Experts believe that firms embarking on email marketing for the first time can drastically improve their ROI by targeting clients in terms of their behaviour.

These “behavioural targeting strategies” involve taking time to research clients' preferences. A wide range of marketing strategies, including direct mail and email marketing can be made more effective through this targeted approach. This is according to Jenna Weiner from business consultancy Overnight Print.

She explained that there are various ways to gather the information from existing and potential clients: "Companies can utilise feedback campaigns through surveys, either mailed or offered online, to see what kind of information customers want to receive and which promotions or products they are most interested in hearing about."

Evidence suggests that customers are turned off then they receive unsolicited and irrelevant marketing emails and are less likely to use a brand again if they receive this kind of marketing.

Weiner also says that detailed 'opt-in choices' are a must for any new firm thinking about sending marketing emails. They should also use these forms, together with opt-out forms, to gather information on the clients’ behaviours.

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).

All of the UK's political parties would benefit from integrating social media and email marketing as part of their digital election strategies, though the Conservatives currently have an edge over the competition.

That's according to new research which suggests the main parties could be missing out on lucrative opportunities to influence voters in the run-up to May's anticipated general election.

During the two-month period studied, the Tories sent 12 email messages compared to Labour's one and the Liberal Democrats' none. All three failed to send welcome messages after people signed up to receive email updates on their campaigns.

In a discovery many might deem alarming, the British National Party (BNP) was found to have sent more emails than its contemporaries, highlighting the organisation's skilful harnessing of digital media to make an impact on the upcoming election.

When it comes to social media links, only the Conservatives and the BNP have incorporated them into their emails, leading the research team's Margaret Farmakis to point out that the rest are neglecting "fantastic forums" for conducting true two-way conversations between politicians and voters.

"Parties that don't incorporate social media links in their emails are missing a trick, and depriving themselves of a quick and easy way to grow their communities online," she affirms.

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.

Student insurance specialist Endsleigh says its new eCommerce strategy has already seen bounce rates go down by as much as 36 per cent, alongside a 12.5 per cent uplift in web page visitors.

The firm's SERP rankings have also improved by up to six places for key motor, home and student products, while client log-on rates have gone up 8.5 per cent.

Ian Passmore, Endsleigh's managing director, notes that the website forms the centre-piece of his firm's customer interaction strategy, offering flexibility rather than the "one-dimensional" experience often provided by online outlets.

"The solution has been designed to allow us to display more relevant and targeted propositions – it can also be used by our underwriters to develop more competitive propositions and offers," he explains.

"Customers will not only benefit from a website which is streamlined and easier to navigate, but also from specifically tailored products and advice designed to suit each individual."

The whole insurance sector is aware of the dominant role the internet now plays, Passmore concludes, predicting the new website will lead to "even bigger" business growth.

Endsleigh decided to close its branch network and invest in its online offering after carrying out a "lengthy review" of how consumers wanted to buy insurance.

A significant proportion of businesses have yet to optimise their websites to take advantage of the Google Caffeine update, specifically with regard to updated, new or unique website content, properly and effectively constructed meta tags and quality outbound links related to their site's theme.

Researchers also uncovered trends towards poorly formatted internal linking, no social media involvement or bookmark-sharing icons where applicable and serious issues with page/site download times.

The goal of Google Caffeine is to enhance the user search experience by providing more accurate and relevant results pages, combined with a real-time search feature.

Scott Moir says 85 per cent of firms studied by his SEO research team were not optimised to benefit from the update to Google's search architecture.

"It's apparent that businesses and individuals that depend on the internet for their prosperity have yet to take advantage of the multitude of opportunities that Caffeine presents," he comments. "Opportunities that, if properly applied, will immediately help them gain a marketing advantage over their competition."

Caffeine has been summed up by experts as "an algorithmic change" focusing on more real-time search results and incorporating social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Greater prominence is therefore given to news and real-time information like social media updates and online video.

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As the internet marketing sector gears up for next week's Search Engine Strategies (SES) conference in London, a series of fresh affiliate marketing sessions have been lined up for March's event in New York.

On 25 March, the Hilton New York will be the setting for one whole day centred on affiliate marketing, particularly guidance for the search marketing community in how to take their affiliate programs "to the next level".

"Affiliate Marketing for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses" will include case studies outlining what has and hasn't worked for small and medium-sized firms interested in affiliate marketing, while "Affiliate Marketing and Social Media" will feature a panel of experts discussing opportunities on how to grow an affiliate program by leveraging Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as new marketing channels.

"Because SES conference attendees range from the elite search marketers to those just getting started in the field, we promise to present very practical information and gear it to all levels and all types of affiliate marketing," says organiser Kristopher Jones.

Meanwhile, producing unique website content and copywriting for search engines, advanced paid search tactics and website analytics are just some of the topics being covered at next week's SES London.

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Google users have been checking out the latest addition to their search results since the Mountain View giant announced that Social Search had been taken out of its Labs site and begun rolling out in English.

The change means anyone with a Google account will notice that their search results feature information gathered from their social networks, including photos and blog content connected to queries.

As Google search vice-president Marissa Mayer revealed at last year's Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, the aim is to make the search experience more personal and relevant with the inclusion of web content from individuals' friends and online contacts.

Social Search's arrival also follows the integration of real-time Twitter posts into results, wherever the search engine considers them to be relevant, to make the search experience as thorough and speedy as possible. News headlines, blogs and Facebook/MySpace feeds also feature in real-time search results.

"We think there's tremendous potential for social information to improve search, and we're just beginning to scratch the surface," the search team explain on the Google blog, adding: "We're leaving a 'beta' label on social results because we know there's a lot more we can do."

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."