Sure, I’m on Facebook every day. Whether I am checking to see if an old friend’s baby was born yet, telling everyone I know about the most brilliant/creative thing (in all of history!) that my toddler just did, or looking for my free bagel coupon from Einstein Bros., my day is not quite complete without a quick glance at Facebook on my iPhone, or on the good ol’ trusty computer. Almost every mother I know would say the same. Or would they?

Click here to read her full article in iMedia Connection.

Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. with panel discussion and guest Q&A until 8 p.m. Just follow this link to register. http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q%2cM3%2c38b94083-838a-4f05-b6f1-b20e37275482

Attention Atlanta area online marketers! Join us and spread the word: We are holding an exclusive educational event focused on Social Media Strategies: Engaging Consumers and Driving Results.  Join the Range team, along with executive speakers from Facebook, Omniture and Journeys for an evening of idea-sharing and networking.

Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. with panel discussion and guest Q&A until 8 p.m. Just follow this link to register and find out more details for the May 4 event! (http://tiny.cc/aa7u2)

Ugg Boots for the 32-year-old woman?

It’s bad enough that I know I’m 32, but now you know too and are just throwing it in my face! All in the name of some sort of commerce?! Tacky.

I’m wondering if you can explain how my being 32 connects me to your product? I would think the fact that I’m 32 would automatically remove me from your horribly built list. I’m soooo over you. I thought you were kind of cool 8 years ago, but times have changed. I’ve moved on. My daughter likes you now; somehow, you don’t make her feet feel claustrophobic and sweaty like you do mine. Also, I’m a strong believer that moms’ and daughters’ fashion should not overlap, which means you’re now going against the grain of my good upbringing.

And let’s not forget your terrible use of a call to action. I saw this exact same offer yesterday and the day before that. Perhaps you live in an alternate universe where time means completely different things, but here on earth, within the hallowed halls of Facebook, 3 minutes means exactly 180 seconds. Otherwise, I’d still be 19 years old, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation!

I won’t belabor this, but simply put, your advertising has elicited the opposite reaction of what it intends. Targeting done right is great. This, done poorly to the point of pathetic, is counterproductive at best and offensive at worst.

Sadly, you’ll have to wait for Facebook to release their study to get your stats. Let me just say it’s fascinating and I really appreciated the content. How’s that for licking the red right off your sucker?! Ha! Sorry… It’s just too fun to tease you all.

So while I was there I caught the original purpose of the study. Why would a company like Facebook need to do research about moms on Facebook we all wondered? Doesn’t FB have some gigantic database resembling a NASA command center? Can’t they just run a report?

Turns out, they can’t. There is no report. What this got me thinking about is what Facebook even requires you to input about yourself so they can get their data. So I spent a few minutes trying to remember back SO LONG AGO to when I did setup my FB account. Get this! I couldn’t remember. I’ve been a Facebook member for so long I literally don’t remember what they required me to put in there. Therefore I created an account for my alter-ego, to remain nameless.

So far, they’ve got my alter-ego’s “name” “email” “gender” and “birthday”. Not too bad, just tell them my basic demographic, which if you have a cell phone, catalog subscription, TV subscription or grocery store loyalty card you would have shared that with them.

Facebook: Fill Out Your Profile Info

Please notice the SKIP button. I used this feature through the entire process and still only provided the minimum of information. Now, I my alter-ego has a FB account to monitor and control the minds of others interact, complain, advertise etc to all sorts of people.

You may be asking right now “Parksy-pants? What is the point of this exercise?”

You’re in luck, because I’m finally getting to my point. My POINT, since you’ve been so patient is this:

When the mass of users on the web are starting to get a concerned that advertisers are using web browsing history, demographic data, (information that will only make their experience more relevant BTW) do they stop to think about all the information that they offer up freely? While I may have been able to go all the way through this process without so much as a real fact other than a working email address, most people don’t do that. They put in every piece of detail to make the experience as rich as possible. They want things that are relevant, they want people they know to be their friend on Facebook. I don’t usually get too upset about the general consumer and their lack of understanding of what “we do” with the internet. But I do find that if people paid a bit more attention, they actually have more control over things than they thought.

