“LiveRoom” gives Yahoo! News users an interactive platform to share their views and attracts a key demo for brands

Every day, millions of people go to Yahoo! News for expert coverage of breaking stories and major events. Now they can turn those visits into two-way conversations with a live chat series called “LiveRoom.” The series offers Yahoo! users a unique opportunity to interact with newsmakers, thought leaders, and Yahoo! journalists on topical issues. By giving them an online platform to share their opinions on news stories they care about, “LiveRoom” creates the kind of immersive, personalized experience that attracts a younger demographic and offers brands a great opportunity to connect with them.

Recent “LiveRoom” chats cover everything from the election of Pope Francis to Oscar predictions. Throughout the month of March, “LiveRoom” held a series of live chats focused on Women’s History Month that featured experts and thought leaders on a wide range of women’s issues. For example, the March 14 live chat discussed what the Republican Party can do to attract more women voters and included three GOP congresswomen. Other thought-provoking chats included “Are Women-Led Startups Simply Better?” and “Is a New Women’s Movement Being Born?”

67% of all Internet users visit social networks. Here’s a look at who’s using five popular ones.

With 90% of marketers now using social in their media campaigns, it’s vital for them to know as much as possible about the users of social networks. This week’s infographic from AdWeek is based on a recent study by the Pew Research Centre that shows the varying habits and preferences of users on five popular social networks---Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr.

The infographic breaks down users by age, gender, urbanity, race/ethnicity, and household income. Here are some highlights:

• 67% of all Web users use social networking tools (with Facebook claiming, oddly enough, 67% of those users)
• City dwellers are almost twice as likely to use Twitter than rural residents
• Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to use Instagram
• Higher-educated, affluent women are attracted to Pinterest

For a deeper dive into social users’ demographics, jump over to the full infographic.

Patrick (l) and Edward Mears at last month’s Georgetown-Syracuse gameUpload your hoops-themed photos to our contest Flickr page to compete with agency colleagues for a Canon camera

More than 1,700 of our ad agency friends entered our Agency Pick ‘Em hoops fantasy competition, the exclusive version of Yahoo! Sports’ Tourney Pick ‘Em contest that’s open to ad agencies only. With the tourney in full swing, brackets are now locked down, but here’s another way to compete with your agency colleagues for a great prize and bragging rights---the Agency Pick ‘Em Tourney Flickr Photo Contest.

All you have to do is upload your hoops-themed photos to our Agency Pick ‘Em Flickr group by April 8. (Like Agency Pick ‘Em, this contest is open to ad agencies only.) Any photo with a hoops flavor is fair game---pics that show pride in your favorite school, dis a rival, or just give an interesting view on college hoops competition. The winner will receive a Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR camera.

To get you inspired, here’s a photo entered by Edward Mears, head of Business Development at Dentsu Sports America and a 2007 graduate of Georgetown University. It shows a special moment last month between Edward and his dad, Patrick, when they attended the last Big East Conference game between longtime rivals Georgetown and Syracuse (which is moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next year). Edward is quick to point out that Georgetown won the game, 57-46, and adds, “Hoya Saxa!”

Enough with the cubes, lions, and little heads … we need some new ad awards that are easier to win

What are advertising awards but little Lucite-and-metal affirmations of your hard work and dedication? You spend all those late nights away from family and endless hours in focus groups and post-production edit bays just for the chance that someday you might get a little bling. Is it really worth it? “Totally,” says our David T. Jones. In fact, he takes things up another notch by proposing some new (and pretty strange) awards to go along with the Addys, CLIOs, and other big-time awards programs out there.

This isn’t the first time that Ad Land has focused on ad awards. In January, David complained about how difficult it is just to complete the entry forms for a contest. We bet he’s glad he did it, though. This month, his “little shop” Third Street picked up three Chicago Addy awards for their “Real Complainers Vote” project, and they were also nominated for Agency of the Year alongside mega-agencies including BBDO and ultimate winner Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett. (Congrats, David.)

The rest of us can practice acting surprised and giving a modest wave as we jump over to the full cartoon.

