Digital Connections – 360i Blog, Digital Marketing Agency

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Yesterday Twitter announced a new feature, dubbed Fast Follow, that will let people (only in the US for now) follow Twitter accounts without actually signing up for the service. Twitter is hoping to tap into soaring mobile consumption rates by allowing mobile users to opt into SMS updates for any Twitter account. (More on SMS Marketing in our recent report).

To receive mobile updates from any Twitter account, simply text ‘follow [username]’ to 40404. For example, you can text ‘follow 360i’ to 40404 to get updates from us in real time, all the time. To get only the most recent tweet, text ‘Get [username]’ to that same shortcode.

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Images via Mashable’s Evan Wexler

Social media is and always has been driven by technological innovation. And though every toy, gadget or device that hits the market might not be as important as, say, the printing press – these technologies are pushing the industry forward at a rapid clip, creating an environment where creativity and ingenuity flourish.

Here at 360i we’ve created our own testing ground of sorts – the 360i Emerging Media Lab – for exploring the most up-and-coming technologies. In addition to serving as home base for David Berkowitz, our Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation, this glorified workspace is a tech-head’s dream. That’s why Mashable featured the Lab today as part of its brand new Cubicle Spy series, which takes a look inside the neatest, quirkiest, and most gadget-laden offices of people who work in social media.

You can check out Mashable’s coverage to see their gallery of awesome 360-degree photos taken last week at the Lab (talk about cool tech). Beyond that, here’s a look at some of our favorite toys – and why we’re so crazy about them.

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Today’s Monday roundup features headlines from the Microsoft-Yahoo search alliance, the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides concerning blogger-marketer relations, Facebook and more. Get the full scoop in our summary below.

Yahoo Readies Transition to Microsoft adCenter

This week Yahoo took to its blog to share more information regarding its search alliance with Microsoft. The deal between the companies, first announced last July, stipulated that Yahoo Search Marketing accounts would eventually be transitioned to Microsoft’s adCenter platform. Per Yahoo, this transition is coming “soon.”

Here is some of the latest information on the transition from Yahoo:

Account management: Self-serve advertisers will need to create new adCenter account or link an existing adCenter account to a YSM account. By the end of August advertisers will notice an adCenter tab within YSM – and at this tab Yahoo will outline the steps necessary to link the accounts. Advertisers with a Yahoo account manager will get “direct assistance.”

Interim budgeting: After creating an adCenter account, ads will be eligible to serve on Bing immediately. This means that advertisers will manage both the new adCenter account and the existing YSM account at the same time “until ad serving for Yahoo traffic transitions to adCenter.” Given this, Yahoo urges advertisers to plan to budget accordingly.

Organic search: Natural results within Yahoo will be powered by Bing beginning later this month. Yahoo previously posted some tips for ensuring marketers are making the most of this new SEO landscape. Expect more analysis of these organic search implications on the 360i blog as the transition takes hold.

For more information, read our full Report on the Microsoft-Yahoo Search Alliance, or check out the Yahoo Transition Center, which houses materials to help advertisers learn more about the changes.

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Back in October the FTC updated its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and established precise rules for disclosure when it comes to marketers interacting with online influencers. The news was significant to the digital community because for the first time since 1980, there were specific parameters for digital word of mouth outreach programs.

The FTC recently clarified some of these changes to provide marketers and PR professionals with a better understanding of what the new regulations mean and how they are being enforced – and answered some of the most common questions at length in a new article on its website.

Here is our summary of the key takeaways:

The rumor that bloggers who fail to comply with the Guides can be fined $11,000 is a myth. The FTC notes that press reports to the contrary were wrong, and that there is in fact no fine for not complying with an FTC regulation. If enforcement measures are needed, the advertiser – not the blogger – will be the focus.

Per the FTC, bloggers are NOT held to a higher standard that reporters. According to the Commission, “paper-and-ink” publications are not held to a lesser standard than blogs: “The issue is – and always has been – whether the audience understands the reviewer’s relationship to the company whose products are being reviewed.” When it comes to reviews in newspapers, on TV or on a news-affiliated website, it’s assumed that the reviewer did not buy the product being reviewed. For example, it’s expected that film critics do not front the cost of their own tickets. However, the FTC notes that when it comes to personal blogs, readers often do not expect the reviewer to have a relationship with the brands they mention.

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Per an announcement on its Lat Long blog, Google is now allowing businesses to respond to consumer reviews within Google Places listings. Google Places, formerly known as the Local Business Center, was launched in April and provides businesses with the ability to get found, communicate with customers and provide real-time updates and offers.

Prior to Google Places, a brand’s local business information was viewable only in a Google Map bubble within search results. With the advent Google Places, a permanent HTML page and Google web address become available for places and businesses (see images below).

Caption: Google Map listing with reviews (appears within search results)

Caption: Google Place Pages are permanent HTML pages that contain additional information about venues, as well as maps, photos, reviews and more.

