'It feels like social media is easier to use than ever before. While all these new features are exciting for inbound marketers, we also worry that social media may lose the personal touch it had in its younger years. How will these new social media changes affect how marketers connect with people? Well, wonder no more.

ReadWriteWeb) Twitter Acquires Data Analysis Startup Lucky Sort (Mashable) ESPN, Twitter Expand Tie-Up (WSJ) Analysis: Google+ struggles to attract brands, some neglect to update (Reuters) Marketo’s Jason Miller On Facebook For B2B: Why So Serious? News & Notes

According to Comscore, Slideshare is used by business owners and business executives at a rate 5 times any other social network! And please follow along on  Twitter ,  LinkedIn ,  Facebook  and   Google+   or   Subscribe  to the   B2B Marketing Insider  Blog for regular updates. think we certainly get lots of practice.

Similar to the shift that’s transpired in the sales world (wherein the buyer now has access to customer reviews and other commentary about your brand with a quick Google search), journalists rarely have to pass through media relations professionals to get the information they want or need to craft a story. But (isn''t there always a but ?).

But if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ll need to speak up, maybe repeat yourself, and be more persistent than the Earth’s top celebs or our most hallowed social media motivational speakers. Just because you were BMOC or BWOC in high school or college doesn’t much matter in social.

'Despite the occasional “death of blogging” pronouncements (often made, ironically, in blog posts), blogs remain the core of a robust social media strategy. And more than half of all social media-driven blog traffic comes from Facebook (28%) and Twitter (26%) combined. Why Blog. Did you hear that? IT DROPPED!

ANOTHER new social network? It''s been less than a year since I managed our social networks, and after one day filling in for our new social media manager, it''s clear I no longer have any idea how Facebook works. Share them in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #mktgthought. hate Excel.

'At HubSpot, we’ve been using social media as part of our inbound marketing strategy since before Twitter was born and back when Facebook was only accessible to students. Today, social media is one of the key inbound marketing channels we use to grow our business. Social Inbox Custom Notifications. What does this mean?

Facebook Lead Generation Lead Nurturing People Sales Social Business Intelligence Social Media Social Networking Strategy Thought Leadership Twitter. Social media provides great way to connect with potential buyers. Social media provides a platform to collaborate with potential buyers.

Zmags could do a better job at keeping the HTML title text to under 70 characters (a best practice  recommended by Google ). Keeping your HTML Title Tag under 70 characters will prevent Google from listing your pages in its results with ellipses. Remember that Google will bold search result text that is the same as the search query.

'Social selling is a hot buzzword being thrown around today. What is social selling and how do tomorrow’s top sales people use social selling to become top performers? Social selling is not just about starting the sales process with social tools like Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter. Social Media

'Have your social media efforts been bitten by social media fatigue? Grab a cup of joe, get ready to pump thing up and breathe new life into your social media efforts. Here are 5 ways to snap outta social media snoozeville: 1. Mix things up with a new social network. non-engaging? Share new content.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has stated that every two days, the amount of information published online is equivalent to everything created between the dawn of time and 2003 – 5 extrabytes of data. Through social media or content marketing strategy, influencers act as an impetus to their audience and define future trends.

Because blog content makes excellent social media fodder and is naturally discoverable through search engines, it can be a phenomenal way to attract new visitors and prospects to your website. Chat with your salespeople and create a shareable Google Doc or wiki page where salespeople can contribute their blog content ideas on a regular basis.

At the same time, pressure increases on natural resources and social services. Second, more than one billion people are engaged in social networks today. Combined with social and device connectivity, we are now in an “always-on” era. And follow Jonathan on Twitter @ jbecher. We are at an inflection point.”.

Even with the new glasses , Google still can’t read and index images, video, and audio content without a little help. You''ve just created an infographic about the most popular ice cream flavors and toppings, and now you want to ensure it''s optimized to show up in Google. 1) Pick an image that''s in a Google-supported format.

