Despite all the talk, the mainstream media coverage, the conferences, courses, and books on social media marketing, there's quite a bit of ambivalence, fear, and (sometimes) outright hostility directed toward social media by CMOs, CEOs, and CFOs. All of this leads to the dreaded "we just want to stick our toe ... more

Marketing with Twitter, Google Docs for SEO, who the Connectors are and why you need them... all that and more in this Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly audio program sponsored by MarketingProfs that covers classic marketing tactics as well as what's new on the technology front. more

Atlanta management consultant Brent Leary launched a radio show in 2006 to help small and mid-sized businesses understand technology. It proved so popular that he evolved the show into a series of online podcasts, bringing new business and (ultimately) new revenue to his 15-year-old consulting business. more

Goodwill Industries receives generous donations of clothing, many in good shape and by popular brands, but is perceived as a purveyor of low-quality, outdated merchandise. With a social-media marketing campaign, the nonprofit was able to change that perception and connect with young professional women who buy vintage clothing. more

Denali Flavors creates and licenses premium ice cream flavors for regional and store brands. Its most popular flavor is Moose Tracks, which is made by more than 80 dairies nationwide—but many consumers have have never heard of it. The company needed to generate awareness at a little cost. So it ... more

Are you LinkedIn? Do you Spoke, Ryze, Jigsaw, or ZoomInfo? In 2008, will you get a Second Life? If these social-networking concepts are not on your radar, you are ignoring a dynamic trend that could have a profound impact on key areas of your business, such as revenue growth, talent ... more

Learn what Metcalfe's Law has to do with marketing and networking, hear some best practices with PURLs, and why January is Tech Geek Nirvana. All that and more in this Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly audio program sponsored by MarketingProfs that covers classic marketing tactics and what's new on the technology ... more

In the face of mounting competition and hype from rival networks Facebook and MySpace, LinkedIn has stayed true to its mission of creating a network for business professionals. I've been a member of the service for years, but until recently it had not had the critical mass necessary to get traction. ... more

There's a new air of excitement behind the mobile Web. Initiatives like Verizon's recent announcement to open their network, Google's Open Handset initiative, new wireless auctions, and the iPhone have energized users. For the intelligent marketer the question must be, "Is mobile the right medium to reach my constituencies?" more

Work of any kind requires an understanding of the appropriate tools for the job, and social media is no different. Here are some suggestions for a starter set of social media tools. The actual applications will change, over time, because technology tends to do that. But the basic functions should evolve ... more

Customer conversations are everywhere today—social networks, blogs, forums, and other social-media outlets. These are unbiased, unfiltered interactions that can deliver rich information about how your customers talk about topics that are relevant to your company and brand. Though it would be nice if people were to use your company's messaging in ... more

Whether or not you completely understand social media or social networking sites, the one aspect you must understand is that they are going to change the way businesses advertise. Facebook, in particular, is constantly evolving and improving its users' experience with new features and applications. As a result, Facebook is ... more

What do you get when you combine video, social networking, micromedia, and a very savvy French entrepreneur? You get Seesmic. Seesmic is a social network where the primary content is video. Users record video, post it to the site, and other users reply in video. It's new and it's red-hot. It's ... more

Here's how a relatively new women's Web site gained attention—and more regular readers—at a low cost. Plus, its "telechats" with authors has helped distinguish it from other sites focused on empowering women. more

LinkedIn doesn't pretend to be MySpace or Facebook. In the face of mounting competition and hype from rival networks, LinkedIn has stayed true to its mission of creating a network for business professionals. In this video tour, Matt Dickman focuses on what LinkedIn does well, and how you can leverage ... more

In a recent blog post, Cymfony's Jim Nail wrote about a study that provocatively proclaimed that spending on conversational marketing will outpace traditional marketing by 2012. Is that even possible? To find out, Paul Dunay chatted with Jim and Pete Blackshaw, executive vice-president at Nielsen Online Strategic Services. What ensued was ... more

Cognos held some 10 conferences annually for its customers and prospects. When the software provider tried a single 3-D virtual conference, it reached more active visitors than the 10 conferences combined. more

Podcasting can give your company a new image and personality. And, increasingly, podcasting offers the promise of being another highly effective way to reach and develop potential customers. That's only if you can produce compelling, "buzz-worthy" content, of course. more

If you are someone who is partially or wholly responsible for the long-term direction of your Web site, or the Web sites of your clients, you have to be able to explain Google's OpenSocial in clear and concise terms. So what is OpenSocial? And why does it matter? more

Is microblogging the latest fad or the next big thing? Microblogging is just like regular blogging, except it's limited to 140 characters. The leader in the space is Twitter. To get a better sense of this emerging social media tool, we assembled a micro-panel to discuss it: Jeremiah Owyang, a senior ... more

What is Digg? And how does it work? This pair of videos about social-network site Digg.com is a look at the site from the inside-out... with the goal of educating marketers on this social network. Learn why you should (or shouldn't) care about Digg. more

Should a marketer simply start blogging or wait instead until all of the blogging policies and procedures are established before beginning? In other words: Which comes first the policy or the blog? more

These 18 concepts will give you an edge on your competition—or an edge, period. So if the same old left-brain thinking that everybody else is using just doesn't get you where you want to be, try these creative concepts on for size. more

When it launched in late 2005, online broker TradeKing wanted a fresh voice that would attract investors and help it compete against larger brokers. It created an online community for likeminded traders seeking to share info and trading strategies; its members now make up about 5% of TradeKing users—but account ... more

At a time when business and marketing strategy changes at the speed of light, and competitors, partners and customers have instant access to information, the days of the handler the publicist are numbered. more