Author: Julie Campbell

Mobile social media marketing on Facebook could boost Google search results

| November 23, 2015

The massive search engine is now allowed to crawl public posts and data of some of the network’s members.

Facebook is now permitting the Google search engine crawlers to work their way through some of the public data of its members so that the indexing could lead searchers directly to the source, in a move that could considerably change the face of social media marketing.

This appears to be an opportunity that could be advantageous to both Facebook and Google, but marketers as well.

Now that the announcement has been made, many marketers are already starting to look at ways in which their social media marketing can have a more direct impact on their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. Google searches conducted over Android-based smartphones will start to display public Facebook information such as Pages, profiles, Groups and Events. Should the user click a given Facebook link from among the results, they will be directed to the specific source on the page within the Facebook app.

This new social media marketing opportunity is being created through Google’s strategy to add search to apps.

Social Media Marketing - Google Search ResultsAccording to the Wall Street Journal, which was a first source to actually announce this mobile marketing news, “Google is making inroads in confronting a big challenge – searching inside apps.” This agreement between the two tech giants also suggests that the execs from the top social network are now discovering that sending searchers into their social media platform directly from search engine results presents a range of possibilities.

On the side of Google, it provides users with an even greater incentive to choose that company’s search features as opposed to opting for one of the alternatives, such as Bing. On the side of Facebook, more traffic will be driven to the platform because users who are searching for information will be exposed to links to the social network on a much more regular basis.

From the side of users, particularly in terms of brands with pages and groups, it will be interesting to see how this change will impact their social media marketing strategies and what they do to ensure they achieve the top possible spot for their desired keywords and phrases.

Augmented reality owner’s manual coming to a Hyundai near you

| November 20, 2015

This has made the company the first among mainstream automakers to launch an AR technology based guide.

Hyundai has recently announced that before the close of the year, it will become the first among the mainstream automakers to launch mobile app that provides augmented reality features to its owner’s manual.

The Hyundai Virtual Guide mobile app is the automaker’s strategy for bringing its owner’s manual to today’s consumer.

This augmented reality mobile app has been created to convert the traditional vehicle owner’s manual into one that can be enhanced through the use of a smartphone or tablet. The app will provide owners with additional how-to information for properly maintaining their vehicles, about common types of repairs and to help drivers to better understand the features of their cars. To start, the application will be compatible with only one Hyundai model, but over time it will be launched to function with other models as well.

At the start, the augmented reality features will work with the 2015 Hyundai Sonata user manual.

Augmented Reality - HyundaiThere are already 45 major features of the 2015 Sonata that can be recognized by the Virtual Guide mobile app. This is a free application and can be downloaded by iOS and Android based device users from the Apple App Store and from Google Play.

Hyundai decided on the features that it would spotlight with the AR technology through the application of the results of a quality consumer survey. It focused in on the features that were considered to be the most difficult to use so they would be worked into the Virtual Guide for added user support. The hope is that through the additional descriptive abilities of AR technology, it will be easier for vehicle owners to understand their features and will be able to use them more effectively.

The augmented reality app is also made up of 82 different how-to videos, as well as six 3D overlay images that can be viewed overtop of the real-life image of their actual vehicle when the parts of the car are scanned with the smartphone or tablet camera. Among the areas that can be scanned are the dash and engine bay. The application currently provides over 50 info guides.