Today you probably visit a few car review sites, like Edmunds.com or MSN Autos, check safety and reliability ratings, look at resale value in KBB.com, and then ask a few friends on Facebook.  10 Steps to a Building a Successful Content Marketing Strategy. Writing educational, helpful content can be useful in building trust. This means you probably have to start a content calendar, hire an editor-in-chief, build an editorial process and set up an editorial board. This is the new marketing: it’s more about educating than broadcasting. Be personal. MORE >>

After I met with the school management team and grasped their unique selling point of an academic education in English, I set about persuading the school to launch a daily blog, a Facebook Page and to get on Twitter ASAP. By the start of the next academic year every school in Stockholm seemed to have a blog, a Facebook Page, a Twitter account and a lavish video made by a local ad agency.  Two months later I would see one school giving away badges with the familiar  Facebook “Like&# icon on at the annual Stockholm schools recruitment fair. Enjoy! The Backstory. MORE >>

Mashable had a great post for small businesses which I summarize below. To read the full post, click on 4 Ways Small Business Websites Can Drive More Sales. Aaron Sperling is CEO and co-founder of  vFlyer , which provides online marketing solutions for small businesses and independent service providers. You can follow Aaron and his team on their  Facebook  page,  Twitter  and on the  company blog. scenario: You envision a phenomenal idea, put all of the necessary pieces into place, and now run your own successful business. External link building. MORE >>

Now that the New Year is underway, the question I keep hearing on everyone’s lips is, “What’s the best advice for small businesses to increase their social media networking?” Fortunately, I have the privilege of being a part of a vibrant community of networking experts who were more than willing to share their wisdom and advice for small businesses in 2013. It’s a powerful read and marks a mind-shift in building online relationships. Investing in relationships and building networks is the new currency. Don’t say, “Find us on…” That’s too much work for customers. MORE >>

The use of social media as a key marketing strategy is definitively on the top of the agenda for many business executives nowadays. Today we are presenting a high-level look of the key takeaways presented in the eBook presented by  Awareness Networks, Inc (please note, Awareness is an Other Side Group client) , The Social Marketing Funnel: Driving Business Value with Social Marketing (available upon sign-up), to help companies to focus staff, resources, and expertise on creating business value from all the social media data they’re gathering. MORE >>