9. January 2012 by admin.

The Basics of Facebook Advertising

Targeted Ads in the Right Rail – Facebook allows businesses to promote themselves to a specific set of Facebook users.  You can choose to show your ad to specific people based on their location, age, gender, education level, relationship status, specific interests, etc. etc.  You can easily create an ad by scrolling to the bottom of any page on Facebook and clicking on “Advertising“.

Ad Components – Each ad has four elements:

1. Headline (25 characters)
2. Description (135 characters)
3. Image (thumbnail size)
4. A Link – You can send traffic to a specific Facebook page for which you are an administrator or your own website/landing page.

So How Much? – Ads can be run on a cost per click (CPC) or cost per impression basis (CPM).  Typical cost per click rates vary from about 35¢  to $1.65 depending on the level of competition.  You can choose to limit your budget on a daily basis (e.g. $50 per day) to control spending.

Think Banners, Not AdWords – No one is actually searching for the information these advertisements provide like they would in Google, Bing or other popular search engines.  Seth Godin calls this, “interruption marketing.”  A click through rate (CTR) of 0.05% is actually pretty standard for Facebook Ads.  Please note, that is not 1 click in 200 ad impressions.  It’s 1 click in 2,000 impressions.

And Why Should I Use Them? – If your goal is to create awareness, bring in more Fans or to promote a specific event or deal, Facebook advertising should be considered as a component of your plan.  You may also consider focusing on providing amazing content on your Facebook page, enlisting current customer contacts from an email database or those who frequent your site, or even promoting your Facebook presence with other mediums.

Now that you’ve got the basics, here are some tips to help you best utilize Facebook advertising.

1. Choose Selects Carefully – Despite the fact that typical click through rates are so low, people will click.  It’s important to make your campaign as narrow-focused as possible to get a good result.  Do you have two or more primary audiences you are looking to target?  OK. Create two or more ads.

2. Adhere to the Guidelines – This tip really goes without saying, but here’s a quick primer on some of the guidelines that truly matter.  You cannot offer incentives in exchange for providing customer contact information or clicking on the ad.  No ads for tobacco, guns, gambling, drugs, adult toys/videos, hate speech and ring tones.  Ring tones have to be the most incorrigible from that list. Ads for dating services or sites must be targeted at Single people.  Sorry, Ashley Madison.  Anything related to alcohol must be targeted to people over the age of 21.

3. Run Multiple Ads in One Campaign – This is important not only for targeting purposes but also for testing.  You have the ability to run multiple ads in single campaign all pulling from the same daily spend.  Test different audiences, different messages, different graphics, different offers, different pricing models (CPC vs. CPM) and bids, etc.  Find out what works and then test again.

4. Refresh Ads Often – Unlike dealing with Google Adwords’ quality score in which campaigns must gaini a certain level of impressions, clicks and “trust” before they rise in paid search rankings no matter the bid, Facebook ads spark and fizzle quickly.  Ads are given great momentum to start and then the level of impressions an ad is given slowly falls off.  Modify your ads at least once per week to get the best results.  Big companies running campaigns with huge budgets (upwards of $1,000 per week) should alter their ads every day.

5. Check Out Connections Targeting – Recently released by Facebook in November ’09, Connections targeting allows advertisers to target people who are connected to a page, event, group or application.  One caveat is that you must be the administrator/owner of the page, group, app, etc. Connections helps save from wasted clicks if you are trying to target people who are not already Fans  of your page.  You can also target friends of your Fans, which may be beneficial considering friends likely share similar interests.

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9. January 2012 by admin.

http://wiki.akosma.com/IPhone_URL_Schemes

These inventions are quite ingenious.  I have had an IPhone 4S, I hope to be able to stop typing and dictate. This is a nice hack as the inventor gathers a nice stream of “connectors”

Rememberthemilk.com

Open Settings on your iPhone 4

Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars

Tap Add Account…

Tap Other

Underneath Calendars, tap Add CalDav Account

In the ‘Server’ field enter: www.rememberthemilk.com

In the ‘User Name’ field and ‘Password’ fields, enter your Rememter The Milk details

Tap Next

You should be returned to Mail, contacts, Calendars, with the account added.  Scroll to the bottm of the screen, and tap Default List

Tap Remember The Milk

All your “remind me” commands in Siri should now go through Remember The Milk. Once you do this, you will get e-mail reminders from Remember the Milk instead of push Notifications from the default Reminders app.

Contact me if you can do the same for kewler.com

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6. January 2012 by admin.

http://info.awarenessnetworks.com/rs/awarenessnetworks/images/THE-STATE-OF-SOCIAL-MEDIA-MARKETING.pdf

Affiliate Sites

SBIR gateway, Challenge.gov

According to the Facebook consultants at BrandGlue, 1 in 500 updates make it to the news feed. How does it work? If you like or comment on updates from one particular friend quite often, you are likely to see that person’s update in your news feed on a regular basis.

