It was a busy summer in the world of Internet marketing, and the dust is only beginning to settle. It seems like, just yesterday, Twitter was this new social networking phenomenon that everyone was afraid to use, Microsoft was slowly dwindling away as search engine-nobodies, and Google was on top of the world and didn’t have to worry about anyone else.

Well, some of this has changed (to an extent) with some developing stories in world of Internet marketing. So, without further ado, here are the top five stories of the summer and why you should pay attention to them.

5. Twitter emerges as leader in real-time search

While many continue to question Twitter’s staying power and hacking vulnerabilities, the social networking site continued to grow in both size and popularity over the summer as many news outlets, companies, and organizations are currently using the site as a main source of syndication.

While it does seem true (based on retention numbers) that many only visit Twitter sporadically (as opposed to Facebook and other social networking sites which are typically checked daily by users), this is likely caused by the number of spam accounts that are created because of the level of ease involved with creating a Twitter account (Facebook is a little more involved and requires a lot more effort to create a profile) and finding followers to spam.

I mean, what does a spammer really have to do other than upload a picture, fill in a bio, launch a few tweets and go searching for suckers?

Twitter has publicly said that they are doing everything they can to limit spam accounts, and a recent ESPN E:60 documentary on the lack of authenticity of some athlete-intimidating profiles on Twitter with a high number of followers created with the sole purpose of misleading those followers (one person apparently approached Shaq about something that an impostor tweeted, sparking a confrontation) concluded that the need for verified accounts is necessary in certain instances.

Nonetheless, despite Twitter’s growing pains, it has emerged as a major player in the new era of search: real-time.

Real-time search is becoming more an more popular with both searchers and search-ees (aka those who know how to effectively manage their Twitter profiles from a business perspective).

From the searcher’s point of view: no more only finding sites and blog entries that are already a few weeks/months old because that’s how long it takes Google and Yahoo! to index, no more finding companies that you know nothing about and have to question their reliability and transparency, and no more annoying sponsored ads.

From the search-ees’s point of view: no more waiting that long for your site or blog to appear in search results, and a very easy way to post content, announce blog posts and press releases, and reach out to potential clients from the grassroots level.

Now If someone could just come up with a tool where you could see who views your Twitter profile, we’d be in business.

So you would think that, with all of Twitter’s problems: accounts being hacked, users not logging in regularly, spam accounts running ramped, that the other players in the search engine/social networking world would ignore the little blue bird and assume that they would eventually fall off, right?

Nope, just the opposite.

4. Facebook tries (really hard) to be more like Twitter

One of the best quotes I’ve heard so far in response to Facebook’s extensive efforts to be more like Twitter:

“If you can’t innovate, imitate.”

And that’s exactly what Facebook has done over the past few months and, it would appear, will continue to do.

First came the home page design

In case your forgot what the old Facebook home page looked like, here it is (screenshot courtesy of PCMag)

Remember the days when a status message was sacred? You might have posted something once a week if you got around to it, and it was like this personal statement that told EVERYONE what you were doing or how you were feeling?

I don’t know about you, but since the Facebook redesign where the main call to action is

I can’t get my friends to shut up!

Everyone’s sharing links to blog posts and movies, giving opinions on news events and political happenings, and I’m seeing status messages for some friends 20 and 30 times a day it seems like.

Sound familiar?

Next up: Facebook’s announcement that they have recently launched a real-time search feature.

Shocker.

The layout even looks similar to a Twitter search.

Twitter:

Facebook:

And last but not least, Facebook also recently announced that they are launching a Facebook Lite, and judging by the screen shots, I see some similarities.

Some features that I wouldn’t be surprised to see integrated into Facebook or Facebook Lite:

• A character limit for status messages
• A buzzword for status messages
• Trends

It will also be interesting to see if Twitter offers Facebook-like features such as paid ads, on-site video and photo sharing (as opposed to external links), and recommended followers. Either way, it was interesting to watch this summer as each site made significant changes (Twitter also redesigned their home page, added the trending topics feature, and added some “paid definition” feature which I’m not sure anyone pays attention to) and will likely continue to do so in the battle of social networking sites.

That’s the end of part one of the Top 5 Web Marketing News Stories of the Summer that you should be paying attention to. In part two we plan on touching on the emergence of Bing, Bing’s purchase of Yahoo!, and Google’s response to everything that has happened this summer.

Twitter launched a new version of their web page today, and the new design is eerily similar to that of a search engine. They announced the new design on their blog this morning, and the reason that they gave for the redesign:

Helping people access Twitter in more relevant and useful ways upon first introduction lowers the barrier to accessing the value Twitter has to offer and presents the service more consistently with how it has evolved.

We’ve envisioned Twitter as a major player in the search engine world for a while now, and it looks like this may be the first step.

