by Stephen Streich | Tweet this Canadian astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield boarded the International Space Station in December, preparing to take over as commander of expedition 35.  In the last few weeks he has posted a steady stream of fascinating pictures to Facebook, Google+ and  Twitter , conducted the first Google Hangout from space, uploaded YouTube videos of experiments, performed a live song with the band Barenaked Ladies, and conducted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit, which garnered nearly 8,000 comments. Successful Modern Marketing takes an integrated approach to social media. MORE >>

Most of our B2B clients have staked a claim on Google+, but they don’t invest in it. Because they consider it a ghost town. They say Google+ is irrelevant. They invest in Facebook and Twitter and (more and more) in LinkedIn. But you know what? Recent studies indicate that, while many companies were asleep at the switch, Google+ has emerged as the killer platform for B2B social media marketing. B2B marketers need to understand these four reasons that Google+ is the next killer platform for marketing, and why it should be an important part of your B2B marketing mix. Number of Active Users. MORE >>

The rise of the term Native Advertising seems to be causing quite a stir. This may very well be in creating a label that's inherently in conflict with itself. The main problem is with the word "Advertising." " However, the concept of "Native" is headed in the right direction in regards to addressing context for audiences, rather than the unwanted interruption of ads. Before anyone gets cranked up, let me explain a few things. I've been thinking about this for awhile. We need to look deeper to how the model could work - without deception or trickery. MORE >>

[Posted by Ed Hadley, Senior Marketing Manager, Neolane, Inc.] Last summer at the Neolane Customer Forum, my colleague Matt Rawding gave a great presentation on workflow, which included numerous examples of the communications and processes that can be automated.  One of the challenges we encountered while creating the presentation was how to effectively categorize those [.]. Marketing Automation Ed Hadley Posts MORE >>

Photo credit: Aidan Jones. Hands down, the best new leads come from referrals.  These prospects are likely to be highly qualified, since someone close to you thinks they might be a good fit.  Even better, the implied endorsement means the prospect is going to give you at least some serious consideration.  So close rates on referred leads tend to be high.  And since they cost you next to nothing, the ROI on referrals is stellar.  The only problem is: you can’t expect to meet your sales quota through referral alone. But what can you do to pump up your referral rate, and get more of these gems? MORE >>