Nearly four in 10 chief marketing officerssay they do not have the right people, tools, and resources to meet their marketing objectives, according to a recent report. more

In the early days of social media, users interacted like real people do. However, in time, social networks evolved into pits of broadcast messages. Here's how companies lost their way in social media, and how they can find a path back to its friendlier roots. more

Education, retail, and computer hardware/electronics are the best-performing verticals in email marketing, according to a new study that benchmarked open rates, click-through rates, and churn metrics across 14 industries. more

Unlike Twitter and Facebook, where brands drive engagement with their content through official accounts and pages, 70% of brand engagement on Pinterest is generated by the community itself, according to a new report, which also found the best day/time to pin for optimum community engagement for three industries. more

Online conflicts can cost businesses thousands of dollars (and hours) to resolve. Attorney Andrea Weckerle, author of Civility in the Digital Age, explains how you can protect yourself when a situation turns ugly. more

Though frequently at odds, marketing and IT executives agree that harnessing Big Data is imperative to building a customer-centric corporate culture; they also agree that a lack of alignment, rigid silos, unclear responsibilities, and a lack of leadership impede an organization from using Big Data to its full potential. more

To celebrate Opening Day 2013, Silverpop studied the social, email, and mobile habits of 30 Major League Baseball clubs and presented the results in this infographic. more

With omnichannel loyalty, companies engage customers with personalized messages at each touchpoint across various channels; businesses also offer rewards for customers' loyalty, which often results in lifelong brand loyalty. more

How is marketing automation like the Wizard of Oz? Without being noticed, both work furiously behind the scenes to produce an experience that works like magic. Check out the following infographic to find out just what marketing automation can do for your business. more

This week's guest on Marketing Smarts is Tim Suther, chief marketing and strategy officer for Acxiom, a firm that Tim referred to as "the original Big Data company"; FRONTLINE called it "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of." more

To illustrate the technological advancements that changed the course of marketing, Marketo put together the following infographic based on The Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation. more

It's all here: great uses for Vine, promos via Tumblr, and hashtags on Twitter. Hashtags on Facebook. More targeted Twitter ads. YouTube's record-breaking traffic. Yammer for SharePoint. Social warfare with Shakespeare-worthy love. more

Facebook marketing expert Mari Smith offers 14 tips to boost your content's visibility and viral sharing on Facebook—all in this infographic by ShortStack. more

Small businesses say tools such as online surveys and loyalty tracking systems are most effective at engaging existing customers, whereas daily deals and Internet ads seem more effective at attracting new customers, according to a survey from Constant Contact. more

Customers often break up with brands that ignore them. This infographic explains what happens when customers feel caught in a one-sided relationship with brands, and it offers tips for bringing the magic back into customer relationships. more

Super Bowl XLVII could be called the "Super Bowl of the Third Screen." Viewers turned to their laptops, smartphones, and tablets to comment via social media on ads, the half-time show, and the blackout. The following two infographics break down the social media buzz during the Super Bowl. more

Brands that use Facebook are responding to more inquiries from their fans, and they're doing it in record time, according to new data from Socialbakers. On average, brands answered 55% of the questions posed by their Facebook fans in the fourth quarter of 2012, up from 48% in 3Q12 and ... more

In which cities and states are digital coupons most likely to be activated? To find out, RevTrax conducted a study that poinpointed the top cities, regions, and demographics for digital coupon use. It then created the following infographic from the results. more

"Search engine robots—the last time I checked—do not have credit cards to buy your product," says Sonia Simone of Copyblogger Media. Which is why, she adds, "It makes more sense for us to look at SEO as a function of content, rather than content as a function of SEO." more

As an experiment in customer service via social networks, in this case Twitter, Software Advice recently had four employees send customer service tweets via their personal accounts to 14 leading consumer brands in seven industries. This infographic displays the results of that experiment. more

When creating a business card, keep in mind that it will be a memento in someone's wallet or purse to remind them of your meeting. So make sure your card includes these top 5 elements of the well-designed business card. more

Most companies must deal with clients. Unfortunately, some clients can be extremely difficult. To help you identify and handle challenging clients, Ciplex created this infographic highlighting the most common difficult-client types. more

We covered a range of topics on the Marketing Smarts podcast in 2012. In this episode we share some highlights on creating compelling content, allowing social media to humanize your organization, building community, and navigating the sometimes tricky relationship between marketing and sales. more

Shoppers plan to spend $92-$96 billion online during the 2012 holiday season. To help brands understand how to reach those online shoppers, Maxymiser created this infographic of five online-shopper personas. more

Among the brands listed on the Interbrand Top 100, more than nine in ten (95%) use Twitter and nearly one in four (23%) use it as a customer service platform (i.e., they have a Twitter handle dedicated to customer service), according to a new report by Simply Measured. more