Social media really is most effective when you put together a strategy, have a plan for implementation and can devote at least an hour per day to engagement and content production. Minutes – Content Curation 15 minutes per day is probably not enough time to write full posts, but it should be enough time to find some great content to share. Find content that’s useful and valuable to your potential customers. subscribe to a bunch of blogs and websites using Google Reader so I can quickly scan through headlines for valuable content. Thoughts? MORE >>

We want short, punchy pieces of valuable content because our time is valuable. blogging content corporate bloggingHow Social Media Overtook Legacy Media. On September 3rd, 1786, a man from Peter’s Creek, Pennsylvania wrote to his local newspaper, commenting that “I see by your last paper that you have not been crammed with news.&# The Pittsburgh Gazette had been printing the news since July 29th of that same year, but Gilbert Gichen was the first to have his comments on the newspaper published for other readers to see. How the Switch to New Media Impacted Business. MORE >>

Using social media to increase brand loyalty means looking for ways to connect with your customers at an emotional level, not just giving them great content or answering questions. Every company wishes for brand loyalists like Apple attracts. Airlines use frequent flier programs to try to increase loyalty. Local restaurants and coffee shops use stamp cards (buy 10 and get one free). Social media can also be used to increase brand loyalty if we first identify what makes someone loyal to a brand. Loyalty vs. Repurchasing There’s a difference between brand loyalty and repurchasing. MORE >>

Old Spice can also see how many people have subscribed and viewed their content (in total) since the start of the video responses — this info is available to anyone, but you’d have to do a bit of spreadsheeting to get it all and Old Spice would presumably have access to previous numbers to know how these increased. The move has gotten quite a response , but only time and sales will tell whether it was successful for the brand’s bottom line. Sales can a bit of time to react, but there are some measurable effects that can give insight into how the ads are doing now. MORE >>

Producing content on a consistent basis seems to be one of the biggest holdups for many businesses attempting to use social media. Coming up with new ideas for content doesn’t have to be difficult, though. Competitors – If your competitors are producing or curating content, what are they covering? Can you help ease frustration by providing additional content or information? Covering an event or conference you attend is another great source of content. Figure out what topics your customers are excited about and provide content about those topics. MORE >>