To use a personal example, I tend to like or comment on updates from my friend Juan because he is hilarious, my sister who is expecting her first baby, and Arizona Highways’ page because they are always providing great content. Because of my tendency to do so, my personal news feed usually includes an update from one if not all of those profiles.

That’s the non-scientific method for determining what happens on the Facebook news feed. During the f8 conference, Facebook did what Google has never done; they provided the mathematic formula behind news feed optimization. Here it is:

Facebook EdgeRank Algorithm

Note: From this point forward I’ll use Facbook’s terminology regarding objects and edges. If you don’t speak Facebook, an object = a status update or post. An edge is a comment, like or interaction with that object.

Based on this formula, an object’s likelihood of appearing in a news feed is a function of three elements:

1. Affinity
2. Weight
3. Recency

Let’s discuss each in plain English. I’ll also provide a brief explanation of what Facebook page administrators can do to take full advantage of this formula.

Affinity Score – This number defines the relationship between object creator and recipient. Those who comment and like your personal updates have a higher affinity than those that do not.

What this means to you: Create objects that appeal to different kinds of connections. If you see the same people commenting and liking a specific type of object like photos, create a different kinds of objects like questions or polls to elicit a response from other connections. The more variety you have with the profiles that provide feedback and like your objects, the greater overall reach your page will have in the news feed.

Weight Score – Each object is assigned a score based on the number of comments and likes it earns. An object with 15 comments and 20 likes has a much greater weight than an object with 0 comments and likes.

What this means to you: Develop a strategy for creating objects that will generate feedback from your connections. Entertain, educate/enlighten, make invitations, say “thank you”, ask questions, etc. View every post opportunity as a method for garnering important insights and learning more about your page connections.

Time / Recency Score – This number is a reflection of how long ago the edge was created. Each edge will lose its mojo very quickly. For example, the oldest edge in my news feed right now was created 42 hours ago. Most were created in the past 18 hours.

What this means to you: Allow each object you create to gain some exposure. Creating back to back to back objects in a single afternoon will stifle each object’s ability to garner comments and likes. Meanwhile, adopt a regular posting schedule (like once or twice a day) so that you always have an object and its related edges placed in the news feed of your most loyal connections.

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6. January 2012 by admin.

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6. January 2012 by admin.

http://xkcd.com/980/huge/#x=-3392&y=-2816&z=1

Link to the poster - awesome!

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6. January 2012 by admin.

Quite the announcement! For those who have simultaneously managed social media marketing campaigns and organic search engine optimization strategies this is great news. It also brings up a lot of questions. Start checking questions off your list, with the elements of the Tweet Algorithm explained below.

Tweet Algorithm is made up of the social sharing factors on Twitter that impact SEO . Here is the breakdown the Tweet Algorithm.

Authority : Author Authority of Tweeting Source and Sharing Source

The number of followers, engagement level of followers and ratio of followers to followed are all important factors in determining the authority of a Twitter account. The higher the authority of the source, the better effect it will have on search engine rankings.

Target authoritative Twitter users and interact with them to get your content on their radar.

Lasting Power

The more a piece of content is shared or retweeted the more valuable the content is in the eyes of Google.The number of times a tweet is shared over a given period of time offers additional insight. For instance, if a tweet is retweeted for weeks after the original date of publications, (QDF=Time of Tweet) it indicates that the content left a lasting impression. The more relevant and valuable a piece of content the more often and longer it will be shared across social channels.

Engagement

The quantity and quality of retweets indicates how engaged the audience is with a piece of content. The more a content is shared the more engaged the audience is . If highly authoritative authors retweet a piece of content it gives the content more authority in the eyes of the search engines.

Quantity of Clicks

The number of times a piece of content is clicked on shows popularity. The more clicks, the more popular the content. Search engines want to return results that are accepted by their search engine users because this is what their audience wants.

As more and more SEO’s test the Tweet algorithm and incorporate other social sharing influences in their SEO campaigns, the more insight we will have into how much and what factors influence rankings.

Stay tuned for more research on social sharing and how it influences search engine rankings. This is a hot topic and high priority topic on my continuing seo education.

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5. January 2012 by admin.

Your success as a consultant in the social marketing discipline will be determined by the time spent absorbing the techniques which the Awareness Social Marketing Hub Strategist Edition 

The Strategist Edition enables you to:

1. Centralize your social media efforts
2. Make social marketing predictable by understanding performance metrics
3. Engage directly in conversations about your brand
4. Simplify the social media landscape by using a single tool across channels
5. Leverage social content management and the time savings associated with it

Tomorrow could be the day you simplify your social media efforts!

The Strategist Edition starts at $250 / month.  Additional information about our software editions and pricing models can be found on our Editions & Pricing page.

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4. January 2012 by admin.

What you can do as an individual LinkedIn user

Comment on status updates. This is a good way to stay in touch with current and past clients. Just don’t be too pushy by promoting your services. It’s more important to let your contacts know you’re around and active.

