How Facebook "The Social Network" Has Redefined PR, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, SEO, Jobs

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

New York , ---- December 9, 2010 ...... There used to be a time when PR consisted of faxing out a well written news release to CNN, FOX, AP, Reuters, BBC or TIME Magazine. When print advertising consisted of front covers, inside full color bleed ads, back covers and classifieds in both trade and general media. When radio talk shows and TV late night advertising were king - dominating all media 24 / 7.

Then came the Internet. In 1995 commercial Websites started to spread and static banner ads would speak to a few.

By 2000, we were religiously using the Net to gather information and email friends. Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN were the undisputed giants.

This has all changed. While teenagers were creating their own Websites and blogs, as mom and dad continued to watch NBC, CBS or ABC News, a quiet revolution was taking place. Today that revolution is known as Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 - interacting with one another on social networking sites such as Yahoo and Google groups, Twitter, Napster (RIP), MySpace, Craigslist, Amazon, Live, Tencent, Blogger, Flickr, Bebo, Baidu, DIGG, Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn, Friendster, Hi5, Buzz, talkbacks on news sites and yes - Facebook.

Corporate, governmental and non-profit entities all knew that they needed a Website. From the CIA, US Army, Mossad, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Association, Doctors Without Borders and Greenpeace to Nestle, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, Vail, GE, Intel, Nokia, Disney, McDonalds and Victoria's Secret.

So they all hired a few HTML programming and FLASH computer geeks who know Dreamweaver and poured strong coffee for a few, creative graphic artists. The missing link had always been marketing. Then came Facebook. Born out of sex driven Harvard college boys seeking girlfriends in 2004 and exploding today capturing over 500 million global members. It was now easy to share news, photos, meetings, causes, gossip and even poke a few new people into friendship - both online and offline.

Today, not to have a Facebook account is not to exist. It overshadows every modern means of communication except for the telephone. And even the mobile phone is now under attack by Web giants Google and SKYPE offering free telephone calls.

With Hollywood producing the movie - The Social Network - came an abundance of public awareness of the inner workings of the Internet that the common man was never aware of. We now heard new nouns, terms such as hits, traffic, SEO, blogs, hacking, status updates and ROI.

Facebook co-creators Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin created a monster that now dictated to corporate America that you could no longer ignore social networking. It was and is the medium. One can no longer throw it off as a medium used by "young people".

Most of Facebook's advertising revenues come from advertising. Microsoft is Facebook's exclusive partner for providing banner advertising to over 500 million people from the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France and Israel to Mexico, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Sweden and Haiti.

But even with Facebook now covering the Net like a friendly nuclear cloud, the billions of other Websites keep crying out to be seen and heard. And Facebook encourages this effort by allowing users to post links to their favorite Websites. With the movie The Social Network came new awareness of search engine optimization or SEO. Without SEO a Website does not exist.

A year ago if one said the words SEO, they would think that you were saying CEO. Today almost every other job wanted ad in the high tech field is calling for SEO programmers, SEO marketing people, SEO salespeople. This was the work and awareness of The Social Network.

But still something is sorely missing. In the US where PR and ad agencies are so used to specializing - touting themselves as being consumer, B2B, B2C, entertainment, financial, sports, non-profit, crisis communications or health care, they are still missing the big picture of the new media, social media revolution.

For in this era of social networking, an effective digital PR and or advertising agency must be able to understand and integrate each and every element of the Net.

Those who create Websites are not just graphic artists and graphic artists are not copywriters and editorial staff are not SEO programmers.