1) 6.7MM people publish blogs on blogging websites, and another 12MM write blogs using their social networks. 8) 23% of total Internet usage time is devoted to social networks or blogs. small businesses use social media to promote their businesses. Social Media and Blogging. Blogging. 2) 81% of U.S. 37) 80.3%

Modern segmentation is heavily steeped in the ever-changing world of social media. Today’s customers are equal parts mobile and social-media savvy. Using social-powered tools found in platforms such as Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn allows you to meet your customers and prospects where they spend their time online.

'Nowadays, every company owner knows you cannot afford not to embrace social media. There are so many social platforms across the web, that it’s becoming harder and harder to keep track of them and to be able to. B2B Marketing blog Social media marketing Facebook Google+ Pinterest social media Twitter

You also want to make sure you include social sharing functionality on each post to promote engagement through social media. Join social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, and Stumbleupon  to share blog posts. Use social networks to increase engagement with each blog post.

We’ve got to come up with a better name for social media. When And that is overwhelmingly what social media should mean to many people. And And that can make talking about social media to C-level executives a challenge. So am I talking about social media now? You should also think beyond the big social networks.

'Try to wrap your brain around this fact: there are more than 200 social networking sites currently available today. As someone who’s job description dips into Marketing, Social Media, PR, and then some, this fact sometimes leaves me … Continue reading → Share and Enjoy. Say what?!

'In the two years since its launch, it is no secret that Google+ has had its skeptics—myself included. Recent data shows it has leap-frogged YouTube and Twitter as the second largest social network. Personally, I was never very familiar with what is now the world’s second largest social network.

Ignite Social Media) How to Use Twitter as an Effective Customer Service Platform: A Confused.com Case Study  (Socialnomics) Why You Should Market Like You (Want to) Cook  (Portent) 5 Email Marketing Strategies for Customer Retention  (Marketo). News & Notes

It’s a well documented fact that images get much more engagement on social networks like Facebook and Google+. Even Twitter, land of 140 characters, has introduced a visually based service called Vine in an effort to grab a greater share of the eyeball. Infographics and visualized data still attract lots of interest.

Engage the “Bored at Work Network” Millions of people find themselves idle at work from time to time. “Collectively,” observed Peretti, “they create a network bigger than the BBC or NBC or CBS. More people can receive a piece of media if the ‘Bored at Work’ network likes it.”

Social Slam 2013 has concluded, and that makes me sad. However, Social Slam 2013 was awesome, and that makes me happy. Social Slam is without a doubt, a must-attend event for ANYONE working with digital tools, professionally or personally, to connect and communicate. Use the power of social to share the entirety of your brand.

Well, some big players in social media and marketing have been making moves that are hard to ignore. In fact, nary a week goes by your favorite social networks aren''t sprinting to release something new. It looks like the professional social network has gotten just a bit more social. Enjoy.

In case you are just catching up, previous interviews have discussed Social Employees ,   Digital Marketing ,  Personal Branding ,  Content Brands ,  Customer Brands ,  Creativity ,  Big Data ,  Customer Experience ,  Thought Leadership , the  Future of Search , the  Science of Marketing  and many more…. Chris is the founder of Mi6 Agency.

Then -- somewhere around 2008 -- blogging took a back seat to social media, and all anyone could talk about was platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and, yes, even MySpace. Social media was all the rage, and blogging was, well, old and worn out. 2) Blog posts give you extended reach through social media.

Blogging Content Marketing Social Media Marketing Business Facebook Google Internet marketing Newsroom pinterest social media Social network twitterIf you read your local newspaper or a typical magazine, you’ll realize that most journalist are specialized. Let me break it down.

Share your blog content with social media followers. Stay up to date on the news -- in your industry, local community, and across the world -- and find opportunities to newsjack for a quick influx of traffic, leads, and expanded social reach. 5) Invest in a Social Media Ad Campaign. Your Guide to Setting Up Twitter Ad Campaigns.

Pack your bags, Google Reader. For those of you who didn't catch wind of the news last week, Google has made the decision to retire its RSS feed reading platform after eight years, effective July 1. And while a petition was even filed with the White House at one point to save Google Reader, we think Google is making the right choice.

