Twitter removed 140 character limit for Direct Messages

Twitter has lifted 140 character limit for Direct Messages. Now you can now chat on and on, in a single Direct Message. It was revealed by Sachin Agarwal (@agarwal), Twitter's Product Manager for Direct Messages, in a post in Twitter Blog on 12 August 2015. It is a big step towards making the private side of Twitter more powerful and fun.

Direct Messages allow people to have private conversations about the memes, news, movements, and events on Twitter. Each of the trillions of Tweets shared across Twitter daily is an opportunity for people to start a discussion about what's going on in the world. Due to this reason, Twitter has devised few changes to the Direct Messages in last some months gradually.

Twitter has rolled out this change on Twitter.com, TweetDeck, Twitter for Mac, Twitter for Android and Twitter for iOS apps. Twitterati should note that the latest versions of Twitter apps are required to get the update right away. Sending and receiving DMs via SMS will still have 140 character limit.

Getting Started With Internet Marketing: Consider These Ideas

Internet marketing is like traditional marketing in many ways, but can be vastly different in others. A traditional marketing education or background doesn't guarantee you success, but many of the ideas you learn there can be useful. Here are some ideas from all sorts of fields that Apply to internet marketing and will help you be successful.

Goal-oriented Internet Marketing strategy

When creating your Internet marketing strategy, include one or two long-term goals. Your daily to do SEO list is designed to generate income but the long-term success of your internet business will depend on developing a list of tasks to work on, that will promote this income for years to come. Set a timeline for accomplishing specific tasks.

Search Engine Friendly URLs for better performance

Your URLs will be more popular with search engines if they have clear, descriptive names with easily understandable keywords. For example, "www.doghouse.com/doghealth/nutrition" is easier to understand than "www.doghouse.com/0734214/6al331.htm". Dynamic URLs, even if they contain readable keywords, will still be less friendly to the search engines. Your visitors will also navigate your site easily.

Blogging

Create a blog for your site and link back and participate with other related blogs. Search engines are constantly crawling blogs and the results of jumping onto the blogosphere can be of great use to your search results and click backs. When you work with other related blogs, you will also pull in clicks from the readers of the other blogs.

Increase your Outreach

Decipher what vernacular is used regarding your brand by looking at all conversations about your brand online. You can make a word cloud and use the most prominent words in your online marketing campaigns to more effectively reach out to audiences. You will be able to speak to them more clearly if you are using terms they know, use and accept as sensible.

Social Media for Communication and Influence

Harness the power of the Social Networking to your advantage. Get your word out through the positive use of the Social Media. Build your authority by following influencers in your niche'. Follow and communicate with them to get in touch. Ask for their opinions on your products / services. Their endorsements will boost your business' branding. Gradually improve your standing to become influence for others.

Placing Ads in your Niche' for Targeted Traffic

Try solo ads. Solo ads are ones that you provide to owners of e-mail newsletters. How does this help you? You are able to reach a targeted group that might be interested in what you have to offer. More than that, your appearance in the newsletter means the owner approves of you. So, the readers are more likely to respond favorably to your ads.

Research for New Ideas

Take time off for brainstorming and to redeem yourself. Internet marketing can very easily consume your whole day, since you're sitting in front of the computer. This can make you tired, irritable and someone who is not good to be around. Take some time off to exercise or clear your mind and you'll come back to work, well-rested and invigorated.

Exercise extreme caution before you pay anyone for internet marketing advice. Books, videos and courses sold on the subject come from "experts." Remember these "experts" are making their money selling you books instead of running internet marketing campaigns. Check the background of such experts before giving them money; make sure they have the experience to know what they are talking about.

Conclusion

No matter what your background or education, internet marketing is a field where anyone can be successful. A knack for selling your product and a drive to greater success are key to being great in this career. Never giving up and striving to learn more will ensure continued success, so keep up the good work.

SEO in Future: Internet Marketing now and in Coming Years

SEO has altered in last few years. Search Engine Optimization has gone upside down. Gone are the days of manipulating Search Results through dubious techniques in major search engines like Google. Search Engines now require clean work. Search professionals should keep in view the Search Algorithm changes like Google Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates. They should follow industry standards, results in improved and long lasting search rankings.

