The origins of social media and SEO

A very specific lexicon has formed around search engine optimisation and social media. But where did all these words originate from?

Thanks to Etymology Online for providing many of these definitions.

Engage

Early 15c., "to pledge," from M.Fr. engagier, from O.Fr. en gage "under pledge," from en "make" + gage "pledge.

Follower

O.E. folgere "retainer, servant, disciple; successor."

Brand

Meaning of "identifying mark made by a hot iron" (1550s).

Awareness

Late O.E., gewær, "wary, cautious."

Tweeter

"Loudspeaker for high frequencies," 1934, agent noun from tweet.

Fan

"Devotee," 1889, Amer.Eng., originally of baseball enthusiasts, probably a shortening of fanatic, but may be influenced by the fancy, a collective term for followers of a certain hobby or sport (especially boxing).

Mention

c.1300, from O.Fr. mencion "call to mind," from L. mentionem (nom. mentio) "a calling to mind, a speaking of, mention."

Group

1690s, originally an art criticism term, "assemblage of figures or objects in a painting or design," from Fr. groupe "cluster, group."

Friend

O.E. freond, prp. of freogan "to love, to favor," from P.Gmc. *frijojanan "to love."

Search engine optimisation

Search

Early 14c., from O.Fr. cerchier "to search," from L. circare "go about, wander, traverse."

Engine

c.1300, Fom O.Fr. engin "skill, cleverness," also "trick, deceit, stratagem; war machine" (12c.), from L. ingenium "inborn qualities, talent".

Optimise

1844, "to act as an optimist," back formation from optimist. Meaning "to make the most of" is first recorded 1857.

Link

Mid-15c., "one of a series of rings or loops which form a chain," probably from O.N. *hlenkr (cf. O.Swed. lænker "chain, link," Norw. lenke, Dan. lænke).

Analytics

C.1600, from M.L. analyticus, from Gk. analytikos "analytical," from analytos "dissolved."

Digital

1650s, "pertaining to fingers," from L. digitalis, from digitus. Meaning "using numerical digits" is from 1938, especially of computers after c.1945; in reference to recording or broadcasting, from 1960.

Marketing

1560s, "buying and selling," prp. adj. from market.

Advertise

Early 15c. "to take notice of," from M.Fr. advertiss-, prp. stem of a(d)vertir "to warn" (12c.), from L. advertere "turn toward," from ad- "toward" (see ad-) + vertere "to turn".

Social media mascots - eight of the best mascot campaigns

Old Spice

Old Spice Guy became famous in July when, for just one day, the brains behind the 'Smell like a man, man' campaign, chose to film real-time video responses to questions posed to the fictional character. The mascot, played by Isaiah Mustafa, received global attention, resulting in a 107 per cent increase in Old Spice sales.

Pudsey Bear

The famous yellow mascot of the annual Children in Need charity drive. While the Twitter account is most active during the actual event, the stream shows the possible potential social media has for charities on the service, highlighting the ways organisations can promote a noble cause during and beyond a televised event.

Aleksandr Orlov

Compare the Market chose to represent their brand with Aleksandr Orlov, better known to many as the furry Russian founder of ComparetheMeerkat.com. Launched in 2009, the campaign successfully ran across Twitter and Facebook; to date the Twitter profile has 40,000 followers, while the Facebook presence clocks in at just under 756,000 likes.

The Andrex Puppy

Aside from being synonymous with good bathroom hygiene, Andrex is closely associated with its mascot; a timeless Labrador puppy. While you wouldn't normally consider Twitter as the ideal medium for a toilet roll, the account shows what additional brand exposure you can get if you utilise the services of an adorable mascot.

The Roaming Gnome

An American invention, albeit voiced by Brit Harry Enfield, the Roaming Gnome has enjoyed success as a social media mascot. The premise of the campaign is simple; the gnome roams the globe, promoting hotels, destinations and flight deals.

The Roaming Gnome was born in 2004 as part of a viral campaign for the company. It has since become the de facto spokesman for the brand.

Barney Stinston

CBS' flagship comedy 'How I Met Your Mother' runs a comprehensive social media campaign centred around Barney Stinston, one of the show's protagonists. The character regularly tweets and updates his blog, complimenting the storyline of the programme and acting as a cost-effective marketing tool for the show between seasons.

Richard Castle, the central character from ABC's drama 'Castle' is the mascot of a similar promotional campaign.