Sales Prospecting Perspective is pleased to bring you a guest post from Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble , a social CRM solution. Five years ago, few people thought social networks or social channels like Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn should be on their business radar screens, and now “Social” is the business buzzword of the day.

The shift to a personal newspaper-style format with larger and more prominent photo displays is a response to photo-driven behavior that has rapidly changed the social media landscape. How Will the Social Web Monetize Visual Content? Words drive Google and Facebook ads. You can follow him on Twitter @Jamie_Thompson

More and more professional services firms are starting to realize this, which may be why LinkedIn overtook Twitter and Facebook as the most popular social network for B2B marketers in 2012. Some busy professionals simply don’t have the time to constantly sift through the wealth of information their network produces.

Google Map on iOS (Apple) or Google via their Android phone. Your Google+ Local Page information. Google Places is now Google+ Local This part may be confusing, but Google used to have a service which is still operational called Google Places. when it comes to the size of your social network.

This means people read their blogs, retweet them and religiously hang onto their every word on social networks. Social Media –  This is where you take your knowledge to the streets and open up a dialog with other businesses. But today’s marketers are talking about content marketing. Thought Leadership? What is it? Own it.

Lee is the author of Optimize : How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing. But increasingly, Google rates the best content as non-commercial and that moves companies down in favor of sites like Wikipedia and in some cases, some of Google’s own content. That’s ok.

To help you get started with visual content , this post will specifically give you a helpful cheat sheet you can bookmark and reference when creating the cover photos for your business' various social media accounts. The Essential Cheat Sheet for Social Media Cover Photo Dimensions. Twitter photo tweets. Pinterest pins.

Nowadays, it feels like every social network and online platform has some sort of tool designed for marketers. Whether we know it or not, many of these networks and services are adding business pages, analytics, and even automation into their functionality. For us marketers, this is wonderful news. Enjoy! 5000 list of 2012.

A well maintained social media presence is like a fine wine; it develops more character as it ages. As you invest more time in to social media, joining additional networks and using new tools, your presence gains different characteristics that it did not have before. So it is with different social networks.

Twitter’s spat with Instagram and Facebook’s continuing restrictions on data use are all about making sure that you use their website and applications — i.e., come to their house  –so they can serve you the ads that make them money. It’s critical to these social networks that you come to their owned sites/apps. Agree?

Arguably Google Plus is a better mousetrap and it has not made a dent in Facebook’s growth. It is easier for people to move to a new house and a new city than to move away from their social network. We don’t have the bandwidth to desire two Twitters or an alternative to LinkedIn. But who cares? Wrong.

All those social networks. If there were no such thing as social media, how could businesses still have scalable interactions with thousands of customers and prospects? The New Twitter Ads Center, From the Twitter Advertising Blog. Pinterest isn’t the only social network out with an update this week.

Once considered a tool primarily for B2C firms, social media has become the most popular tool in the marketing of B2B professional services as well. Still, many law firms in particular have remained cautious and slow to embrace social media. These include: Web traffic referred by social media sites. Proving ROI for Social Media.

Having a hard time selling the idea that you need to be on the social web? know first-hand that there are still many naysayers out there who don’t understand why they need to have a social media presence. Social impact on search. What percent of your business starts with a search on Google? Social proof.

Small businesses are realizing that social media is here to stay, and they are taking notice because becoming a social brand can help drive revenue. Integrating social media into the marketing mix isn’t an option anymore. In all fairness, however, many large enterprises have yet to fully integrate social media strategies.

Despite the explosion in social network usage over the past few years, blogs still wield incredible influence over consumers. Nearly 1 in 3 people say blogs are likely to influence a purchase (inching out Facebook and handily beating LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Twitter). And brands want in. Sometimes. Start blogging.

My following post was recently featured on Social Media B2B: Most of our B2B clients have staked a claim on Google+, but they don’t invest  in it. They say Google+ is  irrelevant. They invest in Facebook and Twitter and (more and more) in LinkedIn.  Google+ is far ahead of  Twitter, and light years ahead of LinkedIn.