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Mobile commerce is in its infancy, with relatively few consumers making purchases directly from their mobile devices, and relatively few retailers and marketers offering an easy way for consumers to do so.

While they may not be purchasing (yet), consumers are increasingly shopping via mobile handsets, such as researching products and services before completing transactions in stores or online. Coupons delivered via mobile media are sending more consumers to stores, and several competing formats of mobile barcodes are delivering product information largely to smartphone users.

The accelerated intersection of mobile, local, social and commerce is erasing the distinction between online and offline environments and holds major promise for retailers. In this sixth and penultimate POV in a series on mobile marketing, we review the state of mobile shopping and some notable ways marketers are using barcodes and coupons.

360i POV: Mobile Shopping, Coupons & Barcodes

Here’s a look at what happened in digital over the last week: Ask.com and Facebook both launched Q&A offerings, 360i released a white paper on Twitter and how it’s being used by consumers and marketers, SCVNGR announced a new rewards program and Forrester debated whether marketers should care about location-based social platforms. Find full recaps of these and other stories in the post below. And follow @360i on Twitter for insights from our team all week long.

360i Study Uncovers New Findings about Twitter Usage Among Consumers, Brands

Last week we shared the results of a six-month study tracking Twitter usage among consumers and marketers. Why are people using Twitter – and how? And given these insights, how can marketers use the service to create deeper connections with consumers?

Key conclusions from the study include:
(1) A major disparity exists between how consumers and marketers are using Twitter.
Most marketers are still largely using Twitter to broadcast, while consumers are using Twitter to converse. The study reveals that the number one reason for a consumer to compose an original tweet (non re-tweet) is to converse with another user, with conversations between users representing 43 percent of all original consumer tweets. By contrast, three out of four tweets by marketers contain messaging centered on news and information, with only 16 percent demonstrating active dialogue with consumers.

(2) Conversations about brands on Twitter are still limited.
According to the study, only 12 percent of consumer tweets mention a brand by name. When they do refer to a brand, consumers are sharing news or information about the brand (43 percent) or reporting use of or interaction with the brand (35 percent).

(3) Twitter presents a huge opportunity for brands to learn about their customers.
The study shows that Twitter continues to be an important tool for brands to listen to what consumers are saying and to get to know their customers better, as 94 percent of tweets are personal in nature and 85 percent of tweets represent original content (non-retweets). Unlike with Facebook, where privacy controls make it difficult for marketers to monitor conversations among consumers, only eight percent of Twitter users make their tweets private, creating a ripe platform for online listening.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Ask.com Unveils New Site, While Facebook Launches “Questions”

Last week, Ask.com unveiled a new version of their site, currently in beta, which will combine the engine’s search technology and leverage the power of the Ask.com community to provide answers to users’ questions. Ask President Scott Garell claims that Ask.com receives four times more questions than the other search engines, and that this latest site evolution will help Ask take advantage of what they “believe will be a multi-billion dollar Q&A category.”

A day later, Facebook seemed to concur with the market’s potential, launching Facebook Questions. Much like Ask’s new site, Facebook Questions will rely on the power of their global community, which recently reached 500 million strong.

These latest features are evidence of the continued collision of search and social. Google has made its own headway in this area with the recent acquisition of start-up Metaweb and other companies are sure to emerge as this area heats up.

SCVNGR Launches Local Rewards Program

Last week the location-based mobile game SCVNGR announced a new rewards program that will offer discounts and free giveaways at 1,000 locations for completing custom-built challenges on their mobile phones.

SCVNGR, who also pioneered the “social check-in” which allows users to check in simultaneously to earn points, is finding new and creative ways to engage mobile users in real world places. Businesses can take advantage of the new rewards program and offer unique incentives for customers who complete different challenges.

With the added level of interactive games and challenges to the geo-location social check-in, SCVNGR is certainly a player to watch.

To Foursquare or Not to Foursquare?

In a study published last week, Forrester reports that only 4% of U.S. online adults have ever used location-based mobile apps such as Foursquare and that nearly 80% of them are male. Given these findings, Forrester recommends that marketers trying to reach a male audience may want to test out location-based start-ups, but suggests most major marketers should steer clear given the platforms’ small audience size.

However, in a POV in Ad Age, 360i’s Sarah Hofstetter rebuts that Foursquare and other location-based social networks do hold promise for many marketers, despite their scale.

Early adopters of emerging platforms often maintain a disproportionate share of influence in their own social circles, so can potentially help a brand spread their message organically both on and off the original platform. In addition, brands who approach new platforms and experiment early on will be ahead of the game when and if these platforms take off. The sooner you get involved, the faster your influential fan network can go to work on your behalf and the more you can ultimately reap from these bleeding-edge platforms.

For more on why we consider Foursquare a ripe opportunity for many brands, you can read the full article over on Advertising Age.

Which stories piqued your interest this week? Let us know in the comments below.