Forgive me for a few paragraphs as I feel the need to get a few things off my chest in regards to Social Media. understand the benefits of using Social Media for business and I understand some of the flaws. What I don’t understand is how marketers and sales professionals are using Social Media as an excuse to be lazy. Since when did we determine that you don’t need hard work to succeed, but that success can come by simply joining Linkedin or Twitter and blasting off a few tweets? Or that all you have to do is flood enough groups with your self-promotional crap to generate new business? MORE >>

Many inbound marketers and business bloggers get so caught up in (or weighed down by?) the idea of creating blog content , that after hours or days of looking at a blinking cursor, there's nothing but an outline or a few introductory sentences to show for their work. Well, I guess that's one way to approach business blogging. But another way is the agile way -- the way that lets bloggers go with the flow, respond to new opportunities, and generally get over the fear of the blinking cursor and, as Nike said, Just Do It. How to Be a Successful Agile Business Blogger. Create an Editorial Calendar. MORE >>

by Dayna Rothman We have seen a huge transformation in marketing over the past 10-12 years. Buyers are now in control of when and how they access information during the purchase process. At the same time, marketers are constrained by tight budgets and are being asked to interact with buyers across a huge array of channels. All of these changes can prove to add up to numerous challenges, but they also open up new opportunities for marketers. Now more than ever before marketing is being seen as a revenue driver and marketers are finding that they now have a seat at the C suite table. Your People. MORE >>

Remember the days when SEO was king? Way back when we optimized for Inktomi and Overture? Later when we had to create reciprocal links to appease Google, now a frowned-upon practice? have news for you. It’s over. SEO as we knew it is dead. But, long live SEO, because it’s re-emerged through SMO. Social media optimization is the art of optimally using social media platforms to increase awareness of a product, service, event or brand. Search engines measure traffic to websites from social media outlets as evidence that your content is relevant and people are talking about it. MORE >>

We had a shortened work week due to the holiday on Monday, but we were still able to get in a few great posts that I'll recap for you in a minute. First, as most of you are aware, I have a post to share with you that I read this week. In December, I had stumbled upon (bad pun intended!) a Social Media Management company called Squirrel Social , based here in the New England area. really enjoyed their content and I have become a consistent reader of their blogs. Jared Lamorte wrote a great piece this week that I wanted to share entitled Are Your Followers "Muting" You? Tuesday, January 22, 2013. MORE >>