Develop Social Profiles. Develop social media profiles for Jamie on the core relevant networks for your target audience. While you are developing profiles, ensure Jamie’s profile is set up under the Google Authorship project. Social Sharing and Participation. It gets you started. It secures resources.

I’m a 40-year old, married mother of four… social networking addict. have more than 4,600 connections on LinkedIn, 4,500 followers on Twitter, almost 1,000 friends on Facebook, dozens of followers on SlideShare, Quora, and Pinterest. consume information online and am constantly sharing it with my social networks.

Most of our B2B clients have staked a claim on Google+, but they don’t invest in it. They say Google+ is irrelevant. They invest in Facebook and Twitter and (more and more) in LinkedIn. According to GlobalWebIndex , Google+ now has 343 million active users, more than any other social network besides Facebook.

The network is likely to experience a significant drop within the next five years, though. Facebook’s main advantage over similar, competing social networks is the head start it gained, meaning it’s now the place where all of our friends and family are. Yahoo and AOL were displaced by Google.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, Ninety-one percent of B2B marketers are using content marketing tactics to grow their business, and 87 percent of those businesses are leveraging social media. Lee highlights the importance of B2B marketing through social media in the second half of the webinar.

Now that the New Year is underway, the question I keep hearing on everyone’s lips is, “What’s the best advice for small businesses to increase their social media networking?” Investing in relationships and building networks is the new currency. and focus your efforts on their top 1-2 networks to reach them. Spell it out.

Marty Weintraub and Lauren Litwinka, our friends over at AimClear , recently published The Complete Social Media Community Manager’s Guide: Essential Tools and Tactics for Business Success. The book offers tips and advice for community managers on how to set up, manage, and run a social media program. Google Alerts (free).

Google Analytics has recently expanded its reporting option to include social media outlets. Through some great standard reports, you can view social conversions, engagement by source and social sharing. Before some of these reports will function properly, you will need to set up your goals in Google Analytics.

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media platforms on the market today, but B2B organizations haven’t all figured out how to make it work for them. Most B2B organizations aim to own certain SEO terms and host information about those terms on their websites to drive link traffic and increase their Google search value.

According to a 2012 report by Adobe , a whopping 52% of marketers cite difficulties in accurately measuring ROI as their biggest source of frustration in social media marketing. would like to try and alleviate some of that pain, at least when it comes to marketing on Twitter. Customers Generated Through Leads Acquired by Twitter.

It's essential to marketers to be able to effectively target, deliver, and track the variety of ads we use over all our different networks and marketing assets. This week's marketing round-up will fill you in on what you need to know about upcoming products, and changes to existing social networks around mobile and social advertising.

I manage marketing and social media for some of my clients, and imagine my surprise when I found that a marketing services vendor in my network was following not one, not two, but many of my clients or customers on Twitter. It’s sad for someone who has to follow and not lead. Be original, organic and true.

Social media and marketing automation technology make it easy to grow your marketing reach, but don’t always make it easy to target the right audience. If you need help, check Google Analytics searches for words with significant SEO value. Include social media criteria in your CRM and marketing automation systems.

Social media tends to be an intimidating topic for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction firms. While these words sound strange, Twitter itself is actually quite simple. The main purpose of this social network is to quickly and succinctly share (and gather) information. Tweets, hashtags, and mentions…oh my!

You should check out their highly-respected  company blog   and follow Todd on Twitter @ toddwheatland. This year is also the year companies start to work out how to leverage their internal employees’ networks to promote content. You want Twitter? To review, Mark Schaefer discussed culture and  the future of search.

As the fourth-largest social network, and the fastest growing in 2012 , Twitter has emerged as a serious platform for business professionals to share breaking news, promote thought-leadership content, and engage with customers, prospects, peers and industry influencers. Most effectively use Twitter advertising?

With active users nearing 700 million on Facebook , exceeding 300 million on Google+ , and hitting 200 million on Twitter at the start of 2013, there’s no denying that social media use is only trending in one direction. Companies that use Twitter average double the amount of leads per month than those that do no t.