One must ask the executives at both PR and ad agencies Edelman, APCO Worldwide, Ruder Finn, Text 100 Global PR, Schwartz Communications, ICR, Regan Communications Group, Gibbs & Soell, Allison & Partners, Cooney/Waters Group, Coyne PR, RF | Binder Partners, 5W Public Relations, Makovsky + Co., Zeno Group, Hunter PR, Widmeyer Communications, Kaplow, Levick Strategic Comms., SS | PR, Chicago, Acxiom, Hill & Knowlton Zenith Media, MediaCom, DraftFCB, Grey, Porter Novelli, Universal, McCann, BBDO, Ogilvy & Mather, R/GA, Arnold Worldwide, Razorfish, Publicis, OgilvyOne, MS&L, Tribal DDB, Digitas, Fleishman-Hillard, Y&R, Weber Shandwick, GSI Interactive, Leo Burnett, Cramer-Krasselt and GolinHarris just one question.

Do your ad copy writers and news release staff know SEO? Do they know how to creatively optimize their copy for Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL and MSN? We are not just talking page titles and META tags. We are talking about optimizing each and every word of Web content and news content.

If not - your news releases and animated ads will get lost in dark cyberspace. That is unless you go off organic search and totally rely on pay per click using Google Adwords and Facebook ads.

Even these paid, sponsored advertisements cry out to be optimized.

As Mark Zuckerberg just announced plans to give away the majority of his $6.9 billion fortune to charity, you don't have to wait.

Commercial life begins today with just four words - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and SEO. Without fully embracing and integrating these four Internet marketing basics, you may as well just stay in bed - with your BlackBerry and iPhone turned off.

Finding An Honest, Professional SEO, Digital PR Company

With the Internet being the place to secure market share, many charlatans and wannabe international Internet marketing professionals are surfacing - thieves who know little more than how to cash your check and disappear quickly.

So how does one go about shopping for an honest and successful SEO company which also practices professional PR?

You must ask several questions.

Problem is, most companies seeking international SEO, PR Internet marketing support do not know the questions to ask.
The United States News Agency provides below a list of questions for every company from Tel Aviv, London, Washington and New York, to Paris, Japan, India and China to ask the SEO or international Internet marketing and PR company before they sign a contract.

First, if your target audience is New York, London, Manchester or Los Angeles, or any native English speaking market, be certain to hire a native from that country. One whose English is at mother tongue level and understands the marketing culture of your target market. If you do hire a pro from Israel or India, excellent nations used for outsourcing, make certain that they have lived and worked in your target market locale for at least ten years.

Second, you want to know what experience and for how many years they have worked with international marketing, conventional distribution channels, sales, marcom, viral marketing, production of brochures, advertising and public relations?

Third, what professional experience do they have in copy writing, journalism and research?

Fourth, what practical experience do they have in programming?

And last but not least, how long have they been working on the Internet?

An international Internet marketing professional must wear many hats to succeed.
The Internet SEO must be an experienced international marketing or PR person - one who understands how to penetrate and motivate a market outside of Israel without the Internet. They need to understand the basics of international marketing, branding, distribution, sales channels and ROI in order for them to integrate the digital world with the classic print, broadcast media and sales markets. The SEO must be an accomplished, creative and professional writer who can write for both the reader and the search engine.

This article is an example of how one writes for both the reader and the Google and Yahoo search engines. The English suffers a bit as the writer finds a fine balance between getting your attention and the eyes of the search engines. But what is more important? The search engine!

For if your customers in the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Japan and South Korea do not find your Website, then having a Website with the best of conventional copy writing will find itself lost in cyberspace.

Can you find a Webmaster, Internet graphic design, Internet programmer, professional Internet marketing, international marketing guru and professional journalist and or copywriter all in one person?
Many will tell you yes. I say, you will be lucky to find a team with each one of these professionals.

What then would be the real acid test for securing a professional SEO - search engine optimization Web promotion marketing company?

Simply perform a search on Google for the service and location, i.e. - "New York SEO PR."
If the SEO PR company you are talking to is not listed in the top ten, you must ask yourself one question: "How can they rank you, without the continued use of an expensive Google adwords campaign, in a top ten position?"

Internet Marketing SEO Professionals ask:
Can People Find Your Website?

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