So behavioral targeting, re-targeting media, relevant ads on gmail… all of it – it’s to help and yet this side hasn’t been shared. I think it’s an important reminder to us all, that the next time you run a retargeting campaign the consumer might not want to see an offer for 20% off because you are being intrusive.

Yeah, you know what – I’ll eat all the bacon the Ritz Carlton can throw me if that’s the answer consumers give you.

Google actually launched a site at this URL. On this site, you could perform searches and get a glimpse into the world of the search results from the Caffeine algorithm. As we investigated the ranking results in Caffeine, we noticed the top 10 rankings were undergoing daily fluctuations, for brand and non-brand search terms and phrases. Overall it was very unpredictable. There were times when the rankings for one keyword would change throughout the day. One thing we could all agree on: Google was presenting results more quickly. Google must have decided that users wanted results more quickly.

Google updated the Caffeine algorithm every day. With the rise of real-time search (i.e. Twitter and Facebook updates), as well as the continued explosion of image search and video search, we were expecting to see a lot of new results in the top 10 rankings for any given keyword or phrase. In fact, many SEOs are guessing that this new algorithm will affect the core nature of how URLs are ranked via links and PageRank. Caffeine was also a way for Google to test the placement of news, images, videos, shopping results, etc… in a new layout for universal search results. You can see a lot of that today already. There’s more images, videos and news items in the top 10 results. It appears that Caffeine will bring about even more changes in the layout for universal search.

Today, Google took down the Caffeine sandbox::

We appreciate all the feedback from people who searched on our Caffeine sandbox.
Based on the success we’ve seen, we believe Caffeine is ready for a larger audience. Soon we will activate Caffeine more widely, beginning with one data center. This sandbox is no longer necessary and has been retired, but we appreciate the testing and positive input that webmasters and publishers have given.

Matt Cutts, Google’s chief spam cop and all-around spokesperson for all things search, followed up on his blog with this:

I know that webmasters can get anxious around this time of year, so I wanted to reassure site owners that the full Caffeine roll out will happen after the holidays. Caffeine will go live at one data center so that we can continue to collect data and improve the technology, but I don’t expect Caffeine to go live at additional data centers until after the holidays are over. Most searchers wouldn’t immediately notice any changes with Caffeine, but going slowly not only gives us time to collect feedback and improve, but will also minimize the stress on webmasters during the holidays.

One thing to note is that the algorithm change will not be launched until after the holidays. We believe the new algorithm will have an impact for our clients, but it is virtually impossible to know what those changes might be, especially now that they have taken down the Caffeine sandbox. They will have 2-3 more months to update Caffeine even further before it launches, so it would be pure conjecture to predict the ways it may or may not affect the rankings for our clients. However, we do believe that Google will still continue to lead the search engine world in rewarding solid SEO strategies while providing the most relevant results.

In the end, the search results page layouts and keyword rankings will change. But that should be no surprise. Google launches major algorithm updates 2-3 times per year, and they do not typically publicize it. That is precisely why SEOs are taking note of Caffeine. In my opinion, Caffeine is a call-to-action for all search marketers to expand SEO campaigns to encompass images, videos, press releases, news, shopping, books, related searches, social accounts, etc… Google has shown us that they are presenting more and more of those items in the top results. The need for a solid, aggressive SEO strategy is indisputable, simply because the competition for homepage real estate has increased with the introduction of the universal search elements mentioned above.

SEO can no longer remain in the background of your search marketing campaigns. SEO cannot be paused. SEO cannot be offset by bigger PPC budgets. In the long run, you can’t afford to ignore social media, mobile search, image search optimization and asset management. Heaven forbid, you may even need to get a Twitter account. You must embrace all aspects of SEO. Or you will be defeated in the SERPs.

Google has thrown down the gauntlet. When Caffeine goes live, your rankings may not fluctuate very much in the short term. I mean, c’mon. You’ve got a huge brand name, and your website has tons of inbound links. You are a PR6! Well, don’t get too comfortable. You may not be able to simply rest on title tags, meta tags, inbound links and PageRank. With the increased competition, it is getting tougher to rank in the top 10. And the big question is: What are you going to do about it?

