Facebook (75%) and Twitter (74%) are almost as commonly used, with YouTube (59%), blogging (48%), Google+ (32%), customer communities (24%), Pinterest (19%) and LinkedIn’s SlideShare (13%) also represented. Here, LinkedIn (34%) bested Facebook (19%) by far, with blogging (17%), Twitter (12%), customer communities (10%) and YouTube (5%) following. Editor’s note: Facebook is way too high and blogging is way too low. Respondents said an average of 11% of website traffic is being driven by their social marketing efforts. What do you think? MORE >>

The beauty sample delivery service – and its blog – exploded in popularity. According to compete.com, Birchbox.com traffic grew 6,500% in 2011, to over 110,000 monthly unique visitors at last count. But raw traffic data doesn’t tell the whole story about the value of a publication. At last count, the company had 44,000 Facebook Likes, 14,000 Twitter followers, and 9,400 Youtube subscribers. It’s easy to get excited when the occasional “viral” post brings in a spike of traffic. But often that traffic melts away as quickly as it arrived. MORE >>

This post includes a sample dashboard based on our real world approach to social media clients. In social media, there are three major categories of measurement: Reach, Engagement and Website Traffic.  We’ll focus on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and YouTube. Facebook. YouTube. Likewise on Facebook, audiences can comment, like, and share of course, but it’s ideal that you participate in the conversation as well on your business page. . Facebook. EdgeRank is an algorithm that ranks objects in the Facebook News Feed. YouTube. MORE >>

In the end, I found four specific ways that the most successful small brands use social tools to gain a competitive advantage: 1) Build awareness of their unique brand proposition: Facebook’s 600 million+ member platform competes with Television as an efficient branding tool.  They beat larger fashion houses by giving their audience access to high-end fashion in real time via twitter and their Facebook presence.  2) Responding to customer feedback in real-time :  Small brands view Twitter, Facebook, and their blog as canaries in the mine that indicate danger or opportunity.  MORE >>

As more and more marketers have championed (or begrudgingly admitted) the importance of social media as part of a well-rounded marketing strategy , lots of cool tricks and tips have been published across the interwebs to help turn social media into a traffic- and lead-generating channel. You know, the thing you see on Twitter and Facebook, those other social networks ;-) You can comment and like other people's check-ins, and your pictures appear more prominently than before. Things You Might Have Missed on Facebook. There is a lot of mystery behind the Facebook newsfeed. MORE >>