Game Over: Twitter Mentioned In 50% Of Super Bowl Commercials, Facebook Only 8%, Google+ Shut Out, From Marketing Land. But the question, “Which social networks will prevail as the most popular means of communication during the game?” Speaking of Google, what happened to Google+? Not to worry, though!

Altavista, Geocities, AOL, Google, Amazon, WordPress, eBay, Hotmail, Wikipedia, MySpace, Flickr, Delicious, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Pinterest all had their days of glory. Similar stories could be told about old-fashioned intranet websites, enterprise search, corporate blogs, microblogging and social networks.

Many marketers are moving away from using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising in lieu of more cost-effective lead generation methods, like blogging, social media marketing, and creating excellent offer content that drives net new leads and reconversions. Leveraging Social Networks' Ad Platforms for Their Super Powers. Yikes! Sneaky?

I just started as Director of Social Media at Unison Agency in Washington’s historic Georgetown. Social media is a trap. The true results might surprise you — your best performers may well not be Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as you may expect. “Who would want to share my press release to social media?”

Peter Kim delivers his blog posts about social business in short, easy to digest snippets. Social Business and Beyond. Posts You Might Like to Read: Why Are Social Media Sites Blue? The Future of Social Media (And What That Means to You). Posts You Might Like to Read: The Critical Interplay Between Social and Search.

Peter Kim delivers his blog posts about social business in short, easy to digest snippets. Social Business and Beyond. Posts You Might Like to Read: Why Are Social Media Sites Blue? The Future of Social Media (And What That Means to You). Posts You Might Like to Read: The Critical Interplay Between Social and Search.

At the Business Next conference in San Diego earlier this year, the results of a corporate behavior study revealed that just one in five Fortune 100 CMOs are active participants in public social networks. Are CMOs reluctant to adopt social media? Fortune 100s Most Social. Follow the Social Leaders.

People are spending the money and devoting the resources required to create compelling and engaging social media posts, not only just on Facebook but also on LinkedIn , Twitter , Pinterest , and even Google+. There’s Think of it as Twitter-development. Be the catalyst of your natural social media success.

Be the first to share breaking industry news with your clients, coworkers, and online professional network, and they will begin to think of you as a resource for the latest industry info. Use tools like Google Reader , Google Alerts, LinkedIn Signal and Scoop.it don’t have time for this!”

From Creotivo, here's an infographic of 100 social media statistics that cover Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram, and also covers social gaming, mobile usage, security and business usage. View Original Article

We’ve been at this social game for a while now, you and me. And we were there for the emergence of “pinning” (no longer just a wrestling term), the broad use of Twitter in crisis reporting, and seemingly countless redesigns of the Facebook Wall, err. So let's take a closer look at how social media is changing. Timeline.

In any event, let's take a closer look at the social changes Bing has made to its search engine results, and why, at least as a marketer , you should give a hoot. know what you're thinking, you well-informed marketer, you: "But Bing was already incorporating social data from Facebook into its search results." Big surprise, right?

Is your internal social business platform shaping up to become just a slightly better intranet or a good-looking SharePoint site? People have different interests and communication styles, and your corporate social platform is just a reflection of the aggregate activity of all its users. Photo credit: ayalan. Search went the dodo way.

Now I know all you “ social media divas ” out there who already know what it is, are tracking your score every day, and are praying someone will reveal the secret to a higher Klout score. Sorry. We are moving from a marketing need to understand, train and enable social media tools. Social MediaSorry. Comment.

Still basking in the afterglow of Facebook’s long overdue social, or “graph search” announcement, I couldn’t help but reflect on an old saying of my high school guidance counselor: “generalists don’t get anywhere in life. Given that the future of the Internet is social, local, mobile (SoLoMo), this is a critical point.

while back, I wrote a post on the Best Social Media Management Tools for Small Business Owners. Connect numerous social media accounts. Here are some additional options for small business owners in need of a cost-effective social media management tool. Link up to 20 social accounts, managed by up to three team members.