Twitter has one thing that Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and other search engines don’t: Real-time search capabilities.

How long does it take traditional search engines to index a page of a website? Days, weeks, and sometimes months. Sure, you could use Google Blog Search, Google Trends, or Google News search for certain up-to-date information, but how about a Twitter search for what everyone thinks about the newest Harry Potter movie as opposed to going through 20 different review sites and blogs?

Just today I was looking for the score to a pre-season soccer game that was overseas, but no major news site had the score until an hour after it ended. How did I find the score before them? A Twitter search.

Ticketmaster codes for special concerts?

Low-carb Recipes?

WordPress plugins?

Tweeting is easier than blogging (logging in to your Twitter account and typing 140 words or less vs. logging into WordPress or blogger, typing content, adding pictures, links, and tags, spellchecking, etc…. ), and the fact that you can Tweet on most smart phones means that Twitter will continue to grow in contributors and content that a Twitter search can “crawl”.

Yes, Twitter is also good for promoting blog and website content if you have enough followers, but for those who don’t have the time or resources to manage a blog full-time, Twitter is a great alternative (hence why it’s called a “Microblogging” service).

When you’re Tweeting, be sure to include keywords that people may be searching for from time to time, similar to how you optimize your website and content for SEO purposes. Include generic keywords relative to your practice areas, as well as location-based keywords, and utilize the “hashtags” (#) for any keywords that are commonly used in the Twitterverse.

Twitter is at an all-time high in popularity, with every celebrity and news outlet signing up as each day passes. Whether or not it will stick around and continue to rise in popularity will remain to be seen, but seeing as creating a Twitter profile is free and it doesn’t take much time to manage, what do you have to lose?

Twitter currently serves as a social networking tool, a content marketing tool, and an rss reader to some extent. Twitter as a major search engine? It might be sooner than we think.

In the most recent Tweet incentive, Squarespace is giving away 30 iPhones in 30 days for anyone that tweets something about #squarespace, a free DIY web design platform.

People are willing to Tweet about promotions like these because 1) it’s easy, thanks to the user friendliness of Twitter, and 2) most people using Twitter on a regular basis have so many followers (including a large majority of people they’ve never met) that the message probably only reaches 1/3 of their audience, meaning they’re more willing to take a risk of seeming a little bit promotional.

The question is, what kind of incentive could you offer as an attorney?

A free case review? No, that’s pretty standard these days

A free Blackberry? Not very original, plus that can be a bit costly.

Well, we’re going to celebrate our new blog renovation (how do you like the new design?) by offering our own incentive.

Anyone in the legal community (lawyer, paralegal, law student, legal marketer, etc.) who Retweets this blog post will receive a free link back to their blog or website with the anchor text of their choice (this blog has a PR of 4/10 so it can really help out with you SEO efforts). Just click on the “retweet” button on the top left, it’s that simple.

In addition, we’re also collecting ideas for a “Retweet incentive for attorneys”. The most creative idea will be announced in a separate blog post on Friday morning, June 12th, and will include another link to your website, blog, Twitter profile, and a short bio of the winning submitter.

If you have an idea you’d like to submit please follow us on Twitter and direct message us with your idea. The deadline for submissions is 5pm EST on Thursday, June 11th.

UPDATE here are the Tweeers in the legal community who Retweeted this post. It’s not too late to be listed here, just Retweet this blog post and we’ll get you listed later in the week. And be sure to RT @tomfosterweb otherwise we won’t be able to track the responses. You’ll also have to have your website listed on your Twitter profile.

@GerryOginski is a Video for attorneys guru, New York Medical Malpractice and New York Accident Lawyer

@mkastrab is a Cleveland attorney concentrating in criminal defense, child custody, bankruptcy/budget planning & litigation.

@pbfriedman is a law professor with his own art and law blog

@BillTilley is a Pioneer of Legal Finance Industry – Improving the Business of Law, President Amicus Capital Services, an attorney loans solution

@WayneOBryan is a Richmond Car and Truck Accident injury lawyer

@paulpartridge is a Direct response copywriter, conversion specialist, online course developer and certified college funding advisor

@jeffcanhelp is a Consumer Advocate/Attorney trying to put a stop to debt collection harassment

@sean1372 is a Virtual marketing director for law firms and medical offices

@SanDiegoInjury is a San Diego personal injury and litigation attorney. Accident lawyer for the Jurewitz Law Group.

@JohnGWatts is an Alabama consumer protection attorney

@robmckinney is a Nashville, Tennessee trial lawyer who loves to represent the underdogs.

@jonpayne is the webmaster for law firm directory website

@Michael_Sherman is Christian, Husband and Father of 4, Alabama family lawyer, Homeschooler, Triathlete

You’re probably hearing more and more about Twitter as the days go by, either on television when they announce the newest celebrity who is “tweeting”, or from your friends and colleagues who already seem to be up on the Twitter lingo.

