific audiences, sometimes as small as a few dozen people. While the technology is still relatively new and solid metric results are yet to be seen, Bachmann’s campaign claims that “a significant portion of the people who pushed her over the top in Iowa…came as a result of the ad campaign.”

Facebook emphasizes that the purpose of the super targeted ads is not to simply increase the number of likes – it is to increase engagement with constituents.

“What I push with folks is that, while the fan count matters, how many people are interacting with it really matters. How many people are liking it, commenting on it, sharing it with their friends,” says Facebook’s Katie Harbath.

In politics, this means getting people to go vote and campaign for a candidate. However, measuring and monetizing the effect of these campaigns on true engagement is something no one can truly do yet. There is currently no way to know for sure whether these ads resulted in Bachmann’s Iowa win or whether they ignite any more engagement than Facebook Ads targeted solely on demographics.

But the ideas this new kind of advertising raises is important for brands to take note of because, most likely, Facebook will offer this technology to advertisers outside the political realm in the future. Namely, think about the following things.

• Do you know your customers well enough to target just a few dozen of them based on common interest?
• Do you have the time and skill to create effective ads for each niche of your target (a Bachmann campaign staffer said he designed more than 1,000 ads during a 45 day time period)?
• Do you know what the next step of engagement is beyond a “like” that you want to see from your customers?
• What can you be doing now to move beyond a simple like into true engagement?

How often do you use your smartphone in place of your computer to surf the Internet?  Smartphone technology is very well suited for those of us on the go. The common saying “there’s an app for that” may be more true than we might believe.  With a simple touch of the screen, we are able to gather information all over the web.  Companies are learning that the integration of mobile websites and apps can have a positive impact on business.  The goal of any successful mobile website or app is to create a pleasant experience for the customer, with one of the most important factors being easy navigation.

As technology advances at the pace of a freight train, it’s important that companies are able to keep up. The article “IKEA Rolls out iAd Campaign to Drive App Downloads” gives some insight into IKEA’s clever use of mobile apps.  The home furniture and accessories brand released its 2012 catalogue, which can now be viewed via a mobile app.  After clicking on the IKEA’s iAd, you are sent directly to the Apple App Store where the catalogue can then be downloaded for free.  The convenience and availability of mobile apps attracts customers and can therefore boost a company’s sales.

Target is also a big advocate on marketing through the use of mobile technology.  According to “Why Retailers Should Integrate Mobile Device Technology into Their Marketing Strategy,” Target uses a variety of mobile app strategies to attract customers.  If a customer is shopping at any Target store, he or she can use the barcode scanner on the Target mobile app to scan a product, which will result in detailed information about that product.  Both Target and IKEA are successful retailers that are taking necessary steps to expand their respective brands.  What other companies do you notice that are exercising smart mobile marketing campaigns?

Generation Y (the Millennials) has been getting a lot of attention lately. As the most recent consumer group to enter the housing market, many believe that the nation’s economic recovery rests largely in the hands of this generation. And buying homes is just the beginning. These young, enthusiastic couples and families need things to fill their homes and companies have taken note, launching new ad campaigns targeted directly at Gen Y.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the importance of design to Millennial customers and touched briefly on the idea that Millennials like sharing things with others. The Pew Research Center did a study over this very topic and found that Millennials not only like sharing things now, but they plan on continuing to share as they age. This love of sharing explains why social networks have become so popular among this generation.

Millennials enjoy helping others and building relationships. Helping someone solve their problem is a mutually rewarding interaction to Gen Y. Receiving credit for answering a question is reward enough for these individuals. They enjoy sharing things with the people they know because they want to be the first person to tell their friends. Being first gives them credibility and elevates their status among their network. And speaking of networks, helping each other and sharing new ideas is amplified through social networks. Not only can someone answer a question on a discussion forum, but that question and answer live on to benefit future users. Sharing new ideas is quick and easy on social networks, where information travels at light speed. And as people help and share more online, the number of people they reach increases, their network grows, giving them exponential opportunities to interact. . These types of online activities are just what Gen Y has been looking for – a way to share and help people taken to the extreme.

And of course we can’t forget about doing things for the common good. Not only do Gen Y-ers want to help one another, they want to help society as a whole. Wikis that rely on the efforts of many individuals to survive, attract these types of people. Increasing world knowledge on Wikipedia helps everyone and satisfies the user’s need to share. The crowdsourcing phenomenon feeds off this enthusiasm as well – why leave a decision to one person in a company when there are thousands of online participants, willing to help you out for free? The concept of open source platforms also has become popular with Millennials because a brand’s willingness to share and accept advice from users is what Gen Y looks for. They want to have a say in what a company does, and they want to help you improve.

So why ignore them? If your customer base is willing to give advice and help you make decisions, why not let them? There is a wealth of knowledge that exists in the crowd just waiting to be tapped. And Millennials don’t require much: they don’t need payments, they don’t need shiny bells and whistles… they just need you to be as open and honest with them as they are with you. They need you to trust them. Share with them, and they will share with you. Solve their problems, and they will solve yours.