However, some shortcuts become disastrous detours, and this is often what happens when a company relies on automation for significant portions of its social updating. Fully automatic feeds publish to a social media platform without any human intervention. An example of this is setting up your Twitter updates to automatically feed into your Facebook company page. For example, my HootSuite social media interface allows me to publish the same message simultaneously on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and soon, Google+. Stream clogging. MORE >>

It’s hard to overstate the impact of Facebook. Having long ago passed MySpace as the most popular social network, Facebook recently replaced Google as the most-visited website in the U.S. Founder Mark Zuckerberg was TIME magazine’s person of the year , was interviewed on 60 Minutes simultaneously with new features being rolled out on the platform, and had a movie made about him and Facebook’s beginnings. Facebook Marketing Tips and Guides. The 12 Best Ways To Customize Your Facebook Pages by TechCrunch. Facebook Features, pt. MORE >>

LinkedIn is firmly ensconced among the “big 3″ social networks for marketing and business purposes, and though its base of 80 million members is far smaller than the 600 million users of Facebook, its impact in B2B marketing is larger. According to recent research , 32% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to generate leads, versus just 16% who do so on Facebook. Nearly half of B2B marketers using social media view LinkedIn as an effective channel, while only one in three say the same of Facebook. How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile. MORE >>

CMO.com just published a survey which shows that buyers want companies to understand them – do research rather than advertising. Paul Gillin, author of Social Media for the Business Customer told me “This is the single biggest change recently. Your company needs to be everywhere online – not just a website, but an active, frequently updated blog (the heartbeat of the business), Facebook, Linkedin, Digg, delicious, Twitter, and even Google Plus. The bottom line is that your company needs more than ever to EARN the trust of prospective buyers. MORE >>

Blogs may be declining in importance in the consumer realm as Facebook and Twitter grow in popularity, but they are still the most valued social platforms for B2B marketers as evidenced by recent research (see p. It’s clear to me that the best B2B companies are taking their blogging to the next level. Another defined the blog’s mission as being “to provide actionable and thought-leadership content for customers and prospects on…topics the company’s product helps optimize.&#. Publishers? 27 of the PDF). That’s another great idea. MORE >>