2012 Review

We said we were done with these, but hek, we’re still working so we figured we’d share. Happy New Year![read more]

A new study from IDG Research Services reveals the degree to which social media, video and mobile devices have become integral parts of consumers’ decision-making processes. The Echo Effect: understanding the Value of Tech Buyers found that 95% of respondents use at least one social media site, where 44% said exposure to tech products positively affects the likelihood that they’ll purchase the product in question. The same number said that seeing the product referenced in social channels also makes them feel satisfied with the company. They’re willing to recommend the company (42%) and experience feelings of brand loyalty (40%).[read more]

And there is your social media lesson from the 65-year-old movie: Dedicate your brand to doing what is right for the world and your customers notice, trust more and become loyal.[read more]

The past year was a socially good year for Facebook but its business side now reflects the opposite: Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild continues to drop share prices since going public earlier this year, and criticisms over proposed updates to its privacy policies worsen Wall Street figures.[read more]

Though the time has come to say goodbye to 2012, in the New Year we will find ourselves saying hello to a new era of advertising. 2012 will be remembered as the year that content became king. 2013 will be the year that marketers begin to perfect their branded content. Because learning from the past is always the best way to move forward in the future, let's take a moment to remember a few of the best branded content campaigns of the past year.[read more]

I’m frequently asked by new readers if there is some way to catch up with the best content on my blog. Well, hopefully it’s ALL good to somebody, but each year I look back and review the blog posts that seemed to make the biggest impact. Let’s start with the blog posts that you loved. Based on page views alone, here are the most popular posts of 2012:[read more]

2012 has been a great year for video sharing with the ten most viral videos being shared 28 million times compared to the 16.8 million of their 2011 counterparts. Here’s a look at the ten most shared non-music videos based on the Viral Video Chart by Unruly Media.[read more]

The author introduces two case studies - of Zappos and Fab.com - that illustrate some of what was learned over the past year in Internet-based businesses.[read more]

An Epolitics.com Christmas present: lots of fantastic reading on the 2012 digital campaign. C.f. our earlier post-election Quick Hits, and also today’s Quick Hits Advocacy Edition.[read more]

Newsweek isn’t going away. It will continue online and on tablets, with a new global edition planned for February. But the passing of the print edition marks the end of an era when millions of people got their perspective on the week’s news from the the troika of Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report. Only Time is still in print today, and who knows how long that will last?[read more]

Some of the world’s best social media campaigns from the past 12 months are highlighted [here]. They are case studies that, for one reason or another, have made us think ‘great campaign’. In deciding what is/is not a relevant case study, our social media litmus test has been to ask if they involve either online social interaction, user participation or user-generated content[read more]