An expert has suggested that collecting data from consumers' social networking habits is a useful way to create targeted email and affiliate marketing campaigns

Jacob Morgan, from Chess Media Group – a social business consultancy, says that the kind of information that can be gleaned form consumers’ social networking habits can be used to help marketers build up pictures of their customers’ needs and wants.

He explained, "clearly understanding where your customers are the most active is crucial for a successful social media campaign." "Brands need to continue to provide interactive, valuable and unique content to their customers to keep the relationships and the community going strong."

Facebook fan pages are particularly useful, according to Morgan, who says that these pages can help marketers gain valuable information regarding the way in which customers engage with a certain brand or product. Marketing professionals would do well to spend time analysing these pages to increase the power of their own campaigns, says Morgan.

Facebook is becoming an even greater source for advertisers, as a result of a recent deal with PayPal. The agreement means that advertisers can pay their subscription fees through PayPal, which is set to benefit smaller firms in particular.

An expert has spoken out about the importance of creating unique content when using social networking as part of a marketing strategy.

Jacob Morgan of the Chess Media Group says that businesses that want to take advantage of the social networking phenomenon need to first establish where their customers are most active. This will enable them to identify where their customer base spends most of its social networking time, thus enabling their marketing to target these areas.

The next stage is the creation of unique content, which is the key to establishing a strong brand community online. This is according to Morgan who explains, "brands need to continue to provide interactive, valuable and unique content to their customers to keep the relationships and the community going strong."

Morgan’s statements follow news that Facebook is the most popular avenue through which to share online content, such as news articles and blog postings. Some 31 per cent of all content sharing occurred through Facebook, with 30 per cent happening through Google and 25 per cent through Yahoo!

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Organisers of next week's Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A) event in London have already revealed that Google will host two sessions featuring tips on driving online performance using tools like AdWords, mobile advertising and Google Analytics.

Now, the full seminar programme for the Earls Court show has been confirmed and over 70 big brand, case study-led sessions are lined up.

Alongside the ten keynote sessions from industry experts like Google, Facebook and YouTube, visitors will hear from brands including Boden, Skype, Carlsberg, Sony, Monarch, Coca-Cola, O2, Boots, Sainsbury’s Bank and Best Western across five themed theatres.

Sessions taking place in the Digital Marketing Theatre include:

• Boden: Driving business online: email innovation in the era of web 3

• Monarch: The latest trends & best practice to improve online conversion & ROI

In the CRM & Campaign Management Software Theatre, visitors can attend:

• MyCustomer.com: The C word – C is for… CRM, Cloud, Competition & Catch up

• Sage: Social media – what does it mean for your customer management

• Radar: Customer retention in a digital world

The Data & Marketing Analytics Theatre is the setting for the following sessions:

• Best Western Hotels: The application of consumer insight across multiple channels

• BT: First steps in predictive analysis for marketers

• CACI: Using multi-channel marketing to balance the needs of customers with commercial objectives

Sessions in the Content Management & eCommerce Theatre include:

• Boots: Online brand integrity – how do you protect it when you can't control it?

• O2: Multi-touchpoint marketing for brand consistency across channels

And in the Online Advertising & Social Media Theatre will be:

• DSNR Media Group: Beyond post-click: technology for campaign value chain management & optimisation

• Sony: Beyond SEO: new developments in the search industry

• Skype: Paid search & Skype – increasing new registered users by 100%

TFM&A is happening next Tuesday and Wednesday (23-24 February).

Academic bookshop chain Blackwell is ramping up its affiliate marketing and social media activity to build online awareness of its website and engage with appropriate audiences over the next 12 months.

Its representatives say affiliate marketing is currently responsible for around ten per cent of the chain's sales and they consider the channel to be a key platform for growth.

Targeted social media activity will be launched in university towns and communities as part of the plans, with localised Facebook campaigns rolled out and microblogging site Twitter used to promote in-store events, the Blackwell brand and its website.

"We're looking to build online communities where we can really engage with customers," confirmed Jessica Armishaw, head of online at Blackwell UK. "It's an extension of communities that exist in our stores."

She continued: "Affiliate marketing has always been attractive as our brand name is so widely known – we have a great deal of affiliation with universities and corporate institutions through our academic bookselling heritage."

Publisher Random House also recently unveiled plans to launch a social network so fans of its Vintage books can communicate online and write reviews, an initiative aimed at connecting with customers and driving product sales.

The latest move to back up suggestions that Facebook might threaten Google's dominance in the search realm has arrived in the form of the social network's expansion of its relationship with Microsoft.

Users will know that various changes have been made to the site to mark its sixth birthday, and the latest entails Facebook allowing Bing – Microsoft's "decision engine" – to include richer, more comprehensive search listings.