Here’s how to make sure your ads and keywords are within Bing Ads’ Editorial Guidelines and how you can appeal if they’re rejected

Editor's Note: Where can you go to find answers to your pressing Search Engine Marketing questions, quandaries, doubts, and dilemmas? Right here at “Ask the Search Expert,” our regular series featuring SEM experts from the crack Yahoo! SearchAccount Management team. Today, Arran Gimba, Sr. Creative Strategist, answers a common question from a search advertiser.

Dear Search Expert:

My ads and keywords keep on being rejected. I can’t figure out why, and it’s so annoying, I could pull out my hair! How can I avoid rejections? And is there any way I can get them overturned?

Signed, Wigging Out

Dear Wigging:

First, take a deep breath and relax. Then we’ll go over the guidelines on acceptable ads and keywords, and I’ll share something that will save your curly locks---an easy new process for appealing rejections.

Rejections, or editorial disapprovals, are red flags in an advertiser’s account that indicate your ad copy or keyword selection doesn’t comply with Bing Ad’s Editorial Guidelines. Those guidelines weren’t created to annoy you, but to ensure that the search network contains relevant advertisements that result in a good experience for both advertisers and users.

Mobile can lead the way in delivering more relevant and effective forms of personalized marketing, says Gard Gibson of VML

Editor’s note: “Mobile Matters” is our ongoing series where advertising industry leaders sound off on the top issues, challenges, and opportunities in the fast-moving world of mobile marketing.

In this week’s edition of “Mobile Matters” we hear from Gard Gibson, Executive Director, Insights Group at VML. Gard tackled the question, “What do marketers often overlook when creating a mobile campaign?”

One very basic thing that often gets overlooked came up while we were judging the MMA Smarties Awards last year: “How do you define mobile?”

This sparked a spirited discussion among the jury members, because when most people think about mobile, they think about a phone, tablet, or some kind of device. But the concept of mobile and what it can do for consumers goes way beyond devices, when you consider our ability to digitally connect almost everything now. As marketers, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves how can we take advantage of all this interconnectivity?

What got us talking about this at MMA was the Nike Fuel Band. It was entered as a mobile project, but it didn’t win in certain categories because it didn’t fit the narrower device-driven definition of mobile---even though it was an amazing use of the concept of mobile.

The power of brand advocacy, always-present campaigns, and Latin ballroom dancing

Editor's Note: Media planners play a vital role in digital advertising … so who are they, and what do they think about? That’s what our "Meet a Media Planner" series aims to find out through chats with media planners at agencies across the country. Recently, we caught up with Angie Polanco, a digital manager for Mindshare in New York City. With a background in market research at Forrester, Angie brings a unique perspective to her current role. At Mindshare, she handles demand-generation media planning for SAP enterprise software and is delighted to put research findings into practice to help grow her client’s business.

Yahoo! Ad Blog: You were in market research before diving into media planning. Has that background helped you in your current field?

Angie Polanco: When I was on the market research side, I had a lot of interaction with high-level executives, and my position was very client-facing. At an early age, I had access to vice presidents and directors, so I learned quickly how to approach them in a polished way, while acquiring marketing knowledge in a fast-paced environment. Then, going headfirst into media planning, I was able to transfer those skills into working with my client. It’s helped me manage a variety of different personalities and relationships, think quickly on my feet, and use my qualitative and quantitative research skills to educate my client about new methods of marketing.

Company manages billions of keywords and syncs cost and revenue data for each one daily, says Marin’s Gagan Kanwar

Editor’s Note: From time to time, we run stories by members of the Yahoo!-Bing Preferred Partner Program that offer expert advice and insights into SEM technology and improving the advertiser experience. Now we’d like to give you a closer look at the four partners themselves, which include Marin Software. Here’s Gagan Kanwar, Director of Partnerships & Research at Marin, who talks about global trends that are reshaping digital advertising; the top features of Marin’s campaign management solution; and what advertisers should consider before building their own tools.

Yahoo! Ad Blog: What’s the biggest opportunity for search marketers in the next year or two?

Gagan Kanwar: There are actually a few large opportunities just over the horizon. Product Listing Ads let retailers use richer (image-based) ad formats within a search engine. Search retargeting, where search engines help advertisers target users based on prior searches, shows a lot of promise. And local area targeting will grow as more consumers use their mobile phones as local search devices.