Link Building still works but have to be done carefully. Unique content with just 1-2 keywords is the way to go. Best strategy is to not place links on Brand / Money keywords. Linking should be natural, so that it is not termed Link Spamming. Presence of a related keyword in the context of link is fine. Make your Link profile diverse, and keep doing it. Do not rely on just one or two techniques. Work on different channels simultaneously. This will ensure diverse traffic and will result in increased lead generation.

Social Media presence is very important now. But the point is, it should be used in a natural way. Make your content interactive, through images, videos, polls and related stuff. Develop interest in your fans; so that they like, comment and share your content. It is an ideal scenario, if your followers get your word out themselves. Social Networking can play a vital role in branding and lead generation.

Branding and Reputation Management are very important now. Companies and individuals should focus on their brands. A strong brand name ensures high traffic and generates more leads. Reputation Management also needs much attention. Users read websites reviews before making buying decisions. Organizations should monitor their web reviews and should improve these gradually. If you are a local business, then look for your Google+ and Facebook reviews also.

Facebook testing Trending Topics section in News Feed

Facebook is testing a Trending Topics section in its News Feed. The social network is checking new ways to make Hashtags useful. The section is similar to "Trends Box" of rival Twitter and showcases topics, including Hash-tags, currently popular on the site.

A spokeswoman from Facebook confirmed the test with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, 30 August 2013. She is quoted to have said the following in a WSJ Blog post about Trending:

"We are running a small test of a unit on News Feed that displays topics currently trending on Facebook. Right now it's only available to a small percentage of US users and it is still in the early stages of development. We will share more details down the line if we decide to roll it out more widely."

Facebook launched searchable Hashtags in June 2013, to make it easy for people to see related conversations around a single topic. At that time, the Social Networking company said it would be "rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics". Earlier this month, it started showing trending topics to some mobile web users.

Trend based navigation is a natural outgrowth of adding Hashtags. Facebook is taking a while to go to the next phase. Public-private dynamics work quite differently on Facebook than on Twitter, where the hashtag / Trending Topics idea was popularized. Facebook is using tests to make sure this approach makes sense with its more private model. Let's see if Hashtag.org incorporates Facebook hashtags tracking in future.

Facebook introduced Searchable Hashtags, Assured more Features to Discover Public Conversations

Facebook has announced to introduce Searchable Hashtags from 12 June 2013. Clickable Hash tags will show a feed of what other people and Pages are saying about that event or topic. Facebook hash-tags will allow users to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion.

The newly offered feature is similar to other services like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest. Search Engine giant Google is also offering hash-tags support in its social service Google+ already. Facebook members were able to include hashtags in their content earlier, but there was no real functionality. The renowned Social Networking website has said it would be "rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics".

Facebook explained the reasoning behind the addition of Functional Hashtags feature in its blog post as following:

Every day, hundreds of millions of people use Facebook to share their thoughts on big moments happening all around them. Whether it's talking about a favorite television show, cheering on a hometown sports team or engaging with friends during a breaking news event—people on Facebook connect with their friends about what’s taking place all over the world.

To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook.

Facebook users now can do following:

• Search for a specific hashtag from your search bar. For example, #NBAFinals
• Click on hashtags that originate on other services, such as Instagram
• Compose posts directly from the hashtag feed and search results

Privacy is a major concern in this new development. "Public Conversation" works differently on Facebook than it does on a service like Twitter, since many Facebook posts have some degree of privacy restriction. Facebook has assured that as always, members control the audience for their posts, including those with hash-tags. A company spokesperson has revealed that from a privacy perspective, hashtags will work similarly to Facebook Graph Search. In other words, users will only see the comments that they're authorized to see. So if you include a hashtag in a friends-only post, then my friends will still be the only ones who can see it in a hashtag search.

Introduction of Hash-tags is the first step by Facebook to help people more easily discover what others are saying about a specific topic and participate in public conversations. Social Media leader has committed to continue to offer more features in future, including trending hash tags and deeper insights, that help people discover and follow more of the world's conversations. Let's see if Hashtag.org tracks Facebook hashtags in future.

Social Media Marketing - Highs & Lows in 2012

Social Media Marketing had its Highs and Lows in 2012. So many companies just could not figure out how to use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. It is great to hear some of Social Media campaigns were rightly done. 2012 was a good year for companies who were active on Social Networks. It was not just the big names that saw big change.

Social Media is realatively new aspect for Internet Marketing. But it has become essential for online sales and growth of businesses and products. Social Networking is necessary for qualified traffic, reputation management, brand exposure and marketing success.

Here is an Infographic: