“Worldwide social network ad revenues are still going strong and set to grow nearly 50% this year, according to eMarketer estimates.” by Emarketer.com. The revenue spending on social networks are increasing this is a fact. More and more businesses discover that social networks are a great communication tool to get in touch with their audience. B2C and B2B have realized that the business decision makes are active in the social web and try to reach them by paid advertising. It is a good approach to be visible where your audience is around. The opposite is more likely the result. MORE >>

It's Friday again - time to share all the best of the best from the blogosphere. As usual, our favorites cover a wide variety of topics and perspectives. We hope you'll take a cruise around and enjoy these as much as we did. In the meantime - what are your plans for the 29th? It's kind of special, being a leap year and all. Doing anything to celebrate this extra day in the Year of the Dragon ? Whatever you're up to - we wish you a great weekend and a fabulous last day of February. See you on the other side! B2B ROI: Marketing is Not a Candy Machine by @ kathleenschaub of @ IDC. MORE >>

One of my guilty pleasures is to watch ‘The Bachelor’ on Monday nights with my wife.  While it is true that this show may actually decrease your IQ as you watch it, I firmly believe that you can offset the loss of brain cells by making snarky comments about the participants, thus improving your quick wit and comedic timing.  Plus, we also watch “Downton Abbey”, which makes you smarter just because it's English.). few weeks ago, I was preparing for my presentation at the 2 nd Annual Content Marketing Retreat in Langley, WA while enjoying my weekly dose of manufactured “reality show” drama.  MORE >>

Planning for a trade show doesn’t start a month in advance. It doesn’t start two months in advance, either. In fact, it can take anywhere from six months to a year of planning to do it right. Trade show marketing is a very strategic process. You have to determine your strategy and messaging and make sure everything relates back to your business goals. This includes all of your online and offline promotions as well as any handouts and giveaways you distribute. Set Your Trade Show Marketing Goals. Your marketing campaigns should help your business achieve specific goals and metrics. MORE >>

We stumbled on an interesting video interview with Amber Naslund today. Naslund is the co-author of " The Now Revolution " with Jay Baer, a book which reviews how to develop a "horizontal strategy" around social media. The book goes beyond a social media "how-to" by exploring the structural adaptations that need to take place within an organization for it to take advantage of the real-time business opportunities that social media affords. Another way to think about it is how you can become a social business vs. one that just "does" social media. MORE >>