This is cause for concern. As the nation’s needs soar and charitable donations plunge, how do nonprofits draw more attention to their needs during this “quiet crisis?” I know that nonprofits’ organizational health is directly correlated to the health of the economy and decreased unemployment, and I also know that what I’m about to propose will likely be a drop in the empty pool of aid these organizations desperately need. Nevertheless, I see some unique opportunities with social marketing for nonprofits to capitalize on. If the nonprofits can appeal to users’ desire for personal uniqueness online and learn from retailers, they can find new ways to reach volunteers and contributors through sources like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Take, for example, Facebook’s Causes and Fan pages as a way to get started:

1. Clarify your voice and your positions: The way you present your organization in social media needs to reflect your brand identity, but also the contributors and volunteers you are trying to attract. You have a brief opportunity at the top of your page to clearly (and stridently) proclaim your positions. Don’t muddy the waters with too much information. Narrow down your major position to 3-4 points, and then use the “description” field to elaborate more. Here is an example from the Stop Human Trafficking organization.
2. Utilize Facebook’s Causes page to the fullest extent: In the Causes template, you can customize your look and feel, share announcements with your members and enable a donations feature on the site. Many nonprofits also set up a fan page to make it easy for members to “become fans” and share this information with friends. Keep in mind, however, thta users can’t make donations from a fan page.
3. Create customization and friendly competition: Social media users typically like to share their causes and concerns with their group of online friends. Make that as simple as possible by using the welcome message when a new member joins to ask them to invite friends to join, share with them dollar-matching programs you have set up or even offer “flair” buttons for your members to place on their personal page. Also, utilize the Hall of Fame function to highlight your top recruiters, donors and fundraisers in the Facebook sphere. This recognition in a social forum goes a long way.
4. Encourage users to download the Causes Bar: By installing the Causes bar, every search a user makes donates a penny to the cause of their choice – including yours. This is currently available for the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.
5. Update often: Utilize the media board and announcement board functions to post not just your own organization’s news but also news that your members may be interested in. Each of these updates displays to your members and the “share” button allows your members to exponentially increase the visibility of your posts – viral marketing at its best. You can also upload petitions and pledge drive information to keep your page fresh.
6. Most importantly, continually integrate your channels: At the simplest level, this means placing the Facebook “Join” button on your website. You can also do more:

• Tag your PSA spots with a mention to join your cause online at Facebook/Twitter/etc.
• As long as you are taking donations in both places, update your search copy to mention your Facebook page.
• The UN Refugee Agency is using display ads on Facebook to drive people to join their cause and then utilizing their cause page to encourage cell phone text-to-donate.
• The Nature Conservancy and their sponsor Audi have found multiple ways to continually integrate, including an Audi program that matched dollar-for-member the first 25,000 members of the Facebook cause.

Will Facebook, Twitter or YouTube be the change the nonprofits wish to see in the world? Probably not on their own, but if for-profit marketers are learning during lean times, so can their non-profit counterparts. Now is the time to put the fear of change and the comfort of the old ways aside and test new media methods. For non-profit organizations, now is also the time to let your passionate volunteers, contributors and fans spread the word, attach your cause to their online identity and, most importantly, raise awareness and even funds on your behalf.

On Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 12:01am EST, Facebook launched custom usernames and vanity URLs. That means that you could log into Facebook, head over here and grab a username, which would in turn give your account a custom URL. For example, maybe your account URL is http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Smith/1795806534. That URL is a little tough to remember. And if you are a person who likes to give out or market your profile URL, that URL is downright inconvenient. That is why Facebook launched its custom username program. If Bob Smith goes to facebook.com/username, he can choose a much more concise URL, such as facebook.com/bobsmith or facebook.com/bsmith.

On June 13th, social mediaphiles worldwide waited patiently for the exact moment the Facebook username program launched. Mashable reported that Facebook users created 200,000 custom usernames in the first 3 minutes of the program. It’s on a first come, first serve basis, so you’ve got to act fast. Most common names are already gone. Much like the land rush for dot com domains, this was very much a land rush for usernames. But there is also another side to this story, and it’s all about branding.

You may not know this, but Facebook Profiles and Facebook Pages are very different. People tend to have Profiles. Brands tend to have Pages. Profiles have friends. Pages have fans. If your brand (Brand X) has a Facebook Page, it makes perfect sense to claim the URL facebook.com/brandx. That URL is very easy to market. It’s great for branding, paid search ads, SEO, etc… It sounds glorious, doesn’t it? But do not get too excited yet.

