Long-form content—defined as videos lasting longer than 10 minutes—accounted for more than one-half of the total time people spent watching online video across all connected devices in the first quarter of 2012, up from 25% six months earlier, according to Ooyala's Global Video Index Report. more

Americans are in love with their tablets: 91% of people who own a tablet say they take their device to bed with them, and 15% say they would give up their car in order to keep their tablet, according to survey from Yahoo and Ipsos MediaCT. more

Though online marketing is still a work in progress for many organizations, most corporate management teams are fully supportive of digital investments, driven by the benefits of improved marketing ROI, stronger customer analytics, and richer online engagement, according to a report by the CMO Council. more

Global digital out-of-home media (DOOH) revenues, generated by digital place-based networks billboards and signage operators, grew 15.3%, to $6.97 billion in 2011, and are forecast to accelerate 19.2% to $8.3 billion in 2012, according to data from PQ Media. more

"More folks turn to the Internet than any other medium—including newspapers, TV, or word-of-mouth—for local information," writes Tom Shapiro in an article at MarketingProfs. "Furthermore, a whopping 83% of local search users contacted businesses offline ... and half of all local business searchers eventually made purchases." These days, a basic local search strategy ... more

The popularity of daily deals shows no signs of abating. But how can you ensure your deals effectively appeal to subscribers? Learn examples of daily deals strategies that work wonders—and those that flop. more

Nearly two-thirds (66.2%) of national brands invest in local marketing (i.e., they conduct marketing campaigns directed at customers in their local markets) but only 42.0% measure the return on investment (ROI) of such efforts, according to a new study by Balihoo. more

In the next year, Canada is expected to enact new legislation restricting the use of consumer data for marketing purposes. But most US marketers are unaware of the new law and the potential fines associated with noncompliance, according to a survey from international business law firm Fasken Martineau. more

Social media advertising revenue—now dominated by Facebook and Twitter—is forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2016, up from an estimated $3.8 billion in 2011, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.0%, according to BIA/Kelsey's US Local Media Annual Forecast. more

What can gardening techniques teach you about growing a keyword plan? Quite a lot, it turns out. "When you plant seedlings, you need to plant them in groups according to how much sun they need and how aerated the soil should be," writes Jenny Halasz at Search Engine Land. "You ... more

Mothers are more present, more active, and more engaged users of social networking sites than other women, according to a study by Performics. Moreover, moms are 45% more likely than other women to say they have made a purchase as a result of a recommendation via social media (42% vs. ... more

Advertisers are warming to Facebook's new social ad formats: Over the past 12 months, the proportion of Facebook ad budgets allocated to "social ads" has increased fourfold, from 5% in March 2011, to 23% in March 2012, according to a report from Marin Software. more

B2B marketers are increasing marketing budgets 6.8% on average in 2012, according to a survey from Forrester Research. Across various industries, gaps in marketing investment growth have narrowed from levels reported in 2011. more

At MIPTV in March, YouTube's Joe McDermottroe introduced the company's latest Creator's Playbook—a bible of video production gold—by giving away tips on how to make the best of your own YouTube video content. While of course it's up to you to produce unique content that captivates users in the first few seconds, ... more

Though Hispanics use smartphones to help with in-store shopping, most tend to visit stores with friends and family, relying more on the opinions of their companions when making purchases and less on user-generated reviews and ratings via smartphone, according to a study by Sensis and White Horse. more

When you work in SEO, it might seem that Google is always trying to trip you up. But that's not really the case, argues Brandignity: "They don't dislike all SEOs because ... we actually help catalog information and pages; that in turn helps their search identify which pages make sense to ... more

More than two in five surveyed global executives (43%) say they "use many apps" on their smartphones and tablet devices with news and weather apps among the most popular, according to a survey from Doremus and the Financial Times. more

Television is still such a big part of people's lives: More than one-half (58%) of those surveyed say they would give up social networking if staying online meant they could no longer watch TV, according to a survey from Ipsos. more

Most brands and ad professionals say video advertising should be more aligned with TV rather than online display, and 48% are already planning TV and video together, according to a survey from Adap.TV and Digiday. more

"I get asked about pay per click (PPC) marketing quite frequently by my full-service SEO and B2B SEO consulting clients," writes Nick Stamoulis in a guest post at the Resource Nation blog. "They want to know how much of an impact PPC is really going to have on their online ... more

Smartphones, Wi-Fi access, and social media have liberated business executives from the confines of their offices; however, the flip side of that freedom is that very few can separate themselves from work after hours, according to a study by gyro and Forbes Insights. more

"Blogs increase your credibility, boost your traffic, and put a personality behind your brand," writes Lindsay Atkinson at the Renegade Search blog. "But how should [a blog] be executed? Should it be hosted on your website or on a completely different domain?" The short answer is: It depends. To help you ... more

Word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations from friends and family and user-generated content (UGC) are sources most trusted for information about the products people want and need, according to a new report by Nielsen. more

Digital Natives, consumers who grew up with mobile technology, subconsciously move between devices and media platforms (e.g., TV, tablets, and smartphones) far more frequently than Digital Immigrants, those who learned about mobile technology in their adult lives, according to a study by Time Inc. more

Tablets are fast becoming the mobile shopping device of choice among consumers: 64% of tablet owners say they have made at least one purchase via their device in the previous six months, compared with 48% of smartphone owners who say the same, according to a new survey by Local Corporation ... more