As noted in 21 (of the) Best Facebook Guides, Tools and Rants of 2012 So Far a few months back, Facebook remains the 800-pound gorilla of the social networking world. Will Facebook lose ground to Google+? The Simple Science of Facebook Engagement by MyBeak Social Media. Is Google Unstoppable? Is it becoming uncool?

If anyone still doubts that social media isn’t going to play a dominant role in small business in 2013, perhaps these New Year’s resolutions from industry experts will change their minds. Small businesses should resolve to improve use of social media in 2013. Research: Focus on reaching your customers on the social sites they frequent.

1) Social Media Manager. According to the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing , 43% of B2B companies and 77% of B2C companies have acquired a customer Facebook, and 40% of B2B companies and 55% of B2C companies have acquired a customer through Twitter. f you aren't one of those businesses, it's time to ramp up your social media efforts.

Once viewed as a niche player in the social space, Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing social networks ever, harnessing both an increased user base and its exponential growth as a referring site to become a considerable force in the marketing world. Hashtags are no longer just for Twitter. Optimization!

If you were to do a Google search for some of the top social networking sites , you’ll almost certainly stumble across a news story concerning privacy issues with user data. Since the backlash with Instagram, other social networks have been tip-toeing in their approach to changes in terms of service.

gaming platform would be one more way for Facebook to earn even more revenue, on top of their growing ad network. It's pretty unlikely a redesign would do away with Timeline; you might notice other social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn have adopted the horizontal cover photo because it is actually pretty sweet.

of your company and the individual who interacts with your online audiences through various means including blogs, social networks, message boards and even online events. This might include recommending which networks are most appropriate, as well as creating, monitoring, and updating pages. So what does this term really mean?

Last week WSJ ran an article entitled “ There’s No Avoiding Google+ ” on the front page. In short, it highlighted the drive by Google to make Google+ pervasive across other Google services. Here is why: There is no Google+ identity. mean Eric Wittlake, as a person, does not exist on Google+.

Social media is a moving beast and we need to keep moving with it! Be more social using Nimble. More and more of our interaction is with current and potential customers through social media channels. Google Alerts is a well-known, free application that allows you to track mentions of keywords on the web.  Love IFTTT.

The first thing to do is create social profiles in all of the major social networks ( Facebook , LinkedIn, and Twitter). Without a social profile you don’t exist to B2B buyers. When your prospects’ google your name, what are they going to find? Social profiles get your name out on the web.

Once you’ve mastered this skill, try creating these 3 different types of infographics to post on your blog and in your social media accounts. You know, the one that became the most popular image EVER posted on both Facebook and Twitter? And according to MediaPost, 70% of all interactions on social media sites now involve pictures.

Conferences are a common venue for architecture, engineering and construction firms to network, stay up to date on industry knowledge and build a presence within the industry "community." Use the social media "trifecta." " Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn that is. Blog it. Wrong! It’s time to blog!

Closing the Loop on Social Leads 2 A guide to measuring social media lead generation Social media has outgrown its infancy and is no longer an optional task for brands. engaging with audiences on established social networks is now a key part of business interaction. So, as social. social media. leads.

Things got a whole heck of a lot more complicated a little over a year ago, when Google introduced SSL encryption. It means Google started encrypting keyword data for anyone conducting a Google search while logged in to Google. 3) Social Media. You know how we're always on your case to measure your marketing?

With 92% of companies now incorporating social media into their marketing efforts, it’s no longer sufficient to just “be there” on social networks. What do buyers really want from social media marketers? What is the source of the largest share of social traffic to websites? Twitter Stats.

However, if you’ll notice, most of what folks are sharing online via Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Tumblr, and Google + are articles via links. blog offers built-in RSS and the ability to easily hook right in to Google Webmaster tools via a dynamically-created sitemap. Flipboard is the best-in-breed social newsreader.

The Six Elements of Human Behavior that Drive Social Media — A fascinating look at the basics behind the phenomenon. Florida State University Using Klout Scores to Determine Student Grades — This piece by Professor Todd Bacile ignited beyond the social web, drawing commentary in the traditional media and educator conferences.