Twitter Reportedly Testing Two-Step Authentication, and Other Marketing Stories of the Week

It's been another great week for marketers, especially for us New Englanders who have just started getting a taste of spring weather (finally!). On top of that, HubSpot came out with its annual research report about the state of inbound marketing, and we've been seeing some helpful new feature updates from the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare.

There's so much to get caught up on, so we won't bore you with any more intro babble. Let's dive right in to the marketing stories you might have missed this week so you can play catch-up (hehe ... get it?).

Twitter Is Reportedly Testing Two-Factor Authentication Following Multiple Hacks on User Accounts, From The Next Web

With all the recent hacks happening to Twitter accounts like the Associated Press and 60 Minutes, the microblogging platform has reportedly started testing a solution that will beef up security for all its users. Twitter is currently in the process of internally testing a two-factor (AKA two-step or multifactor) authentication system that it plans to incrementally roll out to its users at an unknown date. The new system will require users to enter an extra code during the sign-in process. Users would log in to Twitter like they normally would, but the service would then send an email or an SMS message with an alphanumeric code that the user would need to enter in order to gain access to their account. 

Depending on whether or not this new system will come to fruition, marketers may be able to sleep a bit easier knowing their Twitter accounts are safe from pesky hackers. Even if this two-factor authentication system does comes into play, it's also a good idea for marketers to take certain security measures like creating more complex passwords and limiting user access only to necessary team members. Read the full story on The Next Web.

Foursquare Packs More Information Into Redesigned Business Profile Pages, From Marketing Land

In addition to the launch of Facebook's new mobile design for business pages, Foursquare is also making a change to the look and organization of its local business pages. Foursquare’s revamped look is designed to bring more useful information to the attention of its users, adding some great new improvements to the user experience. With the redesign, users will now be able to scan Places with greater ease as well as find useful information like addresses, phone numbers, hours, menus, and upcoming events much more easily. Foursquare's changes also serve to highlight things people talk about the most as well as share photos, tips, and community ratings. Personalization has also been improved, showcasing insights based on preference, or where the user's friends have been before.

Not only does this revamp in design benefits the user; it's also a big win for marketers because of how much easier it will be for users to find, learn, and share information about local businesses. Marketers should take advantage of this new redesign by refreshing their accounts with up-to-date information, new images, social sharing, and links for Foursquare's more than 50 million monthly users. Read more at Marketing Land.

LinkedIn Launches New Contacts Tool to Make Relationship Management Easier, From the HubSpot Blog

LinkedIn announced 'LinkedIn Contacts' on Thursday, the professional social network's new solution to help users organize, build, and maintain their personal and professional relationships. The new tool, which will soon be available on both LinkedIn.com and as a standalone iPhone app, will pull in information from your email, address books, and calendar to create an all-in-one solution for contact management.

With LinkedIn Contacts, you’ll be able to view a person’s LinkedIn profile, and see the last time you were in contact with that person. The tool also alerts you when a contact has a birthday, changes jobs, or when you haven't been in touch in a while. You can even set up custom reminders with notes about important people you're connected with. For instance, you could set up regular, ongoing alerts to remind you to keep in touch with people you want to make sure you have regular conversations with in an attempt to build and grow those relationships. LinkedIn is already a marketer's gold mine, and its new tool provides a number of new benefits to marketers, such as building relationships with journalists and influencers, and staying in touch with prospects and leads. Read more about how marketers can leverage this new tool on HubSpot's Inbound Marketing Blog.

New Keyword Targeting Lets Twitter Ads Chase Purchase Intent, Similar to Search Ads, From TechCrunch

Twitter appears to be adding some more robust features to its advertising tool, introducing keyword targeting to its platform. The new addition means that marketers can now target ads to users based on the keywords included in users’ tweets. According to Twitter, it will be rolling out this new feature across all of its ad networks, and it will apply to both mobile and desktop in 15 languages and all markets where Twitter is currently serving advertisements.

There's no doubt that this new feature will be extremely useful for marketers who are looking to improve their Twitter ad targeting. In fact, early adopters of Twitter's keyword targeting feature have seen that users are significantly more likely to engage with their Promoted Tweets. According to Twitter, the new feature "lets marketers reach users at the right moment, in the right context.” For example, if a user tweets about a particular sports team, they could see a Promoted Tweet that tickets are available for an upcoming game. Although this new feature looks promising, there are still quite a few questions about timing, reliability, and efficacy. Learn more from TechCrunch.

HubSpot Releases the 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Annual Report, Featuring Insights From 3,339 Marketers

Are you interested in downloading the newest, most comprehensive report on the current state of the inbound marketing industry? Of course you are! This week, HubSpot released its 5th annual 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report, and it's bigger and better than ever. A deep dive into the inbound marketing tactics and strategy of real inbound marketers, the report features data from 3,339 marketers in 128 different countries.

We know you've got questions about the inbound marketing industry, and this year's report has the answers. Get your hands on HubSpot's latest research, and learn about how thousands of marketers are using inbound marketing strategies and tactics. Download the full report here.

What other notable marketing stories did you stumble across this week?

Image Credit: Orangeadnan