It turns out that Facebook set up eligibility requirements for custom usernames for Facebook Pages. Initially, the requirements were:

• Page must have been active as of June 9, 2009 at 3:00pm EST
• Page must have had 1,000 fans as of May 31, 2009

These requirements were set up to deter would-be username squatters. And it worked pretty well, too. However, I did see a ton of brands scrambling to reach the 1,000 fans mark. On a side note, I saw a couple of posts on Craiglist, asking if any savvy social marketer out there could drive 1,000 targeted fans for a Facebook Page. Gotta love Craigslist, right? Furthermore, if you met those 2 requirements, your username had to be at least 5 characters, and you could not sign up for generic keywords such as pizza, flowers or magazines. Again, this was a way to deter username squatters.

Here’s the part where you can get excited. On June 28th, Facebook reduced the requirements for custom usernames for Facebook Pages. As of last Sunday, the new requirements are:

• Page could have been created anytime
• Page must have at least 100 fans

100 fans? That’s very doable. Even if you are a small brand, you can manage this. Simply go to the Facebook sign up page and choose the type of Page you want to create. Then invite your employees, colleagues, friends and family members to be fans of your brand’s Facebook Page. Once you get to 100 fans, go here and choose your custom username.Facebook just made it very easy to promote your brand. Now go do it!

The first question that we got when word of this first came out – much like at the time of the launch of Wolfram Alpha, Cuil and every other media-dubbed Next Big Thing – was ‘how does this change my SEO?’. And it’s a fair question – MSN added new functions and are clearly testing others, and there had been talk of integrating behavioral information into results so that if you looked for ‘fish’ it would know whether you were looking for a restaurant or a rod and reel. Google sneezes and everyone’s rankings change, so what happens when it’s changing – dun dun DUUUUUH – names?

The answer to what Bing will change about how you approach SEO – much like most every other great leap forward in organic search – is nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

No matter what changes are brought to bear by Google, Yahoo and the rest of the bunch, SEO at its core is about three things: Is your content readable, are you pursuing the right keywords and are engines getting maximum value from your site – and until your content doesn’t matter anymore, your SEO strategy should be the same.

That’s not to say that search engines won’t expand their ability to read content, that new keyword sets won’t become important and that there won’t be new ways to put your site’s best foot forward. On this last point, there have been a lot of new opportunities created by Bing and especially by Google to improve both your search positioning and the way that your results appear in search engines. A good SEO team should be working with you on things like applying microformats to your pages and other new opportunities that have arisen with the engines’ newest toys.

Still, these opportunities won’t matter much if engines can’t see your site in the first place, or if you’re trying to sell shoes from a page without the word ‘shoes’ on it. These issues will make up the vast majority of how well you appear in search engines, and have been since the days when dinosaur’s roamed the earth and Google was a twinkle in Larry Page’s eye.

In essence, if you want to be ready for the next big Bing, make sure you’re ready for MSN first and see if that doesn’t take care of most of it.

The following data points help show how social media can augment email and how email can help build your social file.

• Use a call to action in your email to build your social file.
  • Visit us on Facebook – become a fan.
  • Follow us on Twitter

  Doing this can help build your fan base/reputation allowing you to influence your customers using a medium that is cost-effective. This will help boost brand awareness/morale, influencing customers to purchase at a time they aren’t necessarily looking to buy.

• Cross Pollinate to build your email file.
  • Leverage social media through sweepstakes and promotional offers.

  This is a great way to build your subscriber base, further increasing your new-to-file rates. Not only is this a low-cost way to acquire more names, but also helps build brand recognition.

• Align your messaging
  • Social media provides additional channels for communication.

  Use facebook/twitter to distribute your message (announce sales, in store events). This enables your fans/followers to respond and dialogue with your brand. You may receive additional feedback on products/offers that resonate well with your audience, helping to mold your promotional calendar, or product scope.

• Social media is a bridge for cross channel communication.
  • Email has always been extremely segmented.

  Through incorporating a social media component, you reach your fans and your brand/message goes viral…ultimately bridging the email segmentation gap.

In other words, while the two can exist separately, you’re much better off when they team up—it’s easy to cut through inbox clutter when you have a unified message across multiple channels, because people pay more attention.