While researching the new updates to Twitter’s third party app authorization process, something interesting caught my eye in the Google search results for “twitter”… Twitter itself came up as number one return, but Lance Armstrong’s Twitter account came up as number two- above the wikipedia entry for twitter, news, the twitter search engine, Twitter’s facebook page, reviews, and videos. Continue reading Lance Armstrong, Twitter, and Google – Why Link Building and SEO Works

Today I got this email from Twitter, alerting me to changes in their third party app authorization rules and URL shortening. I have included it here in full… Continue reading Twitter Apps and You – New Authorization Process

Today I received a free $50 credit from Facebook in my inbox to try out Facebook ads. So I clicked the link in the email and walked myself through the process of creating an ad – and snagged screenshots along the way.

While I didn’t actually end up completing the process, I thought I would share the images of my test walk through with you in order to give you a rough idea of the INITIAL process.

(Keep in mind that Captico can handle all of this as a part of our campaign/packages for our clients.)

Step 1: Design Your Ad

You can have your Facebook Ad link to any website you wish. In this example I chose to link to the Captico Facebook page as opposed to the Captico website because the goal of my fake ad is to get people to connect with us on Facebook as opposed to drive traffic to our website.

Next, I enter my title. I want to catch the eye of people who are interested in Social Media as our Captico Facebook page provides information specifically related to social media and Facebook news. The Body text I enter tells the reader exactly that.

I chose the Captico logo for the image, but you can choose anything you want.

Step 2: Targeting

This is where we choose to whom the ad will appear. In my example I have selected DC, MD, and VA because those are the primary locations where are clients come from (though Captico does serve clients alla cross the country). If you are a small brick and mortar store in Cleveland that sells radioactive puppies, you may only what to target to Cleveland and cities that surround it. You can be as specific or as broad as you wish.

Demographics will further refine who your ads appear to. I have specified users who are 21+, of either gender, who have “Social media” listed as an interest in their profile and who graduated college. You can get very specific here targeting hobbies, ages, gender, and even companies or schools!

Step 3: Campaigns, Pricing, and Scheduling

This final step will be familiar to those of you who work with Google AdWords and Keywords. Here you specify how much you are willing to spend per day (you are charged each time your ad is clicked) and how much per click you wish to “bid”.

You can also choose the dates and frequency with which your ad will appear.

Well, I hope this brief walk through helped lift some of the veil around Facebook Ads! Please feel free to contact us with any questions or to help get YOU started with a Facebook campaign!

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You may also be interested in:

How to add Facebook Like and Share Buttons to Your Website

Facebook: Like

Facebook Ditches Fans in Favor of Likes

In a move that means convenience for Twitter users now and another potential monetizable feature later, Twitter has unveiled a tweak to the site’s general search function. Now if you enter a name into the search box on the right hand side panel, 3 users who may may match who you’re searching for appear above the regular search results.

When I did a search for basketball phenom “Lebron James” the new hero of Miami and villain of Cleveland, it returns a link to his personal site @KingJames (which is verified), a fake/funny site @LeBronsElbow, and a very stupid fake site @LeBronJamesdunk (which according to Twitter’s Terms of Service, needs to state somewhere in its description that it is NOT the real LeBron). Below the “featured” users, you see the customary real-time results for occurrences of your search term (in this case “Lebron James”) across twitter – with your term bolded.  Continue reading Twitter’s New Name Search Feature

Disney is really into Twitter. Or so one would think based on their embracing of Twitter’s latest attempts at making money. They jumped on the Promoted Tweets opportunity with the Toy Story release and are now following that as the premier launch deal of @EarlyBird which grants followers special deals and discounts. Continue reading Twitter’s Earlybird Tries to Monetize Tweets While Providing Value to Users

Social Media Series with Emily Paterson: Twitter 101
In this 3-part series, Emily Paterson presents Social Media for Businesses, beginning with an Introduction to Web 2.0, then a quick look at Blogging 101, and finishing with an overview of Twitter 101.

After some delay, its finally time for Washington DC’s Nonprofit 2.0 Unconference dedicated to those using social media to create networked communities and movements, enable volunteers and political action, and cultivate donors and partners for causes. This event focuses on those who’s communications impact society, benefiting Americans and citizens across the globe in an effort to change society for the better.

Captico’s New Media Coordinator Corrie Davidson will be on hand to snag informal on-the-spot interviews with event attendees. You can also follow the conference through Captico’s Twitter account. Continue reading Captico is a sponsor of the Nonprofit 2.0 Un-Conference

While BP battles the ever increasingly disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, their PR department is trying to conduct a brand cleanup through traditional and online media. You may have seen the TV ads featuring Darryl Willis, the VP of Resources at BP America, featuring him as a Louisiana-born “volunteer” eager to help citizens file their claims. (Apparently  CEO Tony Hayward wasn’t quite cutting it, and so a new “face” for the company was chosen.) But BP is also embracing new media methods such as Search Engine Marketing and Twitter. In this article, we take a look at how BP and its detractors are using Twitter to connect with the world. Continue reading BP, the oil spill, and Twitter

DCWEEK has finally come to an end for creatives in the Nation’s Capital and now its time to recap the bits of knowledge gleaned by roving reporter yours truly. Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) is a 10 day festival in Washington DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital. It took place from June 11th to June 20th, 2010 in venues across the city with the mission of strengthening the capital region’s digital economy via events focused on creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, marketing, content creation, and innovation. Continue reading Digital Capital Week 2010 – “A Slice of DCWEEK”

Forgive me if you’ve already run across “Promoted” Tweets in your Twitter stream as they did launch in April of this year. Perhaps I don’t follow or search for enough major brands, but regardless, I’m seeing them now- largely in part because they are now testing out “Promoted Trends”. And sadly (or luckily?) its to promote something I love. The Toy Story franchise. (You may remember me talking about Toy Story and Twitter about a year ago and how Director Lee Unkrich was using Twitter to troubleshoot screenings of Toy Story 1&2 in 3D for followers.) Continue reading Twitter: Promoted Tweets and Trends… They’re Heeeerrreee