Application:  Social media enables continued interactions between supporters of a brand, and between the consumers and the companies, thus increasing engagement. You have to love a person who describes herself as somebody who studies “the dark side of Customer Management.” ”   Ana Isabel Canhoto is just such as person. An instructor at Oxford Brookes University, Ana is a Twitter friend who recently shared with me highlights of a speech by Paul Fennemore , a Managing Partner at Viapoint. Altruism. They share information simply because they believe it may be helpful. MORE >>

At a specific time, people show up online and interact live with the creator. By Mars Dorian, {grow} Contributing Columnist. believe that if you want to have success in the present you must anticipate the future. No crystal ball required. Because you want to sniff out trends to ride them. If you only act on what’s already happening, you’re getting sidetracked to second, third or even worse, fourth place. Like driving a Ferrari with two feet slammed on the brakes. Screeeech. So, how can one even try to predict how content marketing, in this case blog writing, will look in the future ? MORE >>

Easy loyalty measurements include number of comments and interactions, sign up on sites, and the number of friends and followers. For years I’ve admired the real-world insights and experienced perspectives of Steve Goldner, perhaps better know as @Social Steve.  I’m pleased that Steve has agreed to be the newest Contributing Columonist to {grow} and I know you’ll enjoy his work! By Steve Goldner, Contributing {grow} Columnist. head up social media at a performance marketing agency in New York City and I will tell you, everyone is interested in social media! MORE >>

How many relevant readers are you interacting with? By Ian Cleary, {grow} Contributing Columnist. It is not difficult to drive traffic to your site but what’s the point if visitors don’t stay around and read your blog post, sign up to your email list or buy your product or service? We’re all familiar with the following saying: “Traffic is Vanity, Conversion is Sanity!” ” Well, maybe you’re not familiar with that saying because I just made it up.  But it does make sense! Tweet at the Optimal Times using SocialBro . SocialBro is a social media management tool.  MORE >>

Needless to say, interactivity and visibility of the restaurant’s fanpage dropped drastically. As I enjoyed a mega-popular Kebab restaurant on my street, I wondered about the “secret” of their success. Certainly one factor is the kebab itself — a delicious jungle of salad, meat, and fresh herb sauce that melted like Angel cream on your tongue. Mmmmmm. The other aspect of their success, and frankly the more interesting part for us, is their Facebook presence. The young owner has built an impressive online audience. Wowzee. frowned. Lesson learned. cough* Facebook *cough). MORE >>