Given the recent Facebook redesign, you're probably hearing a lot of yammer about Twitter. If by now you're not familiar with how Twitter can benefit your brand, walk with us as we cut through the noise and break it all down. In a recent article at the MarketingProfs site, Jim ... more

These days, everybody's touting the importance of engaging clients through social media. Form communities! Get talking! Create buzz! It's all good! But is it? Can B2B companies go overboard in their quest to attain a vibrant community online? In other words, is it possible to party too much? Well, Francois ... more

Important Notice: Your Customer Behavior newsletter will continue to bring you the kinds of articles you've come to expect and enjoy—but now, with a new name! Beginning with this edition, we've renamed it Customer Insight, to better reflect its broad intent and scope. See you next week. Seeking to grab ... more

You've seen others do it, and maybe you're wondering how to create your own two-person video for social-media channels. Ben McConnell, who blogs with Jackie Huba at Church of the Customer, offers a helpful primer for those who'd like to give it a try. There's only one catch—since the word-of-mouth ... more

As marketers continue to see good ROI from finely tuned mobile strategies, the humble text message has acquired newfound cachet. And in a recent video posted at the CenterNetworks blog, Allen Stern interviews Tatango CEO Derek Johnson, whose one-to-many SMS service enables instant mobile communication with an entire list of ... more

If you're new to the world of social networking, or can't understand why it's not working, you might not realize that online communities—like those at Facebook and Twitter—don't care for traditional marketing tactics. In a post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog, Paul Chaney serves up his top-ten tips for ... more

There's no question that the advent of online communication has lowered our expectations for proper grammar and spelling—in the casual environments of instant messages, email and blogs, we forgive the occasional flub or "where r u?" without giving it a second thought. But what if you're exchanging tweets or emails ... more

If you are on Twitter to represent your company, your boss will probably soon ask you to prove the value that your tweets have to your business, if he or she hasn't already asked. So how do you know whether your followers are listening or whether you're just tweeting in the ... more

In a post at his blog, David Reich recounts the story of a PR executive who wasn't exactly thrilled about traveling to Memphis for a meeting with clients. Unfortunately, the exec decided to announce his disdain in a very public forum known as Twitter: "True confession but I'm in one ... more

On Friday 2/27, Skittles surrendered itself to the Zeitgeist. Visits to Skittles.com led users directly to Wikipedia (later changed to a Twitter search for "skittles," then to the official Facebook fan page), and attempts to explore the site navigation—little more than a pop-up—guided users elsewhere still: flickr, YouTube, Summize. The ... more

Kodak knew that in all of us there's a superhero yearning to come out. It launched a viral-video campaign that reached two million customers and prospects who unleashed their inner superhero (along with howls of laughter), generating traffic to—and sales for—KodakGallery.com. more

Lingerie label Agent Provocateur is characterized by its risqué unmentionables and the naughty ladies that grace its adverts. So when it announced plans to explore social media earlier this year, we thought we knew what to expect: simpering femmes fatales that appeal more to men than women. We scoped out ... more

When the going gets tough, the tough get... cheap. Today, a good marketing idea has to be as inexpensive as it is clever. In this first of a two-part series are five inexpensive suggestions that can lead to productive results. more

There's been a lot of brouhaha of late about Facebook's ill-fated attempt to change its terms of service to maintain licensing rights of terminated accounts—and understandably so. The issue of customer data ownership is an important one. However, many businesses with an active presence on the social site are now fearful ... more

As part of the research I did in preparation for my recent book, BrandDigital, I interviewed some of the best and brightest people in the fields of marketing and digital technology, and they provided incredible insight on how digital tools and tactics can be used to not simply increase operating ... more

Here's how a single Facebook game application attracted more than 11,500 plays, 10 times the usual traffic, 5,500 new fans, and more.... more

If you've ever been to Fort Collins, Colorado, you've likely ventured to the outskirts of its historic district to sample popular beers like Fat Tire and 1554 at New Belgium's tasting room. The brewer has long touted its green-production policies—a stance popular with its customers—but recently found itself at the ... more

Last week, we offered tips to help you determine your authentic corporate voice. Now that you've collected some cool insights, here's our second set of tips, to help you in your final phase of daring to go viral. Think hard on the data you've collected, and imagine scenarios where you can ... more

As companies tighten their ad spending, inexpensive social media is clearly the next marketing frontier. As with any new craze, there are enormous opportunities. And with them come giant pitfalls that must be avoided. more

There's a school of thought that asserts going "viral" is a random occurrence. There is no formula, algorithm or logic that dictates what does and doesn't become a mainstream hit on the Internet. Those people are correct. But there are ways to hedge the bets in your favor—without selling 3/4 ... more

"Surviving or Escaping? This is a discussion I've been having with a lot of my friends in online lead gen and B2B sales," reports Bill Rice in a recent Better Closer blog. "The survival attitude is definitely in the air. My theory? That is the number one killer of businesses." ... more

The news isn't good: Fidelity Investments this week announced its second round of job cuts, NEC is cutting 20,000 jobs and Motorola just shed 4,000 workers. But despite the doom and gloom, some companies are indeed hiring. As the optimists say, the sun is always shining somewhere. Here are a ... more

While attending MarketingProfs' Digital Marketing Mixer in Scottsdale, Karen Talavera finally understood the importance of mixing various sorts of online marketing together. Take email and social media: Each is a significant force in and of itself, but combined they become even more powerful. Talavera's tips for creating marketing gold through ... more

When US Airways flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River, Twitter users broke the news, 15 minutes ahead of mainstream media. The same channel and its immediacy also helped Ford Motor Company's head of social media quell a different kind of disaster--of the PR variety. more

Back in December, Geoff Livingston and Beth Harte created a lighthearted blog post entitled "Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger." With the wild rush to capitalize on social media, the pair note that "there are many, many companies, agencies and consultants rushing to ... more