Facebook and Twitter on Bing? Awesome!

Yesterday, Microsoft announced deals with both Facebook and Twitter that will incorporate status updates in Bing search results.

Anyone can access the Twitter component at Bing.com/Twitter, which went live in beta yesterday. Access to this information connected to Facebook will come at a later date.

Microsoft’s new partnership with Twitter is basically a combination of Twitter search within Bing. It will update in real-time, and it allows users to search tweets by not only recency, but by relevancy. "Relevancy" will play into Bing's results based on information such as the number of retweets, captions, the quality of tweets, and keywords.

Bing will also provide top-shared links on Twitter that are relevant to a search query. It will pick two tweets (with the short URLs automatically expanded) to display. Bing will also display the “hottest” (trending) topics on Twitter in the form of a tag cloud.

This is important for pr professionals and social media "gurus" to keep in mind as we create social media strategies and identify appropriate content for these social media channels.

(Source: Mashable.com)

Twitter

It seems as though you can hardly make it through a day without coming across some mention of Twitter. Time Magazine, USA Today, Oprah, Ashton and countless professional athletes have drawn millions of eyes to the microblogging site, and now many are wondering the obvious question “why use Twitter?”

To many, the functions of Twitter seem pointless. With a limit of 140 characters per post, and a vast sea of strangers who can read your tweets, it is easy to proceed with trepidation. After all, no one cares how good your sandwich was at lunch today. Yet, if you have useful or entertaining updates, Twitter could be your digital playground.

Ways that you can get started on Twitter:

• Create an account, even if you only use it to follow tweets without posting yourself. Twitter provides a wealth of information if you follow the right people.
• Identify fellow Twitterers who are of interest to you, whether it be a friend or a well-known industry thought leader.
• Interact with conversations that you enjoy, and respond to Tweets that spark an opinion you would like to share.
• Don’t be afraid.

In addition to personal uses for Twitter, organizations such as Zappos, JetBlue, and Comcast have carved a place for their brands on Twitter by offering CEO insights, deals, and most importantly access to immediate customer service. While Twitter isn’t the right solution for all brands, it does provide a unique opportunity to gain insight from consumers while building a loyal fan base to share content with.

Ways that your brand can utilize Twitter:

• Participate in existing conversations – Believe it or not, there are conversations on Twitter that are relevant whether they speak about your brand or just a general product or service that you offer. It is important to identify who is saying what, and participate in conversations when appropriate.
• Offer deals and promotions for consumers – With the current state of the economy, people are looking for deals wherever they can find them. Promote existing deals or provide loyal followers with special discount codes.
• Provide customer service and immediate feedback for questions and concerns – Customers love an immediate solution to a problem. Provide your loyal followers with up-to-date information and the best way to follow - up with additional questions.