Shamu

The Sea World whale gained a cult following on Twitter for its humorous take on life as the world's most famous underwater mammal. The account was indefinitely suspended in February following an accident in the park which led to the death of a staff member.

The Michelin Man

Self-proclaimed mascot of quality tyres, the Michelin Man has amassed nearly 1,500 Twitter followers. The account is another example of how you can use an (arguably) uninspiring product and create a social media presence through engaging and quality content.

Other mascots

Digital Switchover
The Energizer Bunny

Any more to add? Drop me a line on Twitter.

Using brand mascots on Twitter

Using Twitter to raise a company's online profile is not uncommon. Thousands of organisations try to increase their consumer base through the social media service and, suffice it to say, some do it better than others.

Interestingly though, some businesses are beginning to use fictional creations to deliver their message on Twitter. Cartoon characters, plastic models and furry meerkats have all been used to promote a company.

Here, Manchester SEO Blog examines why this approach may offer a greater appeal to users than the traditional corporate tweets of companies such as Asda.

Corporate identity

Massive organisations normally use a single account to deliver their social media strategy. Many tweet from a single spokesperson or branded feed in order to transmit their respective message.

Some companies choose to tweet through their brand's mascot. This is a sensible move – a mascot is not only recognisable, but it also immediately conveys the culture and values of an organisation.

There are a selection of Twitter accounts which take this approach, most notably Ask.com's feed from its figurehead Jeeves the butler.

Despite his recent sabbatical, Jeeves remains one of the most recognisable mascots of recent years.

The account, a mix of conversational and promotional tweets, speaks for the entire company. By adopting the character for its social media strategy, Ask provides consumers with information and news through a friendly and recognisable face.

This is opposed to a blanket company account which may not provoke the same level of user reaction.

Opportunity for innovation

Fictional accounts have a greater scope for flexibility than those written from a corporate viewpoint. @NatHistoryWhale is a wonderful example of how a profile can bend the established rules of social media marketing for commercial gain.


The account is hosted by the life-sized model of a whale which hangs from the ceiling of New York's National History Museum. The beast, as you can imagine from someone subjected to screaming children 24-7, is cranky, cynical and occasionally very mean. Think Grumpy Old Men meets Free Willy. This tone comes across in the regular tweets posted on the account. Some choice examples include:

• Gosh, you all look so haggard, it must be really hot outside today.
  
• Do you have any idea how many times I've seen the video they show in here?
  
• This one Walrus in the glass case to my left-- he kinda looks like he's dead.

This campaign highlights how fictional accounts can offer an opportunity for innovation – a mascot provides metaphorical distance between a brand and a social media campaign. This whale can be as mean and sarcastic as it likes without damaging the company.

It's also exceptionally more entertaining.

Covert promotion

Chelsea Football Club gives the club's megatron-sized fan base a Twitter feed from Stamford the Lion; the furry mascot who can normally be seen dancing on the pitch like a drunk uncle prior to kick off.


A combination of exclusive news and interviews and 140 match commentary, the account offers users an enthusiastic and authentic set of tweets from the ultimate Chelsea fan.

By using a mascot, the Chelsea marketing department can shamelessly self-promote its brand without being accused of spam or clumsy sales tactics. Stamford is seen a supporter, rather than a marketing tool. He's enthusiastic because he's a dedicated member of the club. Nothing more.

User interaction

Just as Twitter allows users to communicate with companies, it also gives individuals the opportunity to chat with their favourite fiction characters.

The Compare The Market mascot, Aleksandr Orlov, is one of the more famous characters on Twitter. Humorously posing as an Eastern-European meerkat, the Twitter feed regularly interacts with users in order to promote the sub-brand (Compare The Meerkat.com) and its parent company.

This creative approach has proved to be very popular with consumers (and the bank balance for the insurance site).


This consumer interaction has also been used for promotion of television programmes. The American drama Castle – not yet broadcast in the UK – runs a Twitter feed for its main character, Richard Castle. The account follows the life of Castle away from the cameras, providing hype and publicity for the show without the need for conventional marketing campaigns.

More recently, a series of Twitter accounts from the characters of the AMC drama Mad Men proved to be very successful in raising the profile of the programme. Tweets and replies from the employees of the fictional 1950s advertising firm were exceptionally popular with fans of the show.

While the accounts were later revealed to be fake and unauthorised by the network, the campaigns' (for lack of a better word) success demonstrated the willingness of users to interact with fictional characters.