So you have thousands of followers on Twitter, hundreds of Facebook “Likes,” and millions of views on your YouTube channel. What’s the secret to turning all your social networkers into cash-buying customers you ask? So says Jeanne Walters, who is on the board of the Social Media Club of Chicago, has sage advice for businesses looking to capitalize on social media marketing efforts. It’s basically another form of push marketing and customers on social media hate that. If you’re a tech company, use social media to determine your next product offering. MORE >>

Twitter’s new Vine has some social media and marketing experts tumbling with excitement. In just a little over two weeks, Vine – the new video app acquired by the company in October 2012 and launched on January 24 – has captured the imagination of many social media and marketing specialists. But The biggest social network saw fit to cut that link. Unlike Twitter, Vine videos aren’t accessible from its website, though several websites that aggregate them have already appeared. Image via CrunchBase. But is it, really? Can you do it in just six-seconds? MORE >>

Just about every major social network allows marketers to share visual content in some capacity, but that doesn't necessarily mean that particular network is the best medium for visual promotion. And in a world of hundreds of social networks, marketers need to optimize their time to promote the most appropriate types of content on the most appropriate channels. Until now, it's seemed like Pinterest really takes the cake in terms of the best social network for visual content promotion. So, Which Social Network is Better for Visual Content? MORE >>

We've all gotten used to the idea of using Twitter, Facebook, and even YouTube for marketing -- even if the platforms aren't always as brand-friendly as they could be. They started as social networks meant for people to talk to people, not companies to talk to consumers. But in the struggle for monetization, they've had to adapt and continue offering ways for brands to market and make money using social media. And just when we got comfortable with this whole social media marketing thing -- BOOM! -- out comes Google+ , followed shortly thereafter by Pinterest. MORE >>

As B2B marketers invest more money and time in both thought leadership and social media, they risk missing a great deal of potential benefit they can achieve by bringing the two together in a holistic way. All too often, at least in my experience in the tech sector, marketers investing in thought leadership view social media primarily as a channel for disseminating content.  They get the idea that social media is important, and that relying on traditional media channels (including email and websites) to promote their ideas is no longer enough.  Make sense? MORE >>