Let's say your small business doesn't have the resources to hire a professional copywriter for email campaigns. That means you—or someone on your overtaxed team—is trying to create effective messages without a solid knowledge of what works and what doesn't. So, what must you know? In a post at his blog, pro ... more

We've mentioned why Pinterest is a great resource for reaching users, and the social space is now brimming with case studies. Cases in point: GSD&M used it to create an SXSW survival guide for the conference's attendees. The British airline bmi started a Pinterest lotto campaign to enable eager Repinners to ... 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

We have updated you on some of the major changes to Facebook’s Brand Timeline pages. Now that you feel more familiar with the medium, it’s time for your Community Manager to step in and do her due diligence. (Don’t have one of those yet? Here are tips for hiring one!) Social ... more

On April 9, 2012, Facebook announced its billion-dollar plan to acquire Instagram, a hugely popular photo sharing network with more than 30 million users. Traffic to Instagram's website had already been increasing steadily over the previous 24-week period, reaching 3.8 million visits as of April 7, over 55 times the ... 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

B2B social marketing isn't an easily intuitive process because social has oft been perceived as consumer-focused. (For the most part, anyway.) But here's some good news: Social Media B2B—a great resource for B2B strategists—has made life a little easier for cautious B2B socializers by publishing 10 Tweetable Twitter Tips for B2B ... more

Google Android continued to widen its lead in the US smartphone market in February 2012, crossing the 50% threshold to capture a majority share for the first time in its history, according to data from the comScore MobiLens service. more

"With the increase in smartphone adoption, there's been a lot of talk lately about mobile email," writes Anthony Schneider of Mass Transmit. "Some of it is brilliant. Some of it's baloney." In the latter category is the notion that teenagers are the only ones reading email on mobile devices. Not true, ... more

Despite the widespread adoption of SMS text messaging in personal communications, most (86%) people prefer to receive promotional offers from brands via email rather than text, according to a survey from Ipsos OTX and Ipsos Global @dvisor. Similarly, most business professionals prefer email over text messages when receiving promotional offers ... more

In February, Facebook launched its updated Brand Timeline pages, which include better opportunities for customizing a brand page, among other features. Wildfire Interactive CEO Victoria Ransom has detailed six things marketers must know about the new Pages. Here are three changes to note: Improved look and feel. Now, as with ... more

We've been talking about QR codes—those slightly out-of-focus, black-and-white squares—for several years now. "Conceptually, this is neat," writes Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic. "People who are looking at paper but connected to the Internet via their phones can combine the two in one seamless experience." We see QR Codes everywhere—but ... more

Chances are high that your target, or someone who influences your target, is on Facebook. But beyond starting a Page and praying for rain, how do you draw attention to yourself and maximize that target's engagement? The Social Media Examiner has collected 10 great apps for building community on Facebook. ... more

Americans age 18-34, or "Generation C" as they've been recently dubbed, make up 23% of the US population but they comprise an outsized proportion of consumers who watch online video (27%), visit social networking sites and blogs (27%), own a tablet (33%), and use a smartphone (39%), according to a ... more

When you introduce a new smartphone app, you're asking your clientele to interact with your brand in an unfamiliar way. So how do you encourage early adoption among your best customers? With great design, of course—and it doesn't hurt if you get there ahead of your competitors. "[O]ne of the ... more

These days, 11% of traffic to LinkedIn comes from mobile pageviews. That figure is expected to grow as smartphone browsing becomes the easiest way for users—particularly professionals—to hit the 'net from wherever they may be. So how do you maximize LinkedIn Mobile for your own social purposes? Here are five tips ... more

Although 91% of senior corporate marketers agree that successful brands are using customer data to drive marketing decisions, 39% say their own company's data is collected too infrequently or not effectively enough, according to a report by the Columbia Business School's Center on Global Brand Leadership and the New York ... more

Senior executives have a healthy appetite for a wide range of traditional and new media channels, according to a survey from Doremus and the Financial Times: Most surveyed execs still read business and trade information in printed formats, but they also use digital channels—such as online video, professional networking sites, ... more

Once in awhile we need tools that can help us maintain our social chops. To help you bring some coherence to all the noise across Twitter and the blogosphere, we've compiled a list of powerful and, in some cases, lesser-known "oldies but goodies." Take a minute to consider these social ... more

Businesses are ready to spend on information again, according to a new report by IBISWorld: Marketing research revenues are forecast to grow 3.1% in 2012 as corporate profits rise and businesses increase marketing budgets. more

On-the-go B2B salespeople are always looking for ways to make their lives easier—and apps really can help. Here are a few Android apps that folks are buzzing about. Writing at the Intuit Small Business blog, Brad Chacos touts the benefits of some "truly useful" business apps, including one of Intuit's. Among ... more

Apple is expected to unveil the next-generation of the iPad on March 7, 2012 and nearly one-third (29%) of mobile Web users say they plan to buy the new device, according to a survey from InMobi. Among those 29%, more than one-half (54%) are first-time tablet buyers. more

It's OK to feel nervous about taking the social leap; it's a vast frontier with lots of possible pitfalls. It can make you feel pretty darned small. But there's a lot to be harvested in targeting the "social customer." So how do you go about social-farming strategically, instead of just doing ... more

The Sales Executive Council recently polled its members on their picks for must-have iPad apps for sales teams. "Given the volume of app options ... it is important to find out which of the thousands are actually worth downloading," the SEC notes in a recent blog post. The most popular apps ... more

The year 2011 was pivotal for the mobile industry, marked by a near doubling in smartphone ownership, consumers' growing appetite for mobile social content, and tablets emerging as a formidable fourth screen, according to a new report by comScore. more