The intention is to move beyond link-based results to provide richer answers and boost the speed of the search experience.

Furthermore, whereas Bing had previously only secured search on the American version of Facebook, a global switch opens up the engine's results to a significantly larger audience.

As part of the overhaul, Microsoft will no longer be responsible for display ads on Facebook since the latter claims its own ads are better suited to the site.

In a statement, the social network's representatives explained: "Ad formats that feature social actions perform better and provide a better user experience since they are more consistent with the look and feel of Facebook.

"This combination of targeting and social relevance is the primary driver behind the shift in strategy."

When affiliate/internet marketing it is important to understand the customer journey, ensuring that you deliver potential customers to the correct content depending on the stage in their buying lifecycle.

“This is one of the most common mistakes for newer internet markets”

So back to basics, what is the online buying lifecycle? Let’s take for example a weight loss product: (more…)

As the marketing world gears up to hear the latest innovations in the mobile arena from Google at this year's Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A) event in London, Orange has unveiled details of a service that lets brands engage and interact directly with targeted segments of its customer base.

Representatives for the network say Orange Shots will enable businesses to create "rich, creative, engaging and fun" advertising campaigns targeted at customers' interests and preferences.

Working across SMS and MMS mobile platforms, the service is aimed at encouraging customers to message back and give their views and opinions, promising high response rates, strong returns on investment and viral potential.

Marc Overton from Orange UK reveals that the service has already been trialled by brands including 4Music and Snickers, who claim it's provided higher conversion rates than other media. As a result, he believes mobile advertising "as we know it" is ripe for transformation.

At TFM&A in Earls Court this month, Google's Sarah Speak is lined up to host a session entitled "The future is mobile", covering the Mountain View giant's developments in search, display and local and learn strategies, as well as best practice for developing mobile sites and campaigns.

A two-day internet marketing event for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs), which featured speakers from Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, has resulted in a "groundbreaking" realisation of the potential social media have for the sector.

Held in London, the Social Media in Financial Services event sought to outline how and why the internet is "rapidly changing" financial services distribution.

Organiser Philip Calvert explained that the financial services industry currently engages with its customers the least online, when it actually "has most to gain" from using social media.

"The event proved once and for all that there's a misconception that social media is all about marketing, but it goes a lot deeper than that," he added. "IFAs can use the technology to listen to consumers and industry experts [and] learn and share best practice."

He also singled out the channel's search engine optimisation benefits, its potential for attracting website visitors, building brand loyalty and "creating buzz", networking and building relationships and facilitating promotion and sales.

"We saw once and for all that all consumers of all ages are now actively using social media, and IFAs who assume otherwise are in for a nasty shock," he concluded.

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Search is becoming one of the most important ingredients in the marketing mix according to the latest IPA/BDO Bellwether survey, which was released this week. It shows that search marketing accounted for nearly half of all advertising spend in the last three months of 2009.

Although the survey highlights that overall advertising spend dipped by seven per cent during last year's final quarter, spending on online advertising grew by 11.5 per cent. Display ads had a market share of just over a fifth, while classified ads accounted for ten per cent of online advertising spend.

Marketing budgets for this year have been set higher, on average, compared to 2009 spend, with the survey prompting analysts to single out direct and digital marketing activities as leaders in the recovery of the sector.

"Unsurprisingly, companies are continuing to seek cost-effective and flexible options where the return on investment can be measured," remarked Andy Viner, head of media at accountancy group BDO.

Matt Simpson, digital media group chairman at advertsing body the IPA, added: "The continued fast pace of development in targeting and measurement capabilities across online channels has definitely helped advertisers reduce the risk of their marketing spends."

Details have been unveiled of this year's Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West event in California, which covers search engine marketing topics from search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid search advertising to website analytics and social media marketing. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer will be the keynote presenter at a conference featuring 50 sessions across the spectrum of search and social media marketing topics.

Taking place in the Santa Clara Convention Centre during the first week of March, some of the latest workshops added to the SMX West agenda for 2010 include an SEO training session with search marketing veteran Bruce Clay. He will cover how search-engine-friendly websites impact traffic, conversions and online revenue, as well as outlining white-hat-only optimisation tactics that improve website performance.

Meanwhile a Google Analytics training session, led by Brian Clifton – former head of web analytics for Google EMEA – and Google Analytics authorised consultant Feras Alhlou, will provide guidance on optimising website traffic and driving conversions by planning an analytics strategy, understanding reports and defining what comprises success for a given business.

Google's real-time search will also be explored during the event, as will personalised search and the new paid search advertising opportunities presented by AdWords formats and Facebook ads, for example.

On 17 and 18 May this year, SMX Advanced London will be held in the capital's Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, marking the first time the search marketing conference takes place in the city.