Search groups related to your field. If you want a leg up before meeting with a potential customer or client, you can search forums related to your company. That way you’ll know the kind of questions customers are asking in advance of a sales pitch. It also helps to stay active in those groups to get your name out there. (You can search for groups in the drop down menu located on LinkedIn’s main search bar.)

Ask for recommendations from clients. If you receive a complimentary note from a client, it never hurts to ask them if they would add that under your LinkedIn profile’s recommendations. This will give prospective clients a good idea what it’s like to work with you.

Make sure your profile is complete. You never know if someone is searching for you. If your LinkedIn profile doesn’t give visitors a full picture of your professional history, you could end up losing a new contact without even knowing it.

What your company can do

Make a company page. If you haven’t done so already, you can make a free company page on LinkedIn. Those pages can be used to share more about your company’s products and services to potential customers.

Post updates to your company page. Similar to the way brand pages work on Facebook, you can use a company page on LinkedIn to post updates and share links to those who follow.

Research other company pages. Take a look at other company pages related to your business. It will give you an idea what prospective B2B partners are talking about. You can also get a peek at what the competition is up to.

Advertise on your company page. Your company can work directly with LinkedIn to set up custom advertising and marketing campaigns on its page.

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19. December 2011 by admin.

Globalization trends remain strong, with investment, research capabilities, and commercialization migrating to
optimal locations, and new countries entering the mix of those committed to R&D as a national strategy. China’s
profile as the second-largest sponsor of global R&D continues to increase, whether measured in terms of funding or
generation of intellectual capital.
Even so, with over $400 billion in annual R&D funding from both public and private sectors, the United States continues
its historic and world-leading commitment to innovation as an essential catalyst for prosperity and growth. 

• U.S. Industry R&D Increases 3.8% to $280 Billion
• Growing Worldwide Emphasis on Basic Research
• Global R&D Spending to Increase 5.2% to $1.4 Trillion.
• Increasing Importance of R&D ROI and Collaboration

PDF

…for the kids:

“Finally, each year I address the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at all levels of education.
Among our charitable purposes, Battelle is deeply committed to STEM education as the foundation for a healthy,
productive, innovation-based society. In this Forecast is a powerful statistic: between 2003 and 2007, educational
output of scientists and engineers increased Asia’s share of the global researcher pool from 16% to 31%. It is no
coincidence that this corresponds to a period of rapid innovation and economic growth in that region, offering strong
evidence that STEM education is a critical enabler of research and innovation.”

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8. December 2011 by admin.

A granted patent is a territorial legal right that excludes others from practicing, manufacturing and selling within the relevant territory.  To achieve such patent coverage, one must submit a separate application for each country (or region for the EPO - European patents).  During the process, the examiner checks the patent application to determine whether the claims are novel, nonobvious (or inventive) and useful.  The examiner often requires adjustments to the claims, text or drawings before granted.  The examination process has taken 3-8 years and sometimes longer.

A patent goes through multiple stages before a patent is granted.  Filing the application is only the beginning. All countries require an additional fee once the patent application has been granted.

Claims that are perfectly acceptable in one country might be unattainable in another, due to the different rules for examination. Once gratend, patents have a lifetime of 20 years form the date of the original patent application.

Note that a patent may protect the initial basic concept, but subsequent improvements may not be covered. Amendments or reduction in protection may occur. If a patent application protects a product for a short market lifetime, it may be a good idea to file in fewer countries.

Zombie patents (nonrelevant applications for which significant sums are still being paid) are a resource drain.

What is new NOW:

The America Invents Act significantly changes the patent system by including a “first inventor to file” system which grants patents to the first inventor, regardless of which inventor filed a patent application first.  This harmonizes the system with most other countries.

A first -inventor to file system provides clear standards for dispute resolution regarding the question of inventorship.

The new system encourages inventors to file their patent applications quickly rather than rely on the US 12 month grace period for public disclosure.

Disadvantages:

Hits small, early stage (especially medical products) as racing to the patent office with well written claims will be flooded by well-established companies with resources to file quickly and often.

Places pressure on inventors rush to file potentially missing critical claims.  I should have used the words electromagnetic energy to cover the frequency domain of lasers, which became important when granted an SBIR award in 2009.  The cost of the amendments are high unless you are a lawyer skilled in the art of the invention.

Another disadvantage is the need for limited disclosure of an invention before the invention is filed.  This is particularly relevant to startup companies seeking venture capital funding - they must be guarded about what and how much they disclose.

The creation of a nine month post =grant opposition review period.  This provision is effective on year from enactment of the bill but applies only to the first-inventor to file applications filed 18 months after enactment.

A decrease in litigation also may not occur to the extent expected because final post-grant review decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeals for Federal rulings.

Fees will go up 15% and an accelerated examination path will be reinstated (was on hold in April due to budget cuts).  Estimates of over a half million patent applications are in backlog.

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