Exclusive posts, articles, and infographics

The number of “likes” on your Facebook page and the amount of followers on your Twitter account are not the only determiners of the efficacy of your social media marketing campaign. In fact, it may not be a true marker of the success of your strategies.[read more]

Semantic search is changing everything. From the way traditional marketing is done to the way social media connections are now forged, the web is forcing us to create more transparent, honest connections than ever before.[read more]

On Tuesday AOL hosted a Social Media Salon for Internet Week New York where the differences between social media and community management were discussed.[read more]

Questions about Google's Penguin update? / shutterstock

Last week Google’s Matt Cutts announced that Penguin 2.0 is a couple of weeks away, so if you’ve been partaking in black hat SEO tactics, it’s time to stop. Listen up and follow these steps to make certain that your site is safe and your ranking doesn’t get slammed.[read more]

Social relationships

In a noisy, distracting world, we are bombarded. We start each day feeling as if we are behind. Data noise is everywhere. Over 100 million bits of information come in through your visual system—every second! In the midst of this chaos, you need to build, manage, and nurture your relationships.[read more]

From the moment Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced the $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, the underbelly of the alternative social network bellowed. An avid Tumblr user assures fans not to worry and provides a solution to the advertising question.[read more]

Pinterest's newest updates could mean big things for e-commerce and brands should take notice. What should your business be looking out for? In short, they add up to the emergence of Pinterest as a prominent e-commerce site. Partnership with brands allows Pinterest to be a greater part of the shopping or advertising experience.[read more]

This is your only stop on the internet where you will find such a large, detailed guide to increase traffic to your website! I have not yet seen a guide where it lists so many effective traffic generation techniques, never mind a detailed explanation of each one.[read more]

Marcy Kaptur (D-OH9) tweeted a joke from the White House Correspondents Dinner. But then she erased it 8 minutes later. What if more members of Congress could embrace the boldness of a funny tweet, without running away from it as if scared of their own shadow? We might see more real discussions among our elected officials as they work to solve our very real problems.[read more]

As of today, Twitter sees 200 million plus monthly active users globally, and 120 million plus active mobile users monthly. Together they’re tweeting a billion tweets every two and a half days, but Guy Yalif, Head of Global Product Marketing at Twitter, said it’s the kinds of tweets that matter, not the volume.[read more]

I've always liked that Marissa Mayer. After Monday's news about the Tumblr acquisition and promising not to "screw it up," she posts on the new Yahoo! owned Tumblr to release the news of a major Flickr revamp, stating that they've made strides to make Flickr awesome again. So, what can you expect from the new Flickr?[read more]

All those emails, petitions, fansites, and even banana baskets played a role in bringing back the show by helping Netflix quantify the size of Arrested Development fandom. Netflix has wowed with its marketing campaign, a flurry of tricks (sorry, Gob: illusions) that blur the line between reality and the show.[read more]

For most small B2C establishments, particularly brick-and-mortar retail and dining, social media presents a challenge in terms of authenticity, timeliness and scale. Casey at the pizza place is able to capture pure moments as they happen and deliver them to his online audience, such as a toddler enjoying a slice while wearing a Superman cape.[read more]

Adam Naide, Social Media & Digital Marketing Lead at Cox Communications

I had a chance to sit down with Adam Naide, Social Media & Digital Marketing Lead at Cox Communications to discuss some of the topics that you will see at the Social Shake-Up Conference where Adam will be speaking. The following is a transcript of that conversation.[read more]

Yahoo & Tumblr: good luck / shutterstock

The $1 billion dollar purchase of Tumblr by Yahoo appears to be in line with many of the moves Yahoo has made since Marissa Mayer took over as CEO last year. Since then, Yahoo has been looking to cover up a few grey hairs and reconnect with the coveted 18-24 year old demographic.[read more]

When asked what was the biggest lesson learned at Mayo, Lee answered, “The biggest lesson is that there is really no substitute for valuable content. Patients want in-depth great content. Interaction is important, but really, you need great content.”[read more]

Most social media campaigns are doomed from the beginning. Nothing you can't recover from. But if you start off on the wrong foot, then it's hard to convince others (or yourself) to keep persevering in the face of lackluster results.[read more]

Happy to hear that long-time advocate for social, and true expert, Ekaterina Walter is moving to Branderati as their CMO and partner.  Walter has longed been one of the leading voices for understanding social media marketing not as a question of platform or even tech alone, but as a way of creating a converation with real people,...[read more]

Photo from Brian Solis

What makes Brian Solis' book most interesting is that it is a product informed by the very thing he is covering, namely, social and the Internet. It may be one of the first books which is a product of “the internet of things."[read more]

A warning, from an ex-digital activist, that keeping a low profile, or no profile, is a tactical risk when it comes to reputation management in the 21st century.[read more]