Well, just because you’re left scratching your head whenever they bring up words like “tweet” and start talking about their “followers” (I thought it was some sort of e-cult or something at first) doesn’t mean that it’s too late for you to join the Twitter revolution.

Tom Foster and George Murphy of Foster Web Marketing just wrote a new free report, “Twitter for Attorneys”, which you can download here.

The report covers a number of topics ranging from how to sign up for an account, what your profile should and shouldn’t include, basic Twitter etiquette, and how you can use this social media powerhouse to improve both your online networking efforts which can lead to referrals, and your lead generation efforts through creative Twitter marketing.

Just because you are new to Twitter or don’t know anything about it yet doesn’t mean that you have to be scared or hesitant to sign up. This report will help you understand what you need to do to catch up with all of the other attorneys already Tweeting and gaining more and more followers as the days go by, so take a few seconds to download it and let us know what you think!

After I realized that the answer is yes, I finally had a breakthrough: my life would not be complete without Twitter (or Facebook). This is pretty weird because this time last year I said what 95% (my guesstimate) of the country says right now: “Twitter? What the….?”

Here are my top five warning signs that you’re addicted to Twitter:

5) You respond to emails using “@” instead of “re:”, and not just in the subject.

4) Any time you type something that is approaching 140 characters you get the “uh oh here come the red numbers… I know they’re coming…. here they come” jitters.

3) You texted your best friend yesterday asking if he was coming to #happy hour.

2) Who needs Google? search.twitter.com is where it’s at!

1) The thought of your life minus Twitterberry or Twitterfon just doesn’t seem right.

By the way, is it just me or is Facebook trying to look like Twitter all of a sudden?

-George

This is a perfect case of viral marketing meets social media marketing meets, well, probably a stupid decision.

George Murphy, Foster Web Marketing’s SEO and social media marketing manager, was interviewed last week in an article by the Baltimore Sun on the power of social media marketing.

The article also featured a young Baltimore native who was brave enough to get a Twitter whale tattooed on his body (which is making pretty big headlines). I wonder what his return on investment will be.

Some great quotes from the article:

• “With Twitter and Facebook, the power of it is just amazing. I’m constantly blown away by this world,”…. “How quickly you can get people to respond, to react, to become aware of something. … It underscores how no business can ignore this.”
• “Be personal, share personal stuff on there so that people can relate to you, and they’ll actually pay attention to what you’re saying,” he says. “Nobody pays attention to you if you’re self-promoting most of the time.”
• “Why not? It doesn’t cost us anything.”
• “And as unpredictable as Twitter is as a Web traffic generator, its route to the bank is even less direct. But based on what Malis has seen so far, he thinks tweets just might pack profit potential.”

Proving a return on investment when it comes to social media marketing is always an obstacle, but considering that the only investment that you’re making is the time that it takes to setup and manage a Twitter or Facebook profile (spend maybe an hour a day), I’d certainly say it’s worth it.

Be sure to come check us out at the Infusioncon conference in Arizona on March 10-12. We’ll have a booth set up and will be offering a free website analysis for anyone in attendance.

• How is your website doing with search engines?
• How can you maximize your website’s lead generation efforts?
• How strong is your sites content development?
• Do you have a strong call to action?
• Would a blog help?
• And more

You can follow or contact George Murphy on Twitter if you have any questions or comments leading up to the conference.

So here is a quick example of how an attorney that is active on Twitter was able to find a potential client pretty easily.

Jennifer Cohen, who does some social media marketing for some of our clients from time to time, was recently loading groceries into her car near where she lives on a busy street.

Somebody came by and his her car door while it was open. The insurance company ruled it to be her fault (let’s not turn this into a debate please ), and she had to pay the deductible to get her car fixed.

She was upset and started looking more into it. Here is one message that she tweeted:

This resulted in a direct message from a local attorney who is obviously familiar with Twitter:

I’ll share that attorney’s profile after I publish this post and contact him/her to see if it’s okay.

Anyways, how did this attorney know that Jennifer tweeted that, and how was he able to find her?

Pretty simple. This attorney might not have even had to be on Twitter, Tweetdeck, or anything else, they just had to have e-mail access.

There are Twitter alert services out there like TweetBeep (which just came back up after about a month on hiatus) and Twilert that allow you to setup email alerts based on specified keywords that are relevant to your practice. So this attorney could have had “car accident”, “insurance”, etc. set up as his or her alerts which is how he found Jennifer (who is likely going to hire them by the way, she was impressed that the attorney took the initiative and is tech-savvy enough to find her).

He/she also used the advanced settings feature on either TweetBeep or Twilert to only alert him if these keywords are tweeted by a Twitter user within a certain number of miles from the zip code where he/she practices law.

