Information Technology & Social Media News

Know what the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter is? Or how many new members join LinkedIn every second? The answers will surprise you!

From penning white papers to leveraging social networks, digital marketing strategies abound that can strengthen your brand or business’s social clout (and Klout).

Marty
Another great find from Brian Yanish @MarketingHits. 

Did notice that my #1 tactic, email marketing, didn't make the list. Email marketing, or the ability to speak to your supporters and increase thei support with almost no cost, should be every SMBs top tactic. 

Email marketing has 3 distinct parts:

1. Name acquisition via subscription forms, contests and games. 

2. Relationship building via offers and relevant, regular communication. 

3. List growth via referrals, contest and games. 

Do these three things right and you create your own destiny. Email marketing is the base all other Internet marketing should be built upon, but it does get forgotten as happened here.  

Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook come with a pretty steep learning curve – certainly when used for business marketing – and to maximize return on investment it’s essential that you implement a winning strategy.

It's important for businesses to select the right individuals to manage social channels and to use specific metrics to analyze feedback and success.

Learn more about social media strategies from this infographic, which presents an 8-step strategy for successful social media marketing...

As the hype of social media begins to die down and companies re-evaluate their efforts with a steely-eyed look at the cost versus benefits, I think it is time to re-visit this important question: Does every company really need a social media marketing plan?

This is a very complex question. So to help answer it, I looked at a few companies with brands that might not be natural fits for a social media presence. Adult diapers. Coal. Hazardous waste clean-up. Playing cards.

Let’s explore this important question by taking a romp through some unusual case studies that stretch the boundaries of social media marketing thinking.

Know what the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter is? Or how many new members join LinkedIn every second? The answers will surprise you!

No business can be all things to all customers, especially a small business. Here's how to find a niche to set up your company for success.

The Internet is full of people sharing interesting things all day. From liking pictures on Facebook to retweeting cool articles, sharing is something everyone enjoys doing in one way or another. Yet receiving likes and retweets can seem impossible.

Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook come with a pretty steep learning curve – certainly when used for business marketing – and to maximize return on investment it’s essential that you implement a winning strategy.

It's important for businesses to select the right individuals to manage social channels and to use specific metrics to analyze feedback and success.

Learn more about social media strategies from this infographic, which presents an 8-step strategy for successful social media marketing...

This a timely and important piece from Mark Schaefer of {grow} in which he touches upon several issues which confront all of us who are trying to keep our heads above water in the ever-evolving world of Social Media.

To quote: "Not only do the platforms shift every day, the rules of engagement change constantly, too. Can anybody keep up with the real (and rumored) changes just to Facebook's EdgeRank formula? What we considered best practices six months ago are passé today. Social media is overwhelming, especially when there is pressure to master every new platform that comes along  How do you keep up?."

Remember:

** Platforms may change but marketing fundamentals remain the same

** Absolutely nobody can navigate this changing world alone as there are too many facets to it, so form a mutually beneficial support group.

** There's too much informationfor any one person to keep on top of all of it, so pick a main focus and try really hard to keep mainly to that.

** Know your audience and go where you will find them. This might mean giving up on one of the major platforms.  Swallow hard and do it!

** The more successful you become and the more your reach grows, the less time you will have to engage one-on-one with people. Don't let yourself feel guilty about this as it is inevitable.

** Go to a trusted source for information but be warned: Such a place may not (yet) exist.

Curated by Jan Gordon covering "Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

See article here: [http://bit.ly/VcYLb]