An expert has spoken out about the importance of creating unique content when using social networking as part of a marketing strategy.

Jacob Morgan of the Chess Media Group says that businesses that want to take advantage of the social networking phenomenon need to first establish where their customers are most active. This will enable them to identify where their customer base spends most of its social networking time, thus enabling their marketing to target these areas.

The next stage is the creation of unique content, which is the key to establishing a strong brand community online. This is according to Morgan who explains, "brands need to continue to provide interactive, valuable and unique content to their customers to keep the relationships and the community going strong."

Morgan’s statements follow news that Facebook is the most popular avenue through which to share online content, such as news articles and blog postings. Some 31 per cent of all content sharing occurred through Facebook, with 30 per cent happening through Google and 25 per cent through Yahoo!

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Organisers of next week's Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A) event in London have already revealed that Google will host two sessions featuring tips on driving online performance using tools like AdWords, mobile advertising and Google Analytics.

Now, the full seminar programme for the Earls Court show has been confirmed and over 70 huge brand, case study-led sessions are lined up.

Alongside the ten keynote sessions from industry experts like Google, Facebook and YouTube, visitors will hear from brands including Boden, Skype, Carlsberg, Sony, Monarch, Coca-Cola, O2, Boots, Sainsbury’s Bank and Best Western across 5 themed theatres.

Sessions taking place in the Digital Marketing Theatre include:

• Boden: Driving business online: email innovation in the era of web 3

• Monarch: The latest trends & best practice to improve online conversion & ROI

In the CRM & Campaign Management Software Theatre, visitors can attend:

• MyCustomer.com: The C word – C is for… CRM, Cloud, Competition & Catch up

• Sage: Social media – what does it mean for your customer management

• Radar: Customer retention in a digital world

The Data & Marketing Analytics Theatre is the setting for the following sessions:

• Best Western Hotels: The application of consumer insight across multiple channels

• BT: First steps in predictive analysis for marketers

• CACI: Using multi-channel marketing to balance the needs of customers with commercial objectives

Sessions in the Content Management & eCommerce Theatre include:

• Boots: Online brand integrity – how do you protect it when you can't control it?

• O2: Multi-touchpoint marketing for brand consistency across channels

And in the Online Advertising & Social Media Theatre will be:

• DSNR Media Group: Beyond post-click: technology for campaign value chain management & optimisation

• Sony: Beyond SEO: new developments in the search industry

• Skype: Paid search & Skype – increasing new registered users by 100%

TFM&A is happening next Tuesday and Wednesday (23-24 February).

All of the UK's political parties would benefit from integrating social media and email marketing as part of their digital election strategies, though the Conservatives currently have an edge over the competition.

That's according to new research which suggests the main parties could be missing out on lucrative opportunities to influence voters in the run-up to May's anticipated general election.

During the two-month period studied, the Tories sent 12 email messages compared to Labour's one and the Liberal Democrats' none. All 3 failed to send welcome messages after people signed up to receive email updates on their campaigns.

In a discovery many might deem alarming, the British National Party (BNP) was found to have sent more emails than its contemporaries, highlighting the organisation's skilful harnessing of digital media to make an impact on the upcoming election.

When it comes to social media links, only the Conservatives and the BNP have incorporated them into their emails, leading the research team's Margaret Farmakis to point out that the rest are neglecting "fantastic forums" for conducting true two-way conversations between politicians and voters.

"Parties that don't incorporate social media links in their emails are missing a trick, and depriving themselves of a quick and easy way to grow their communities online," she affirms.