10 Social, Search and Mobile Tips to Know This Week (Small Business E-Commerce Link Digest)

Loads and loads and loads of social, local, mobile links this week worth checking out. So, as I often do, I’m going to skip the setup and get straight to the links:

1. First up, Techcrunch reports on a Forrester study showing 66% of employees use 2 or more devices at work, 12% use tablets. Mobile isn’t a coming thing any longer. It’s here.
2. I mentioned this in yesterday’s podcast, but it’s a clear sign of the growth of mobile when Google revamps its homepage for mobile phones.
3. Speaking of search, Search Engine Land says that Yahoo’s search share continues its downward slide. I’m not sure that’s news, sadly. Your website’s stats probably tell you the same thing.
4. Search Engine Watch details a new study that claims 53% of organic search clicks go to first link. Not terribly surprising and a great reminder of why you want to both improve your search engine ranking and find additional traffic sources, such as social.
5. Speaking of social, here’s a great example of how social leads to Big Data. LinkedIn has a blog post that reveals insights into U.S. talent pools based on their use of the professional networking site. Cool stuff.
6. And if you want to see examples of social commerce in action, Business Insider looks at brands testing Facebook’s ‘want’ button
7. Long-time e-commerce players are learning lessons from the social world, too. For example, EBay has updated its site to be more personal, Pinterest-like
8. Continuing on the social scene, I read a great piece yesterday that argues why Instagram will be the next big social media platform. For what it’s worth, I agree. In particular, note Jeremy Floyd’s comment, which notes, “What stands out to me about Instagram is that the bar for creators is so low. Your data may reveal this, but it seems that the disparity between creators and consumers is lower on Instagram than other networks.”
9. Of course even on sites like Instagram creating content isn’t always the easiest thing. HubSpot looks at how to keep your marketing engine chugging with community-generated content
10. And, wrapping up this week, I’ve often said that email is the “forgotten social network.” Search Engine Watch agrees, explaining why email marketing shouldn’t be an ugly stepchild. Good read.

Have a great weekend, Big Thinkers. Look forward to seeing you back here next week.

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