Then, it’s as easy as sending her an @ message, or going the extra mile to follow her and send her a Direct Message.

It’s obviously worth the time to sit down and create a number of these alerts. Think of anything that someone might tweet about that relates to your practice, set up how often you would like to be alerted, hit save, and wait for the leads to come “flying” in.

Okay maybe not, but even if you only get one lead a year by doing this, it took you a half an hour to set it all up, if that’s not proving Twitter’s potential ROI I don’t know what is.

Oh, and remember to PLEASE build value on your Twitter profile. The idea is to share, not continuously self-promote and only tweet when you have a new blog post.

Myth: Only kids and tech savvy people use social media.
Truth: There are a ton of attorneys, moms, students, social media professionals, companies and others blogging and using social networking. The blogger and networking space is divided into niches and networks of people that share similar interests and the plethora of existing networks is astounding. This allows for a very targeted marketing approach- if you identify your targets, you can find and reach them in the space. Some social media efforts are better than others and it boils down to content and how you market and optimize the opportunities.

Myth: You cannot build strong relationships via social media.
Truth: Relationship building is one of the most important factors in recruiting and retaining new clients. Social media allows us to show our personal and professional selves allowing others to make connections based on our real personality. The ease of constant contact helps us to connect with more than one person at a time and initiate and build individual relationships. This is how people get to know you as a person, form an opinion based on more than just professional references, and trust you, which is the most important consideration when hiring an attorney.

Myth: Social media marketing is not as effective as traditional marketing.
Truth: Using a combination of social media marketing and traditional marketing is the best solution. Traditional marketing methods will still reach targeted audiences and social media allows us to tap into other channels for passing along our message. It is the mix that is proved to be most effective.

Myth: Social media tactics are too time consuming.
Truth: Social media tactics could take hours and days, but they do not have to take that much time to be effective. The simple solution is to allot a certain amount of time each day for social media efforts. Set aside an hour or so and blog on Monday, network using LinkedIn or Facebook on Tuesday, use twitter when you have some down time, etc. Remember to go your own pace and plan what works best according to your personal preferences and goals. If you decide you do not want to take on the responsibilities yourself, hire someone in-house to or outsource your social media campaign to a marketing company.

Myth: Social media is too open-ended and rules for censorship do not exist, which can create problems.
Truth: Although there are not any written rules, the unwritten rule is simply, use your head. When using social media outlets, produce mindful, interesting content and do not write or post anything you would not want your mom to know about. As the line between our personal and professional appearance becomes blurred, keep in mind that you are always (and always have been) representing someone and you want to give the best representation that would make you proud.

Twitter is one of the most effective tools for instant information sharing with your “Twitter associates” (the term used as opposed to followers and coined with credit to @jimconolly) and the entire Twitterverse. It is a tool that, when used effectively, should be updated frequently and provides a sense of “there is someone behind that name,” which is appreciated and valued by those occupying the social space.

The Twitter trend is simple and logical, but can be confusing to the unknowing. The most common question I hear is, “How do I use Twitter for marketing and what is the importance?”

First, let’s tackle the question of using Twitter for marketing. Let’s assume you followed our previous steps and created an account and found some Twitter followers and are building your community. The next step is to be sure your Tweets are 140 characters of either informal and more personal information, or useful information…and an equal combination of both.

As mentioned in our Twitter Webcast, informal information and more personal tweets can be about anything from what you are doing right this minute to a funny joke or thought that your followers might find interesting or entertaining.

Useful information can be a breaking news story or an industry-related blog or site that adds value and credibility to your account and appeals to your followers. For instance, if you come across a blog about green building laws and want to share with others, use a tiny url (to reduce the number of characters) and add a descriptor such as “Oregon New Green Law Regulation: http://tinyurl.com/3rx8c7“ and post. The more information you offer, the more likely someone will retweet your post and you can gain exposure to new followers and expand your network. When a new person shows up in a Twitter feed, Twitter users often check out the unknown person’s Twitter site to read updates, check the amount of followers, click on the posted link, and will decide to follow or not follow. The exposure of your name and site and boost in credibility are your returns on a valuable post.

What is the importance? The very simple answer to this is building brand visibility and awareness through social networking and connecting with your target audience through a different and unique medium. Twitter allows for two-way communication with individuals and/or companies through micro messaging…something no other medium encourages. Because of its simplicity and ability to have a targeted “following”, it is something all companies can find benefit in using.

To optimize Twitter use, there are plenty of tools that can be found on the Internet. They include applications that put Twitter directly on your desktop, separate tweets by categories, feed your blog posts to your twitter account, and more…I will compile a comprehensive list of these tools and include in an upcoming blog post! Stay tuned!